Rum Manor

Rum Manor is a new house on the Sandy Lane Estate in St. James, built for a crowd: seven bedrooms across a main house and two cottages, a children’s dormitory for six more, a floodlit pickleball court and a six-seat golf cart to run the group down to the Sandy Lane Beach Club. A chef cooks three meals a day and bakes the bread each morning.

Seven en-suite bedrooms sleep fourteen, with ten bathrooms, and the bunk room takes six children on top, so the house holds twenty. We’d suggest it for two or three families together, or for a milestone birthday with everyone under one roof. Of the villas in Barbados we place, it’s the one for a group that wants to eat, play and swim without leaving the gates.

THE HOUSE

Living runs from the air-conditioned lounge to a covered terrace with alfresco dining and a lounge area. Off the main rooms are a dedicated office with a desk and printer, and a media room with an Xbox, a foosball table and a pool table. A stocked bar runs on a leave-it-as-you-found-it basis, with two kegerators (kegs from the island’s Dread Hop brewery can be delivered). In the kitchen: a gas hob, a Nespresso machine, an ice maker, a dishwasher and a kitchen island; Sonos, smart TVs and Wi-Fi run through the house.

THE BEDROOMS

In the main house are the master and Bedrooms Two and Three, each with a king bed, and Bedroom Four with twin beds that convert to a king. Cottage One has two more king rooms; Cottage Two has one queen. All seven look over the garden and have their own bathroom. Separately, the children’s room has four bunk beds with twin XL mattresses and two roll-away beds that can move to other rooms, for children only.

THE GROUNDS

Built-in steps lead into the private pool, with ceiling fans and a toilet by the water, and beside it are a private dining gazebo, an outdoor kitchen with a pizza oven, an American-style smoker and a barbecue, a hammock and a patio. Pickleball is on the house’s own floodlit court; the estate adds shared tennis courts (one floodlit), a padel court and a second pickleball court. In the private gym, a Peloton bike, weights and a treadmill look out over the grounds.

THE SERVICE

A housekeeper, a laundress, a chef, a butler and a gardener work six days a week in every season, with pool service throughout. Three meals a day come from the chef, with fresh bread baked each morning. A concierge manager and a property manager are on call seven days a week, and the staff have their own quarters for the hours you’d rather have the house to yourselves. Check-in is from 3 pm and check-out by noon; a late check-out can be bought for half a night’s rate.

THE LOCATION

Sandy Lane Estate is in St. James on the west coast, and the house comes with access to the Sandy Lane Beach Club and the estate’s amenities, including the golf course. A short walk reaches the beach; the golf cart is quicker. For how resident chefs work on this island compared with the rest of the Caribbean, our guide to Caribbean villas with a chef goes island by island.

To check dates or request a quote for Rum Manor, write to [email protected].