LatitudeVilla BARBADOS
BEST FOR… Status-obsessed DINKYs (double income, no kids yet)
So how big are we talking?
Before you start having to spend your income on things like nappies and a giant Bugaboo, you need one final luxury hurrah, and Latitude is just that. Marble floors, a kitchen big enough to do an entire gymnastic routine in and a balcony that peers out over a sliver of one of Barbados’s most famous beaches all make it feel as though you’re house-sitting for Simon Cowell. (To be fair, he’s usually staying at Sandy Lane, a 15-minute drive down the road.)
There are three double bedrooms, a vast, sundrenched patio for entertaining, a laundry room bigger than most people’s actual kitchens and even a mini gym complete with a reformer Pilates machine (this is BIG news if you’re into Pilates). That patio, a tranquil garden complete with pool, plus the fact the house is slap-bang on Gibbes Beach, means you’ll also never squabble over sunbathing options either. What’s more, Latitude also comes with a trio of fairy godpeople – Cameron, Maggie and Paula. Cameron does the cooking (and will press a glass of homemade rum punch into your hand at the most opportune moments), Paula can arrange any activity your heart or stomach desires, while housekeeper Maggie does everything else.
House highlight?
That’ll be the location. Given it’s roughly 10 small steps down to Gibbes Beach, you can dine with a view of the sun setting over the Caribbean Sea, while you’ll sleep with the sound of crashing waves beneath your bedroom window. Latitude is a true home away from home – well, if your home is a vanilla-stone beachfront mini-mansion, that is – so escaping probably isn’t on your to-do list. If you do fancy a postprandial nightcap, however, Bombas Beach Bar is just a short stroll away – go at high tide to see the turtles while you drink.
And if you want to explore?
You head to Speightstown. There are fish shacks, elegant cocktail bars and plenty of clientele with a glint in their eye who make this a fun night out. Don’t miss The Cliff, either – one of Barbados’s most chic and romantic restaurants. Dine by firelight (less scary than it sounds) while stingrays swim beneath you. Spenny, yes… but worth it.
If you do ONE thing while you’re there, make sure you…
Buy a bottle of Mount Gay rum – then ask Cameron for his “secret rum punch” recipe. He usually obliges…
GET ME THERE
From £6,082 per week (that’s around £1,014 per person if six of you share); Exceptionalvillas.com