It was more than the silver lining on the rain cloud that brought us into this property, mainly through the agent of our cruise ship in Dominica. My wife had a mishap at the snorkeling beach and we had to abandon ship because the hospital treatment took more time than we anticipated.
While my wife waited for further developments and decisions from the surgeon regarding her fracture, in walked Tina Alexandre, the Honorary Consul of Britain in Dominica. She owns a guest house as well as two cottages, though I never got to visit the latter.
The moment she arrived, this wonderful woman took charge, first by calming our nerves just through her factual presence and knowledge of the hospital system, then by taking us to the supermarket to procure the food we would have that night, and finally she took us to her home near the Princess Margaret Hospital, where we became first aware of her diplomatic status. We were offered our choice of the three rooms on the upper level, a spacious apartment with two side offices for the Consul and the secretary. Everything was ready to receive us and to make our stay as comfortable as possible. The kitchen was well stocked with items one usually does not buy but still uses, such as cooking oil, etc. cold water in the fridge, tea and coffee and much more. While my wife got ready to rest, I made something to eat (first stuff since breakfast!) and we had supper while her excellency because of her excellent organisational skills and hospitality as well as the diplomatic title) already made a list of things we needed in addition to the passports which I had already retrieved from the ship.
She knew and advised what documents we would need from the doctors to return home. She also took over when I got nowhere trying to connect with our insurance company. And she continued doing this while I had a chance to survey the generous supplies and equipment available to the guests in this location. While I used the WiFi (free) to send the necessary messages, she was on the phone explaining the situation, talking to the ship's agent who in turn made the necessary arrangements the next day to let us retrieve our luggage on the next island, Antigua. She also supplied us with some pain medication so we did not need to find a pharmacy at this late hour, and gave the necessary information to the insurance when the latter finally connected. As well we had access to all those little things one usually has in the suit-case but does not take on a snorkeling trip, like toothbrush or tooth paste, shampoo etc. things one only expects in a four star hotel against a charge.
There were some dogs keeping watch around the property (identified by the barking) the night and the rooms were quiet, all was clean and the bed very comfortable - we had the master BR, with king size bed.
Sufficiently rested we enjoyed the complimentary coffee and had our breakfast while Tina already made arrangements for our repatriation via Antigua. During all that time she also took care of her other two properties which expected new guests that day, and ran errands she needed to do.
While I don't expect this kind of involvement to be customary for all the guests, I was advised that it has been for the over thirty cases where she became the refuge for tourists who needed special care, like us. She is the no.1 referral by the ship's agent.
Thanks to Tina's involvement our repatriation went relatively well, her suggestions and tips allowed us special consideration with the air lines, and her constant care got us on the way to the airport in due time for our flight to Antigua.
While a lot of her involvement does not necessarily relate to the rooms or the full apartment, I could observe similar care and welcome when the next house guests arrived just prior to our departure. Care and organisation like this translates into stays with the maximum pleasure and enjoyment as the circumstances permit.
Your Excellency, please receive our most profound thanks and keep on the great work.