During May of 2008 I stayed at three different hotels while on an extended trip to Grenada. Bluebay Lodge, Lisette and staff, offered my wife and I the most lovely stay we have had among many good visits on several different islands. The lodge is clean and well run. Lisette is a most remarkable proprietor and hostess, very well connected in the Gouyave area, and with a great sense of how to connect visitors with people and place. The food was absolutely superb, coming fresh from farms, fishermen, and vendors in the area. The chef at Bluebay offered us what was by far the the best food we ate on Grenada, which is rightly known for its cuisine as the "spice island." Gouyave Friday was a lovely event featuring seafood booths, drumming, and general Friday night street spectacle. Gouyave itself is a charming small town with a French architectural feel similar--in much smaller scale--to New Orleans, which was founded at about the same time. A guided hike and swim at Concord Falls and a nearby plantation visit were both great experiences, organized and/or led by Lisette. I can not say enough about the value, quality, and spiritedness of our stay at Bluebay Lodge except to say that we aim to return as often as possible. This is the best place from which to explore and see Grenada. It is a very special labor of love for those who keep it running and is now without doubt my favorite place to stay in the eastern Caribbean.

The previously posted reviews really say it all, so I will try not to re-hash much here, but Bluebay Lodge is simply excellent.

If you are looking for an all-inclusive "Sandals" type resort where you sit on the beach, drink chi-chis and meet only the "locals" who work at the hotel: this is not the place for you! But since you are considering a trip to Grenada in the first place, you're probably looking for an experience with a little more adventure and authenticity than packaged sunshine can offer. If that sounds like your bowl of nutmeg porridge, then Bluebay might be juussssttttt right for you Goldilocks.

It is still possible and quite easy to get involved in the lives of the local people and have a delicious and authentic slice of Grenadian life; however you may need to make some contacts, find your comfort zone and hit your stride first. This is where Bluebay and Lisette et al come in. All the other nice things that past reviewers have said about the lodge, the staff, the food, etc. are true and accurate but the standout feature of Bluebay is that you WILL meet locals, you WILL have unexpected and brilliant experiences and you WILL feel like part of the family - if You WILL it to be so.

You may not know it yet, but you have the opportunity to experience the many facets of life on the island outside of the touristy areas of Grand-Anse and La Sagesse and Jimmy, Lisette and the rest of the staff at Bluebay will make it their personal quest to see that you get the most out of your time in Grenada. They will suggest fun things to do, cool places to go, show you how to get around the island, (tip: take the buses whenever possible, they're way more fun and cheaper than renting a car) give you names and numbers of people to meet and often they will accompany you on excursions. They are fantastic people and the top reason to start your trip at Bluebay.

We stayed at another guest house on Grenada and one on Carriacou and they were simply not in the same league. Having said that, our experiences at the next two places were still awesome and greatly enhanced because we'd got the hang of things by staying at Bluebay first. If we'd done things in a different order, I believe our trip to Grenada would have been much more forgettable.

Read the reviews, check the facts, choose Grenada, then book your stay at Bluebay. Or don't and leave more for me ;) !!!

We stayed at Bluebay Lodge for eight nights in the early part of March, 2008 and enjoyed it very much. Bluebay is more of a guest house than a hotel – the rooms are serviceable and clean, all ensuite, and have AC units. Breakfast and dinner are served in the dining area attached to the lounge and the bar. A simple breakfast of local fruit, coconut cakes, jam, tea, and coffee is inclusive, but more elaborate options are available. The dinner menu contains about 8 choices each of appetizer and mains, which are quite good and very fairly priced. The crayfish appetizer, pumpkin soup, and ice cream are especially good. The Lodge is located on the main road from St. George’s to Gouyave and is convenient to both by bus (25 minutes to St. G., 5 minutes to Gouyave). But, having said that, we rented a car and felt much freer for doing so because there is no nice beach or restaurant nearby.

What’s bad about it? Our two main annoyances were the showers and the mosquitoes. The showers only worked intermittently and hot water was not always available. The former was due to plumbing work being done at odd hours and should not be a problem in the future. The latter is due to the hot water being solar powered, so it’s cold by morning. Our lodging in Carriacou prior to coming here didn’t have any hot water at all, so this was not a major hardship for us. As for the mosquitoes, there were quite a few. The beds do have mosquito nets around them, but ours was hung a bit too high and didn’t quite cover the whole bed. One night a mosquito found its way into the net and pandemonium ensued!

What’s good about it? What’s good about Bluebay is actually great. Bluebay is off the normal tourist track and staffed by a small group of people with big hearts. Lisette, the owner/hostess will do everything she can to make sure you experience the best of Grenada. She is full of advice and has a good network of friendly, local people she can introduce you to for what she can’t provide herself. She organized two hikes for us with a different guide for each, both of which were fantastic. Gary took us to Concorde Falls and introduced us to a farmer who gave us some refreshing water nuts. Montieth took us up Mt Qua Qua and also to Honeymoon Falls (both recommended) and was an amazing person to spend a day with for his wealth of local knowledge. Lisette also organized an afternoon trip to a beach bar on Hogg Island in local fishing boats. The trip was a little over an hour each way in a small boat. While bouncing over the waves we spotted flying fish and sea turtles, then enjoyed an afternoon amongst the yacht people at Hogg Island. I’m quite sure no other hotel would have done this for us, and it was unforgettable. Lisette also organized a big cookout at Bathway Beach on a Sunday night with traditional Oil Down (the national dish) and Seafood Soup on the beach. This last excursion, with all the food and drink, was completely free of charge and also unforgettable.

To sum up, Bluebay is a great base for exploring the real Grenada. The excursions organized by the staff were all excellent. The atmosphere and staff are very friendly. During our stay we explored other places to stay that were on nice beaches and had nice restaurants (La Sagesse and Maca Bana/Aquarium Restaurant). But these places, despite their luxury and nice settings, didn’t quite hold up. They felt like tourist enclaves and left us craving the company of the local Grenadians who had become our friends.

14 Jan - 27 January 2008: Bluebay Lodge, Mount Nesbit, Gouyave, St John, Grenada, West Indies.

"Gouyave", the name of the small town grown from a fishing village, nearest to the charming string of dwellings that is Mount Nesbit, is derived from the French word, "goyave" meaning guava, the fruit. No doubt for years in abundance in the locality, as well as a centre for the nutmeg industry, the countryside abounds with fruits and spices growing wild and cultivated.

Bluebay Lodge is just 10 minutes walk from the sea and a further five minutes from Gouyave - where there is a bank and ATM, shops for everything one would wish for, including a pharmacy - local buses go everywhere - for pennies! Importantly, Gouyave is the location for the famous Fish Friday weekly feast in the streets, hosted by local chefs and rum distilleries, offering music too and happy welcoming faces...

Arriving on a Sunday as most visitors do - but on other days also, Lisette Davis usually presents a barbecue around the Bluebay Lodge pool, often featuring a steel drum band or other musical entertainment. If one needed an ice-breaker that would certainly do the job, but the truth is that one is immediately so welcome and made to feel at home - from the moment one emerges from the airport to be transported by the kind and supportive driver Lisette has sent to collect you... ...to the welcome she gives you herself with her wonderful staff.

Having introduced a personal concoction to the list of cocktails, it is also true that the local rum and beers extend that welcome very pleasantly - although I saw no drunkenness throughout my two weeks stay - and almost not a swearword heard, having travelled all over the island and met dozens of delightful people who were so hospitable and helpful.

Grenada is a very special place, quite unlike the most popular Caribbean island venues, unspoiled and determined to maintain that charm by resisting the worst that touristic hordes can bring...

Even having thoroughly checked out the excellent Bluebay Lodge website (www.bluebaylodge.net), I was unprepared for the delightful surprise of the facilities, the rooms, the hospitality provided by Lisette and her team. Scrupulously clean, bright and airy (with air-conditioning in each room), en suite bathrooms and a breakfast view across the Caribbean Sea to die for - this is a Lodge-cum-B&B-cum-3-Star+ by many measures 4-Star even: within a delightful family atmosphere...

...with these pleasures accentuated by meals combining the best of local dishes and flavours, fresh-picked fruits followed by familiar breakfast stuff like scrambled eggs - a la Mnt. Nesbit - or ham, or fish, more, and always with fresh baked coconut bread... ...months later the aroma of which lingers with me still in chilly, grey and snowy March London...

Lisette asked me by email whether I sought a beach holiday, a relaxing lie about, an energetic hiking time, an exhaustive exploration of the island and all things Caribbean - we even arranged an overnight stay at neighbouring Carriacou, one the three islands of the island state of Grenada group, crossing easily by ferry, or you can fly.

In truth, one can do all of these holidays with ease based at Bluebay Lodge and more: I'm not yet a scuba diver, but that's to be had, see sea-horses, turtles, barracuda, sting rays, shark, dolphins, flying fish and many, many more - and snorkelling too of course. On land there are monkeys to amuse too - elusive though they can be...

Enterprising to a fault, Lisette has collaborated on a new Grenada treks guide to be launched later this year - watch this space...! A day-long trek up the Concorde river, to two of the three beautiful waterfalls, the first, Concorde itself flanked by unobtrusive artisan's craft shops and a walkway constructed to enable bathing in the cooling pool as the falls crash around one, only impressed me more of the beauty of the place - and once again the friendliness and helpfulness of everyone I met: guides, artisans, refreshments vendors, spice- and rum-shop proprietors, and neighbours and farmers...

...Ascending into the rainforest, the vegetation becomes an exotic mix of deciduous and tropical vegetation, soaring hillsides and (extinct) volcanic peaks, dramatic cliffs as rivers cut through from distant sources in the hills, giant trees, butterflies, hummingbirds, herons and grackles, fresh water streams to drink from, edible fruits, delicious and refreshing, unknown in Europe... ...walk to the lip of an ancient summit to find a perfectly circular lake cradled in the volcanic mouth, cloud-mist drifting through the trees, white egrets fishing at the waters edge.

...even returning seven hours later I was exhilarated, excited and enthralled, soaked in a hot bath and was ready to go again for the evening's entertainment: relaxing locally or 20 minutes bus ride in to the capital, St Georges to eat at one of many restaurants, check out the bars, wander about the charming town.

Impossible to fault, I was ready to return before I left! Since I returned to London, Lisette has kept me posted on improvements she's introducing, work done about the grounds, and within the already comfortable house. And I continue to share that same experience reported by many others: I'm one of the family!

Perhaps I'll return this July/August for Carnival - climaxing early August. Certainly I'll be back early next year, looking for cricket to watch - maybe play - and dozens of other pastimes offered from Bluebay Lodge.