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Private Paradise
My husband and I have loved Grenada, Anguilla, and the few other Caribbean islands we've visited, but any island dreaming these days is tempered by a cold splash of reality: Caribbean prices.
A room at a top resort can start at $500 a night, without food. We've found lodging for less, then had our beach towels trampled by spring-breakers. Restaurants are overpriced too.
We had given up on the Caribbean. Then we tried villa rentals. Not only can villas be a better value, especially if you're traveling with friends, but they can offer privacy and service that resorts can't match.
Our favorite so far: Villas at Bluefields Bay in Jamaica.
The five houses that make up the Villas at Bluefields Bay, on the southern coast an hour from Montego Bay, aren't cheap. The least expensive, the two-bedroom Cottonwood Cottage we stayed in, rents for $2,800 to $4,600 a week, plus a 15-percent tip. But, oh, what that price includes: three meals a day for up to four people, open bar, and a full staff, including a chef, butler, and maid/laundress.
Before arriving, we had been asked about foods we liked, but the meals were beyond our expectations. Delicious ginger lobster, fresh snapper, corn fritters, jerk chicken, coconut cream pie-all served on bone china, with lace tablecloths and crystal. And it was nice not having to decide where to eat each night.
Many of the villas are set on bluffs, and the views are stunning. From our bedroom's four-poster bed and mahogany rockers - the villas are styled like Jamaica's old great houses - we could see out to lush foliage and the blue-green sea.
It was paradise, but not perfect. I would have like stronger water pressure, newer towels, and a wider, less rocky beach. (Pack water shoes.) But you forget all that when you descend a short staircase to the beach to find that your attendant has strung up a hammock under the palm trees and set out chairs, towels, and cold drinks. I read two books in five days.
Kayaks, a tennis court, snorkeling, and a modern spa down the road all tempt, but this is a place to relax, be pampered, and soak in Jamaica's beauty. Unlike at big hotels full of American tourists, you won't feel like you could be in Florida. The papayas and pineapples at breakfast were fresh, not flown in.
Cottonwood is the only villa at Bluefields without its own pool. Two-bedroom Milestone Cottage, which can sleep four, is popular with honeymooners ($3,400 to $5,400). The Hermitage (up to eight people, $4,900 to $10,800) and San Michele (up to 12 guests, $4,900 to $12,000) are good for groups.
Another plus: We left BWI on an 8:30 AM flight and were at our villa by lunch. It's hard to get to paradise faster than that.
For more information on the Villas at Bluefields Bay, contact 202-232-4010 or see www.bluefieldsvillas.com.
-Sherri Dalphonse
Washingtonian, December 2002
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