Damaris took us on a 3 hour island tour one day so we got to see all of the famous sites. We spent a day by the harbor and walked the Belmont Walkway into town to see the colorful shops. After Barbados, Bequia seemed very quiet by comparison. Although it was high season, many evenings we were the only people in some of the restaurants. We enjoyed a great lobsterfest one evening at Bagatelle where they grilled the lobster in front of us.
Also The Thursday night jump up, barbecue and steel pans at Frangipani is world famous and is a popular venue. Serving Caribbean and International cuisine and located on the Belmont Walkway.
Another restaurant we enjoyed was The Liming. To dine at The Liming restaurant is to truly enjoy the finest of the island’s rich flavors.
Eat and drink above the Caribbean Sea on their unique sea-top terrace restaurant and tantalize your taste buds with a choice of locally sourced ingredients, including fresh island-picked fruit, aromatic vegetables and the ocean-to-table seafood for which the Caribbean is renowned.
A fresh, vibrant affair, each dish is as pleasing on the eye as it is to the palate, crafted by The Liming’s executive chef and served with an added touch of creative flair. This was the most upscale restaurant with the others being more casual and yet enjoyable.
BEQUIA in the Grenadines
Recently we flew into Barbados and then did a transfer to SVG Air to fly us to Bequia in the Grenadines. This is a 7 sq. mile island that is very picturesque with it's beautiful harbors and mountains. The roads here were very steep so rather than rent a vehicle, which we usually do, we decided to be driven around the island by a wonderful taxi driver, Damaris, from Gunno's Taxi Service (husband and wife). It was a good decision as Damaris took us everywhere and was such a cheerful, informative guide. She was always ready for us exactly on time. To reach Damaris you can e-mail her at: svg9030@gmail.com or phone her once on the island
at: 491-6165 (be sure to let her know Lois & George suggested her).
We mainly went to this island as we wanted to stay at a resort we had seen on tv that had hundreds of 5 star reviews: Tropical Hideaway.
It was everything we had hoped for. It was the ultimate in casual luxury. It is run by Martin & Julie Mansfield - wonderful hosts.
Upon our arrival we were picked up at the airport in Bequia by one of our hosts - Julie. We felt as if we had known her for a long time due to our various conversations once we booked until we arrived. At the resort we were greeted by her husband, Martin, who met us with some of his famous rum punch as we toured the property. Each bungalow was slightly different and all offered privacy.
Our penthouse suite was the ultimate in casual luxury. As we entered the ground floor of our suite, off to the right was a private gym just for us with all sorts of equipment to keep us in shape. From this level we climbed the spiral staircase to the upper level with the living area. The interior was fully screened so we could enjoy everything bug free. In this interior area was our bedroom with the largest king bed in Bequia. There was a beautiful swan towel arrangement with flowers on the bed. This area also had a 40 inch tv. Coming out of the bedroom was a living area with chairs for reading and a very large library of books for us to enjoy. There was also a separate walk-in dressing room area with plenty of shelves and hangers for our clothes and also a wall safe.
From our inner area you could open a door to our outdoor shower area with lovely stone walls surrounding a rain shower and also commode. It was fun showering outside. In this outdoor living area was a great kitchen with every appliance you could ask for as well as china and silverware plus a 2-burner stove. I cooked a few breakfasts there but we mainly ate out. There was a nice area with 2 large chairs in front of an even larger tv than inside. They had some really cool hanging chairs plus there was a hammock to also enjoy. Then we had a large circular sitting area that overlooked the fabulous infinity pool overlooking the harbor. We spent a lot of time in the infinity pool - one of the largest in the Caribbean. Most times we were the only people there. We had a private grilling area too but we didn’t use it.
Upon our arrival, Julie had prepared a delicious lasagna which we enjoyed while relaxing after a day of travel. We flew from Miami to Barbados and then transferred to SVG Air for the 45 minute flight to Bequia. Julie and Martin have a great little store where you can purchase food, prepared meals and liquor. They have the same prices as the shops in town so we bought there. One day they made fresh quiche and saved one for us. Plus we also tried the veggie pasta which was delicious. They also exchanged money for us.
It definitely was worth the trip getting to Bequia to enjoy this gorgeous property. Check it out at: https://tropicalhideawaybequia.com/ They have also published a guide to Bequia and Tropical Hideaway that is very informative when planning a trip. https://tropicalhideawaybequia.com/enjoying-your-stay/guide-on-bequia-tropical-hideaway/