Calypso Guestbook

From the Calypso and Iris Guestbooks and e-mail

Date: Fri, 25 Apr 2008 16:15:46 -0700
From: David Bonfante
To: Nevis villa rentals
Subject: Re: Your stay in Calypso

Hello Maria
Sorry for the delay in replying to your mail but we've been crazy busy. Thanks you so much we had a wonderful stay and the villa was just great nothing was lacking and you have a million dollar view. Next time we visit Nevis (and we will) we'll be sure to contact you first. We'll be recommending your villa and Nevis to all friends and family.
Best regards
David

Date: Sun, 24 Feb 2008 11:27:45 -0500
From: Ann Dennis
Subject: Our recent stay at Upper Calypso
To: Nevis villa rentals

Hello Maria,

We just wanted to let you know that we had a wonderful time at your Upper Calypso Villa. We honestly did not want to come home! It was absolutely lovely! You have a wonderful person taking care of the property, Urban was so nice to us! Thank you so much! We hope to return to your villa in the future!

In the book at the Upper Calypso, we mentioned how amazed we were that the property was better than the pictures on the website! You never know booking online! We loved everything about it!

Ann, Kevin & Matt Dennis

Date: Tue, 19 Feb 2008 08:23:08 -0800 (PST)
From: Nancy Caid
Subject: Re: Lower Calypso Rental
To: Nevis villa rentals

Maria,

just wanted to tell you what I am sure you hear over and over..your place is wonderful. So perfect for couples and families. We are so glad that we did also rent the lower Calypso when all six of us were there at the same time. Then what can you say about the breath taking view, the pool, the beach, the Islanders - etc., etc.... and of course Urban and the woman who comes to clean were so very nice. The fresh flowers and call from Urban upon our arrival were such a warm touch. I don't know how you ever leave there. Ha. Well, probably because like us you have to come back to work and reality. The people staying in Upper and Lower Iris were so friendly and we always felt so safe and comfortable at the house and anywhere we were on the Island.

I could, of course, go on and on. I just can't get over how our friends were so lucky in finding your Villas to rent... that particular part of the Island, etc. When we took a drive around the Island our friends told us how they were close to renting something at the Nesbit Resort (I'm not sure I have the name quite right).. and then when my husband and I decided to come, it wasn't big enough and they chose your place. I am so glad... It was just perfect on Oualie Beach.

I dream of a day when my husband and I can go back with our family... "A dreamer lives forever" right? Best wishes to you.

Nancy Caid

Date: Fri, 11 Jan 2008 06:46:59 -0800 (PST)
From: Lorna Ashe
Subject: Re: Nevis vacation rental -- villa Calypso
To: Nevis villa rentals

Dear Maria,

I am finally back to the reality that is New England in the winter. Ahh, to think of the days we spent so endlessly on the beach or on the veranda... just now sweet, sweet memories. What a beautiful and friendly island. Urban is a true gem of a man, so generous and gracious. Please, make sure to tell him how much we appreciated his hospitality. Thank you for everything and if we ever have the good fortune to return to Nevis, we know where we will stay. It was perfect. Happy New Year to you and may your days be filled with peace and abundance, Lorna

October 23, 2007
My family and I have traveled all the way from Sheffield, England. 13 of us in total, three generations. Some for the very first time. My wife and I have only managed to come here for one week, so we have stayed here in Iris. First impressions of the island: “Beautiful and tranquil.” From stepping off the plane in St. Kitts (the place my father Uriel aka “Fur” grew up) to getting on to the ferry to Nevis (the island my father was born on). The people we have met during our short stay here have been so friendly and so helpful. On our numerous car journeys around this lovely island, the honking of a friendly horn, and many, many waving of hands is something we from England are not familiar with. The Iris is somewhere I would really recommend to others in England and a place I would and will be coming back to, for much longer.

Jerome and Rachel Jones, Sheffield, England.

September 17, 2007
Only been here for one week but have really enjoyed our holiday -- quiet due to time of year. Weather has been great and we have found Iris to be very comfortable and convenient for the beach.

The Thompsons -- England.

3rd September - 24th September
Hello Calypso from the Walwyns, Sharrys, Mukwedeyas, Thompsons, Adams and Carrou! Calypso is well suited for our group which were nine adults and one child (9 months old Joshua). We really enjoyed our stay, as the weather, the view, and prompt management by Urban was excellent. Although we did not get to eat out much (as most places were closed) we were able to make great meals with the facilities. It was great to have Oualie Beach Hotel open for meals. We recommend an isalnd tour with “Teach” tours. A`rented car is a must to get around and Nevis Rentals gave the best price and and delivered the car wherever you wanted it to be. Although we are a family that some were born in Nevis, and others are offspring of the natives we love to visit and think it is a great place. Joshua (9 months) had a great time and the fans came in handy on the very hot nights. The downside is our stay was the steep hill when walking up. But in all we had a great time here! God bless and thanks!

August 5, 2007
A lovely week of peace and quiet. The breezes on the terrace helped the cold beer and iced wine go down even better. Urban was very helpful. We now move on to St. Marten!

Leigh and Gaynor Tong, Holland.

Hi Calypso. It’s the Haughtons and the Smithens again. July 21 - Aug 18, 2007. Thanks once again.

May 29th, 2007
It’s our last night here, and we are so sad to leave. We have enjoyed 9 blissful days on the island, and especially here at Iris. The weather at home is still chilly, and we will miss the amazing view when we wake up and watch the sunset from our veranda. The pool is a wonderful treat after hiking up the hill, and one more we will miss! We would love to come back to visit again!

Jackie and Bethany, Minneapolis, MN

Feb. 28, 2007
Tomorrow we will be flying out to the cold weather in New England. Enjoyed our stay. Loved Sunshine & Lovers Beach. Regret not taking a hike -- next time! The view from this house made sitting around relaxing very enjoyable. We are with a very large group and going next door (to Calypso) morning + night. Our last day to enjoy... :)

Barbara Rlanders/ Pete Forend Vineyard Haven, MA -- Martha’s Vineyard

Feb. 19, 2007
Tomorrow we will leave Iris -- our home for the past month. We have thoroughly enjoyed our time here and shall dream about sitting on the verandah during the chilly New England days ahead. Next year we hope to come back for two months.

Gareth & Earl Anderson, Surry, NH

Jan 30 - Feb 13, 2007
We thoroughly enjoyed our stay here at Upper Calypso. The house was well appointed to support 2 couples. In addition to all the compliments in the previous entries we would like to restate the following: Spectacular view from the balcony! Perfect pool to beat the afternoon heat! Perfect verandah for enjoying the sunset and “the green flash”! This is the second time Toni & I have stayed in Nevis. I have surmised that: those people who tell you “the second trip to an island is never as good as the first”... have never been to Nevis.

Sandy & Carolyn, Toni & Ian, Ottawa, Canada

January 2007
We had a wonderful week at Upper Calypso. We parasailed on Pinney Beach just south of 4 Seasons, and had several good dives starting at Scuba Safari (Oualie Beach). Coconut Grove was lovely, but seemingly overpriced for dinner. Ms. June’s was expensive at $85/person, but the four hour dining experience there was unique... The beaches at Nisbett, Pinney and Oualie were all terrific. the weather was lovely (1/5/07 - 1/14/07), and we had a splendid time. The pace here suited us better than the one in St. Kitts where we spent a day... All in all, a great time, and the villa was just right. Thanks.

The Steinitz Family, Baltimore, Maryland, USA

Jan. 2, 2007
We are sad to be leaving this beautiful island and the 18 family members we were here with. We all enjoyed the beach, Nevis itself and our “Iris” home!

Jim, Denise, Patudi and Clay Garrett

Christmas 2006 - New year 2007
A family reunion made really special by this amazing place. We all (ages 1-58) had a ball! We could write a book... but need to catch our plane. Thanks!!

The Garretts, Washington D.C. Cleveland, OH, Kansas City

Jan 7, 2006
Thanks a lot to the hosts for letting us stay in such a beautiful place! I like the villas a lot and the paradise around. I met lots of interesting creatures here; my brother even bumped into a monkey on the stairway. Also, the beaches were great -- nothing burned me in the water or outside, which is rarely the case. People in Nevis are so nice and seem to have a relaxed and fun lifestyle; I met lots of new friends! Also, the company here was great and it was fun to see everyone!

Tanya Yarmola, NYC

11-27-05 to 12-2-05
What a wonderful place to vacation. We had a good family reunion coming from Wisc - Fla - Maryland - S Carolina and Nevis. Thanks, Calypso.

The Dixon and Owens and the Ichneeder and Johnson families.

23/7/05-20/8/05
Thank you Calypso for your protection for 4 wonderful weeks of sun, sea, and fresh food. We enjoyed our stay.

Mr & Mrs Haughton and Mr & Mrs Smithen from: Birmingham, England.

June 8th-15th, 2005.
We came to Nevis for my brother’s wedding, which took place at Nisbett. Much of our party stayed at the Calypso and many family gatherings occurred here. I loved the view and enjoyed sitting on the porch any time of day or night. We even did yoga together one morning. It was wonderful to walk down to Oualie Beach. We got some exercise coming back up the hill.
Activities:

We enjoyed the horse riding at Nevis Equestrian -- saw many monkeys up close
Snorkeling -- I saw the most fish and creatures past the point at Oualie Beach. We had better luck with clear waters early in the day. We also snorkeled at Nisbet, which had rougher water.
Island tour -- neat to see the other side of the island
Taxis -- Sydney Jeffers drove us a lot -- he’s great and also goes by Dr. Love. If you want a very wild ride, try the bus called "Buffalo Soldier" that passes by.
Food -- Rumours has great punch; Sunshines is fun; Oualie Beach -- good food and people, great bar!

We must go now -- so sad! Cheers,

Paxton family (Florida).

May 3-7, 2005
We came to Nevis for my daughter’s wedding and were pleasantly surprised how beautiful it is here. We actually live on St. Croix, V.I., which is also beautiful, but there is something magical here. Our stay at calypso and iris was perfect for us. There were nine adults and five children and we were all comfortable. The views of the ocean and mountains and St. Kitts are breathtaking. The accommodations are very adequate and reasonable. Having a pool on premises was great. All said, our family had a great time, and if we ever come back to Nevis, we’ll try to stay at calypso and Iris. Thank you for sharing your home with us.

Gary and Linda Surdyke and families.

February 2005
Normally we prefer to spend our winters at home in NYC in the snow, cold, and pollution, so it was tough to come to Nevis, with its turquoise waters, gentle breezes, and flawless sunsets. Throw in a beautiful house with fantastic views and you can imagine how we suffered! Still we’ll be back soon for another doze of hardship.

Alain and Man Yin.

January 2005
We had a pleasant time in this wonderful house in Oualie. We were so lucky to find this house on such short notice. On the veranda we spent many hours in the evenings and during breakfast. On the barbeque grill we cooked some of the delicious things we could find on this island (and in the sea). The lobster was magnificent. If dining out we could recommend restaurants like Bananas Bistro, and an experience of its own is a visit to Sunshines bar to have a "Killerbee" followed by a complete dinner in the sunset. Now when we are going back to the snowy streets of Sweden we will remember the good days in Nevis. Maybe some day we will be back!!! Thank you! Joyfully

The Magnusson Family, Stockholm, Sweden.

Russ and his fiancee had a wedding at Calypso/Iris in February 2005. From his e-mail:

Maria-

Got back about a week ago now and the stay down there was awesome. That is quite a place that you have there, everyone that stayed there was very impressed. Shirley was a life saver with the food and it was really good stuff.... we would recommend her to anyone... and she is one of the best and happiest people that I have met in some time. Thanks again for letting us share you place.... hopefully someday we will be contacting you again for a revisit to the paradise of Nevis. Don't hesitate to contact me if you need anything from me.

Russ [California]

Ahh... Paradise found! The three musketeers of diving arrived cold and bone-weary from a year of hard work and a winter of early snowstorms. After soaking in the breathtaking view, gorgeous sun and amazing diving we are now rested, rejuvenated and ready to tackle 2001. The dive operation at Oualie was the highlight of our stay in the island paradise. Ellis, Rusty, and Deuce were all real professionals and superb at finding underwater wildlife. The time (10 days) has flown by... Time truly flows here in its own lilting way. Makes us wonder if we have overcomplicated and overbusied our lives back home... Thank you Nevis and Villa Calypso - we shall return!

Judy & Steve (Boston) and Byron (Wilmington, NC)

We've had a perfect holiday! tranquil, breezy, warm -- even the rain showers were gentle and brought double rainbows in their wake. What a glorious view! And the beach was perfect for swimming and exploring. The house is luxurious! We pitied people staying in the hotels while we enjoyed most of the amenities and had so much more space and quiet and privacy. We explored the island a bit every day and tried to arrange an event (more or less) every day. The nature walk at Golden Rock, a visit to Nisbet Plantation and Mount Nevis Hotel, a walk along Pinney's Beach, a snorkeling trip to St. Kitts, horseback riding, etc. We haven't seen or heard the news in a week and don't miss it at all. A complete otherworldly retreat like nothing we've experienced before. We hope to return! Thank you so much for making this vacation special!

Jeanne, Peter, and Emily Kempthorne

What a beautiful spot! Came back to the villa for sunset every night. Highlights too many starting with breakfast on the veranda with a full rainbow!! Hiking Nevis Peak with ropes to help you up, the Source at Golden Rock climbing the ladder at the end to a special waterfall and coming back to a delicious lunch at the hotel and feeding their parrot french fries (his favorite). No one compares to Lynell and his knowledge of plants, and Nevis history hiking with him to Devil's Copper and Saddle Hill. A very special man with a lot of passion for Nevis. Beach and swimming - Lovers Beach, Pinney's and Nesbit. As far as the food - lots of choices: lunch - Sunshines, Beachcomber, Golden Rock, Hermitage, Nesbit Plantation; dinner - Miss June's, Bananas, Cla Cha Del, Tequila Sheila, Sunshines. Breakfast - buy your groceries at Tony's or Rams and eat on the veranda. Special note: Frederick and I couldn't find a place open X-Mas night and we drove by Miss June's and saw lots of cars. So we went in. Miss June was having her annual X-Mas party and she asked us to stay. It was a memorable night to say the least. I loved doing my yoga practice watching the sun go down. It was magical.

Much love, Jody, NYC.

Yikes! 10 days passes so quickly in Paradise! We schemed daily for a way to make a living in West Indies and to make it a regular gig. But for now, we'll have to settle for the pictures and the memories. Nevis is such a wonderful island, and Calypso a delightful spot upon her. We've enjoyed most every moment.

Sarah and Joe Perrrotto (Vermont, USA)

We had a wonderful and restful week. I suggest renting a car (Jeeps and Suzukis are fun on the bumpy roads) since you have so much more freedom. Oualie Beach is great and the snorkeling by the rocks is fantastic (lots of lobsters, too). Windsurfing lessons with Roy were fun too! Pinney's Beach is great; you can watch the pelicans dive while you eat at Sunshines. For food Miss June's is fabulous and try the banana pudding at Bananas. Lunch at golden Rock Plantation was good but avoid the lobster sandwich unless you are a mayo freak. Four Seasons is really nice but expensive (stay away from the swordfish and kids buffet). If you go to St. Kitts, eat at Spratters which is only open for dinner, and Stonewall's.

Katie (14, wrote this page), Alex (15), Sam (11), Barry, Ann (parents), Canada

What an amazing place. We've enjoyed every day of living in this picture postcard. Villa Calypso is an ideal home away from home. The weather, the food, the rainbow, the friendly people - where do we start? Our suggestions: catamaran with Lennox, water taxi to Turtle Beach and have lobster salad while the monkeys entertain you (or vice versa), Lovers' Beach as often as you can, hike to the Source with Lynell from Golden Rock Plantation, and spend some time at the beach at Nisbet. That should keep you busy for a while! Best grocery store to shop at is Ram's on the far side of Charlestown. Avoid Everton the cab driver at Turtle Beach and make sure your rental car has good tires! We expect our warm memories of this paradise will keep us warm for the winter.

Enjoy - Bev & Bobbie Allen.

Four of us (Americans) spent a whole week in Upper Calypso, and enjoyed our stay very much. The house on the hill had all the comforts of home yet we were able to relax and forget the stress of life "back home". The view from the veranda is spectacular. Remote yet so close to so many activities. We windsurfed, mountain biked, snorkeled, kayaked, scuba dived, swam, hiked to the top of Nevis Peak, and toured the island. We did most of our own cooking but enjoyed a couple of dinners out in local restaurants. We didn't rent a car but we were able to get around nicely on bike, with taxis, and on the local bus. We hired T.C. to give us a 2.5 hour tour with a wealth of information. Also hired guide Jim Johnson with "Top to Bottom" to guide us to the Nevis Peak (5 hrs). Mom's Maxi Taxi was a safe cautious driver. We reluctantly leave today by the 1:15 ferry to spend a night on St. Kitts, and Tuesday return to reality. Thanks Pat for being a concerned and gracious host, and thanks Nevis for an extremely relaxing vacation.

Bruce & Helen Martin (Tacoma, Washington)
Dick & Denise Erenstone (Lake Placid, NY)

Sunset