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Style: Extremely romantic getaway, castaway style, a small but comfortable gingerbread house with wraparound veranda right on the beach
The Beach: A 200 yard stretch of bright white sand that is effectively completely private
The Rooms: One bedroom Caribbean beachfront suite in its own cottage
Key features: BVI private island - a stunningly romantic beachfront idyll on a Caribbean private island in the British Virgin Islands, complimentary day and night boat rides to Tortola, daily ice delivery, snorkel gear, BBQ grill, telephone, fax, radio, TV, VCR, DVD & CD players, videos, CDs, books, postcards and Little Thatch stationery.
Children: Seagrape Cottage is not set up for children
Staff: On-island staff, a resident English couple who are long-time BVI hands |
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Description
Seagrape Cottage is the ultimate in Caribbean seclusion and privacy, a villa for two set on the beach on its own private island in the British Virgin Islands. You could spend a week there undisturbed, just the two of you, in the pretty cottage right on a lovely (and effectively private) beach, and barely speak to or even see another soul, just hear the steady wash of the waves and watch the changing light on the sea as the sun passes overhead. There are very few stand-alone one-bedroom villas anywhere in the Caribbean to begin with, but the fact that Seagrape Cottage is set on its own private island as well makes it unique and truly special.
The cottage’s location is supreme. It is tucked down at the end of the beach, secluded among the seagrape trees of the name and looking across the water to other islands looming green in the distance. Walk down off your deck, and you are right there on the sand. The beach is effectively private. Technically all beaches in the BVI are public to the high water mark, so people are permitted to come onto the sand (but can stray no farther onto the island). Practically speaking though, as it is hard to get to, you will have the beach to yourselves and you can swim and sunbathe to your heart’s content undisturbed in the hammocks and loungers.
You arrive at the western end of Little Thatch, in the lee of the island. Seagrape Cottage is along the beach, tucked into a corner of greenery. You approach it through a stone archway, almost as though it were a secret garden. As you walk the path, the cottage emerges in the confusion of the shorefront trees. It is a classic Caribbean cottage, a single storey building with a red tin roof and gingerbread trim, and on three sides a tiled veranda with a looped rope balustrade. Slender double doors open into a single room. As you enter you find the kitchen area on your right (at the rear of the cottage) and the bed facing out of the front onto the sea to the left.
The floors are terracotta tile and the walls bleached pine, which give the cottage a good Caribbean feel, almost a luxurious version of the traditional Caribbean chattel house. French windows fold back to let the light in and open the cottage up. The living half of the room is open, with the bed in the middle. A table with a love seat and two chairs is set into the corner of the room. You can eat breakfast here, but most people prefer to eat out on the deck, which sits out over the water. Inside you will find a music system with CDs and a television with VCR and DVD player and some films. In case you want to spend life reading in a hammock there is a selection of books. The bathroom leads off the far side of the bed, opposite the entrance. The kitchen area is set behind a half-height wall at the rear of the room and is equipped with everything you need to look after the two of you. There are two small fridges (ice is brought in daily) and the cooking equipment is outside on the side veranda.
The view from the cottage (and the bed) carries north-west over the deck outside to Great Thatch, another small island a few hundred yards out to the north. You are quite likely so spent quite a bit of time on the veranda, which is partly enclosed by the greenery – on one side a coconut palm grows through the roof of the veranda and on the other the deck is built around a brush palm. You will also find a hammock there, so you can take time out from the hectic schedule of sunbathing on the beach. From here it is a few wooden steps down onto the sand and the sea.
As you walk west along the beach you will pass the only other building in this part of the island. It is a day house for the guests of the main house on Little Thatch (this is set on the summit of the island and has a spectacular view west towards St Thomas).
Although the beauty of Little Thatch is the castaway nature of the place, you are not completely alone on the island. Jonathan and Katy Morley are on hand to make sure that you have everything that you need and in case of any emergency. They are as available as you would like them to be, so you just have to ask. For the moments when you feel like heading across to Tortola they offer complimentary rides during the day (and four rides a week during the evenings. |
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Beach & Swimming
Seagrape Cottage is set right on Little Thatch Beach, a good stretch of palm-backed, bright white sand that gives into shallow water. There are hammocks in the shade of the palm trees for when you want a different point of view from your beach lounger. There are a few rocks underfoot at certain times of the year, but it is mostly sand. There are also coral heads out in the bay, so there is good snorkelling, particularly in front of the cottage itself. |
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Sports & Recreation
Seagrape Cottage has a handful of fairly sedentary activities, with a small library of books, a stock of videos and DVDs. There is also snorkelling equipment. If you would like something more active, it is quite possible to hire in kayaks or a small sailing dinghy. Scuba is also easy to arrange in the BVI. Dive boats will come and collect you off the island.
The Morleys have a number of RIBs (Rigid Inflatable Boats) for hire. These are docked at Little Thatch. If you have the requisite boat-handling experience, you can explore the islands around the West End or take off for the day for a picnic on a remote beach. |
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Locality
Little Thatch is about two miles off the western tip of Tortola (a five minute boat ride from West End). The Morleys will drop you off there and collect you by arrangement. On land you will find plenty of bars and restaurants within a shout of the West End. The Jolly Roger, right on the dock, is ever lively. Over the hill in Apple Bay you will find three good restaurants, the Sugar Mill for top notch food and Sebastians and Coco Plums for more local food. Look out for Bomba’s Surfside Shack which is famous for its full moon parties. Road Town, about twenty minutes drive, has plenty of other restaurants.
The beaches on Tortola are all on the northern shore. You will find two lovely stretches of sand near West End, in Long Bay, where there is a hotel, and at Smugglers Cove, a beautiful but undeveloped curve of sand near the western tip of the island. Cane Garden Bay, the busiest beach on Tortola, is farther east, about fifteen minutes drive.
Ferries leave from West End to other islands, including Jost van Dyke and Virgin Gorda in the BVI and St John and St Thomas in the USVI. |
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Useful Hints
Seagrape Cottage is extremely private and the beach facilities are exclusively for your use most of the time. Occasionally, the owner is on island and so you will be sharing the beach with him and his guests.
Seagrape will be stocked with a starter pack of food for your arrival - the basics you need for the first morning. Next day you can go across to one of the supermarkets and buy the food you want. Or, if you would prefer full provisioning you can send a list in advance to the Morleys and they will stock the cottage fully for you before your arrival. |
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Rates
| | 01 May- 14 Dec 2007 | Christmas/ New Year 2007 | 15 Dec- 30 Apr 2007-08 | 01 May- 14 Dec 2008 | | 1-2 persons | 5,775 | 8,950 | 7,500 | 5,775 | Rates are in US$ per week, and are subject to 10% Government Tax and Service Charge. Rates are subject to change without notice. |
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How to Book
For further details or booking enquiries for Seagrape Cottage, please follow the WEB LINK above or use the DIRECT ENQUIRIES facility at the top of the page. |
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Airport Meet & Greet
Transfers to Little Thatch Island are included in the price of your holiday at Seagrape Cottage. If you let the Morleys know your arrival time, they will organise their friendly taxi driver to pick you up at the airport and transport you to the West End, where they will ferry you across to the island. The ride from Beef Island takes about 45 minutes to West End, from where you will be taken on the five minute ride across to Little Thatch.
If you are flying from the States, another option you might consider is to fly into St Thomas in the USVI and to take a ferry (from Charlotte Amalie or Red Hook) to West End in the BVI, where the Morleys will be waiting for you. |
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Getting Around
You may not want to leave Little Thatch at all during your week or fortnight on the island. If you do decide to, however, there are usually taxi drivers at West End and one can easily be arranged over the VHF radio as you approach from Little Thatch. If you want to get around under your own steam then the easiest option is to hire your own vehicle (there is very little public transport on Tortola). A car will be useful for visiting the beaches and in case you want to go out to dinner. It can be parked in the dock area. We recommend D&D Car Rentals and Hertz, both of which have bases at or close to West End. |
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