Historic Sea Captain's House, Walk to Town, Beach

Overview & Photos

LOVINGLY RESTORED SEA CAPTAIN'S HOUSE IN FRIENDLY, HISTORIC GOVERNOR'S HARBOUR

A white picket fence and palm trees welcome you to this elegant 19th century home, nestled on a quiet street among other colonial houses in historic Governor's Harbour, the original capital of the Bahamas.

Built by Captain John Bethel of 'Sloop John B' fame, Tamarind is an airy, four-bedroom home that sleeps up to eight guests in comfort. It has a fully equipped kitchen with a breakfast table, as well as a separate dining room.  Also downstairs is a front parlour and an office space with a desk and computer screen you may use with your laptop computer. 

Tamarind has one bedroom downstairs with a king bed and adjoining bathroom.  Upstairs there are three more bedrooms, one with a king bed, and two additional bedrooms with two twin beds each, as well as a full bathroom. 

You will enjoy the wrap-around veranda at the front of the house and private back patio, complete with an outdoor dining table, gas BBQ, lounge chair for sunning, and private outdoor shower that we prefer to use when returning from the beach.

Tamarind is decorated with country antiques, seagrass mats, ceiling fans and tasteful art. Its spacious garden is filled with tropical flowering plants and fruit trees. Our family has made every effort to maintain the charming grace of this historic home.

From Tamarind you are just a few steps from the town center and the sleepy harbour, with its lovely cove beaches and boats at anchor. You are also a ten-minute walk or short drive to one of the Caribbean's most spectacular beaches –  a one and-a-half mile crescent of pink powder sand, protected by a live barrier reef, with innumerable shades of turquoise, green and blue water stretching to the horizon.
Amenities include parking at the back of the house, Wi-Fi, smart TV, and a Pack ‘n Play for our young guests.

All four bedrooms have portable AC units in addition to ceiling fans. PLEASE NOTE that, during extremely warm periods, these AC units may not cool the bedrooms of this historic home to temperatures a typical modern traveler may expect.  Heat-sensitive guests interested in this rental for late July or August, the hottest time of the year, should consider this. 

THE TOWN AND THE ISLAND

Governor's Harbour is a small, peaceful town on the Family Island of Eleuthera, offering a collection of distinctive colonial homes, historic churches, and colorful Bahamian buildings. The natural beauty of Eleuthera is only exceeded by the grace and warmth of its people, a primary reason vacationing couples and families return again and again to this island community.

You will find all the services you need in town, including grocery stores, gift shops, post office, library, bank, gas stations, dive shop, liquor stores and bakeries. There are also several good local restaurants to choose from, and a few colorful local bars.

Regular weekly events in town include live music at the restaurants, a fish fry most Friday nights on one of the harbour's beaches, and a Saturday morning arts and crafts program for children at the historic Haynes Library. Most of these amenities are within easy walking distance from Tamarind.

The island of Eleuthera is 110 miles long and an average of only two miles wide. Governor's Harbour is located in the middle of Eleuthera, making day excursions easy. The entire island is ringed by world-class beaches that are never crowded, and some of which you will have all to yourself.

There are many interesting settlements up and down the island. In addition, you will be able to enjoy fabulous fishing (deep sea, reef and bone fishing), snorkeling and SCUBA diving. 

Rates are on a sliding scale based on the number of guests.  We set the rates this way to make the property more affordable for smaller groups who use less utilities and put less wear and tear on the house.  If you enter the correct number of guests, the reservation system will calculate the rates correctly.