Booked via phone after a personal recommendation from a friend, Petit Bacaye was to be our Christmas getaway for 2006.
There being four of us, we wanted to stay in the Spice House for two weeks, but an availability mix up meant we spent the first week in the two-bedroomed beach house. This means that my family and myself had an unusually broad experience of this charming cottage hotel.

The hotel is set about a half hour from Point Salines international airport in the quiet and comparatively affluent district of Westerhall. Gabriel's taxis and car hire usually does transfers for $ec60. It seems difficult to find as a passenger, and I feared for my navigating skills when travelling independently , but after a few car journeys it becomes quite straightforward.

The setting is magical: point a camera anywhere for a wonderful shot of paradise. The gardens are beautifully maintained, and ones senses are constantly assaulted by vivd new colours, perfumes and rustles.
The 2 bedroomed beach house is quite small for four people , with only an open verandah area to sit in. One soon realises that you really don't need much more than this, however, because the whole gardens are a part of the accommodation!

Beds are very comfortable, and the fittings in the rooms are charming. For example the shower is open to a little private jungle enclosure they call "the shower garden" and it it quite the most beguiling shower I have ever used !

The kitchenette is small, but equipped with a full hob and a usable 'fridge. This proved useful with children for whom the formality and "adultness" of the on-site restaurant occasionally proved too much, and whose constant hunger must be assuaged!

Beds have mosquito nets, and it soon became clear these were NOT for show !

Right after dusk this peaceful paradise turns into am extremely loud jungle talent competition: with tree frogs competing with crickets for the loudest noise ! It's cute for an hour or two but I was forced to fashion earplugs in order to sleep after a couple of days. This only affects the two-bedroomed beach house, in its lovely position nestled under the trees. The Sp'ice house was not affected nearly so loudly. Please don't think I am a complainer - these frogs were as loud as my daughters school recorder group in the room !

The house is perfectly positioned amidst the garden - the most tranquil and beautiful place I have ever read a book in the sun!

The beach is once more picture-postcare perfect, and the water has many lagoons of warm, clear water between the seagrass beds. The small amount of seaweed did not bother us at all, and made the water all the more interesting to explore for us, but note beaches a half hour away at Morne Rouge, Pink Gin or Grand Anse are free from any vegetation, if that's more your thing.
You'll need sandals or wetshoes to walk to the "island" though - the coral can be quite sharp underfoot.

The restaurant is a bit more formal at dinner time that its elaxed apearance would infer, and the food is quite wonderful,from hearty breakfasts through lobster salad lunches and "catch of the day" dinners. Quite good value food, but beware - we still ran up a bill of more than £1100 there in 2 weeks, despite self catering somewhat.

The staff could not be more friendly nor nicer people. Peter and Julia seemed intimidatingly posh to THIS Midlander upon first meeting, but they revealed themselves to be the MOSt charming hosts very quickly indeed. Nothing too much trouble, and Peter in particular taking time to answer all my kids' ENDLESS questions about he nature of the place, and Julia taking time to show us photos of their experiences on Grenada.

After a fine first week in the two-bedroomed beach house, we moved on Christmas eve to the Spice house. This is a much larger, more " house like" accommodation set just outside the main garden. The loss of the garden's immediacy was somewhat compensated for by the private deck that reaches out over the beach to where the fishermen mend their nets and trade their catch. Magical.

The spice house has a full sized kitchen, two showers ( one outside despite it being upstairs !) and an indoor seating area that felt far less cramped for four of us than he two bedroomed beach house. It was lovely to go to sleep to the sound of tropical rain hammering the wooden roof, and wake to the sea lapping on the sand 50 feet away. Dreams are made of such.

The hotel dog, (named "Spare" as he was left over after the disposal of his litter - awww !) , is a charmer, if a little enthusiastic if a person doesn't like dogs. My kids adopted him and he added immeasurably to the joy of the holiday for them.

My family preferred the Spice House, for the room, while I preferred the 2 bedroomed beach house for its intimacy with the garden. Book either, you can't lose.

So a truly wonderful holiday. Downsides ? Not much that Petit Bacaye could control, to be honest : mosquito and sandfly bites plagued us despite use of deet ( I was advised to use Avon Skin so soft in future) and the tree frogs song in the beach house.

A magical place for people who DO NOT expect air conditioning, cable TV, room service, delivery pizzas or a turn down service.

We adored the place and will surely return when we can next afford it.