There's 2 types of people who visit the islands of the Caribbean. Those who like big, brash resorts, with all the amenities of home and those who like small independent hotels/guest houses/apartments on a quiet rock populated by a few thousand people and nearly as many chickens and goats. If you love the 400+ room "All Inclusive " style hotel, then save yourself 10 minutes of your life, scroll to the bottom of this epistle and tick the unhelpful review box.
For anyone still reading, if you don't alraeady know Bequia, then a downloaded map of the island will greatly enhance your understanding of what's where on this delightful piece of the West Indies.
Anyway, Pennie (my wife) and I stayed in the Orchard Studio just outside the main town of Port Elizabeth.
As the name implies it's a studio apartment, part of a house with a three bedroomed apartment upstairs. It has a large double bed, bathroom, well equipped kitchen, lounge area with a small television carrying roughly 50 channels of cable broadcasts. The electrical sockets are the classic British 3 pin variety - those from outside the UK will need adaptors. There's a number of paperback books to read and a booklet containing useful information about the apartment itself and Bequia as a whole.
And, A/C.
Now I know "cooling sea breezes" are all the rage and far more enviromentally friendly. But after a hard day of eating, drinking and general lounging around in the tropical heat, what I really need is the delightful switch on and offableness of air conditioning. With the doors and windows shut and the mosquitos where they belong - locked outside. Sorry. I'll plant 3 trees in my back garden to make up for it.
Outside there's a private balcony with table and chairs overlooking the coconut palms, banana trees and other hummingbird visited fauna of the garden.
Shared facilities with the rest of "Orchard House" upstairs include a sun terrace, loungers, outdoor shower and plunge pool/jacuzzi. This latter overlooks the natural harbour of Admiralty Bay, so you can sit in it with a cold Hairoun beer and watch yachts of various sizes come and go. Since both sides of the property are shielded by trees and hedges, and you're 30+ feet above the road, the only people who overlook you are the upstairs residents. And, joy of joy, Pen and I were the sole occupants of the residence for 15 days. Say no more.
There's a maid Pam who comes in midday on Wednesdays and 09-00 on Saturdays, a very friendly, helpful taxi driver called Lubin who'll pick you up at the airport and get in some first night provisions for you. The property manager Dennis is available for any major house hold emergencies.
The property is a gentle 3 minute stroll downhill to the Belmont Walkway. This is a concrete walkway along the deliciously lapping water's edge. Turn right past a dozen or so eateries/bars/small bars and you'll be in the centre of Port Elizabeth in a further 5 minutes. Turn left, climb a slightly steep coastal path and you'll be on the secluded Princess Margaret Bay in 10 minutes. If you plan to stop at this point take a cool bag of drinks as there's no bar on this beach. However carry on a further 15 minutes over the next slightly less steep headland and you'll be on Lower Bay. A lovely beach, though it does get very busy around the cavernous and over rated De Reef beach bar on Sundays. Better to visit the next door bar "Dawn's Creole kitchen" - do try the fabulous fishcakes.
Some, but not all of the above, can be reached on the "dollar" minibuses which pass by the gates of the property, though these can be overcrowded and can involve a fair wait at times. The converted pick up truck taxis will take you anywhere you wish to go. A sample of their fares is as follows:-
Orchard to town centre - 10 EC dollars (2 GBP)
" to Lower Bay - 20 EC
" to Industry Bay - 30 EC
So, Orchard Studio is a well appointed, superbly positioned place to stay. And at 50 GBP a night in high season, very good value.
I have but 2 criticisms - and I'm being really pedantic here. Firstly the 30 or so steps from the road could be difficult for those with walking difficulties. Secondly a couple of umbrellas would have been useful given the potential for very heavy Caribbean showers.
I will write to the owner with this observation and I'm sure, given the well run nature of the whole venture, it will be addressed - the umbrellas that is - I think fat lazy tourists like me will still have to walk uphill every now and then.
So what's Bequia itself like then?
Some call it paradise, I don't know why.
The beaches are great. In addition to the already mentioned, there's the Atlantic coast. Friendship Bay is a beautiful stretch of sand. With the "World famous" Moskito bar on it. Quite tasty food, but way over priced. In fact anywhere which claims world fame, you can be assured will have Guiness book of World Record prices. Mind you Johan, the Swedish chef, is a real character when out on the pull - I can reveal no more.
Then there's Industry Bay a couple of miles up the coast. Really cute place with a delightfully friendly Inn, the Crescent Beach. Walk in at 10am say you want to eat at 1pm and sure enough it will be ready on time. For the intervening 3 hours you can just walk in and out and help yourself to beers/soft drinks from the fridge. Just tell the bar staff (if you can find one of them) how many you've had when you leave.
5 minutes walk along the road brings you to Park, home of the Old Hegg Turtle Sanctuary. Well worth a visit if for no other reason than off the rocky beach is the best snorkelling on the island.
But you know, these beaches don't make this place great. There's way better in Thailand, the Seychelles, Indonesia and the Maldives. And I'm sure other places I haven't been.
Sure the water's warm and crystal clear, but not a patch on the Red Sea, once again the Maldives, nor the outer Indonesian islands. If you've been to the South Pacific I bet you could add to this list.
So what about the restaurants then?
L'Auberge des Grenadines was the best (and most expensive) food we had - fabulous fish in green peppercorn and subtle ginger sauce for me, an amazing rare tenderloin with Bernaise for Pen. Both with exquisitely cooked vegetables.
The Devil's Table has great decor, excellent service and, twice weekly party people of the island drawing, reggae nights. Mind you, greedy pigs like me may bemoan the portion sizes.
Tainte Pearl's has the most amazing view over Admiralty Bay, particularly at sunset. Just don't mess with the huge maitre'D Garfield. He may throw you over the edge, or worse still serve you a second rum punch.
Fancy a well cooked meal, excellent service, sports ranging from Superbowl to Six Nation's rugby in air conditioned luxury?. Then look no farther than the Salty Dog the island's best sport's bar.
But you know that still isn't what makes Bequia. For example the food is more varied, much cheaper and, in the case of fish, much better cooked in most Far Eastern countries.
It's not even the sailing on the Friendship Rose schooner to Mustique, Saint Vincent or the Tobago Cays
Bequia is beautiful, from the beaches to the rolling hills of Spring. It's beautiful, but the people so much more so.
From the moment you are driven out of the airport, you're greeted by waves and smiles, you can just feel the laid back warmth of the island.
Sit for an hour in the Green Boley, drinking beers and take in a roti. Listen to Liston the owner tell you, through a whiskey induced haze, how he's going to give up tomorrow and leave the bar for his kids to run.
Watch the world go by outside the Porthole as the locals say "Hello Mr Taylor" to the proprietor as they walk past. And pity the children who are cheeky enough to say "Hello Lennox" to him. They'll be greeted day after day by "It's Mr Taylor unless I somehow managed to go to school with you".
Take your sorry butt that extra half a mile into Hamilton during one of the evening street services. Hundreds of people singing, dancing, raising their arms in a loud "Hallelujah". Trust me, uplifting and infectious no matter what or in whom you believe.
Make friends in the Sailors.
Be entertained by taxi drivers like Kenny and Creamskin.
Travel round the nightly parties including the Thursday night "Jump Up" at the Frangipani (though, trust me, don't bother with the buffet) and the Whaleboner on Mondays. You'll meet loads of locals like Soul Jah the water taxi driver (don't leave your wife/girlfriend alone for too long though) or Mike who does tours to neighbouring islands for lunch, snorkelling or people watching on Mustique.
Have a coffee and pastry in Lina's as Bequia walks past.
If you're really brave, take on Andre, the joint owner of the Salty Dog, at backgammon. You'll find him most late afternoons in De Reef. I still say the it's a soul less place, but possibly made significantly better by the lethal rum punches. I've anaesthetised people with less potent medication!! Anyway, Andre is one of life's throwbacks, a genuinely nice guy who'll be nice for the sake of it. He gave us a tour round half the island just because he wanted to be friendly. Cheers Andre.
But please, don't take him on at backgammon - ever seen the film "The Hustler"?
So Bequia.
Some people call it paradise. Nowhere's perfect to my mind. There's always a better mixes of people, culture and natural beauty to find. But they're few and far between. I would place Bequia easily in my top 5 ever holidays.
However.
I have been to this idyllic place only once and I'm worried. Creeping MacDonald'sisation is on the way.
Cruise ships are arriving. The wrinkly, fat, lazy, "just like we've seen on cable, and it's duty free" US dollar will soon drive the economy.
Don't believe me? Tommys Cantina (Mexican) and Macs (Pizza) outsell every local food outlet every single night.
Dawn's - she of the great fishcakes - has her prices in US dollars when the boat's in town.
So in summary, the Orchard Studio is a fantastic place to stay on a true West Indian gem of an island. Go now. But please DON'T tell anyone about it.
Don Henley beautifully observed in the Eagles "Last Resort"
"You call some place paradise, kiss it goodbye"
Take care, DrMike.
PS. No one who's been there will agree with this, but, Fernando's is distinctly average. And don't whatever you do sit under what appears to be the serving hatch. Elbows in your ear at a rate of 3 every 5 minutes as people start paying.
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC
