Pagua Bay House – Dominica’s Boutique Hotel Where Nature Meets Luxury

Disclaimer: My stay at Pagua Bay House was paid for by Discover Dominica but all opinions expressed are my own.

In September of 2017 Hurricane Maria landed a devastating blow to the Caribbean island of Dominica. The ferocious winds damaged the majority of the island’s buildings and stripped the mountains of their vegetation. Since then the island has made a remarkable recovery. Buildings have been repaired, and the mountains are getting back to their lush green state. On a recent press trip to the island I met Alicia Davison, one of the owners of Pagua Bay House Oceanfront Cabanas. Their hotel suffered some serious damage but they’ve since repaired their cabanas and have made Pagua Bay House one of the top hotels in Dominica.

The pool at Pagua Bay House

I grew up in the Caribbean and staying at Pagua Bay House for a few days reminded me of life back in Trinidad. I fell asleep to the sound of rain falling on the galvanized roof and woke up with the ocean breeze cooling the room. Everyday I was greeted with a smile and a “Good mornin'” and I switched back to my Trini accent as I chatted with the staff who welcomed me as if I was visiting their home.

Sunrise at Pagua Bay House

Pagua Bay House is located in the village of Marigot which is on the Atlantic Ocean side of Dominica and just a few minutes away from the Douglas Charles airport. This is the second Pagua Bay House. The first location, which was also owned and operated by Alicia and her husband Rick, was a little closer to the airport but they sold it a few years ago and bought the current property.

Pagua Bay House Cabanas

The thing that I loved about Pagua Bay House is that it’s not your typical hotel. The property is made up of separate cabanas, each with their own distinct look and feel. They were built to look like banana processing sheds with galvanized aluminium on the outside walls, but that’s where the resemblance ends. I asked Alicia why they created cabanas for their guests:

“We like the feeling of having your own space, not walking down a hall to get to your room, like an apartment building.”

I wholeheartedly agree with her! While I was there I loved the short walk back to my cabana from the restaurant and pool area. To get to some of the cabanas you have to walk through their manicured lawns but my cabana was up a set of stairs on the side of a little hill. The stairs led to my own private outdoor seating area that was decked out with lounge chairs and a hammock. It looked out over the property and the ocean and was the perfect spot to relax with a book and a cocktail or two.



When I first entered my cabana I was surprised at the size of it. The floor of the room was polished concrete and the bathroom was a mixture of a dark hardwood and concrete. The walls were all made of local wood. In the bedroom there was a desk, two night tables, a bar with bottled water, a mini fridge, and a king sized bed that I didn’t want to get out of on mornings.

As I walked through the bedroom to the bathroom I had to stop and pick my jaw off the ground. The bathroom  felt as if I had my own private spa. On one side was a massive soaker tub that must have been at least three feet deep. The rain shower was open with enough space for at least three people to shower at the same time, not that that happened while I was there.

My bedroom at Pagua Bay House

The soaker tub in my cabana

Shower stall

My cabana was the second biggest on the property, and while the outdoor seating area, hammock, and ocean view were gorgeous, the outdoor space of the biggest cabana had me jealous. That cabana came with an even bigger sitting area and it’s own lap pool! Inside the cabana the bedroom was about the same size as mine but this shower looks like it was made for at least five people.

One thing that I noticed, which I’ve never seen at any hotel I’ve stayed at before, (and I totally forgot to ask Alicia about) was that there wasn’t a TV or a radio in my room. I kind of liked that though. Usually I have the TV on just for background noise without actually watching anything but at Pagua Bay House I could hear the rain falling and the night time critters making their noises with the ocean waves in the background.

The Restaurant At Pagua Bay House

The restaurant on the property is called ‘Pagua Bay Bar and Grill‘ and their tagline is ‘If it’s grown in the region we eat it in season’. This means that they get all of their fresh produce from local farmers. According to Alicia:

“Everything we make here is made from scratch; from our homemade bread, bagels, ice cream, cheesecakes,  and sauces. Our produce comes directly from our greenhouse and local farmers as well as the fresh local fish, eggs, chicken, pork and goat.”

The restaurant offers indoor and outdoor seating and guests can choose where they’d like to sit and eat.  I was in heaven when I looked over the menu because it was filled with ingredients that I grew up with. The first meal I ate at the restaurant was sauteed vegetables in a rich coconut curry sauce with mahi mahi and an order of white rice. The curry was more SE Asian in its flavour but the vegetables and fish were all local. As I said, everything is house made so I followed my main with a serving of their soursop ice cream.

Mahi Mahi and local veggies in a coconut curry sauce

House made sour sop ice cream

Talking about fresh, one morning we were having breakfast and a farmer walked in with a big bag of passion fruit and sour cherries that he had picked just a couple of hours ago. Unfortunately we didn’t stay at Pagua Bay House long enough to sample some of the dishes that that passion fruit made its way into.

This farmer brought in fresh passion fruit and cherries to Pagua Bay Bar and Grill

The breakfast menu at Pagua Bay Bar and Grill is a fantastic mix of dishes that North Americans would recognize, like omelettes and breakfast sandwiches, and local dishes, like saltfish and provision. Can you guess which one I chose while I was there? That’s right, I had the saltfish and local provisions followed by a plate of fresh fruit. In the Caribbean a provision is any root vegetable that’s simply boiled, for this breakfast it was dasheen and yam. Dasheen is a very starchy root that’s similar in taste and texture to taro. The rest of the plate was made up of boiled plantain, some sauteed vegetables and, the star of the show, the salted cod. The cod was lightly pan fried with onions, tomatoes, and a touch of turmeric. Needless to say I was in heaven!

Breakfast of champions: Provision and saltfish

Fresh fruit plate

Pagua Bay Bar and Grill

Chesse omelette

Other Services

The folks at Pagua Bay House also have a fantastic concierge service available for their guests. In Dominica there’s so many outdoors activities available for visitors that one can easily get overwhelmed trying to decide on what to do. Their concierge has contacts with many of the local tour operators on the island and they can easily set up an itinerary to serve everyone’s needs.  They can arrange a variety of activities from visits to local cultural sites, breathtaking hikes through the mountains, snorkeling or whale watching, or just a relaxing day trip on one of the many rivers that run through the island.



If you don’t feel like venturing out, the concierge will gladly arrange some spa services such as a couples massage in the privacy of your cabana. Pagua Bay House also offers complimentary water sport equipment for guests such as kayaks, river tubes, and  surf and paddle boards.

Location

Pagua Bay House is located in the village of Marigot and is just a few minutes away from Dominica’s Douglas-Charles Airport. The hotel is situated on the eastern side of the island with the Atlantic Ocean right outside its doors. Being on this side of the island means that while the beach is accessible, swimming is not always possible because of rough seas.

Address: Pagua Bay, Dr Nicholas Liverpool Hwy, Marigot, Dominica
Phone: 1-767-612-6068
Website: https://paguabayhouse.com/

Conclusion

Dominica is an island where you go to get outside and connect with nature. It’s not one where you sit on a white sand beach all day sipping pina coladas. It’s nickname is the “Nature Island” and Dominica has an abundance of it. It’s said that Dominica has 365 rivers so guests will always have somewhere new to swim during their visit. Pagua Bay House is the perfect location when in Dominica either for a short visit or a week long stay. Their staff will ensure that you have a memorable stay and assist you in all that you need.

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