FAQ’s

Here in Barbados we use the term villa to describe a large single family home, normally with landscaped gardens and quality amenities and some level of domestic staffing. Very different from the definition in Australia where a Villa is something much more modest! The term Villa actually originated in Roman times to indicate an upscale country house, in modern times however Villa has come to mean several different things from Barbados villa vacations to luxury villa real estate.

The term Villa is also used as an umbrella to group together different types of vacation homes available for rental. These vacation homes include apartments and condos, town houses and standalone properties that share the common theme of providing an aspect of luxury above that of normal accommodation. This may be reflected in the location of the villa, the quality of fixtures and fittings or the presence of staff dedicated to helping you get the most from your villa rental. Blue Sky Luxury appreciate the needs of each individual and are committed to providing the perfect Barbados villa vacation to suit you.

Our classification of properties into four 'Styles' is intended to quickly and easily provide a sense of the type of quality of the accommodation to help you choose the right type of holiday home - a bit like the star system used by hotels. Whatever your preference, our wide ranging assessment of each of our homes will help to ensure you find the perfect holiday villa or apartment to match 'Your Style'.

• Flagship: these represent top quality in every respect. They tick all the boxes -superb location, superior quality accommodation, luxury furnishings and professional coordinated styling with an extensive array of amenities. In addition they are spacious and provide a high level of privacy and offer additional features such as a gym, tennis court or home cinema/high tech media room. They are further defined by the exceptionally high levels of hospitality offered by the dedicated and professional team of staff -usually comprising a chef, butler and housekeeping staff as a minimum. They are supported by ground staff and security to give a total experience of superior care.

• Luxury: these homes are upscale and offer high levels of comfort with a degree -or more- of extravagance! The accommodation and furnishings are refined and stylish reflecting an enhanced level of quality throughout. This is complemented by an extensive array of amenities combined with a high degree of hospitality, service and attention to detail. This level of quality accommodation is typically matched by well tended grounds.

• Classic: these properties are furnished to a high standard of comfort and typically offer more space and privacy than other properties with the same number of rooms. Furnishings and styling tend to reflect traditional Caribbean influences. They offer hospitality and service in keeping with the scale of the property.
• Essential: the defining characteristics of these holiday homes are that they offer comfortable, clean and pleasant accommodation in excellent locations. They appeal to the more value conscious traveler or family looking for a relaxed and casual home away from home. Maid service is provided at least once a week in these properties -sometimes more.

In addition to the Minimum Standards listed below all our homes are assessed against 300 specific quality criteria and are rated on 24 quantitative criteria in order to determine the 'Style' classification.

Note, all properties are either managed Blue Sky Luxury or by an approved Property Management company.

• Plunge Pool/Swimming Pool/ Beach Front
• Air conditioning and Ceiling fans/Standing fans in all bedrooms
• Maid Service -minimum once a week
• Equipped for full occupancy with matching linens, beach and bath towels, crockery and cutlery
• Telephone and Wireless Internet
• Television with cable/international channels
• Hair dryers in each bathroom
• Parking space for at least one car
• Fire extinguishers and Smoke detectors
• Security safe -at least one
• Side tables and side lamps in all bedrooms
• Minimum 2 pillows per guest for maximum occupancy
• Washer and Dryer/Laundry Facilities
• Toilet paper and bath soap provided

As a part of the whole Villa Holiday experience, staff are provided at all of our holiday homes - from a weekly maid service at some of our Essential apartments and smaller homes to a fully staffed household of butler, chef, housekeeper and maid at our Flagship villas. In addition, there are also staff providing pool maintenance and gardening services who may be on property during your stay from time to time.

Our Staff

Staffing Levels

Hours of Work

• Most Housekeeping staff work from 9.00 to 17.00
• Maid Service only - This is usually a 4 hour shift to change linens and towels and undertake some minor cleaning tasks. Timing will be advised by your Property Manager and duration will depend on the size of the property.
• Cook- Breakfast and Lunch 9.00 to 17.00 -may also include some preparation of dinner items if you are dining in.
• Cook- Lunch and Dinner 12.00 to 20.00
• Cook- if breakfast and dinner are being catered the cook will work from 09.00 to 14.00 and from 17.00 to 20.00
• Chef- depending on the meals required hours are typically 09.00 to 14.00 and 17.00 to 20.00

We recommend you discuss your plans for meals with the house staff so they can make the necessary arrangements to facilitate your plans.

Overtime can be arranged in many cases but please note this will be charged to your account at an additional cost. In some cases (usually after 20.00) you may also be required to pay for transport home as public transport is not very frequent in the later part of the evening and some of our properties are a little 'off the beaten track'. Staff will endeavour to fit their breaks for meals around your own plans.

Grocery Shopping- Some staff will shop for you if required although some guests prefer to shop for themselves and enjoy visiting both our Supermarkets and Farmers markets -transport costs may need to be covered if the staff are required to do this. Our Concierge team can also arrange for groceries, wine or other supplies to be delivered to your holiday home in time for your arrival and during your stay.

Entertaining Additional Guests- Staff are provided to accommodate and cater for the maximum number of guests permitted at the property. If you plan to entertain additional visitors be advised that numbers are limited to 50% of the maximum occupancy -for example, if your holiday home sleeps four, the maximum party size that can be accommodated/catered will be six. Any additional guests or catering requirements are subject to the approval of the Owner or Property Manager and additional charges may apply.

Your Property Manager or Guest Relations Representative will inform you of the staff and working hours at your holiday home on your arrival. Please remember that these vary from house to house so if you have previously stayed at another Blue Sky Property the staffing may not necessarily be the same. Below is an outline of the tasks and responsibilities typically undertaken by the staff who work in our villas and apartments.

Roles

• Housekeeper - Prepares the home for your arrival and manages the cleaning during your stay. Some housekeepers will launder the towels and linens as well as guest laundry (where this service is offered -but not undergarments). A Housekeeper will also oversee any junior staff -such as in a larger household- and in some cases they may assist with table setting, serving a meal or drinks and help tidy up the kitchen when a cook or chef is provided.
• Maid - Prepares and sets up the property for your arrival. Makes the beds and replaces linens and towels and may also undertake laundry duties -but do not launder guests personal effects.
• Laundress - Strips beds, removes towels, sorts and launders these items. Irons, folds and stores all soft furnishing items.
• Cook - Prepares basic, tasty island cuisine using local ingredients and will develop a menu for each day of your stay in consultation with your preferences. They will recommend a list of items required to prepare the meals -items can be ordered through Concierge, bought by the staff or Butler (if this service is offered at your property) or self-purchased.
• Chef - Able to prepare a variety of international dishes and will develop a menu for each day of your stay in consultation with your preferences. They will recommend a list of items required to prepare the meals -items can be ordered through Concierge, bought by the staff or Butler (if this service is offered at your property) or self-purchased. A chef has received formal training through a recognized culinary institute.
• Butler - In charge of the household staff. Our Butlers will meet with you to ensure your requests can be accommodated and implemented by the household team. They will take responsibility for ordering or purchasing food and beverages including wines and liquors for the household as per guest requests. They oversee the serving of meals and refreshments and are responsible for liaising with the guest in respect of billing for the household purchases during the stay. Note that in some homes a staff member may perform a combination of roles.

Tipping

We know you're excited about your trip to Barbados, but make sure you have all of the items on the checklist below and you familiarize yourself with a few key things before a couple weeks before you come. After all, you don't want any surprises after you arrive! For information related to Barbados Travel Protocols related to COVID-19 see our COVID-19 Info Page.

Travel Documents - Passport

Travel Documents - Visas

Electrical Standards

• 2 Flat blades
• 2 Flat blades with round grounding/earth pin

Currency

Credit Cards

Drivers License and Permit

Barbados Customs and Duty Free Allowances

General duty free allowances in Barbados

Restricted or Prohibited Items

Fruits and Vegetables. All fruits, vegetables, plants, cuttings, seeds or unprocessed plant products must be declared to customs and presented for inspection by a Plant Quarantine Officer. Fresh fruits from certain countries are prohibited in order to prevent the spreading of pest and plant diseases. Certain plant, seeds or cuttings may require an import permit and a photosanitary certificate. Request for import permits and further information should be addressed to:

Plant Quarantine Ministry of Agriculture, Graeme Hall Christ Church Barbados Tel (246) 428-4150

BRITAIN - Duty Free Allowances for Returning British Citizens

• 1 liter of alcohol
• 60cc of perfumes
• Up to £145 worth of other goods.

CANADA - Duty Free Allowances for Returning Canadian Citizens

• 1.4 liters of alcoholic beverages OR 1.5 liters of wine
• 24 12-oz cans/bottles of beer.

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA - Duty Free Allowances for Returning American Citizens

Vaccinations and Vaccines

So you have decided that you want to enjoy all the benefits of renting a Holiday Home in Barbados. Here is a step by step walk through on how to proceed.

• Browse BlueSkyLuxury.com and identify a shortlist of rental properties that fit your requirements. The search tools will help narrow your choices based on criteria ranging from Your Style to Wow Factors that make the properties stand out. You can of course also search by things like bedrooms and rate, but that’s the boring part. Once you have shortlist or a particular villa in mind use the “Enquire Now” button on any property to submit a request online. If you prefer you can use our toll free number to speak to one of our Holiday Home Experts who will happily guide you through the selection process.
• Once we receive your enquiry, one of our Holiday Home Experts will check on the availability for your dates and properties; and feed these back to you and discuss further which option would be best for your needs. This is where the knowledge of properties the Experts possess really helps ensure you can make informed decisions and get the rental property that suits all of your needs.
• Having selected your property, your Expert will issue you with the rental documentation which includes details of the deposit we need to secure your booking for your dates. We quote and charge in USD$ due to daily fluctuations with other currencies. We cannot quote in British Pounds, Canadian Dollars, the Euro or any other currency - our rates can be displayed in other currencies but these are just approximations based on the daily exchange rate (which can change).
• As your travel date approaches a Concierge representative will be in contact to look after any additional needs you may have while on island. Our Concierge team will assist you in arranging everything from airport transfers, car rentals and provisioning to more exotic requests. Even live peacocks have failed to stump the team!
• Once you arrive, depending on your chosen method of transport from the airport, you will make your way to the property, collect your keys, take a quick tour of your holiday home and begin your amazing holiday. The property manager or customer service representative, will be in contact to arrange a visit, where you can fine tune further arrangements and ask any further questions that may have cropped up.

For full details on flexible cancellation related to COVID-19 see our COVID-19 Info Page. Payment by the visitor (rental guest) to Blue Sky Luxury of a deposit equal to 25% of the total rental fee is required to confirm a booking and payment of the remaining 75% is required 30 days prior to the Client’s arrival except in the case of Christmas bookings where payment is due 60 days prior to arrival. Blue Sky Luxury reserves the right to request a deposit of 50% of the total rental fee before accepting any booking. For bookings in excess of 28 days special terms apply. Payment may be made by Wire transfer, International money order or Credit Card. Where a booking is requested 30 days or less before the Client’s arrival date, full payment must be made at time of booking to secure the booking. Full payment must be received before being granted access to the property. If full payment is not made 30 days or more prior to the arrival of the visitor, Blue Sky Luxury reserves the right to cancel the booking and the full balance may be forfeited.

There are many reasons to rent a Holiday Home in Barbados but we think it boils down to three key things, Value, Service, and Customization.

Value – While this may surprise you, when you examine what you get when you rent a Villa or Apartment you will see that the value on offer often exceeds similar hotel accommodation. Looking at the per person per night rate for a property can really illuminate this and you will find this measure included in the rates sections on our property pages. Do compare to other accommodation options here in Barbados, we think you will be in for a surprise.

Service – Here in Barbados, and with Blue Sky Luxury holiday homes in particular, staffing is included to varying degrees with most of the properties. The staffing ranges from someone who will help make sure your holiday has the minimum of boring household tasks like laundry and washing up, to larger properties where you enjoy being pampered by a full staff. If you ever wondered what it would be like to have a Butler now you can!

Customization – Even before you arrive at your holiday home in Barbados the breadth of choice available in the type of home you choose to rent from Blue Sky Luxury means that you can already choose just what kind of holiday you are seeking. Be it a tranquil villa getaway swathed in luxury and privacy or an elegant modern apartment on the beach and close to the nightlife. When you rent a holiday home from Blue Sky Luxury what you do is up to you. There are no restaurant closing times, no competing with other guests for the prime poolside spots, and if you want to stay up late and have a dip in the pool before bed, there is no one to scold you, well, baring irate spouses of course.

Blue Sky Luxury offers a wide range of rental options for your Holiday Homes, these range in style and type from beach front apartments with the essentials for a relaxed getaway to private estates where you can pamper yourself with luxury in a private tranquil setting. This is reflected in the price of the holiday homes we offer which range from a low of $130 in the summer to $20,000 in Christmas.

Blue Sky Luxury staff conducts a comprehensive evaluation of every property we accept into our portfolio. These inspections are used to complete a checklist which covers all aspects of the property in fine detail and we use this document to ensure the property matches our standards. In addition this document serves to determine how we classify the property with a Style. We have the utmost confidence these standards are maintained.

Yes. A member of our concierge team will be in contact you well before you arrive on island to ensure that everything is ready for your trip. In addition once on the island they will be just a phone call away to arrange any additional needs you have, be it as simple as recommendations and bookings for excursions or as off the wall as live peacocks for a wedding. Yes, you read that last one right, needless to say we do our best to help however out there the request might seem.

What each property offers is particular to each property but we do have certain minimum standards. It may range from housekeeping once per week to full chef and butler service. As you are renting a holiday home, everyday expenses like food and drinks are not included in most villas but our Concierge Can arrange for a villa to be pre-stocked if you would prefer. Details of staffing inclusions are on each of our property pages and our Reservations Specialists will be happy to provide further details through the booking process.

As a rule of thumb, for each bedroom in a property two adults can stay. This is not a hard and fast rule however, as in some case bedrooms may not be suitable for double occupancy. This is why on every property page you can see the max number of guests for the property under normal circumstances. There can be special cases where an owner will allow the use of temporary bedding to extend this max occupancy so check with one of our holiday home experts if you think you require this.

The minimum length of stay varies depending on the property and the season. You can see what these are in the rate section of each property but as a rule you will not find any properties that rent for less than three nights.

Yes. The holiday homes you are renting are someone’s home away from home and the fit and furnish reflect this, these are not your average hotel rooms. As such a refundable security deposit will be charged to a valid credit card on arrival and released 7 days after departure.

Should an issue arise at the property that the staff cannot assist with; your first point of contact will be the property manager. The property manager will do their best to address the issue as quickly as possible. In addition to this the property manager will then advise our dedicated guest relations team so they can follow-up and ensure that the issue has been resolved in the best possible manner.

Effective the 14th February 2022, there is no curfew in place and attractions are all open with safety protocols for you to enjoy! You can stay abreast of our latest guidelines via the Barbados Gazette. The Ministry of Health and Wellness is monitoring the situation carefully and will make adjustments as necessary to ensure the safety of our community and our visitors. The management of the pandemic in Barbados has been exemplary, and protocols are in place for all businesses in regard to sanitization, use of personal protective equipment, and other such safety measures. Barbados is also well underway with its vaccination program with over 160,000 persons receiving at least their first dose of the vaccine to date, representing over 70% of the eligible population and including the majority of our villa staff. The government of Barbados remains focused on ensuring that Barbadian citizens and residents have the opportunity to receive the vaccine as soon as possible with a goal of reaching herd immunity as soon as possible to further support our tourist economy. Read more about our vaccination program in our blog.

Effective from February 26th 2022: Travelers are permitted to travel to Barbados with a valid negative Rapid COVID-19 PCR test OR a Rapid Antigen test result done within 1 day prior to arrival in Barabdos or a negative RT-PCR COVID-19 test result done within 3 days prior to arrival. The test must be taken at an accredited or recognized laboratory by a healthcare provider via a nasopharyngeal sample, oropharyngeal sample, nasal sample, anterior nares sample, or a mid-turbinate sample. LAMP tests, self-administered tests or home kits and tests using saliva samples will not be accepted Should you not be able to complete a test or receive results prior to travel, you may be refused entry to Barbados. For the most up to date protocols please refer to the Barbados Travel Protocols website. Download the BIMSafe App from the App Store prior to departure. All passengers will be expected to complete their Embarkation/Disembarkation (ED) card 24 hours prior to departure including specific questions relating to issues of personal health and symptoms including test results being submitted in advance. Once submitted, passengers will receive an email confirmation with a barcode confirming their certificate to travel to Barbados. To complete your online Immigration and Customs form please click here.

Providing safe and clean environments for our guests is a top priority. Our homes are not just cleaned, they are disinfected. Cleaning is the act of removing dirt, germs, and other impurities. Disinfecting is when you use chemicals to kill germs. All of our homes are cleaned first and then disinfected to lower the risk of infection. All of our staff have undergone training on COVID-19 specific disinfection procedures in accordance with recommendations made by the World Health Organisation, USA Centre's for Disease Control (CDC), and local authorities in respect of cleaning for virus prevention. Protocols have been established in Barbados for all Tourism Accommodation to ensure the health and safety of our guests, staff and community. Comprehensive COVID-19 guidance is in place globally detailing how to best protect against transmission of the virus and we have included this in our protocols for cleaning procedures including frequent cleaning of high-touch areas. Full logs are being kept of our sanitisation processes and confirmation that our homes are prepared for your arrival and throughout your stay to the highest standards. Every home is inspected prior to arrival.