Beach House - Review Page 2
One-Bedroom Apartments - Coconut Heights
The Beach House was built as a private holiday home by English owner Graham and Carole Beckett. The lower apartments were added to allow them to share family holidays with their adult children. The fact that it is still a family home is particularly evident in the furnishing and décor of Coconut Heights, with its vibrant Caribbean wall paintings, wall hangings and seashells, coral fragments and other flotsam and jetsam discovered on the beaches.
Coconut Heights offers some 565sq.ft. of rustic, but very comfortable and atmospheric, living accommodation. The bedroom, bathroom, shower, dining area and kitchen occupy the rear half of the building. The entire 26-foot frontage and 7-foot side returns are totally open to the elements, although the side openings have been fitted with shutters for weather protection and privacy. The apartment has no balcony. It has no need of one. The entire frontage is a covered balcony.
The 13x10ft bedroom is separated from the main living area by a narrow wall and glazed double doors. I imagine that it has been a long time since those doors were last closed. Frankly, I can’t see the point. The bedroom looks directly out to sea, so you would only be protecting your privacy from passing dolphins (and the occasional fisherman, I guess). Leaving the doors open allows the bed to be fanned by the wonderful night sea breezes.
The bedroom is dominated by a 5-foot Queen-sized bed with four-poster surround supporting a full mosquito net. Curtains have been thoughtfully fitted across the foot of the bed and can be drawn to block the dawn sunlight that would otherwise shine across the open balcony. The bed is very high, providing useful storage space beneath. Believe you me, there’s nothing more relaxing than waking up in the mornings and lying there with a cup of coffee and a good book, while enjoying the magnificent view of Castara Bay
Leading off the bedroom is a small bathroom, with toilet and washbasin [2008 update: now plumbed for both hot and cold]. The half-tiled shower is located in an adjacent separate cubicle, directly off the bedroom. Bathroom fittings corrode very rapidly in the tropics and can soon look quite unsightly. I am delighted to report that all bathroom (and kitchen) fittings at the Beach House were clean, presentable and in good working order. There was lots of hot water for the shower and if I wanted to pass criticism, it would be directed at the manufacturer’s of modern shower heads for dispensing with the large traditional heads that give such a gentle cascade of water, in favour of small, modern heads that sting when the shower is turned on with any degree of pressure.
Next to the shower is a walk-in wardrobe. Apart from the 30-inches of full-length hanging space and several times that in open shelf storage, it was wonderful to have somewhere to store our numerous cases and bags, rather than falling over them around the bed. An ironing board, electric iron and hairdryer are provided, together with a small electronic digital safe large enough for a camera plus wallets, travel documents and jewellery, etc.
The bedroom is furnished with several mirrors (no, not that sort), wall-mounted ‘reading’ lights, lots of wall shelves, a small library of decent novels, plus playing cards, dominoes and a small compendium of board games.
Frankly, the bedroom was a difficult room to leave other than for brief trips to the kitchen, which was ‘man enough’ to handle the catering for all three Beach House apartments. Like the bedroom, glazed double doors can be closed to seal off the kitchen, but again, like the bedroom, I suspect it is some considerable time since this has been done. It is just so lovely to leave everything open and enjoy the light, breezy space.
The 11x7ft kitchen was equipped with a fairly standard set of fittings: bottled gas oven with four gas rings (although the grill was a less common, but useful, extra), a very effective Black & Decker Toast-R-Oven, electric coffee filter machine and cafetiere, a large fridge with separate freezer and a generous stock of attractive crockery, cutlery, glassware and kitchen utensils. Everything was clean and in good order and you didn’t arrive feeling that you wanted to wash everything before use.
Immediately adjacent to the kitchen and just inside the main L-shaped living area, is a wooden ‘farmhouse’ dining table with bench seating, plus a pair of individual chairs. The table can comfortably seat six to eight people – ideal if a group has hired the entire house and wish to dine together.
As mentioned, the main living area extends across the entire frontage of the property. The views across the beach and bay are absolutely stunning and can be seen from all three main rooms. The living area is furnished with several comfy armchairs and tables, laid out between the decorative shells and pots, family photographs, pots and jars and more conch and sea shells and wind chimes than I could be bothered to count. A small hammock can be slung across one corner.
The combination of location and cosy décor make this a hugely relaxing and comfortable property. I have had immense difficulty writing this review, simply because it has just been too wonderful to lie on the bed, or sit in one of the comfy chairs, and read – a passion I can seldom indulge these days. I keep promising myself that I will get back to work at the end of the chapter. Of course the end only comes with the end of the book. I think my only real complaint about Coconut Heights is the fact that the low and moody lighting creates a wonderfully atmospheric effect, but is not conducive to reading at night. It’s bright enough in the bedroom, but too dark in the living area. The easy solution was for me to read during the day and write during the evenings, when the lack of light made little difference to my laptop computer.
It will come as little surprise to the reader to find that the Beach House apartments are not air-conditioned. In truth, there is absolutely no need. Even at the height of the day we have never been hot in the house. We have not even made use of the two supplied electric floor fans. Being packed into so much lush vegetation and with a small freshwater stream nearby, I have to admit that mosquitoes were a slight problem. Fortunately the mosquito net and our trusty GoodKnight mosquito deterrent made sure that we slept well at nights. Citronella candles and mosquito coils are provided and were an ideal way of keeping the little blighters at bay during the evenings.
Our stay at Coconut Heights has undoubtedly been a highlight of our 2006 visit. It won’t suite everyone, but those looking for comfortable, yet simple, accommodation will not be disappointed.
NEXT PAGE: Studio Apartments, Conclusion
Review Page Links: Page 1 | Page 2 | Page 3
Return to the search listing page
The buttons above present articles sequentially, in the order shown in the menu bar
at the top of the page. You are currently on the Property Review page in the Accommodation menu.
