We stayed in this lovely villa for a week with out two teenage children. Very clean rooms and kitchen well stocked with pots and pans. The quiet location allowed us all to spend many hours reading and listening to music whilst swimming in the pool. Local road very steep and not possible to walk far in the heat so glad we hired a car.

Four fabulous over fifties stayed at Tradewind Pavilion, Lance aux Epines, Grenada for two weeks in February. Tired out from a nightmare journey in the snow and sitting up all night at Gatwick, we were prepared to be disappointed on finally reaching Tradewinds - WOW! we could not have been more delighted. A warm welcome from Anton & Sharon, the owners, a pavilion that outdid the photos on the website, a fridge full of provisions that we had preordered, fabulous views and the pool! - Did I mention the pool? Bright, clear and big enough to swim in, we all felt like celebrities staying here!. So much room, all on different levels, so many chairs and loungers to choose from, well equipped and set out to feel lkie a real home. We BBQ'd some nights and also ate out at restaurants close by - Da Big Fish - great atmosphere and blues band - Aquarium - lovely for the Sunday Lunch, but oh! so! fab for an evening meal with great lobster and individual Beef Wellington, and the beach bar at the Calabash was our choice for a lazy lunch.We had a car delivered to the door - recommended to see the island and get to well stocked supermarket - and arranged our holiday through Nick Hughes at Spiceislesvillas.com - what a good guy - patient, informative and answered my endless emails almost by return. The smaller Turtleback Villa is just below Tradewinds, and ideal for just two people. Tradewinds can only be described as a Pavilion because of all the separate outdoor spaces that could be used to laze, eat or enjoy a sundowner looking in almost 360 degree view. But remember to look up at a clear starry sky. Very private and big enough for six people. Grenadians were friendly,easygoing and helpful people, driving was not aggressive and roads varied from excellent to gravel track! Service exceed our expectations from having been to other Caribbean resorts, but it was returning to such a peaceful haven that really made our holiday.

Wonderful views. Outstanding owners, Fantastic amenities. A captivating setting.

I’ve put off writing a review of turtleback because I feel like I can’t do it justice. And I'm a writer. My apologies for length, but I like to touch on the things that we wonder about ourselves.

We stayed there at the end of March, 2009. Initially, we were torn between staying at a hotel on Grand Anse Beach, to be more in the “midst” of things (as far as going out/drinking at night and being right on the beach) or at Turtleback, which was about $500 more than the hotel, and seemed isolated. We finally settled on Turtleback, since it looked too wonderful to pass on.

And we didn’t regret that choice for a second!

The inside is small, but large enough for the two of you, and extraordinarily comfortable with a nice bed, plenty of pillows, a comfortable sitting area and a well-equipped kitchen (everything we wanted, we had, and we cooked in about three or four nights). TV had a decent amount of stations and good reception, but since we only turned it on once the whole time, I’m not sure how many.

And outside? It really is impossible to describe how captivating the outside spaces were. Upstairs, the sundeck had plenty of room for two, and the “outside living room” upstairs had a comfy couch and two chairs, sink and dining table. We’d spend many mornings beneath the fans, looking out to the bay, enjoying a cup of coffee and the serenity. The upstairs sundeck was visible to the people in Tradewinds, above, if they were in a certain corner of THEIR deck. Well, we saw them at least, I imagine if they turned around and looked down, they’d see us. A couple of times we heard them, but only when things on our end were really quiet. The covered area up top was entirely private. On the pool level, there were plenty of chairs for sitting or lounging and a table for a romantic dinner. Lush vegetation surrounded this area, making it, too, entirely private from the guests at Tradewinds Pavilion, above. We couldn’t even hear voices from this area. Each night, we’d lay on the swinging loungers beneath the stars, listening to music and watching bats swoop down to drink from the pool. In fact, after 7 years together, he (finally) asked me to marry him one night out there.

We appreciated the ample towels, refreshed every other day with cleaning service (including a pair that we were told we were welcome to take to the beaches and around the island). They were happy to provide laundry service, which we never used. There was a safe in the room, big enough for our travel documents, wallets, cell phones and jewelry case.

If we go back to Grenada (and we will), we wouldn’t even think about staying anywhere else. While I was concerned that we’d be away from bars, etc., we found that we’d come home from a day out and about, and be mesmerized by the setting, the ambiance. Some nights when we’d planned to go out to dinner or for drinks, we chose rather to relax on the deck, beneath the stars or upstairs in the open-air living area beneath the fans. The location was convenient, yet you felt you were the only people in the world. It was about 5-10 easy minutes to Grand Anse and True Blue. We took a cab to and from the dodgy dock one night so we could drink and it was, with tip, about $100EC round trip. One thing we’d perhaps do, would be stay 10 days instead of seven – a week at turtleback, and two or three nights at the northern end of the island – so we could do some things up there without doing so much driving. Would definitely recommend the Tufton Hall Waterfall hike (guided) if you’re in good shape and enjoy a workout. Also enjoyed hikes at Mt. Qua Qua and Concord Falls. Loved a day at La Sagesse (and neither one of us are big beach people, but it's certainly a must-do), although we’d probably skip lunch there and just enjoy a day at the beach. Did a snorkel trip with Aquaknots out of True Blue, which was nice. Drank about everywhere ;). Enjoyed the Dodgy Dock, dinner at de big fish, Aquarium BBQ and Patricks – all were vegetarian (me) friendly and fun. In fact, De Big Fish had better vegetarian options than most places in the states. Overall, Grenada was an outstanding balance of fun bars, good people, great beaches and good outdoor/active entertainment. I’d been concerned that it would be a more “dress up” place, which isn’t really our style, but - while we certainly good have visited some of the fancy-schmancy places - the places we gravitated toward welcomed us as we came and were both casual and reasonably priced. Specifically, Turtleback Pavilion was the perfect place for us to stay and I’d recommend it to anyone.

Re: A car: I will say we’re “go out and do things” folk, and even the days we were mostly lazy at turtleback, we still used a car, I’d suggest a rental for your entire stay there.

July, 2007
Cue from Cape Cod, MA

In my 4 decades of world travel, I have never had a vacation as relaxing as this one. We stayed at the Tradewinds Villa, and I felt at home the moment I arrived. Sharon and Anton met us as we drove up, even though it was quite late in the evening. She showed me around the house, and from then on it was "peace and serenity".

She checked in periodically to inquire about our needs, but was unobstrusive and allowed us to feel as if we really were truly at home. The pictures do not do justice to the beauty of the surroundings, and the ambiance of the villa, itself. While either lounging by the pool, or sunning on the upper deck, the feel of the wind, and the mellow sounds of the wind chimes invited me to melt into tranquility. The breeze also put to rest the fear I had of baking in the summer sun; the weather was perfection from the top of of our rolling hill.

I'm usually a "been-there-done-that" kinda gal, but I'll be back to the Tradewinds to do that again.