Perlican Isle Villas should be a 5 rating and just a little attention to detail would make it so. There is so much to like about it and without a question I will be back in the future. First off as other reviewers have said the location is unbelievable. You are perched on a point between two very different beaches, each a 2 minute or less walk away. The beach to the east is a narrow coral beach with two large coral reefs off shore. The snorkeling there is very good. The beach to the West is Turners beach a 1 mile long golden sand beach with 3 pretty good beach bar/restaurants.
The Captains villa is a large airy two bedroom cottage with individual air conditioning controls in each bedroom. The living areas are comfortably furnished. The lack of A/C in the rest of the cottage is not a problem, with windows open it is comfortable. In general we were very comfortable there. the folks who provide daily cleanup are fabulous, they will do a load of laundry for you and hang it to dry, generally very kind and helpful

The details is what loses Pelican isle a 5 rating. The kitchen was poorly equipped, only a couple of table knives, no sharp knives, no cutting board, a couple of pots, a couple of cooking dishes 4 plates, four bowls, 3 tumblers, that sort of thing. A couple of windows would not open. A couple of screens with small tears which allowed the numerous insects a path in. A couple of burned out light bulbs Nothing major not worth a complaint, just with a little attention and very minimal dollars this would be a stellar place.

If you come pack some basics, a paring knife, a slicing knife, cutting board, small skillet, any special implements. Buy mosquito coils for sitting outside and the bugs aren't too bad. Make any exploring plans before you come, the lack of easy close internet access makes any planning tough

Generally a wonderfully low key relaxing place to stay. Good place to stay

Pelican Isle is a hidden gem with the best views on Antigua. Its location is down a nearly hidden driveway to a hillside peninsula adjacent to two beaches. Turner’s beach is considered one of the island’s best swimming beaches. The 200 degree view from my villa is a photographer’s dream…inspiring sunrises and sunsets as well as the changing colors of the sea are an inspiration. Photos on their website www.pelicanislevillas.com give some idea of the spectacular setting.

Currently there are only 4 active rental villas. They are well spaced for individual unit privacy on this 9 acre property. The spacious units have full kitchens with oversized refrigerator/freezers. My 2 bedroom unit had a very large porch with an outdoor dining table and lounge chairs. Maid service provided fresh towels for the bath and beach every other day.

While a car is necessary to fully enjoy Antigua, for those willing to walk down the half mile long driveway to the hamlet of Johnson’s Point there is a small store, bus service and taxi service. More complete services are about 4 miles away at Jolly Harbor. Last week another guest literally lived off the land catching lobsters and fish in nearby waters. Most people will want to follow the approach we took, a few good meals at Jolly Harbor and some home cooked meals utilizing locally grown vegetables purchased at Saturday’s colorful market in St. John.

We only experienced a few bug bites from sand flies in the early evening just after sunset. I understand that since a nearby swampy area has been turned into a lake, mosquitoes have been much less of an issue.

Every time I close my eyes I still see the magnificent turquoise-blue water and puffy clouds floating by the Pelican Isle veranda. This place put me on cloud #9.

Superb location at Johnson's Point on the attractive south-west coast with fine sunsets over Montserrat.The two-bedroomed Captain's Villa has a huge garden with a large shade tree and a 180-degree view of the Caribbean. The outdoor breakfast table, where bullfinches and bananaquits come for crumbs, has a lovely view of Turner's Beach.
The Captain's Villa has been much improved since our last visit in 2006, but it still has some way to go. It has a much fresher feel with new white paintwork throughout, both bedrooms now have modern, quiet, remote-controlled air conditioning instead of the old motel-style window-rattlers and the kitchen now has a microwave oven as well as an old-but-efficient gas cooker and huge refrigerator/freezer. For ventilation in the enormous cathedral-ceilinged living room there is just a ceiling fan and window louvres all-round which is not quite enough.
Still desperately needed is a complete kitchen re-fit (30-year-old units have chipped doors hanging off their hinges) and replacement of the equally-ancient upholstery of the otherwise-serviceable lounge furniture. Other villas on the site are in varying degrees of repair. So far, the American family owning the property seemingly can't agree among themselves to commit the necessary funds to bring things up-to-date, which is a shame considering the vast potential of this truly wonderful location.
You will need a car to get around although the friendly 3-Martinis bar/restaurant is just a ten-minute walk along the road (see separate review). A little further is OJ's then Gibson's which serves excellent quality food by candlelight on the beach - at a price. There's a mini-mart at the end of the lane but for most food purchases it is a 15-minute drive to the Epicurean supermarket at Jolly Harbour, where the nearby Peter's char-grill restaurant is recommended. Also try the roadside shacks which turn out very tasty take-aways such as baked chicken with red-bean rice - there's a popular one opposite Gibson's, another near Valley Church and one called Rainbow's End at Bolans.
Two warnings: Stay off the beaches an hour either side of dawn and dusk or the sandflies will get you and their numerous itchy red bites will take two weeks to subside. And avoid night driving - the combination of deep potholes, even deeper gutters, wandering goats and Antiguans driving on full-beam headlights makes it quite a challenge.
For more of my photographs from this area see www.webshots.com/user/aloudon

We just returned from a week at the Pelican Isle Villas at Turner Beach. Some observations:

Pelican Isle Villas: Perfect for our family. On a low bluff, directly on the water. 2BR (1D 2S), kitchen, spacious but starkly furnished living room, daily maid service. Only the bedrooms were air conditioned, but that was fine.

We stayed in the Captain’s Villa, which featured a beautiful lawn overlooking the ocean. Palm and nut trees, tropical flowers, cacti and other exotic flora provided a beautiful foreground for our ocean views, as well as some much appreciated daytime shade. Plenty of comfortable outdoor seating allowed us to enjoy the panoramic view from every vantage point. For our money, I don’t think we could have chosen better accommodations. Our hosts, the Wescotts, were very nice and even picked up a birthday cake for our daughter. We did most of our grocery shopping at the Epicurian at Jolly Beach, which had just about everything we needed.

Turner Beach: On the calm side of the island, beautiful water, great snorkeling around Johnson’s Point and Pelican Island. Essentially deserted this time of year, except for one day when cruise ships were in and passengers asked to be taken to a quiet beach. Even then, there were never more than a few dozen people populating a half mile of sand for a few hour period. Local teenagers frequent the south end of beach. Although they never caused any trouble, we twice found ourselves moving slightly north to enjoy a bit more quiet.

Photos at: http://community.webshots.com/user/bertuch