48 Hours at the Buttonwood Reserve, Eleuthera

Believe it or not, there are people who are seeking for the simple things in life. From time to time, I appreciate to be on a remote place where I can't see anybody and have plenty of privacy. These moments include staying in the Presidential Villa at Hilton Seychelles, going for a over-the-top vacation at One&Only Reethi Rah or simply going to a very remote island. While business brought me to Harbour Island - a totally overrated and extremely expensive place - I added two nights on the "main" island of Eleuthera. As luck would have it, I stumbled upon the lovely Buttonwood Reserve north of Governor's Harbour - a place neither me has heard of before. Matt Simon from Eleuthera Vacation Rentals got in touch with me and seemed to be in-the-know of Eleuthera so that I could send him all my questions before renting an entire Penthouse Apartment out of the blue. I did not know how to get there nor what to do there, I said to myself why not be surprised.

Before we left Harbour Island, I arranged a rental car for 80 USD plus a 45 USD charge for the delivery from Governor's Harbour to North Eleuthera airport. While the car was not in best condition, the roads were ages better than in Jamaica - so all was fine from my side and we began our one hour drive along the deep-blue Atlantic Ocean on the left and the turquoise Caribbean to the right. A stop at the glass window bridge is a must as is taking a panorama picture of the two seas melting into a shallow river. We were lucky and had calm sea, however when it's stormy, waves can get as high as 70 feet. Our drive took us further down until we saw two big white buildings that made up the Buttonwood Reserve. The driveway lead up the hill and we soon found our building and apartment where local Concierge Tia Seyfert was waiting for us.

She gave us a brief tour of the spacious and truly chic apartment before she disappeared and left us with room keys and powder for the washing machine. Welcome to Paradise, they said. Fun aside we were now staying on a remote place that even had a phone, wi-fi, huge tv and a vast kitchen. Still, I did not have any telephone reception which was one of the great parts of the stay. We left the flat for some grocery shopping in Governors's Harbour (there is also a supermarket down the street but not as big as the one in Governor's Harbour). I was totally relaxed already not even being worried about the bill of 180 USD for a few basic groceries. If I have to be honest, Bahamas did not appear on the list of the most expensive holiday destinations. However, I guess I am settled for Saint Barths in two weeks. As it was Sunday already followed by Bahamas Indipendence Day on Monday, it was impossible to get fresh fish.

Ending up having Italian pasta was not what I expected from the Bahamas but since no restaurant we passed seemed to look that inviting, we decided to stay in the apartment and cook on our own which was a lot of fun. If you are there for a week, make sure to head to the docks to get best lobster and fresh fish - which is normally no problem around here - and get yourself Linguine with Lobster. Due to the high import costs, it's better to bring your own wine. The kitchen however is equipped with all things you may need, including state-of-the art equipment - as the flat is: there is a new air-conditioning as well as a high speed fan in each room. Furthermore there are plenty of towels including blue beach towels. Beds were very comfortable as the general atmosphere.

I have to admit the highlight of the entire property are the two beaches. You can either head to the shallow and calm Caribbean Sea or rough and turqoise Atlantic Ocean, still calm enough to dip inside. Your private golf cart parked in your garage next to your beach chairs will be available during the entire stay making it possible to drive the 5-minutes way until you arrive at the most remote pink sand beach I have ever seen. It's the place for doing whatever and hanging around however you want. Nobody cares and nobody else will be around you, beside some birds on the sky perhabs. Privacy at it's best. All in all, I received exactely what I expected and it's one of the best condominiums I have ever stayed at. Go there for the total holiday feeling but don't expect to get entertained - that's your job!