We spent one fabulous week in Grenada in late June / early July, as the first stop of our honeymoon. It was our first Caribbean experience, and we were very lucky to have had it staying at the Turtleback Pavilion. We came across the Reef View Pavilions through an internet search, after our original accommodation plans had fallen through. This turned out to be an absolute blessing and we would definitely stay at Reef View again whenever we can manage to get back to Grenada.

Firstly, a few words about Grenada. If you are reading this, then you’ve probably already done some reading about this amazing island. We were a little apprehensive at first about going to Grenada at the start of the ‘hurricane season’ but as it turned out, the weather in late June / early July was fine and we only had any real rain on one day while we were there. Although the devastation caused by Hurricanes Ivan and Emily in 2004/5 can still be seen everywhere, life in Grenada has picked up again and we found it a really fantastic island to visit.

We recommend that you do get out and see as much of the island as possible (we met some tourists who barely left their resorts or Grand Anse beach), because there is a lot to see. Highlights for us were Grand Anse beach (it is stunning), a day-trip to Carriacou and Petite Martinique, driving around the island, the pretty capital of St Georges, and seeing the rural parts in the east and north of the island. The experience we had in Grenada was very different to that in some other islands we visited, such as Antigua and St Martin, and it’s a lot more ‘real life’ than those places, but if you can get into this as opposed to living in a tourist bubble, then it will be all the more special.

But now for the Reef View Pavilions. The location is great, in a nice quiet area and with beautiful views overlooking a small bay. We only rented a car for 2 days out of 7 but this was actually fine. If you don’t mind a short walk to and from the main roads (a few hills, but good exercise), you can get a mini-bus, complete with awesome reggae and soca music, to take you into St Georges and from there to the rest of the island.

The Turtleback Pavilion is a really beautiful little place with more than enough space for a couple. The kitchen has all the utensils that you might need for a good meal, there is enough storage space, and there is a DVD player and sound system too. The views from inside are nice and it was great to wake up each morning and be able to look out to sea while still lying in bed.

But you really cannot beat the private swimming pool and pool area, plus the huge upstairs open-air space, for places to relax. There are views of the bay from all of these places, and the upstairs area was a beautiful place to eat breakfast each morning (we sometimes found it hard to leave, wanting to stay there all day). By the way, you can walk down along a track to that bay in just two minutes, and it’s a really nice place for a quiet swim.

Our stay at Turtleback would not have been nearly as memorable were it not for the hosts, Anthon and Sharon. After the hospitality and kindness they showed us while we were there, they are welcome at our house in Australia any time! They both came to meet us at the airport, and then showed us around the Turtleback immediately. Anthon and Sharon had cooked a meal for us on our first night, made to order (beautiful chicken curry, Sharon!). They gave us plenty of information on where to go and what to do, and made sure that there were plenty of guides to Grenada on the coffee table. The small touches – like having a pre-paid mobile phone there for us to use, and offering to buy us groceries in advance – helped to set this place apart from anywhere else we stayed in the Caribbean on our trip.

If you want a fabulous villa in a beautiful location with great hosts, do not look past either the Turtleback or Tradewind Pavilions.


Jon Cullum and Veronica Vele
Melbourne, Australia.