PRIVATE VILLA WITH SWIMMING POOL & JACUZZI SPA

Finally my review about Portzvue. What can I say, we had a fantastic time at Portzvue it was as described a home from home. The villa was well equipped with pretty much everything you could think of and it was very clean and tidy on arrival, but not clinically.

Sonia and Ali were absolutely wonderful. They went out of their way to be accommodating and made sure that we were comfortable and acted swiftly to sort any little problems that we had. My kids took to calling Sonia 'Aunty Sonia' because they liked her so much, which says alot.

The pool and jauczzi were perfect and provided hours of entertainment when we couldn't be bothered to go anywhere. The location was perfect with both Speightown and Almond beach only a short distance away.

The following aspects could be improved:

1) Although the kitchen is very well equipped it only had two saucepans which were very small. Having three young children is it not feasible or practcal to eat out which meant that I ended up burrowing pots.

2) The Living area of the house is extremely warm and when cooking in the kitchen it gets pretty unbearable. The fact that the below window in the kitchen could not open added to the problem.

3) The kids and I were looking forward to being able to playing the Wii and even brought some games with us, but unfortunately we could not get it to work.

4) The shutters are a lovely stylish touch but they seem to add to the heat upstairs especially in the kitchen.

However, these things said none of them prevented us from having an enjoyable time at Portzvue so much so that we are hoping to go later in this year if its available.

We were away on business (and lots of Pleasure!!!) on the island and if I were to recommend any place to stay this would be it!! Air conditioned rooms, gorgeous pool and Jacuzzi.......loved it!!! Sonia who looks after the place is adorable and Ali (Sonia's son-in-law) was very helpful during our first few days to help us settle in (and a very messy night in Moontown!!). A walk from the beach, a walk from central Speightstown (Recommend Orange Grove for some lunch). A generally awesome adventure on a beautiful island with amazing people and everything is just a short ride away be it Bridgetown, Holetown, The Gap etc. Many thanks for being so welcoming Barbados, Much Love.

We had an amazing time at Portzvue; we were 2 couples with 3 kids (10 to 16 y.o.).
The house has plenty of space and is simply, but very tastefully decorated. The bedrooms are comfortable, with lots of closet space.The 4 bathrooms are nice, clean and well maintained. There's a huge living room upstairs, with the kitchen and giving onto the balcony and terrace. We especially enjoyed having breakfast on the terrace, looking towards the sea and the evenings spent sitting on the balcony, under the bright full moon and starry sky, playing bridge and having a nice glass of wine. The pool is also great, especially at noon, when the beach is too hot.
The neighborhood is quiet, with lots of vegetation (beautiful bougainvilleas), no traffic.
Heywoods Beach is a 5-minute, easy walk away; the only thing (for people with children) is that one has to cross a street, but the beach is splendid: fine sand, places to swim and snorkel (so many tropical fish!) The only downside is that there are no beach chairs/umbrellas to rent.
Our children were thrilled to see the 10-12 green monkeys walking on the wall behind the pool, almost every morning and afternoon.
There are other beaches within short driving distance; (e.g.,Mullins Beach). If you rent a car (and don't mind driving on the *wrong* side :-)), then there are quite a few things to see: we'd recommend the Animal Flower Cave at North Point, Harrison’s Cave, and the magnificent Cattlewash/Bathsheba Beach.
A 15-minute walk or a very short drive takes you to Speightstown, where there's a market for fresh fish and fruit, supermarkets, a very good bakery (forgot the name, across from the La Bouche restaurant), great ice-cream parlour (close to the pharmacy), a pizza place, a fast-food (Cheffette). Many restaurants in and around Speighstown; FishPot is good, but pricey and you need to reserve early. There's a fish fry (Merton's) in Half-Moon Fort; good Bajan food with a beautiful view on the sea.
The bottom line is that we’ll treasure this vacation that had one single flaw: it was too short.
Many heartfelt thanks to Chris, who let us rent his beautiful house, and also to Sonia, who was always available and helpful, from our (very late) arrival to our departure.