We thoroughly enjoyed four wonderful weeks in the spacious villa, our first 2023 International trip. It made an excellent base for our exploration of Montserrat, enabling us to walk some of the many nature trails, watch the wildlife and see the sites, including the volcano and the devastation of Plymouth. We swam daily, visiting most of the beaches on the Caribbean Sea side. A car is essential since the villa is about half way between the two shopping areas of Salem and the Island’s North end.
The property is located at the edge of a fairly exclusive area called Palm Loop. Its driveway is off a dead-end road rising sharply to the parking area at the front of the second level of the building, which is built into the hillside. A gate at the front of the property opens out onto the island’s main road. The traffic is light to non-existent during the night.
The villa occupies the entire second level of the building. It comprises spacious, airy rooms with high ceilings. The master bedroom with ensuite is at one end, while the second bedroom and main bathroom are at the other. The living room and kitchen are in the middle with doors out both sides, one to the parking area, the other to the full-length veranda. The veranda, which contains the main eating area, faces West, looking out over a beautiful vista of trees and the Caribbean Sea, enabling the delightful sunsets to be watched every evening.
The kitchen is sparsely supplied with utensils and cooking implements that we supplemented with locally purchased items to meet our simple dietary and culinary habits. Hot water is readily available in the main bathroom, not so much in the ensuite bathtub shower. The ceiling fans in the bedrooms were inoperative, but backed up with somewhat noisier floor stand fans that could be used to mask the extraneous nighttime noises. A number of fittings in the bathrooms require repair or replacement.
The expected hens and cockerels, the occasional goat and various other sounds of nature are, of course present. In addition, almost every house has at least one dog, most of which are poorly trained and restrained. This leads to intervals of continuous barking for extended periods anytime day or night.
The lower level of the building is undergoing a (somewhat noisy) period of construction that will result in the addition of three smaller apartments. When rented, this will seriously affect the single-family nature of the villa.
