The Lone Star

In Depth

The Lone Star Hotel and Restaurant has been one of the most fashionable spots on Barbados’s West Coast for many years now, a gathering point for the island’s many well known personalities. But few know that the Lone Star also has some very stylish rooms where you can hide out within a shout of the action of the West Coast. Of course, at just four rooms and set in a former garage, the Lone Star was always going to be referred to as a ‘boutique’ property, and with its minimal styling and Philip Starck fittings in the bathrooms it could be said to fit the mould, but the classification hardly does justice to the hotel’s easy-going atmosphere. The Lone Star is one of Barbados’s few but distinctive small and independent hotels, a cool retreat on its own good, quite local beach, a little away from the hurly-burly of St James.

And anyway, Lone Star is different from most boutique properties because its restaurant is clearly the heart of the place. By day it buzzes, and then again in the evenings, with a very lively crowd of Barbados’s regular winter visitors, and of course many of Barbados’s long list of celebs. Since it opened in 1997, the restaurant has gained a following as one of the leading places to eat out in Barbados.

The façade of the Lone Star sits quite close on the main west coast road in St James as you would expect of a garage, though it has been prettied up now. As you enter you pass the open kitchen to your left and descend a wide wooden staircase that emerges onto the lovely waterfront deck. To your right are the sofas and leather stools of the bar area Desperados (which was new in 2008). It is called after a 1970s Western film in which Christian Roberts, the owner of the hotel, starred alongside Jack Palance. The dining room itself is to the left and it has a very attractive setting - material-covered bucket seats are set around large white tables under a huge awning and there are superb views of the generally calm sea. With its polished wooden floor and tight wire balustrade, it has a touch of a nautical feel to it. In its quieter moments Lone Star is romantic, but it has a real following, so it can be very lively.

To get the best of the place as a hotel guest you need to enjoy the activity (though you can retire to the seclusion of your balcony when the crowds arrive of course), but outside the extended mealtimes the Lone Star is quiet and has a secluded air, ideal for milling around on the beach, reading and sunbathing, and taking an occasional dip. The rooms are quite well separated from the restaurant. They stand in a house on one side of the restaurant deck, on the north side overlooking the beach.  The rooms, actually suites, are large and have a minimal and fairly stark style, with stretches of stained wood in the floors and furnishings and light, bare white walls.

As the name hints, the Lone Star was actually petrol station, which seems a little unlikely for the West Coast of Barbados somehow - with a name like that, it should be in Texas. It was built by a Barbadian fan of Hollywood who had the only petrol station up on the West Coast at that time.

The building has been completely changed of course in the redevelopment, but it is still possible to make out the original name on the nice Forties façade of the garage. The original pumps are gone but the old repair pit, where cars were mended from beneath, is marked by Roman numerals in the floor in the kitchen. Also there is a stylised air of workshop because the restaurant staff wear mechanics’ overalls and baseball caps. It doesn’t happen very often, but from time to time they are asked, ‘Do you rent cars?’

Beach & Swimming

The beach at the Lone Star is small but nice. There are a number of palm trees and blue parasols that provide shade, but at the heart of the beach stands a hefty casuarina pine tree, on which you will see one of Lone Stars huge signature mirrors leaning at an angle.

The swimming is good and there is a small reef. The hotel lends snorkelling equipment to guests, but no other watersports are available. This is a fairly local stretch of the coast and so the beach has a nice atmosphere with Bajans coming to bathe at the weekends. It is also an anchorage and a few boats stand tied offshore.

Sports & Recreation

Little happens at the Lone Star beyond relaxation, but nothing is very far away in Barbados. There are public beaches where you can fix up water-skiing, scuba diving and windsurfing. On land there is a golf course not far away at Royal Westmoreland (which releases a few tee times each morning) and there are three courses at Sandy Lane.

Massage is available through the hotel and can be taken in your room.

Staff

The most visible figure around the Lone Star is Managing Director, Rory Rodger, now an Anglo-Bajan, who has been at Lone Star since it opened in 1997. He is backed up by a small army of bar and restaurant staff and by Executive Chef, Harold Skeete, see Dining below.

The owner of The Lone Star is Christian Roberts, an actor from Britain who has lived in Barbados since the mid Nineties. He made films in the Sixties and Seventies and his credits include The Desperados, a 1972 Western in which he acted alongside Jack Palance and a starring role opposite Sidney Poitier in To Sir with Love in 1967. He also starred in and produced Return to the Forbidden Planet in Lndons West End in the early Nineties.

The Rooms

The rooms are set in two houses on either side of the restaurant deck. The four on one side overlooking the beach are reached by a covered walkway or via the beach from the restaurant. The two upstairs rooms are large and give onto a private deck. Downstairs they have a terrace and look straight out onto the beach. The other four rooms are in a villa on the other side of the restaurant, behind a terrace and greenery.

As befits a former garage, the four original rooms are named after cars Studebaker, Buick, Lincoln and Cord. More importantly they are large (between 650 and 1050 square feet for the statistically-minded) and with their sitting area they are technically suites. The light nautical theme of the restaurant continues into the rooms. Wire balustrades lead up to the balconies, which are shaded by saillike awnings and furnished with a chaise longue and chairs. Facing west, the balconies and rooms are shaded from the sun until late in the day, when the sun spangles through the casuarina tree on the beach. The idiosyncratic mirror that stands on the beach is also repeated in the rooms, where a huge mirror leans against the wall. If you feel the ghost of a certain excitement and indulgence in the rooms, it may be because in the 50s the building was one of Barbadoss trendiest nightclubs.

The rooms are large and the colour scheme is one of white, off-white and heavyweight polished wood. The floors are made from Guyanese purple heart and the wooden furniture is made from Barbadian mahogany. The soft furnishings, sleek chairs, are from Italy. It sounds quite stark, but as in the restaurant, the masculine edge of the minimal design is softened by floor-to-ceiling white muslin hangings, both inside the rooms and on the balconies.

Update - Beach house is currently not available for rent.

Dining

The Lone Star is one of the best loved restaurants on Barbados. It is very popular with the crowd of wealthy winter visitors, who linger over chilled white wine and oysters at lunch and then return to meet one another for candle-lit dinners in the tropical evening calm.

It is set on two decks right above the near non-existent waves (this stretch of the coast is usually extremely calm, except when an occasional winter swell comes in from the west), the restaurant has a certain nautical feel. And it would be a very comfortable yacht, this. The decks are polished wood and wire rigging runs around the edges as a balustrade. The round tables are set with bucket chairs covered in blue and white material.

The style of the cuisine is a genuine mix of tastes from around the world, and the menu is long. Fundamentally it is European, with Mediterranean inspiration (lots of crostinis and focaccias), but also some exotics such as fish and chips, but you will also find Indian dishes (there are tikkas and baltis), Levantine (mezze) and Oriental (sushi and sashimi, Thai salads). Also of course there are plenty of Caribbean dishes too (Jamaican jerk chicken, Bajan flying fish cutters). And finally there is a good caviar menu (Sevruga, Beluga and Osietra).

The Executive Chef is Harold Skeete, a Barbadian who has been with The Lone Star for 8 years and was promoted to his current position in summer 2009.

Useful Hints

Because of its successful restaurant trade, Lone Star is quite busy at certain times of the day, so be aware of this if you want seclusion above all. If you do not want to join the fray room service is available at all meals.

Practical Facts

Annual Closure: June

Dress Code: Casual by day, casually elegant in the restaurant for dinner

Facilities: Beachfront bar and restaurant.

Complimentary: Breakfast is included in the room rates.

Other Services: Reception, WiFi in rooms and main areas

Accommodation: 8 rooms.

The Rooms: Each room is air-conditioned and has a large walk-in closet, with a safe. Other amenities include good connections to the outside world, with WiFi, LCD flat screen satellite TV, DVD and small fridge with tea and coffee making facilities. The bathrooms are large with robes and Moulton Brown products. Glass-sided showers dominate the room from the corner (they are at least 4ft x 5ft, but some 6ft x 6ft) and as with the large mirror in the bedroom, the towel rail, (literally) a ladder, leans up against the wall. The fittings, stylish taps and sinks, are designed by Philip Starck, and there is a space age loo. 4 Hotel Suites, each with sitting areas and shower rooms en suite 2 rooms upstairs with balcony; 2 rooms with covered terrace on the beach.
Children: Children are welcome, but they must be supervised as the balconies, with their wire balustrades are not child-proof.

Credit Cards: Most major credit cards accepted

Locality

Lone Star is situated in Mt Standfast on Barbadoss West Coast, between Holetown and Speightstown. It is a little removed from the busiest part of the strip, it is within easy striking distance of other restaurants and hotels. The nearest shopping is in Speightstown, but you may prefer to head down to Holetown where there are two malls and banks and a supermarket.

You will probably want to try out other restaurants along the West Coast. Just beyond Speightstown to the north you will find the Fish Pot at Little Good Harbour. To the south of Lone Star are The Tides, just south of Holetown, Daphnes in Paynes Bay and then The Cliff and Cin Cin By The Sea about fifteen minutes drive away. Holetown is also extremely lively, both with restaurants of all styles and prices and with a bar trade.

Meet & Greet

If you are booking direct, Lone Star will arrange for you to be met at the airport if you wish and to be transferred to the hotel (at US$60 for two persons), but you can just as easily find your own taxi at the airport if you prefer. The transfer takes thirty-five to forty-five minutes depending on the traffic. Alternatively, if you would prefer to be taken care of from the minute you arrive at the airport through to your departure and perhaps have limousine transfers along with a range of other services, you could take up the Concierge Service offered by St James Travel & Tours.

If you are booking through a travel organiser, it is likely that they will have their own representative at the airport to meet you and that this service together with your return airport transfers are likely to have been included in the cost of your holiday. Please check at the time of booking.

Getting Around

If you will be limiting yourself to nearby beaches and the restaurants up and down the West Coast then you may decide to take taxis, which are readily available through the hotel reception. However, for maximum freedom youll probably want a car, at last for a couple of days, to visit other beaches by day and the restaurants in the evening. Definitive Caribbean recommends Stoutes Car Rentals. Be aware that in the winter season, particularly over Christmas and New Year, all the hire cars become booked up, so you will need to reserve one well in advance.

It is also perfectly possible to use the efficient system of buses that race up and down the West Coast main road and pass ride outside the front door.