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Style: A stylish mix of contemporary Caribbean style and Balinese furniture and decor, with stone walls and tropical hardwoods (greenheart polished floors, louvers in the windows and doors, carved Indonesian screens, statues and stylishly rustic pillars). Villa Kulala’s living area is a series of linked rooms that open out to get the best of tropical living
The Beach: Long Bay, a stretch of blinding white sand, is ten minutes walk away. There is private access from the property to Dian Bay, where there are some small coves with sand
The Rooms: Four bedrooms (two with king-size Balinese four posters, one king bed, one twin). They are fan-ventilated - sea breezes and the open rooms mean there is no need for air-conditioning. Each room has an en suite bathroom with a shower room (except the Master, which has a rain shower and bathtub) and their own carved stone washbasins
Key features: One of the newest seafront villas for Antigua island vacation rentals, tropical and Balinese décor, furniture and wall hangings, infinity pool, good kitchen with range cooker, dishwasher and refrigerator/freezer, sitting room with cable TV, DVD, CD player, ipod docking station and wi-fi internet connection, private access to bay, villa rental in Antigua direct from owner.
Children: Not recommended for children under ten years old
Staff: House manager, maid and gardener. A cook can be arranged at extra cost |
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Description
Villa Kulala sits at the end of a rocky promontory in the east of Antigua, a sun and wind-burned finger that points out into the Atlantic Ocean. To reach the villa you drive out to Long Bay and follow a rickety tarmac road east, passing a hotel and a handful of private villas hidden behind low stone walls and dry vegetation. At the end of the line you come to another stone wall and a sliding wooden gate. Villa Kulala is set behind here, but in fact this is an outer wall. It leads you into a gravel parking area with oleander, bougainvillea and an open-sided garage to one side. The formal entrance, a carved wooden gate set in its own arch, stands straight ahead of you.
The gate opens into enclosed gardens of bushes and bright flowers set around a lawn. The single-storey villa stands partially visible ahead of you. It has cream walls with dark-stained windows and doors and is topped with a pretty, double pitched roof of grey shingle tiles that rises in three pyramids. A brick-bordered path leads you to the wooden front door. As you enter you will find two of the bedrooms to your left and the kitchen on the right.
This may be the formal entrance, but once you are familiar with Villa Kulala you will probably come in a different way, via the open-sided garage. You emerge into the gardens, where you will be welcomed by stone Balinese musicians. Ahead of you is the swimming pool, whose infinity edge seems to spill away into the dramatic backdrop of Dian Bay. At the near end (shallow) of the pool a trio of frogs squat in a column, spouting into the water. And next to them is a gazebo with a day bed, which makes a good place to sit in comfort out of the sun. Here you see the first hints of the villa’s extensive Indonesian character. Its roof is supported on specially carved Balinese columns.
Villa Kulala encourages life in the open air, and so when you step around the pool the first area you come to is a large patio, partially covered by a trellis, again supported by Balinese wooden columns. This in turn gives into an open dining room with a round teak dining table for eight. The dining area is open on two sides – on the far side it gives into the Balinese garden, a very pretty interior courtyard of ferns, flowers and small palms set around a copper boiler against a mustard coloured wall. A covered walkway from the hall to the far bedrooms passes through it, beyond which is a very ornate carved wooden Balinese door set into a side wall. The Balinese garden looks particularly lovely when it is lit at night.
To the left of the dining area is the kitchen. This has a floor of greenheart wood, polished wooden surfaces (andiroba wood) and a pitched wooden ceiling. The painted wooden ‘cupboards’ are open-fronted and give a stylish rusticity to the room. The kitchen is equipped with a large Viking fridge and freezer,a Viking dishwasher and a chrome Viking range, which is set under a huge chimney breast (untypically for the Caribbean). At the centre of the room sits a wooden worktop. Opposite the kitchen, on the other side of the dining area, is the games room, where you will find a pool table and a darts board. It has large louvered French doors on two sides and is open onto the dining room and pool terrace, so that it is light and open, very much part of the indoor-outdoor living space of the villa.
Its fourth side gives into the main sitting room. This also has a polished wooden floor, dark woodwork and some Balinese furniture. It is kept light, however, by opening the doors and letting light onto bright walls and the light material of the sofas, which are set around a low Balinese table. The cable television is set in an armoire, with a DVD, CD player and ipod station, and there is a small library of books. On the interior side French doors open onto the Balinese garden and on the bay side the room gives onto a large semi-circular terrace surrounded by a low wall and shaded by a trellis. Here you will find a dining table for ten with a lovely view over the bay.
Two of the bedrooms lie beyond the sitting room. Formal access to them is via the covered walkway across the Balinese garden, but if you’re staying in the master bedroom you’ll probably find yourself using the door from the sitting room. The bedroom has a huge four poster bed with a canopy and a very colourful bedspread. There is a built-in cupboard and a sitting area with a comfortable armchair and a hefty table. The windows onto the sea are quite small, but a set of louvered French doors give out onto the bay. The bathroom is a delight. It is light and airy, with a wooden floor and cream-coloured walls tiled with Balinese dancers. Two circular marble washbasins sit on the vanity and there is a large bath. A garden shower, whose walls are lined with plants, is set to one side. The second bedroom has a similar feel. The king-size bed is backed by a huge screen of parrots and jungle. An antique bench sits at the foot of the bed and, through the open dressing room, you come into a bathroom with a similar ‘garden’ shower and attractive bowl basins.
If you return by the covered walkway you come to the main hall at the formal entrance of the villa, off which you will find the other two bedrooms, each of which have the same polished greenheart floors and walk-through cupboards. The first has twin beds with muslin nets suspended from the pitched wooden ceiling. The second is a king room with a brightly coloured bed spread, a desk and huge fishtail vases in the corners.
Villa Kulala was designed by English architect Andrew Goodenough, who has been based in Antigua for the past 25 years. Often he uses West Indian features to create a more traditional-looking building, but in this case there is a visible injection of Oriental style and layout. The villa uses plenty of dark tropical hardwood and has a pleasant mix of open-sided rooms and covered and partially covered living space. It uses its dramatic setting, at the point of the rocky finger, well too, with lovely views out onto the bay. It is relatively exposed, to the wind straight off the ocean, so life at the villa is directed inwards, towards the pool terrace and the covered rooms overlooking it. Of course there is no need for air-conditioning here. The louvers on the windows can be angled to get the breeze you need. All in all Villa Kulala is an open and fun villa to live in. |
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Beach & Swimming
There is a large infinity edged swimming pool at Villa Kulala, which looks out onto Dian Bay. The main living space looks onto the pool, so you will spend a good bit of time around it. There are comfortable teak loungers on the pool terrace.
The point on which Villa Kulala sits is rocky, but there are steps down into Dian Bay itself, where there is a sunbathing platform. When the weather is not too windy it is very nice to swim in the bay. There are a couple of beaches within the bay itself, which can be reached by boat (or by vehicle by driving around the bay), but the nearest main beach is Long Bay, which is less than five minutes drive. Here you will find excellent sand, a beach bar and some watersports operators. |
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Sports & Recreation
There is a games room at Villa Kulala with a pool table and a darts board. You will also find plenty of board games, a folding card table and even a telescope for star-gazing at the unpolluted night sky.
The villa has some snorkelling equipment for use in the bay and there are a couple of body boards if you would like to go surfing at Half Moon Bay. Most watersports are available through the concessionaires on Long Bay. It is possible to book tennis courts and hire small sailing boats at the Long Bay Hotel not far off.
Spa facilities are available at the Dian Bay Hotel just close by or, with a bit of notice, you can arrange for a massage therapist to come to the villa. |
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Locality
Villa Kulala is a rental villa in Antigua located in three and a half acres at the tip of Dumm’s Point, which guards the entrance to Dian Bay. It is quite remote on the eastern side of Antigua. Heading west and inland from the villa, you pass two hotels and then come down into Long Bay, which has a very nice white sand beach. There is a beach bar here and it is popular with the Antiguans over the weekends.
Beyond here, heading towards St John’s, there are islands in the North Sound to which there are day trips. And inland near here is Betty’s Hope, a partially restored plantation estate, which shows the sugar industry that was Antigua’s economic powerhouse two centuries ago. The road eventually leads to St John’s.
Across Dian Bay to the south, one of Antigua’s best-known attractions is visible from the villa. Devil’s Bridge is a span of coral limestone rock that has been carved out by wave action. It is worth a quick look for the dramatic sea activity. To get further south you have to go inland. Eventually the road rejoins the bays and beaches of the east coast. At the south-east corner of the island you come to English Harbour. |
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Useful Hints
If you would like Villa Kulala to be stocked with groceries, a provisioning service can be provided. You should e-mail your list to the house manager on the email above (if booking direct) or let your travel organiser know what you require so that supplies are in place for your arrival. You will be billed for your groceries on arrival. |
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Rates
| | 18 Dec- 08 Jan 2008-09 | 09 Jan- 30 Apr 2009 | 01 May- 30 Nov 2009 | 01 Dec- 30 Apr 2009-10 | 01 May- 30 Nov 2010 | | Villa Kulala | 1,700 | 1,500 | 1,000 | 1,500 | 1,000 | Rates are in US$ per night and include all local taxes. Rates do not include staff gratuities and are subject to change without notice. Minimum rental 7 nights. |
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Special Offers
Winter Special - Free Night/s
Book 7 nights and only pay for 6 or 14 nights and only pay for 12 for stays between 09 January and 30 April 2010. Plus enjoy a complimentary three course Caribbean dinner cooked by a local chef on your night of choice (excludes drinks).
Offers are valid for new bookings only made directly with Villa Kulala and may be subject to change. |
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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 Villa Kulala, or if you wish to telephone them, their telephone number will be revealed if you click on the CONTACT TELEPHONE NUMBER link. |
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Airport Meet & Greet
If you would like to be met on arrival in Antigua, then the house manager will happily arrange for a taxi or a minivan to collect you from the airport and deliver you to Villa Kulala (at your expense). She will then show you around the house. Alternatively, if you would prefer to be taken care of from the minute you arrive at the airport, with a range of services that can include limousine transfers, a Concierge Service is offered by St James Travel & Tours if you contact them.
If you are booking through a travel organiser, which features this Antigua rental villa, it is likely that their representative will be at the airport to meet you. This service and your return airport transfers should be included in the cost of your holiday. Please check at the time of booking. |
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Getting Around
A hire car is recommended for all private villa holidays, but it is pretty much essential at Villa Kulala’s because of its relatively remote location. It will be useful if you want to dine out at night or do lots of sightseeing and of course you will need to collect provisions. You can book a car via your travel organiser or direct with Thrifty Car Rentals, Antigua. If you have not visited Villa Kulala before we suggest that you ask for your vehicle to be delivered to the property approximately three hours after your scheduled time of arrival on Antigua or perhaps the following morning. Vehicles can be returned at the airport or be collected from the property at a pre-arranged time on your departure day. |
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