For more pictures - Click Here
|
The Frangipani is a delightful, well priced Caribbean inn set at the centre of the action on the Belmont waterfront in Bequia. A traditional villa with shingle walls and a tin roof, it sits in heart-stoppingly pretty surroundings on the main harbour, where the yachts stand offshore and the activity passes its door. The small hotel divides into two areas. Upstairs in the wooden main house are relatively simple rooms, while behind the villa, secluded in the pretty sloping gardens, there are more spacious and comfortable rooms in stone and hardwood cottages. For all the hideaway feel of the gardens though, the dining room and the bar, which is laid out like a sitting room under the shoreside palms, are one of the main gathering points on the island, a centre for yachtsmen and the general passing activity of the bay. The Frangipani Bequia is a Caribbean classic, an incredibly pretty traditional West Indian home that has become a small and friendly, family-run inn.
|
KEY FEATURES
| One of the best family-run small Bequia hotels, charming waterfront location on Bequia St. Vincent. Eleven large garden rooms and suites, with fans (2 deluxe units have air-conditioning), balconies and individually decorated bathrooms, five rooms (with share-bathroom) in main house. Wireless access throughout, lively waterfront bar, weekly barbecue and steel band jump up, Saturday breakfast buffet. Yacht Pelangi, a 44ft cutter, on call for day sails. |
STYLE
| Classic West Indian style, a low key, sometimes lively waterfront inn in a lovely wooden frame building, with newer (but still traditional style) stone and hardwood cottages with red tin roofs set in attractive sloping gardens behind |
CLIENT PROFILE
| Independent travellers of all ages and nationalities, some yachtsmen taking a break onshore, all comers to the bar and restaurant |
|
| |
The Belmont waterfront is probably the loveliest in the whole Caribbean. A walkway tracks the shoreline, meandering under the palms in and out of the bars and restaurants, to a backdrop of yachts standing at anchor and brightly coloured water taxis that zip around the bay. You walk into the bar at the Frangipani almost without realising it. Around you, Adirondack chairs are set on the sand underneath the palms and a cannon covers the bay for you. The bar itself is trimmed with gingerbread in classic Caribbean style. Close by, you see the open-sided dining room, its shutters held up at angles on wooden pegs. And then above it, you notice the venerable villa that has been there for nearly a hundred years.
The Frangipani is set in a traditional Caribbean home from the 1930s, built originally for a sea captain. It has a steeply pitched tin roof with shingle walls and white wooden trim including balconies and gingerbread fretwork. Interestingly the villa was the birthplace of James ‘Sonny’ Mitchell, a former prime minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines. The Frangipani is still owned by his family, who have run it as a hotel since 1967.
You enter by the side of the house and come into the lobby, where the reception desk stands on your right. This is a fairly busy area as there is lots of activity from passers by as well as guests. There is a book exchange on one wall and wireless internet is available (actually the signal stretches to the rooms throughout the property too) and as you sit on the sofa you are also likely to come across the staff, criss-crossing the lobby, who are delightful. At the front of the villa is the dining room. Although the stone, a feature of the hotel, is visible in pillars, the dining room is mostly open-fronted and so it has a view out onto the activity of the waterfront and onto the bay. Some tables are set outside at the front.
There are five rooms in the main house, reached by a covered staircase outside the door into the lobby. It is important to say that these rooms are quite simple by comparison to the others at the hotel. They are very much in traditional Caribbean style, set either side of a corridor that leads to a balcony at the front of the house (private for hotel guests)and they share bathrooms. The rooms are quite popular with yachtsmen taking an inexpensive few days ashore.
Frangipani has another eleven much more comfortable rooms – more typical of current standards of Caribbean style and comfort – hidden away in the very pretty gardens to the rear of the villa. You reach them by stone paths that lead through the crotons and copper boilers - and of course beneath frangipani trees. The rooms themselves are set on the rising hillside in stone cottages, and each one has a balcony to take in the garden or the bay (the top rooms have a lovely view over the harbour). Because of their position they feel quite separate from the front of the small resort, enabling you to hide away in comfortable seclusion. Breakfast can be served on the balcony of your room if you want to retain the atmosphere of tranquillity for a part of the day.
Inside, the rooms are clad in island stone, laid in a ‘crazy’ pattern. They are large and they all have a sitting area. Some have wooden floors, others terracotta tiles, with rush matting, and the air-conditioned deluxe rooms have four-poster beds with a muslin net around them. The other main feature of the rooms is the hardwood, which is used in fittings and most noticeably in the vertical wooden louvers that are so typical of the Grenadines. Windows are screened but the louvers allow the air to circulate. A rounded stone archway leads into the bathrooms, which are also a combination of stone and hardwood. These are one of the most original features of the rooms. They have been individually decorated by artist Julie Savage Lea with a seaside theme. The tray of the shower is a sort of beach beneath your feet.
The seclusion of these rooms at the rear is a good part of the character of Frangipani. In the moments when you feel like restfulness you can tuck yourself away in the gardens in a hideaway. On the other hand, if you feel more like activity, then you can venture down to the front of the small hotel, where the bar and dining room, and the Belmont waterfront in general, may well be buzzing. Frangipani is at the heart of the activity. |
| ^ back to top |
Beach & Swimming
Frangipani is not on the beach (there is sand, but it is in a working harbour). However, there are some excellent coves just a short ride away by water taxi. The closest is Princess Margaret Beach, a steep-sided bay with just a few buildings on it. There is a beach bar there called Jack’s, where you can get a drink and meal.
Beyond here is Lower Bay, over the next headland, where there is a longer stretch of light-coloured sand backed by palms and larger trees (beware the manchioneel trees, whose apples and sap are poisonous). There are three or four beach bars at the far end where you can get a drink and a snack.
Other beaches on the island include the huge curve of Friendship Bay on the south coast. Out east you will find Industry or Crescent bay, where there is a small beach bar, and Hope Bay, both of which are extremely secluded and generally deserted. |
| ^ back to top |
Sports & Recreation
Some watersports are available through the hotels and scuba dive shops. Snorkelling gear can be rented at the dive shops, who will also take you out on a snorkel excursion if you like. Or, for full-on scuba diving, which is quite good in Bequia, there are two scuba operators, both further along the Belmont waterfront.
There is a tennis court near to the hotel, which is free for hotel guests to use. It is set behind the Gingerbread Complex and there are racquets and balls which you can hire. If you would like to explore, there is a handful of hiking trails around the island. They lead up into the hills and to the remote beaches in the east and south. And if you would like a massage after all this activity, then this is available through Reception. |
| ^ back to top |
The Rooms
There are two different locations for the rooms at the Frangipani. The more comfortable are set in the gardens at the rear, in separate one- and two-storey stone cottages with red tin roofs. They are very attractive, with stone interiors trimmed with locally crafted hardwood, including typically Vincentian louvers which stand vertical. These garden rooms each have a balcony looking onto the gardens or over the palms to the bay and delightful bathrooms that are hand-decorated by artist July Savage-Lea with nautical and island scenes.
There are three different categories of rooms in the gardens. There are six Deluxe Hillside Rooms, two of which are Air-conditioned Deluxes, set higher on the hillside, and five Garden Rooms, which are set underneath or lower down. The Air-conditioned Deluxes are set up to be fan-ventilated as well if you prefer. They have a four poster bed and flat screen TVs with a DVD. Regular deluxe hillside rooms have a king bed or twins and the five Garden Rooms are in the same style as the other rooms but have a queen-size bed and a garden view. Wireless internet signal reaches the rooms in the garden.
The rooms in the main house are called the Original Rooms and they are considerably simpler. As they are in the original house the walls are quite thin, but they are clean and well looked after and they share a balcony at the front of the villa. They are fan-ventilated rather than air-conditioned. Grilles above the doors encourage a through-flow of air. There is a variety of single, twin and queen size beds and the five of them share two bathrooms. |
| ^ back to top |
Dining
The dining room is set at the front of the hotel, overlooking the bar and the Belmont walkway through vertical wooden louvers. Some tables are set outside. The dining room has wooden chairs and tables and is prettily decorated with brightly coloured tablecloths. The cuisine is international with a strong lilt of West Indian – for which they get excellent ingredients from the fertile slopes of St Vincent a short boat-ride away. There is an extensive selection of wines to go with your meals.
On Thursday nights they hold the Frangi Jump Up, with a buffet dinner of grilled fish and steak and salads, and on Saturday mornings they have a breakfast buffet which is popular with visitors from around the island.
Room service is available for breakfast in the rooms in the garden at the rear. |
| ^ back to top |
Rates
| | 15 Apr-14 Dec 2007 | 15 Dec-14 Apr 2007-08 | 15 Apr-14 Dec 2008 | | Original Room Single Double | 45 55 | 60 70 | 45 55 | | Garden Room Single Double | 100 110 | 155* 175* | 100 110 | | Deluxe Hillside Room Single Double | 120 140 | 175* 200* | 120 140 | | Special Air-Conditioned Deluxe Room- Single/Double | 165 | 230* | 165 | All rates are in US$ per room, per night, room only and are subject to 10% Government Tax and 11% Service Charge. * Extra US$20 per night during 24 Dec-01 Jan and throughout Feb. All rates are subject to change without notice. A three night deposit (less for short stays) is required to secure all reservations and is refundable for cancellations received 21 days prior to arrival, less a 10% administration fee. Cancellations received within 21 days of arrival will incur a loss of deposit. Credit cards accepted: VISA, Mastercard and American Express. |
| ^ back to top |
Special Offers
Frangi Free Night Special - Pay for six nights and get the seventh night free for stays between 02 Jan-15 Jan and 01 May-31 Aug 2008. |
| ^ back to top |
How to book
If you wish to make further enquiries or a reservation, please use the WEB LINK or DIRECT EMAIL ENQUIRIES facility at the top of this page to make contact with The Frangipani in Bequia, or if you wish to telephone them, their telephone number will be revealed if you click on the CONTACT TELEPHONE NUMBER link. |
| ^ back to top |
Locality
The Belmont waterfront is one of the centres of activity on Bequia. It is a line of bars and restaurants set under coconut palms to which you can walk along on the waterfront. It is fun to walk up and down anyway, but the various bars can get very lively, particularly when there are plenty of yachts in the bay. Mac’s is a popular pizzeria.
A two-minute walk in the other direction will bring you into Port Elizabeth, the island’s main (only) town. Set behind the waterfront road you will find shops and cafes including an excellent bookshop, the Bequia Bookshop, which offers Caribbean books and maps, and eventually the ferry point, the tourism office and the market. You will also see miniature yachts on sale. These are something of a tradition in Bequia.
There are plenty of cafes and restaurants along the front in Port Elizabeth. Elsewhere, in Princess Margaret Bay, Jack’s has an excellent modern feel. And in Lower Bay is a very nice West Indian restaurant called Nando’s, which makes a lovely evening out. The Devil’s Table, a restaurant on a pirate theme, is set on a point in the bay.
There are a number of day sails from Bequia, some in traditional ships, to other islands up and down the island chain – from the north of St Vincent down to the Tobago Cays. Ask at Reception. |
| ^ back to top |
Meet & Greet
If you let them know in advance, Frangipani is happy to arrange for a taxi driver to meet you at the airport or at the main ferry terminal in Port Elizabeth. The transfer can be paid for locally or added to your bill. |
| ^ back to top |
Getting to and Around Bequia
Getting to Bequia can be a little complicated. There are no direct flights from outside the Caribbean and so you will have to make a connection somewhere. One option is to fly via Puerto Rico, from where there are services to St Vincent (you can then take the ferry across to Bequia), but it may be easier to fly in to Barbados, from where you can either fly into St Vincent or take a ‘share charter’ connection. For ‘share charters’ and air taxi services, see SVG Air.
It is useful to have a car in Bequia, for a couple of days at least, because it gives you the independence to explore the island, including the relatively remote beaches and bars by day and the restaurants in the evenings. On Bequia we recommend B & G Jeep Rentals, who will deliver a Jeep and help you get your local driving licence. |
| ^ back to top |
Have you found this page useful?
We appreciate your feedback on our service.
I found this page useful
I would like to make a comment
All the information on this site comes to you free of charge and we do not receive commission for your reservations so it is always good to hear if you think we are doing a good job, or if you have any constructive suggestions. Please also remember to mention DefinitiveCaribbean to your friends so that we may be helpful to more people looking for an enjoyable Caribbean hotel experience.
Thank you for your interest. |
| ^ back to top |
|
Print
page
www.frangipanibequia.com
