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The Lone Star Restaurant is famous as one of the in-places to eat out on Barbados’s West Coast. The setting is delightful, on a deck with a nautical feel just above the waves, with a cracking view out over the calm Caribbean. Less known is that the Lone Star Hotel is one of a number of stylish small Barbados hotels. It has eight spacious and stylish rooms and is a thoroughly cool base where you can tuck yourself away but still be in the thick of the action of the West Coast.
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KEY FEATURES
| Very small, hip Barbados hotel hideout, eight rooms around a famous restaurant |
STYLE
| Hip atmosphere, minimal, nautical style |
CLIENT PROFILE
| Stylish, sophisticated, independent travellers |
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The Lone Star Hotel and Restaurant has been one of the most fashionable spots on Barbados’s West Coast for several years now, a gathering point for the island’s many well known personalities. But few know that the Lone Star also has some very stylish rooms where you can hide out within a shout of the action of the West Coast. Of course, at just eight rooms and set in a former garage, the Lone Star was always going to be referred to as a ‘boutique’ property, and with its minimal styling and Philip Starck fittings in the bathrooms it could be said to fit the mould, but the classification hardly does justice to the hotel’s easy-going atmosphere. The Lone Star is one of Barbados’s few but distinctive small and independent hotels, a cool retreat on its own good, quite local beach, a little away from the hurly-burly of St James.
And anyway, Lone Star is different from most boutique properties because its restaurant is clearly the heart of the place. By day it buzzes, and then again in the evenings, with a very lively crowd of Barbados’s regular winter visitors, and of course many of Barbados’s long list of celebs. Since it opened in 1997, the restaurant has gained a following as one of the leading places to eat out in Barbados.
The façade of the Lone Star sits quite close on the main west coast road in St James as you would expect of a garage, though it has been prettied up now. As you enter you pass the open kitchen to your left and descend a wide wooden staircase that emerges onto the lovely waterfront deck. To your right are the sofas and leather stools of the bar area Desperados (which was new in 2008). It is called after a 1970s Western film in which Christian Roberts, the owner of the hotel, starred alongside Jack Palance. The dining room itself is to the left and it has a very attractive setting - material-covered bucket seats are set around large white tables under a huge awning and there are superb views of the generally calm sea. With its polished wooden floor and tight wire balustrade, it has a touch of a nautical feel to it. In its quieter moments Lone Star is romantic, but it has a real following, so it can be very lively. For more details about the restaurant and its menu, see Dining.
To get the best of the place as a hotel guest you need to enjoy the activity (though you can retire to the seclusion of your balcony when the crowds arrive of course), but outside the extended mealtimes the Lone Star is quiet and has a secluded air, ideal for milling around on the beach, reading and sunbathing, and taking an occasional dip. The rooms are quite well separated from the restaurant. They stand in two houses on either side of the restaurant deck, the original four on the north side overlooking the beach, and the other four behind a terrace and greenery. The original rooms, actually suites, are large and have a minimal and fairly stark style, with stretches of stained wood in the floors and furnishings and light, bare white walls.
As the name hints, the Lone Star was actually petrol station, which seems a little unlikely for the West Coast of Barbados somehow - with a name like that, it should be in Texas. It was built by a Bajan fan of Hollywood who had the only petrol station up on the West Coast at that time.
The building has been completely changed of course in the redevelopment, but it is still possible to make out the original name on the nice Forties façade of the garage. The original pumps are gone but the old repair pit, where cars were mended from beneath, is marked by Roman numerals in the floor in the kitchen. Also there is a stylised air of workshop because the restaurant staff wear mechanics’ overalls and baseball caps. It doesn’t happen very often, but from time to time they are asked, ‘Do you rent cars?’ |
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Beach & Swimming
The beach at the Lone Star is small but nice. There are a number of palm trees and blue parasols that provide shade, but at the heart of the beach stands a hefty casuarina pine tree, on which you will see one of Lone Star’s huge signature mirrors leaning at an angle.
The swimming is good and there is a small reef. The hotel lends snorkelling equipment to guests, but no other watersports are available. This is a fairly local stretch of the coast and so the beach has a nice atmosphere with Bajans coming to bathe at the weekends. It is also an anchorage and a few boats stand tied offshore. |
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Sports & Recreation
Little happens at the Lone Star beyond relaxation, but nothing is very far away in Barbados. There are public beaches where you can fix up water-skiing, scuba diving and windsurfing. On land there is a golf course not far away at Royal Westmoreland (which releases a few tee times each morning) and there are three courses at Sandy Lane.
Massage is available through the hotel and can be taken in your room. |
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Staff
The most visible figure around the Lone Star is Managing Director, Rory Rodger, now an Anglo-Bajan, who has been at Lone Star since it opened in 1997. He is backed up by a small army of bar and restaurant staff and by Executive Chef, Franco Parisi, see Dining below.
The owner of The Lone Star is Christian Roberts, an actor from Britain who has lived in Barbados since the mid Nineties. He made films in the Sixties and Seventies and his credits include The Desperados, a 1972 Western in which he acted alongside Jack Palance and a starring role opposite Sidney Poitier in To Sir with Love in 1967. He also starred in and produced Return to the Forbidden Planet in Lndon’s West End in the early Nineties. |
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The Rooms
The rooms are set in two houses on either side of the restaurant deck. The four on one side overlooking the beach are reached by a covered walkway or via the beach from the restaurant. The two upstairs rooms are large and give onto a private deck. Downstairs they have a terrace and look straight out onto the beach. The other four rooms are in a villa on the other side of the restaurant, behind a terrace and greenery.
As befits a former garage, the four original rooms are named after cars – Studebaker, Buick, Lincoln and Cord. More importantly they are large (between 650 and 1050 square feet for the statistically-minded) and with their sitting area they are technically suites. The light nautical theme of the restaurant continues into the rooms. Wire balustrades lead up to the balconies, which are shaded by sail–like awnings and furnished with a chaise longue and chairs. Facing west, the balconies and rooms are shaded from the sun until late in the day, when the sun spangles through the casuarina tree on the beach. The idiosyncratic mirror that stands on the beach is also repeated in the rooms, where a huge mirror leans against the wall. If you feel the ghost of a certain excitement and indulgence in the rooms, it may be because in the 50s the building was one of Barbados’s trendiest nightclubs.
The rooms are large and the colour scheme is one of white, off-white and heavyweight polished wood. The floors are made from Guyanese purple heart and the wooden furniture is made from Barbadian mahogany. The soft furnishings, sleek chairs, are from Italy. It sounds quite stark, but as in the restaurant, the masculine edge of the minimal design is softened by floor-to-ceiling white muslin hangings, both inside the rooms and on the balconies.
Beach House
This is a former private villa with two downstairs rooms, Tropical and Mermaid which can be rented either separately or together, whilst upstairs is the two bedroom Penthouse Suite, which can be rented by itself. If you rent the whole house, which includes a sitting room and a large deck with loungers out front, then you can have the additional services of two maids, a cook and a handy man, and can approach via the front door (otherwise the rooms are reached via the restaurant). The decoration and furnishings of the Beach House are completely different from the minimal style of the four main rooms and have a stronger Caribbean feel to them. Update September 2009: Downstairs only available for rental as Penthouse currently back in private use. |
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Dining
The Lone Star is one of the best loved restaurants on Barbados. It is very popular with the crowd of wealthy winter visitors, who linger over chilled white wine and oysters at lunch and then return to meet one another for candle-lit dinners in the tropical evening calm.
It is set on two decks right above the near non-existent waves (this stretch of the coast is usually extremely calm, except when an occasional winter swell comes in from the west), the restaurant has a certain nautical feel. And it would be a very comfortable yacht, this. The decks are polished wood and wire rigging runs around the edges as a balustrade. The round tables are set with bucket chairs covered in blue and white material.
The style of the cuisine is a genuine mix of tastes from around the world, and the menu is long. Fundamentally it is European, with Mediterranean inspiration (lots of crostinis and focaccias), but also some ‘exotics’ such as fish and chips, but you will also find Indian dishes (there are tikkas and baltis), Levantine (mezze) and Oriental (sushi and sashimi, Thai salads). Also of course there are plenty of Caribbean dishes too (Jamaican jerk chicken, Bajan flying fish cutters). And finally there is a good caviar menu (Sevruga, Beluga and Osietra).
The Executive Chef is Franco Parisi, who is originally from Italy via London, where he worked at Zafferano and for the A-Z Group alongside celebrated chefs including Gordon Ramsay and Giorgio Locatelli. He first visited Barbados in 2002 and has been at the Lone Star since December 2004. |
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Useful Hints
Because of its successful restaurant trade, Lone Star is quite busy at certain times of the day, so be aware of this if you want seclusion above all. If you do not want to join the fray room service is available at all meals. |
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Practical Facts
Annual Closure: June
Dress Code: Casual by day, casually elegant in the restaurant for dinner
Facilities: Beachfront bar and restaurant.
Complimentary: Breakfast is included in the room rates.
Other Services: Reception, WiFi in rooms and main areas
Accommodation: 8 rooms.
The Rooms: Each room is air-conditioned and has a large walk-in closet, with a safe. Other amenities include good connections to the outside world, with WiFi, LCD flat screen satellite TV, DVD and small fridge with tea and coffee making facilities. The bathrooms are large with robes and Moulton Brown products. Glass-sided showers dominate the room from the corner (they are at least 4ft x 5ft, but some 6ft x 6ft) and as with the large mirror in the bedroom, the towel rail, (literally) a ladder, leans up against the wall. The fittings, stylish taps and sinks, are designed by Philip Starck, and there is a space age loo. 4 Hotel Suites, each with sitting areas and shower rooms en suite – 2 rooms upstairs with balcony; 2 rooms with covered terrace on the beach. Beach House has a 2 bedroom penthouse suite upstairs with large living veranda, and a bedroom and suite at beach level which can be rented separately or as a two bedroom suite. There is an audio-visual area with latest CDs and DVDs. Update September 2009: Downstairs only available for rental as Penthouse currently back in private use.
Children: Children are welcome, but they must be supervised as the balconies, with their wire balustrades are not child-proof.
Credit Cards: Most major credit cards accepted |
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Rates
| | 01 May- 14 Dec 2009 | 15 Dec- 15 Jan 2009-10 | 16 Jan- 30 Apr 2010 | 01 May- 14 Dec 2010 | | Meal Plan | BP | BP | BP | BP | | Hotel Suite 1-2 persons Extra person | 500 60 | 900 80 | 800 70 | 500 60 | | Beach House | | Meal Plan | BP | BP | BP | BP | | Hotel room 1-2 persons | 350 | 800 | 600 | 350 | | Suite 1-2 persons | 400 | 850 | 700 | 400 | | 2 bedroom suite 1-4 persons | 700 | 1,800 | 1,200 | 700 | All rates are quoted in US$ per room/suite, per night and are subject to 10% service Charge and 7.5% Tax. BP = breakfast (continental) included. All rates are subject to change without notice. |
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Special Offers
Summer Special – Hotel Suite Saving
Save US$150 per night on Hotel Suite bookings for stays this summer. Reduced rate of U$350.00 per night with breakfast included. Plus Honeymooners will receive a complimentary arrival airport transfer. Minimum stay 5 nights. Offer valid for new bookings for stays 01 May-15 Dec 2009 |
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READERS' OFFER
Definitive Caribbean has teamed up with The Lone Star to provide our users with an exciting READERS’ OFFER.
If you stay a minimum of seven nights you can claim a complimentary three course meal to include the hotel's famous SIGNATURE DISH. Terms and conditions apply (see below).
The Lone Star’s delicious Blackened Mahi-Mahi is their main course Signature Dish, which you will be able to enjoy as part of a complimentary three course meal. When you stay at The Lone Star, you can meet Chef Parisi personally or Rory Rodger and get tips from an insider on how to prepare this popular dish.
To claim your complimentary meal, all you need to do is to send us an email requesting a Coded Voucher.
Terms and Conditions:
1. This Reader Offer is exclusive to Definitive Caribbean but will be available to everyone that books to stay a minimum of 7 nights at the relevant hotel/villa, whether you book direct or via a travel agent or tour operator, so long as you have read it on Definitive Caribbean.
2. In order to collect the reader offer, you must apply to us by email for a Coded Voucher, which you must print out and present to the hotel on arrival. No advance notice or prior correspondence will be required and the offer will be made available at a mutually suitable day/time to be arranged directly.
3. The Lone Star signature dish is a main course, Blackened Mahi-mahi from Chef Parisi, which will be offered as part of a complimentary three course meal for up to 2 adults (per hotel room or villa). For villas with additional occupancy, the Signature Dish will be offered on a complimentary basis to all adult occupants but other courses forming part of the meal will be at your expense.
4. This Reader Offer is open-dated so may be taken up at any time but only one voucher is available per reservation. |
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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 Lone Star Barbados, or if you wish to telephone them, please click on TELEPHONE CONTACT to reveal the number. |
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UK Tour Operators
If you wish to book through a UK tour operator or travel organiser, please follow the link below.
See List of UK Tour Operators
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Locality
Lone Star is situated in Mt Standfast on Barbados’s West Coast, between Holetown and Speightstown. It is a little removed from the busiest part of the strip, it is within easy striking distance of other restaurants and hotels. The nearest shopping is in Speightstown, but you may prefer to head down to Holetown where there are two malls and banks and a supermarket.
You will probably want to try out other restaurants along the West Coast. Just beyond Speightstown to the north you will find La Mer, in Port St Charles, and the Fish Pot at Little Good Harbour. To the south of Lone Star are the Tides, just south of Holetown, Daphne’s in Payne’s Bay and then the Cliff and Calabaza about fifteen minutes drive away. Holetown is also extremely lively, both with restaurants of all styles and prices and with a bar trade. |
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Meet & Greet
If you are booking direct, Lone Star will arrange for you to be met at the airport if you wish and to be transferred to the hotel (at US$60 for two persons), but you can just as easily find your own taxi at the airport if you prefer. The transfer takes thirty-five to forty-five minutes depending on the traffic. Alternatively, if you would prefer to be taken care of from the minute you arrive at the airport through to your departure and perhaps have limousine transfers along with a range of other services, you could take up the Concierge Service offered by St James Travel & Tours.
If you are booking through a travel organiser, it is likely that they will have their own representative at the airport to meet you and that this service together with your return airport transfers are likely to have been included in the cost of your holiday. Please check at the time of booking. |
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Getting Around
If you will be limiting yourself to nearby beaches and the restaurants up and down the West Coast then you may decide to take taxis, which are readily available through the hotel reception. However, for maximum freedom you’ll probably want a car, at last for a couple of days, to visit other beaches by day and the restaurants in the evening. Definitive Caribbean recommends Stoutes Car Rentals. Be aware that in the winter season, particularly over Christmas and New Year, all the hire cars become booked up, so you will need to reserve one well in advance.
It is also perfectly possible to use the efficient system of buses that race up and down the West Coast main road and pass ride outside the front door. |
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