The Roseau Valley Hotel is a little rustic. No a/c, no window screens, problematic hot water. But it is clean, comfortable, friendly, and the food is GREAT. Just tell Patsy that you will be there for supper and turn her loose. It's not fancy, but it is good island food. And the rum punch is wonderful!

I would be remiss if I didn't mention the WiFi which is better than I have found in many five-star hotels.

If you don't have a car, it is a bit out of the way. Learn to use the Dominica bus system and it is convenient to everything.

Ask Hugh and Patsy for suggestions about activities. They know what to do and who is a good guide.

If you’re like me and you rely heavily on the Internet to find somewhere to stay during your trips, please do not be fooled by the pictures and information provided on the Roseau Valley Hotel website if you plan to visit Dominica. I just returned from Dominica with a friend, and to say that the website offers a skewed view of this facility would be a gross understatement.

My friend and I reserved a supposedly self-contatined studio for 2-4 people. What we found was a room with severely limited kitchen facilities and neither phone nor TV as promised on the website. The website was obviously designed with great lengths to exaggerate the size of the “Hotel” rooms and its location. Contrary to the impression conveyed on the website, the “Hotel” is located right next to a heavily-used mountain road, and hence takes in all of the street noises even at late hours of the night.

We would have been less annoyed by this had the kitchen facilities not been so glaringly lacking; while finding a room with a fully-stocked kitchenette was a priority for us, we were greeted with a 4-top stove and dishwasher combo, 1 miniscule kitchen sink and a mini-fridge. We were provided with next to nothing in terms of kitchen utensils.

On top of this, the owner, Patsy, managed to tack on some extra charges to the rates that she’d quoted us previously, even though in her email reply to my initial enquiry she gives me a figure that was the “all-in cost”. Additionally, we were forced to use the laundry service while at the “Hotel” and somehow Patsy construed a pr of pants, 2 shirts, 1 pr of socks and 1 undergarment to be a load of clothes; she also charged us extra for ironing, which we hadn’t asked for.

To be fair, apart from the street noises, the “Hotel” is in a nice enough area – relatively close to town without being in the centre, in a valley that maximises the coolness of the mountain air and the shimmering sounds of the vegetation by night. That said, I maintain that this “Hotel” is highly overpriced and that you can do better in terms of value for money in Dominica.

Sitting up in bed each morning we look through the french doors on our balcany onto a picture perfect view, the orchids and the tropical valley below. Even when it rains in the valley the sun still shines and a nice breeze fills the air. When we pull ourselves from bed the owners are waiting there to serve us breakfast or help us plan our daily itinerary. The food is amazing. It's like spa food with taste (all healthy with a wonderful carribean spice). Further, if you want something else, they'll make it for you. The activities/hiking in the area (the mountains) can be pretty intense (you need your boots & some mosquito spray), but the 2 mile walk into town is nice. A perfect location if you want both the water and the mountain access. The hotel is a little rough around the edges... no swimming pool, air conditioning, or screens in the windows (which is normal), but the valley breeze seriously keeps the place cool most of the day and there are plenty of places to go for a swim in nature. Roseau Valley Hotel was the perfect location for our adventure into Dominica.