Coconut Court Family

Charlie Blades and his wife Lorraine bought the Coconut Court Beach Hotel in 1975.

Seven family members work at the south coast hotel. Charlie is still an “unofficial consultant”, according to his daughter Linda, who is now the marketing manager.

Her husband Jason Lampkin is general manager and her brother Mark is head of maintenance.

Another brother runs Ted’s Tours, which is based at the hotel.  To complete the full house, Ted’s wife Vaida runs the activities centre.

“Being family run makes Coconut Court a much more personalised experience for the guests,” said Linda.

“It shows that someone is interested and cares about them. They’re not just a number.”

Staff at the beach

“Quirky”

“The bigger chains follow an international model, even down to construction and layout. It’s all defined by their brand,” Linda said.

It’s crucial that local hotels offer something different. “It’s important that we keep our identity. Coconut Court is very quirky. Our cultural heritage is part of that.”

Each room has its individual identity. All are named after classic local songs – “Spring Garden On Fire” and “Bump and Wine” two tunes worth checking out whichever room you are in.

Even fish and turtles enjoy hotel sanctuary…

There were 40 rooms when the family took over. There are now 100.

Charlie Blades built a breakwater off the beach in 1991 to create a small lagoon for swimming.

“We have a lovely stretch of beach,” Linda added. “Like all beaches in Barbados, it’s public, but generally only the guests use it.”

In 2000, Mark and another brother James put 18 concrete “reef balls” inside the lagoon. These offer a sanctuary for reef fish, whose numbers are declining, partly because of overfishing.

The endangered hawksbill turtle nests near the hotel and guests can witness the hatchlings’ mad dash for the sea.

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