A perfect day at Villa Okeanos starts with coffee on a private balcony high over the Caribbean and ends with rum punch at the infinity pool. In between: Shoal Bay East by mid-morning, lunch on the water at Scilly Cay, an afternoon nap in the trade winds, and dinner a few minutes from the gate. Here is the hour-by-hour version.
Early morning at Villa Okeanos
The light comes up over the water and the house is quiet. Whoever wakes first makes coffee and takes it out to the balcony, and for about an hour nothing happens at all. The wind is down in the morning, so this is the calmest part of the day and the best time to sit outside.
If you are going to swim at Shoal Bay East, go now. Before nine the beach is close to empty and the water is flat.
Late morning
Breakfast at the villa, usually, because the kitchen is right there and nobody wants to drive anywhere yet. Groups tend to fall into this pattern by the second morning without discussing it.
After that the day splits. Some people go back down to the beach. Some stay at the pool. The pool is the reason a lot of guests booked, and on most days at least one person never leaves the terrace.
The middle of the day
It is hot between noon and three, and the covered terrace is where everyone ends up. There is shade, there is a table, and it is the part of the house that gets used more than any other. If you are travelling with a group of eight or more, this is where the group actually assembles.
Lunch is usually whatever came back from the shop, eaten slowly. This is also when the children, if you have brought any, discover the pool for the second time that day.
Late afternoon
The wind picks up around four and the terrace gets comfortable again. This is our favourite hour on the property and the one we would keep if we could only keep one.
If you are eating out, this is when you would leave. If you are staying in, this is when someone starts on dinner and someone else starts on drinks at the outdoor bar.
Evening
Sundowners at the bar, then dinner either at the long table outside or down at one of the beach places. The restaurant list covers the ones we send people to.
After dark it is properly quiet up here. That is the part guests mention most often afterwards, more than the pool or the view. There is no road noise and no music from a resort. You hear wind and not much else.
What we would tell you to protect
Do not fill the week. The mistake guests make is booking something every day and then spending the last two days wishing they had stayed at the house. The villa takes up to eleven people across four bedrooms, and the days everyone remembers are usually the ones where nothing was planned.
You can see the whole property in the photo gallery, or check which dates are open.
