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Cooper Island Beach Club is one of the ultimate chilled Caribbean retreats. It is set on its own small island across Sir Francis Drake Channel from Tortola in the BVI, a small hotel ranged in brightly coloured Caribbean cottages along a pretty, palm-backed beach. It centres on a beach bar, which is sometimes very lively (Cooper Island is a popular anchorage and dive station, so there often a crowd in). However, if you are staying at the hotel you will find that it is quite well secluded from the action for moments when you want some peace and quiet. The twelve rooms, which stand on the hillside behind a screen of palms, are fairly simple though perfectly comfortable, and they are well priced too. Cooper Island BVI is a very cool Caribbean getaway.
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KEY FEATURES
| Small BVI hotel set on its own island, very cool, low key atmosphere. Simple and airy accommodation, rooms with kitchenettes, beach bar and restaurant, often a lively yachting crowd, shop, snorkelling and kayaking gear, PADI Gold Palm scuba resort, perfect place from which to dive BVI. |
STYLE
| Pretty West Indian cottages in a riot of pastel colours. Relaxed, low-key beach hideaway, good bar atmosphere with visiting yachties. |
CLIENT PROFILE
| Chilled out types, divers, budget conscious couples and singles looking for a getaway with sand between their toes |
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Cooper Island is only accessible by sea and so arriving is part of the fun. There is a developing sense of expectation as the island grows on the sea horizon and gradually reveals itself to you. Yacht masts come into focus against the line of palm trees and white roofs materialise among their scratchy fronds. Then, as the jetty comes into view, the main buildings take form, yellow walls visible and eventually their pink and purple gingerbread trim. You weave among the yachts at anchor and disembark at the jetty.
From here you can see the layout of the small resort. The main bar and restaurant is just off to your left. To the right and behind it, in a semi-circle built into the slope, is the line of cottages that contain the bedrooms. The best of the beach is over to the left beyond the dining room, and behind that, hidden in the screen of palms, are the boutique and watersports hut. And that is it really. There are a few private villas elsewhere on Cooper Island and a local family, but Cooper Island Beach Club (or CIBC as it is sometimes known) is not big. It is however an extremely original and often lively spot.
The heart of the action is the main dining room. This was built originally as a private house, but it was expanded when it was opened as the beach club. It is under cover but open-fronted looking out to sea, with a tiled deck and then some tables and chairs under parasols right at the front. At the rear is the open kitchen, where the chefs are visible at work - the kitchen is open most of the day and up to 10 at night, offering a revolving menu of hearty international and Caribbean fare. Over to the left of the dining room you will find the bar, set in its own small building. This again is open sided, with chairs looking through over the bar itself to the yachts offshore and then the sunset beyond. With so many yachts anchoring in the bay, either for a day stop or overnight, there is often a good crowd of yachtsmen at the bar. In season it can be very lively indeed.
The beach runs in both directions from the main building, but most of the day visitors tend to go to the north, beyond the bar area. The sand is good and runs for over 100 yards. The water is calm here – this is the protected side of the island - and so the swimming is excellent. Among the palm trunks on the shoreline are some sea grape plants which provide shade for loungers. There are also hammocks slung between the tree trunks.
Hidden in the trees are two buildings. The first is the Seagrape Boutique, where you will find t-shirts, beachwear, holiday essentials, postcards and books to read while on island (there is also a book exchange at the main dining room from which island guests can borrow). Next to the shop is the watersports building. This is occupied by the dive company Sail Caribbean Divers. They offer scuba diving (dive packages are available to guests of the beach club) and snorkelling trips to nearby islands. They also have some watersports equipment for use on Cooper Island itself, including kayaks.
These are the ‘public’ areas of Cooper Island, which see (and gain much of their character from) the yachtsmen and women anchored in the bay. If you are a guest of the beach club then your experience will be a little different if you wish – there are some areas, mainly to the other side of the main building, which are reserved for guests. It enables you to have a more tranquil experience on the island when you want time away from the crowd.
A walkway leads south from the main dining room (on the opposite side to the bar) to the Pavilion, an open-sided building with the same yellow walls and pink and purple trim. In season, when the main dining room is crowded, the beach club will cook private dinners for hotel guests here. Breakfast is also served here if you wish, or you can have it in your room. And finally, it can also be set aside as a wedding location or a meeting place if you decide on a small and very remote conference. The Beach Club will also make sure that guests have their own beach chairs on this side of the beach.
From here, through a pink and purple gate, slab paths lined with small boulders lead through the dry garden of cacti and agave to the cottages that contain the rooms. Set slightly back into the hillside, the cottages all have the same distinctive style, with a white balustrade leading steps up onto a balcony. They are painted in the same yellow as the main building with the pink or purple trim. They are also surrounded by tropical plants including bougainvillea, so they look very attractive.
There are two rooms to a cottage and inside they have tiled floors and pleasant and simple decoration, with white walls and a pitched white wooden ceiling. The furniture – headboard, armchairs and a desk – is made of cane and the bed is covered with bright tropical material. In the corner is a kitchenette with a table and two chairs. The rooms are not air-conditioned, rather fan-ventilated, with glass louvers to allow a through-flow of air and a special vent in the roof to allow hot air to escape. There is a small bathroom with a shower with a covered shower on an open-air porch.
The electrical system seems momentarily eccentric, but there is good logic on a remote island in a sailing destination. It works on a boat system. Each room has a generator that provides electricity and hot water. While the system does not work for hair-driers (and it’s probably worth pointing out that if you are the type to insist on one then Cooper Island might not be the place for you anyway), but it will charge a camera or a laptop. It may also be important to know that there are no televisions or even phones in the rooms. There is a public phone and a wifi hot spot at the bar, but cell phones do also work on the island. In the rooms there are car stereos in that play CDs and some rooms have a small stock of books. You are quite likely to spend quite a bit of time on your balcony. Most of them have a lovely view out to sea and then to the sunset over Sir Francis Drake Channel and islands in the distance.
Cooper Island Beach Club is set on a very good beach backed by a steep-sided section of land at the rear. Beyond the limits of the land the island is private, but you will find a handful of villas along the waterfront which give the island a little different feel and bring a few more ‘permanent’ residents (than the yachtsmen) who you may meet. That said, the yachting crowd give Cooper Island a considerable part of its character and much of its liveliness. Still, if it gets too much, you always have the option of hiding yourself away, reading a book in your room. |
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Beach & Swimming
Cooper Island Beach Club is set on a very pretty curve of light sand that is backed by a classic range of palms. It is on the protected side of the island, so the water is calm and excellent for swimming. There are yachts in the bay, usually tied to the moorings, but there is plenty of space to swim. Although the beach is used by the visiting yachtsmen, the Beach Club will make sure that loungers and other beach equipment is available for guests of the small hotel. The southern side of the beach, beyond the Pavilion, is quieter and this is the area often used by guests. There is a good snorkelling reef at this end of the beach too. |
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Sports & Recreation
Guests tend not to leave the island, but there are a few excursions if you want. Some watersports are also available through the dive shop. Scuba diving is one of the leading features of Cooper Island and Sail Caribbean Divers, a Tortola-based company, keeps a station out on hotel premises, from which they take out dive trips and meet yachts on rendezvous dives. They will of course take guests out (and they offer special packages). Watersports equipment available to guests includes snorkel gear for rent (though some accommodation packages include it) and kayaks of course.
They also offer boat excursions to nearby islands, at which they will drop you for the day - the kitchen at the club will fix you a picnic if you would like. Trips include the beaches along the southern tip of Virgin Gorda including the spectacular Baths, the excellent beach on Peter Island and Norman Island. Alternatively, if you would like to explore for yourself, it is possible to hire a RIB, through Caribbean Images (Cooper Island will put you in touch).
There is limited hiking around the island as it is not that big, but you can climb to the top and get the 360 view of the islands and the Caribbean Sea.
It is possible to bring in a therapist to give you a massage, but practically speaking it is not that convenient. The therapist has to make the journey back and forth from the mainland (which may be a problem logistically), so the cost is more than it would be otherwise. |
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Staff
Cooper Island Beach Club is managed by Englishman Chris Tilling, who has been on the island since the early 1980s, and at certain times of the year you may meet co-owner Toby Holmes. Other faces you will probably see include Assistant Manager Curt, from Trinidad, who has been there since 1997 and Vernon, who has worked on the island since 1993. |
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The Rooms
There are twelve rooms in all at the Cooper Island Beach Club. They are set in pairs in the semi-circle of cottages that stand in the gardens behind and around the main club house. They are West Indian in style, offering fairly simple but comfortable tropical living, with a balcony and a magnificent view. They are fan ventilated and designed to be opened to the natural air, through glass louvers in the windows and doors. They have a fundamentally white colour scheme onto which are thrown bright colours in the bedspreads and prints on the walls. The rooms each have a kitchenette with a table and two chairs. There is a small bathroom with a shower out on the porch.
There is obviously an issue with electricity and water on an island as small as this. Water is collected from the roofs and the electricity is generated individually on a small marine generator in each cottage. It is strong enough to charge a laptop or camera but not for a hairdryer. There is also a boat stereo on which you can play CDs. Most of the rooms also have a supply of books, though there are others at the book exchange at the main dining room. |
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Dining
The dining room at Cooper Island is set right on the waterfront of the small hotel. This was the original villa around which the club has been built and it has now been expanded to have an open deck looking onto the sand and the bay beyond. It is extremely informal and often pretty lively because it sees so many sailors from the yachts that put in by day or overnight. Guests of the beach club have preferential treatment when it comes to seating, on the tables at the front of the dining room.
The fare is well presented, on brightly coloured crockery, and ideal for an informal waterside Caribbean restaurant. Dishes are international and from the Caribbean, so in addition to the burgers and salads that you might expect, there are also West Indian conch fritters, rotis and for example a Caribbean fish platter with a ginger rum or Cajun mango sauce.
The Pavilion is a separate dining room, just off the main restaurant, which is used to give the guests of the Beach Club a little peace at breakfast if they want it. In season dinners are sometimes served there for the guests. They will arrange a special menu for you in advance. The cottages do have a kitchenette if you want to do some catering for yourself.
If you wanted to hold an extremely remote conference then the Pavilion is available for that too. |
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Weddings
Cooper Island is happy to arrange a wedding for you and if you imagine yourself tying the knot on a remote and very informal island then the setting might well be the place for you. The Beach Club will arrange for a minister to be brought over from Tortola and they will conduct the ceremony out on the beach for you. The Beach Club will happily cater for a reception – which is usually held in the Pavilion. |
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Children
Cooper Island is happy to accept children but they offer no special facilities for them such as baby-sitting or equipment (cots and high chairs). The atmosphere at the club is fairly adult and so any children that stayed on the island would need to be fairly self-contained. Some of the adjoining rooms in the cottages have twin beds rather than a double so a family could share a cottage. |
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Useful Hints
Cooper Island is pretty remote and while it is lively in season you should be happy with this and its occasional quietness out of season. Although the island is not really about self-catering, there is a kitchenette in each of the rooms and Cooper Island is happy to provide provisions in advance. |
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Rates
| | 01 Jun- 31 Oct 2008 | 01 Nov- 14 Dec 2008 | 15 Dec- 14 Apr 2008-09 | 15 Apr- 31 May 2009 | 01 Jun- 31 Oct 2009 | | Single | 95 | 125 | 180 | 125 | 95 | | Double | 125 | 155 | 220 | 155 | 125 | | Extra Person | 25 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 25 | All rates are quoted in US$ per room, per night on a room only basis and are subject to an additional 7% Government Tax and a 10% Service Charge. All rates are subject to change without notice. Deposit and Cancellation Terms: A 3 night deposit is required to confirm all reservations and is fully refundable once notice of cancellation is received at least 30 days prior to arrival. Cancellations made within 30 days of arrival will incur a loss of deposit if Cooper Island Beach Club is unable to re-sell the accommodation space held. |
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Special Packages
The following 7 night packages are per person, based on double occupancy and include 17% Government Tax and Service Charge:
Bare Bones
Accommodation for 7 nights including return scheduled ferry transfer from Tortola: US$549 from 01 Jun-31 Oct, US$669 from 01 Nov-14 Dec & 15 Apr- 31 May and US$919 from 15 Dec-14 Apr, 2008-09.
Dining Delight
Accommodation for 7 nights, welcome drinks package in room, daily continental breakfast (15 Dec-14 Apr only), daily lunch and dinner, use of kayaks and snorkelling equipment and return scheduled ferry transfers from Tortola: US$995 from 01 Jun-31 Oct, US$1,155 from 01 Nov-14 Dec & 15 Apr-31 May and US$1,465 from 15 Dec-14 Apr, 2008-09.
Perfect Paradise Dive Package
Accommodation for 7 nights, welcome drinks package in room, 5 days diving (2 dives each morning), daily continental breakfast (15 Dec-14 Apr only), daily lunch and dinner, use of kayaks and snorkelling equipment and return scheduled ferry transfers from Tortola: US$1,445 from 01 Jun-31 Oct, US$1,595 from 01 Nov-14 Dec & 15 Apr-31 May and US$1,895 from 15 Dec-14 Apr, 2008-09. Package is also available without meals.
Single occupancy package rates, and rates for shorter or longer stays available on request. All rates subject to change without notice. |
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How to book
If you wish to make further enquiries or a reservation, please use the WEB LINK or DIRECT EMAIL ENQUIRIES facility at the top of this page to make contact with Cooper Island Beach Club in the BVI, or if you wish to telephone them, please click on TELEPHONE CONTACT to reveal the number. |
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Locality
Cooper Island is in the chain of islands that runs along the southern edge of Sir Frances Drake Channel, opposite Tortola. The Beach Club itself looks west from Cooper Island onto Salt Island and beyond it Peter Island. St John and Tortola blend in the distance to the west. Over its right shoulder is Ginger Island and beyond that there is a run of rocks and outcrops that lead up to Virgin Gorda.
Salt Island is almost completely undeveloped (there is just a beach bar on the main beach), but it is popular as the site of the wreck of the RMS Rhone, the BVI’s most famous dive site. In the bay off Peter Island you can see Dead Chest, which was made famous in the sea shanty about Blackbeard and his men - Yo! Ho! Ho! And a bottle of rum. Fifteen men on a dead man’s chest. Peter Island itself is home to a smart hotel with around 50 rooms and a handful of villas, but is otherwise pretty undeveloped. Their spa accepts outsiders for treatments.
Ginger Island is also completely undeveloped, as are the smaller islands near to it, including Fallen Jerusalem. This is where you begin to see the strange jumbled rocks that make up the shoreline of Virgin Gorda, the next island in line. Here you will find the Baths, the famous beaches.
It is possible to spend a day on Tortola of course (for transport possibilities see below), but most guests tend to visit either before or after their stay on Cooper Island, to which they generally come to avoid the larger and busier islands anyway. There are some excellent beaches on the northern side of Tortola. |
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Meet & Greet
Cooper Island is accessible only by boat. The resort’s ‘ferry’ and supply boat is used to transfer guests and it operates from Port Purcell in Road Town (off the main road to the east), where there is a small Cooper Island hut on the dock. The ferry departs Tortola on Monday, Wednesday and Friday in the late morning or early afternoon, returning around 7.30pm (except on some public holidays). The crossing takes about 35 minutes. Guests staying for seven nights or more will be transferred to Cooper Island and back on a complimentary basis. Those staying less than seven nights are charged US$15 each. Private transfers are available if you wish to travel on your own schedule. Transfer arrangements should be made at the same time you book your accommodation and Cooper Island will advise of the best options available to you, based on your travel arrangements to the BVI.
As flights into Tortola tend to arrive in the late afternoon or evening, you may wish to spend the night in Tortola before heading across to Cooper Island the next day (in fact they recommend this). Assuming that you will make your own arrangements for your first night, Cooper Island generally does not arrange a taxi to pick you up and bring you to their ferry dock (there are plenty of taxis available at the airport and at the international ferry docks). On your departure however, they are happy to arrange for a taxi to meet you and take you to the airport at the ferry drop off point on Tortola. |
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Getting Around
Excursions off island are available through Sail Caribbean Divers, see above under Sports and Recreation. It is also possible to hire a RIB if you wish to explore independently.
If you want to make an excursion to Tortola for the day, then the supply boat can also operate on request on Tuesday and Thursday (same times as above) and on Saturday (leaving Cooper Island at 9am returning at 11am). Guests are charged US$15 per person, each way. The other alternative is for Cooper Island to arrange a private ferry charter for you at extra cost. |
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