Having not been to Virgin Gorda before, we thought we might be taking a bit of a chance staying in a villa for the first time we've visited the island. Typically, we'd find a good hotel so that we can be confident that we get a certain level of service. That being said, after now completing our first stay in a villa, we wonder if we'll ever go back to a hotel for this type of vacation!
We first corresponded with Mango bay over email and got to interact with Gino. We'd read a lot of positive things about Gino and Mango bay on Trip Advisor and another travel forum and he certainly lived up the the great things that have been said about him and the property!
We signed up for the "just for two" package which included accommodations, jeep rental for the length of our stay, an in-room massage for two, and dinner for two at The Rock Cafe.
We arrived via ferry from St. Thomas and our arrival time was late in the evening, but Mango Bay was very accommodating. They had arranged for the rental car company to meet us right after we cleared customs with the keys to a jeep (it was actually a suzuki, but I can't remember the model, but it looked like a jeep). The rental agency even escorted us in another vehicle to Mango Bay just to make sure we didn't...Having not been to Virgin Gorda before, we thought we might be taking a bit of a chance staying in a villa for the first time we've visited the island. Typically, we'd find a good hotel so that we can be confident that we get a certain level of service. That being said, after now completing our first stay in a villa, we wonder if we'll ever go back to a hotel for this type of vacation!
We first corresponded with Mango bay over email and got to interact with Gino. We'd read a lot of positive things about Gino and Mango bay on Trip Advisor and another travel forum and he certainly lived up the the great things that have been said about him and the property!
We signed up for the "just for two" package which included accommodations, jeep rental for the length of our stay, an in-room massage for two, and dinner for two at The Rock Cafe.
We arrived via ferry from St. Thomas and our arrival time was late in the evening, but Mango Bay was very accommodating. They had arranged for the rental car company to meet us right after we cleared customs with the keys to a jeep (it was actually a suzuki, but I can't remember the model, but it looked like a jeep). The rental agency even escorted us in another vehicle to Mango Bay just to make sure we didn't get lost along the way. That was awesome that we had them to follow over there, as there's not much in the way of street lights when you get outside of Spanish Town.
We got checked in to our villa and were immediately impressed with how big it was! It had two bedrooms, two bathrooms (one with a shower), a living room area with TV with basic satellite, and a outdoor dining area with a kitchen.
It was dark so we couldn't truly appreciate the view that we had until the morning. When we woke up and went out to the dining area it had the most amazing ocean view and was better than we could have imagined it would be. We were only about 30 steps or so from the beach and even though we did run into other vacationers while we were there, we didn't see them too often and felt like we had the run of the place. For the 7 nights we were there, we spent many nights on the beach watching the sunset just my wife and I! How awesome and romantic! :)
There's several grocery store options so it was easy for us to go into Spanish Town and get supplies. We cooked a few meals in and had a few out. There's no shortage of liquor and wine to be found on the island, so we set up our own little mini bar. Next thing you know, we were making our own pitchers of Painkillers to enjoy on the beach.
Mango Bay as a great setup for snorkeling as it's located right on Mahoe bay. We could get up in the morning, walk right down and get in the ocean and find some of the best snorkeling we had! We even saw a turtle twice while we were there. Also, Savannah Bay is right around the corner from Mango Bay's property, so you can also enjoy the snorkeling there as well. Savannah Bay is equally as impressive as Mahoe Bay was.
Location wise, we liked Mango bay as it is kind of in the middle of the where we wanted to go. The island is not that big, so it wouldn't really matter where you stay but at Mango Bay it's not like you're staying at the tip or end of the island. There's easy access to the main road so you can easily get wherever you want to go to explore!
Besides, Gino's hospitality and making us feel welcome throughout the visit, we were really impressed by how attentive the staff at Mango Bay was to keeping our Villa clean. Every morning they came by to replace linens and the usual stuff, but their extra touches really made it nice! They'd make sure that there were fresh flowers in the vase in the living area, and would also decorate the rolled up towels and other linens with flowers as well! It was really a nice touch!
Overall, we'd definitely come back to Mango Bay. We had such a great time and the staff was great to interact with. The villa was clean and well kept. Lots of little things were supplied such as a blow dryer and a coffee maker. Those things make a big difference!More
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