PETIT SAINT VINCENT

Contents

'Petit St. Vincent'

'PSV Cottages'

'The PSV flag system'

'Things to do'

'Food and drink at PSV'

'Miscellaneous'

References

'Petit St. Vincent'

Better known locally as PSV which lies 40 statute miles (60 km) south of St. Vincent, is a paradise of softly rolling hills spread over 113 acres (46 ha) surrounded by two miles (3 km) of white sand beaches located in the Grenadine islands.
The island is owned by Haze Richardson who lives there with his wife Lynn and their six yellow labradors. PSV is run as an island resort. The resort features 22 discreet and simple, yet luxurious cottages. There is a main bar and restaurant building located near the island dock. There is no airport, no formal check in, no keys.

'PSV Cottages'

Each cottage has been designed with complete privacy in mind. They are built from "bluebitch" stone and wood and are surrounded by planned vegetation to ensure privacy is maximized. There is a CD/radio in each cottage but there are no televisions, or telephones in the cottages. This is not an oversight on the part of Haze and Lynn, they designed PSV as a place to really get away from the world. The rooms are large, airy and above all comfortable. The cottages are equipped with a re-chargeable torch for night-time walks to the bar or on the beach, light rainjackets for guests, syntethic loofahs, clothes washing detergent, mosquito spray and coils as well as other bug sprays if needed. There is also a large electric fan to supplement the existing roof-mounted fans, a clothes horse for drying/airing clothes and iron and ironing board. The owners really have thought of everything. Each cottage is equipped with both chess, draughts (checkers) and backgammon boards.

'The PSV flag system'

As the cottages are without telephones, service is achieved through the use of a cottage flag system. Inside each cottage there is a book containing Room service forms. There are forms for early morning coffee, breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea, dinner, bar drinks, cottage maintenance, flight reservations and general comments. Guests complete the appropriate form and then use the flag system to place their orders.
Outside each cottage there is a bamboo flagpole with two flags, red and yellow. Each flagpole also has a slot for guests to roll up their completed order forms and insert the sheet of paper. Raising the yellow flag signals that guests are in need of some service. Staff use small vehicles, not unlike golf buggies to drive around the island looking out for raised flags and take the orders. When the red flag is raised guests will remain absolutely undisturbed in until the flag is lowered.

'Things to do'

At PSV guests can freely avail of snorkelling equipment as well as taking out sea-kayaks, glass-bottommed kayaks and small sailboats at no extra charge. The entire island is surrounded by coral and good for snorkelling. There is the option of paying extra for fishing trips on the Jahash speedboat or trips to the Tobago cays (snorkelling and sea turtle viewing) on the schooner Jambalaya. On occasion the catamaran "Lost our marbles" will stand in if the Jambalay is unavailable. These Tobago cays trips can be shared or private. Trips can be arranged to the small sand-spit of mopion (Petit St Richardson). It is possible to walk the entire circumference of this sand-spit in about 30 seconds. Snorkelling here is excellent, especially for those who are not confident in the water as it is possible to see many good fish in water only about two feet deep.

'Food and drink at PSV'

Guests can use the flag system to pre-order early morning coffee to their cottages. Early morning coffee is ordered the previous evening and delivered to the cottage at 6 am. Breakfast is delivered between 7.30 and 9.30 am. There is a large choice for breakfast including fried breakfast, continental style breakfast, cereals, fruit salads, pastry baskets juices, tea or coffee. Lunch can either be delivered to the cottages, eaten at the bar and restaurant or delivered to the hammocks at the beach. Lunch options include, fried fish, sandwiches, burgers, fruit salads and water or soft drinks. Afternoon tea can be delivered to the hammock area or the cottages. This consists of tea or coffee and home-made biscuits and cake. Guests have the option of dining either privately in their cottage or at the PSV bar and restaurant for dinner. The menu differs every evening but includes excellent choices and a vegetarian option. The restaurant dress-code requires male guests to wear slacks and a collared shirt for dinner. Dinner consists of appetisers, main course, dessert and tea or coffee. At least once a week there is a beach barbecue and once a week the owners Lynn and Haze invite all guests to a cocktail reception at their house where they entertain. The bar serves a wide variety of cocktails, spirits and beers. The locally brewed Hairon beer is most popular amongst guests.

'Miscellaneous'

The population of the island (appx. 50) all work for the resort, and reside in the village of Telescope Hill. There is a small boutique located in the bar area. This boutique sells island branded merchandise, toiletries and some over-the-counter pharmaceuticals. Attached to the boutique is a small lending library containing hundreds of books and some board games and jigsaw puzzles. These are free for guests to enjoy during their stay. The island actively discourages the act of tipping staff and instead includes a service charge in the bill.

References

http://www.psvresort.com