Coco House is a beautiful villa with a breath taking sea view. It's set in 60 acres of landscaped grounds on the well reviewed Sugar Hill Estate in St James, a five minute drive from Holetown. The villa is well placed for access to all four coasts ( it's easy to drive inland over the brow of the island to the East coast) and your closest beach is one of the most popular beaches on the island ( Alleyne's Bay where you'll find the well reviewed Juju's beach bar and the Lonestar). I bought the house ten years ago after visiting friends in Barbados and renting various villas – it’s a great space for entertaining or just chilling out and our children have grown up here, loving the sailing, beach life and the ease of running around Sugar Hill, playing tennis, swimming and now padel.
In the main house there are two large bedrooms (with en suite marble bathrooms - a shower and bath in the main bathroom, a walk in marble floored shower ensuite to the second bedroom) with French doors that lead onto the terrace and the good sized plunge pool and private garden (see pics). The second bedroom can easily house three single beds or a king size bed. The cottage, a stones' throw from the house, is automatically opened up for five or more guests or it can be opened for four guests or less for an additional fee. It has a double bed, marble bathroom (with shower) and kitchenette (fridge, kettle ).
There are two pools - the waterfall pool, which is a one minute walk from the house and the clubhouse pool , an infinity pool, which has a great view of the West coast and is a 2 min walk away from the house. There is nothing nicer after a game of tennis or finishing yoga, sitting out at the bar by the pool at Sugar Hill, having a Gin and Tonic and watching the sunset! There are four floodlit championship tennis courts in the grounds,new padel courts, a fully equipped gym and yoga/pilates classes at the clubhouse.
Next to the pool is the well reviewed club restaurant, The Deck – a huge plus to Sugar Hill. If you’re too tired to cook you can call the club restaurant and they can sort out a takeaway or you can head down there for lunch or supper. They'll also bring drinks to you and lunch around the pool. There's also La Bodega, a small shop for the odd thing you need to buy, washing liquid, wine, pasta etc We can also organise a cook for you.
The furniture is a mix of Asian, dark wood and white furnishings. Architecturally, it’s a lovely house. The high vaulted ceilings, French shutters and use of local coral stone and marble make it aesthetically a real pleasure to be in and to look at. The wide balcony juts out and looks out over a 180 degree view of the Caribbean Sea and sky – and because you’re up, not directly on the beach, you really get a panoramic view of the ocean and beautiful sunsets (see reviews). We're really fortunate having this uninterrupted view and it's one of the reasons we chose this particular house, within the Sugar Hill and Westmoreland Estates.
The beach, Alleyne's Bay, plus watersports is a two minute drive down the hill, or if you feel more energetic a fifteen minute walk. I'd almost go as far to say it's a must to rent a car in Barbados as the pubic transport system isn't as direct as it could be and there are a huge variety of things to do and see all over the island, they aren't in one localised place. There is never a problem parking, it's all very relaxed.
Being in the Sugar Hill estate means you have all the advantages of a hotel, without actually being in one. Sugar Hill is a 60 acre private estate with 24/7 security, which only really gets press when one of its higher profile owners is in town, apart from that it doesn’t self promote and it’s a very laid back place, with wonderful landscaped gardens. The gardeners keep if looking beautiful (lots of frangipani, coconut tress – if the trees in front of our house have ripe coconuts, the gardeners will happily cut some off for you for coconut water and we have our own mango tree), security staff and gatemen mean if you have children you will really feel at ease letting them wander off to their tennis or swimming lessons by themselves. The staff are friendly and helpful – the ladies at reception/concierge at the club house (again, a beautiful building made out of coral stone, marble with upstairs deep mahogany floors) will happily help organise your holiday for you, whether it’s a question of booking taxis, restaurants, turtle watching boat trips, riding or surfing. Our property manager and I can also help with recommendations of places to go, car rental and things to do.
Sugar Hill has a shuttle service that goes to Holetown and Alleyned Bay. There are 3 morning shuttles at 9, 11am and 12 midday and 3 afternoon shuttles at 3, 4 and 5pm. Sugar Hill is close to the busyness of Holetown (5 mins drive) and the shabby chic of Speightstown (10 mins drive). Holetown, apart from all the normal amenities you need, has the celeb hangout Second Street where you can party the night away and the state of the art Limegrove cinema and lifestyle mall for glitzy, duty-free shopping, cafes, good restaurants and the cool Lime cocktail bar which is buzzing on a Friday night. Speightstown has small, tucked away restaurants where you can watch classic black and white movies on the beach and enjoy a quiet more laid back evening of jazz or live music. Fish markets are close by at Paynes Bay and Speightstown.
If you feel like some pampering and visiting a bit of Barbados old glamour, the grande dame, The Sandy Lane is a five to ten minute drive away. The Spa at the Sandy Lane is considered the best on the island (I've been there and it's a real treat!) and the golf course is one of the best, my som loved his first game there this year! The Cliff, Apes Hill and the polo fields are also all close by.
If you feel like visiting the other coasts, it’s a easy trip to the wilder, Atlantic side (you go over the highlands from Sugar Hill), it takes about forty minutes to the surfer’s go-to, Bathsheba. Boogie boarding at The Crane is again, down the Highway, about 40 mins away. FYI all beaches are public in Barbados.
I hope that gives you a flavour of it. There are a huge variety of things to do and places to visit, whether you’re a couple or family. If you'd like any further info, please feel free to email or message me. We go to our Bajan home every year and are always updating our 'best things to do' as new things are always appearing.
P.S Our house manager can arrange groceries for you before your arrival. She can also organise a cook and give you details of babysitters etc if required. Our house manager keeps things ticking along in the house and ensures the house is ready for your arrival. We have a housekeeper who comes in once per week.
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