HI BEQUIA LOVERS   

It’s been a busy (record) season and we haven’t provided a newsletter update since last October. 

How time flies!

Therefore, this is an overdue update about life in Bequia paradise & beyond.

 

Something fresh & new for this season

Regular visitors to the island love the fact that, year after year, nothing really changes.  That’s the key appeal that draws people to Bequia.  However, the 2023/24 season has brought some fantastic new experiences for our lucky guests to enjoy. 

The Cocktail Lab

The Bequia Marina in Ocar, behind Coco’s restaurant, has seen many different bar & restaurant operations over the years.  The space had been vacant for quite some time, so we were delighted to hear that Judit & Ivor would be returning to the island to create “The Cocktail Lab”.  Judit used to manage Sugar Reef restaurant, bar, and hotel (now closed) and Ivor, the “Bequia Alchemist”, used to wow people with his unique and impressive cocktail creations at the floating Bar One.  A new 6-page drinks menu is now available at The Cocktail Lab, which opened just before Christmas 2023.  The waterfront location is breezy with stunning sunset views across the bay.  The décor and ambience is cool & sophisticated, and this venue is widely loved by locals, tourists, and yachties alike.  With the addition of weekly live music events, Judit & Ivor have created a very special place that we hope will become a Bequia institution for many years to come.

IVOR THE "BEQUIA ALCHEMIST"

 

Sugar & Spice Café

2023 also welcomed the launch of a wonderful new waterfront café, Sugar & Spice.  Located next to the Frangipani restaurant on the Belmont Walkway, this place goes way beyond simply a coffee shop, serving delicious smoothies, irresistible cakes & pastries, paninis, and even jugs of Sangria.  Sip & snack watching the boats come & go and hang around for a beautiful sunset.

Treehouse Bushbar

And now for something completely different!  From humble beginnings, Ken has gradually developed a basic jungle shack into a rustic bush bar, with panoramic views down to the harbour.  Now open daily, the bar serves drinks and food, including lobster meals and the natural and healthy Rastafarian dish “Ital”.  Get your hiking shoes on and go and earn your cold beer with a view.  It’s located up a steep hill out the back of Port Elizabeth and is hidden away along a jungle track.  An adventure worth pursuing on your next trip to paradise.

Sand Bar

Many, many years ago there was once a bar on Friendship Beach named Mosquito.  We personally love this beach, especially for weekend dog walks.  It’s quiet, unspoilt and is a picture-perfect arc of white sand.  Up until recently, the only place to get any refreshment was the Bequia Beach Hotel.  The island’s largest hotel is open to external guests, but is quite pricey and doesn’t have the intimate and rustic feel like most of the island’s beach bars.  However, just before Christmas 2023, “Sand Bar” opened with it’s colourful rasta-themed shack, swinging seats, & sun loungers.  It’s owned by the Bequia Beach Hotel but operates as a separate business, with drinks and snacks on offer for reasonable prices.  It’s a cool new spot and opens up the possibility to spend a day or half-day on this beautiful beach, using the Sand Bar as a beach club. 

SAND BAR ON FRIENDSHIP BAY

 

Celeb-spotting on Bequia

The Caribbean is a haven for the rich & famous and the Grenadine islands (especially Mustique & Canouan) attract many celebs who touch down in their private jets or hop on to dry land from their megayachts.

One royal celebrity created quite a stir when she purchased a shoulder bag made on Bequia.  Meghan Markle and Prince Harry often spend time on nearby Canouan and on their recent visit the traditional Bequia shopping bag, made from an old flour sack, was thrust into the spotlight by Meghan.  The international press and social media frenzy firmly put the island in the limelight (for a least a little while) with headlines such as “Meghan Markle carries humble £9 shopping bag alongside £1,570 Hermes scarf and sandals”.  It’s quite possible that these bags may have increased in price since the high-profile endorsement!

As usual, we have had many Superyachts and Megayachts that often anchor up right in front of “The Lookout”.  Quite naturally, we provide binoculars at our apartments to allow our guests to snoop on these particular visitors.  We also encourage them to use a marine tracker app to find out who owns the boat, how much it’s worth, and what facilities are on board.  It’s a great hobby as you sip on your morning coffee or sunset rum punch.  Everything is relative, even in a billionaire’s world.  During one incident, a very impressive $150M vessel anchored up, only to be up-staged by a $250M beast that decided to anchor close by.  Not surprisingly, the less-expensive yacht soon set sail with its metaphoric tail between its legs!  Jeff Bezos, owner of Amazon, was also in the region this season and one of his yachts, complete with helipad, anchored in the bay.  It turned out that this was merely a ”support vessel” for his much larger megayacht that is worth an eye-watering half a billion dollars!

Rock stars also descended on the islands this year, with Mick Jagger enjoying a day on Bequia after travelling the short distance from Mustique where he has a home.  Another legend, Lionel Richie, was also sailing the islands on a yacht and picked up a copy of “Ins & Outs of St. Vincent & the Grenadines”.  We hope this put “The Lookout” and our “Pack for a Purpose” scheme on his radar.  In the 2024 edition, an article was published to promote our charity which aims to help the local hospitals & clinics, the schools, the reading club, and the stray animals too.  This is something we encourage visitors to the island to help with and it’s such a simple, yet effective idea.  If you save just a few kilos of space in your suitcase and take supplies for the projects we support in need, you’ll make a priceless impact in the lives of the local Bequia community.  Find out more about our projects here https://thelookoutbequia.com/pack-for-a-purpose.php

THE "A LIST" HAVE DESCENDED ON THE ISLAND THIS WINTER

 

Catching the “Bequia bug”

This island is loved & cherished by so many people.  Very few people visit Bequia only once and never return, but it does happen.  The pattern we have mostly witnessed is visitors discovering this almost-secret paradise, and then returning year after year.  It's an addiction and there's no cure!  As quoted from our website.....

 

 " Isolated enough to remain relatively unspoiled, yet lively enough to be stimulating and entertaining,

Bequia provides a blend of the old and new that many find perfect. Be warned, many visitors are bitten by the Bequia bug and return time & time again! "

 

A friend who we have known for over 30 years, Hazel, emigrated to Canada from the UK in the late 1990’s.  We don’t see as much of each other as we’d like.  However, since we moved to Bequia the distance between us has shortened (although she still has to trek across the full width of Canada from British Columbia before taking a flight from Toronto).  In the last 12 months, Hazel has now visited three times and we have been delighted to show her (and son & husband) around our little piece of paradise.  A clear example of someone who has caught the “Bequia Bug”!

BEQUIA LIFE IS ADDICTIVE FOR SO MANY PEOPLE

 

Hard work pays off (eventually)

In 2017 we bought a run-down dwelling perched on a pretty hillside in the perfect location on island.  We put our careers on hold and moved out to start an extensive renovation project that eventually took 14 months to complete.  We were naïve, but ambitious and determined.  We put blood, sweat & tears in to creating our apartments and maintaining the high standards each & every year.   As we are a young business, we rely on marketing, feedback & reviews so that we can keep on improving and attract others to our little piece of paradise. 

It's been so rewarding to meet wonderful, like-minded people from all over the world and it’s humbling that they have decided to stay with us!  But it’s not all been plain sailing, with global pandemics and volcanic eruptions hampering our progress along the way.

Nevertheless, in January 2024 we celebrated our fifth anniversary since our very first guests arrived.  In that time, we have built up around sixty 5-star reviews and gained recognition in numerous world-wide publications.  This includes a feature in the Daily Mail in January 2023 and a more in-depth article was released in March 2024 across numerous publications, including Travelmag, Kensington & Chelsea Review, The Cultural Voyager, and International Excellence Magazine.

 

https://internationalexcellence.co.uk/luxury-magazine/travel/cars/lifestyle/idyllic-isle-bequia-st-vincent-and-grenadines

 

It’s pretty flattering that we have moved from a building site to a boutique villa & apartment operation that is catching the attention of renowned travel writers.  However, it’s the direct feedback & encouragement from the guests who stay with us that is truly invaluable.  To see what our guests say about our accommodation, click here https://thelookoutbequia.com/reviews.php

 

Christmas & New Year in the tropics

From the start of December, the island starts to get festive with Christmas music playing in the shops and lights switching on at public displays in various regions of the island, including the main town of Port Elizabeth.  Bigger & better seemed to be the theme for Christmas 2023, with the addition of a new sign featuring oversized letters spelling out “Bequia”.  A great photo spot for everyone to enjoy.

As the big day approached, we got into the mood with a fancy dress bar crawl along the waterfront and secured our lobster meals from the lovely Petra to consume at the beach on Christmas Day.

For a small island, the New Year fireworks display is really impressive and lasts around 10 minutes.  We secured the perfect spot to view these by bagging tickets to a private party on the deck at the newly opened Cocktail Lab.  We “oooed” and “arghed” as the fireworks popped and crackled right above our heads after being set off from the ferry wharf.

THE SPECTACULAR FIREWORKS DISPLAY LIT UP OUR NYE

 

Life on Mount Pleasant

Aside from owning “The Lookout”, we are the on-site managers at a unique, award-winning private estate known as “The Sail House”.  Based on the aptly named Mount Pleasant, it’s certainly an interesting and fun place to be, with friends, family, and musicians descending every week during the season.  The complex has three guest cottages, a play pen with infinity pool plus a bar area with an American pool table.  On the mid-level of the main house, there is a professional music studio and several artists have taken the opportunity to be inspired by the surrounding nature and jaw-dropping views to record their music.

 

JOSHU TAKING INSPIRATION FOR HIS RECORDINGS AT THE SAIL HOUSE

The space has been designed for the owners to share their piece of paradise with many others at large-scale events & parties.  Prior to Christmas, our friends John & Sue had their wedding reception at the property, starting the pool party by jumping in right after the speeches!  More recently, up to 170 guests partied the afternoon & evening away at an Easter party. 

 

THERE'S ONLY ONE WAY TO START A WEDDING POOL PARTY!

Talking of Easter, finding certain grocery items can be tricky on this little rock in the Caribbean Sea.  However, a local business managed to secure an order of Cadbury’s Crème Eggs & Mini Eggs.  Quite naturally, we were all over that and filled our fridge (and then emptied it pretty quickly too!)

There is also a growing Sail House family, with the welcome addition of Honey the dog and Pinky the ginger cat this season.  We now have 3 dogs and 4 cats at the property so feeding time is frantic and beach walks are organised chaos!  Having this 4-legged family has helped to soften the blow of recently losing our beloved Tibetan Terrier, Caggie.  We had taken the tough (but necessary) decision to leave her with Louise’s mum & dad when we decided to make the move to the Caribbean.  We will miss our cuddles and Lake District walks during the UK summers.

FROM LEFT TO RIGHT - HONEY, CAGGIE, & PINKY

 

Finally, the annual “Action Bequia” auction moved location this year from The Sail House to the neighbouring property known as Mangwana.  This was held as a big thank you to all those kind people who have donated or helped the charity in other ways over the years.  Action Bequia has helped with so many projects on the island such as The Belmont Walkway & Princess Margaret Trail, extensive recycling schemes, and harbour beautification too.  Supporters have raised more than $3M USD since its inception in 2011, and much credit must go to Richard Roxburgh and David Harper, among others.  To find out more, please browse their website https://www.actionbequia.org/

THE 2024 ACTION BEQUIA PARTY

 

The hills are alive with the sound of live music!

Bequia attracts artistic folks – writers, painters, sculptors, singers, and musicians.  In season, live music can be heard at most bars & restaurants around the island.  The “Boley Bash” is not a weekly event, but there have been three of them over this season.  This is an open event that encourages locals, foreign home-owners, tourists, & visiting yachties to take the stage at the rustic shack on the Belmont Walkway.  Starting at 7pm and running into the early hours of the following day, the music is varied and always appreciated by a rum-swilling crowd of between 200 & 300 people.

Arguably Bequia’s most popular annual event is the music festival that takes place over 4-5 days in the last week of January.  This is spread over several venues, with our particular favourite session being hosted under the palms at The Plantation Hotel and lasting all afternoon, through sunset, and into the evening.  Good vibes only at what must surely be one of the world’s friendliest & most intimate music festivals.

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A post shared by Takarazzi (@takarazzi)

 

OUR FRIEND TAKA PERFECTLY CAPTURED THE MUSIC FESTIVAL  ATMOSPHERE WITH HER REEL

 

R.I.P Bob

We could not provide this newsletter update without paying tribute to Bob Sachs who died tragically on the island in January 2024.  A true character and Bequia institution, Bob could be found (and heard!) at the Dive Bequia shop on the waterfront having moved to the island from the US more than four decades ago.  The island was understandably rocked by the sad news.

 

And that’s a wrap!

Now that Easter has passed, we have a few guest arrivals throughout April and into early May before we close up for the season.  We could continue to take bookings throughout the summer months, but choose to spend the time wisely with renovations and improvements for “The Lookout”.  We always want to improve our offering and can proudly present our apartments in the same pristine condition as they were when we first opened the doors in January 2019.

We will also take the opportunity to visit friends & family in the UK, celebrate a big birthday for Chris, and take some time to travel northern Italy & Croatia.  The mere thought of all the delicious food & drink on offer is causing us to salivate over the keyboard as we write!

 

Don’t be a stranger

If you can’t wait until the next newsletter, then please follow our social media pages below.

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/The-Lookout-Villa-Bequia-284750105603349/

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You can message us using these platforms or simply drop us an e-mail or WhatsApp or fill in the contact form on our website.

E-mail: louise@thelookoutbequia.com

WhatsApp:  +1 784 527 2377

Contact Form:  https://thelookoutbequia.com/contact-us.php

 

Sending sunshine & warm wishes,

Chris & Louise

 

 

SIGNING OFF WITH OUR NEW RECRUIT, HONEY, LOVING LIFE ON THE BEACH