Butler trays once belonging to Sir Anthony Eden are still used in bar that once was "Morning Room" or breakfast room because it faces eastern sun; old wine cooler is in Nova Room. Terry O'Neill black-and-white portraits of Dean Martin, John Lennon, Marlene Deitrich, and Liz Taylor cozying up with David Bowie grace bar walls, center stone for nighttime aperitifs. My favorite photo is a shot of Lee Marvin wearing an Indiana Jones fedora (with a shot glass and whiskey bottle placed strategically in front of him) sitting at some bar somewhere, not unlike this one — you could tell Lee was out on a hell-raising night.

The Berbice or planters' chairs have been in house for many years and they offer great relaxation just off reception area, with wings on armrests that fold out — you can place your feet up just like Royal Regimental officers!.

To west of drawing room there is a mahogany staircase leading to original bedrooms on second floor. A few bedrooms are still rented out in original part of home; Eden's bedroom has been converted to a library and guest computer room. The hotel's entrance hall is paved with blue and white marble tiles, a traditional soothing welcome to visitors in tropics.

The historic Villa Nova has 15 acres of walled tropical gardens for total resort privacy, but it is also an ideal venue for business retreats, conferences, receptions, and private dinner parties. For meetings Villa Nova offers private dining or use of music room or exclusive Salon Privé or Nova Room for smaller groups. For all-day conferences audio/video equipment is on hand as well as computers and secretarial services. The al fresco Gazebo overlooking cane plantations seats up to 50 for a buffet lunch or dinner or hosts 75 for cocktails and canapés.

One night only Bajan bird warbling was delightful tunes by local singing sensation Rose Mary Phillips, adding her clear vocal jazz impressions to an island tourism networking dinner party.

"Give us luxuries of life and we will disperse with its necessities." — J.L. Motley

You arrived for privacy and peace and calm and luxuries and Villa Nova delivers . . . with a personalized greeting card in your room.

There are only 28 Nina Campbell designed suites throughout property, mostly in newer addition grafted north of hotel's apse. Each suite has a garden terrace, en suite shower, and separate claw-foot tub that you don't see too often, with hottest water imaginable. Barbados is renowned for its clean water and air. A bidet is an added touch of luxury. The air-conditioned rooms were a little too cool for me and with a little adjustment natural atmosphere was imbued.

The suites have built-in voltage adapters for all your electronic necessities. I found VN slippers each morning on exiting bed. The thickest towels in world are here. There is a bumpershoot in huge hall closet and at hotel exit. A NewspapersDirect daily print-out of London Times is in Drawing Room, which I snuck to pool each afternoon.

Patterned gray dyed sisal rugs cover Guyana hardwood floors, giving my suite a tropical feel; spider monkeys are brocaded on day settee in front of Sony Trinitron TV. For an on-demand sampling of DVDs, just call front desk and they hook up movie. A turndown service magically appears in evening — they know when you are not in room — they don't want to annoy you.

The VN's Zen-like staff arranges golf outings on championship courses, deep-sea fishing, scuba diving, horseback riding, sailing or other water sports, or even horseracing, polo, or cricket matches; for in-house sports play tennis on resort's two floodlit courts or workout in air-conditioned fitness room. I preferred 23x8 meter freshwater swimming pool and trills of Birdman's birds.

In 1831, Barbados experienced one of worst hurricanes in its history, which destroyed many buildings and totally ruined island's sugar crops. By all historical accounts, this hurricane also destroyed Great House where Edmund Haynes lived and from where he managed his three sugar estates: Haynesfield (Wakefield), Belle Mount (Belmont), and Claybury, totaling over one thousand acres.

On July 10, 1834, new house, or Villa Nova, was blessed by John Gottlich Zippel, Minister of Mount Tabor Moravian Church, and this event is recorded in church journals now in Government Archives; Mount Tabor Church is situated half a mile east of Villa Nova, built circa 1825 on land given to Moravian Mission by Edmund Haynes.

Villa Nova was separated from these sugar lands in 1907 and sold to Barbados Government. For house and six and one-half acres of wooded gardens, government paid 800 pounds or US$1,900.

You can live at Villa Nova year around in

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Kriss Hammond , Jetsetters Magazine Correspondent – Read Jetsetters Magazine at www.jetsettersmagazine.com To book travel visit Jetstreams.com at www.jetstreams.com and for Beach Resorts visit Beach Booker at www.beachbooker.com

There was this elevator, you know kind; type where you have to pull open door and slide back a retractable metal guard. It was old, and I hoped that this ride wouldn't make my recurrent dream of falling in an elevator a reality. It only had three walls, so as you went up you could see wall moving downward in front of you. I always imagined it was everything else that was moving and not me.

I found my room, caught a quick glance of display of wine and See's candy on coffee table, exceptionally clean oak furniture giving room that musky scent, hopped on bed and fell asleep.

One of main reasons Hotel Santa Barbara attracts so many visitors is its location. It's right in heart of downtown. You can take a twenty-five cent shuttle down to Sterns Wharf to enjoy ocean breeze, wine tasting, and all sorts of specialty shops. Walk only a few minutes from hotel and you might find yourself intimately sharing a glance at Santa Barbara Museum of Art. Walk a few blocks more and you'll be at city's zoo, right across from historic mission.

There are approximately 75 reconditioned rooms that offer Queen, King, Deluxe Queen, Double Queen and Junior Suite rooms. Each room has individually controlled heat and air conditioning - not that you would use it considering weather outside is usually beautiful. But if for some reason you are feeling like a couch potato and just can't seem to get yourself up and out into beckoning town, you could sit back, flip on tube and watch some HBO compliments of house.

Other amenities offered complimentary are hair dryers, signature toiletries, iron and ironing board, in-room coffee makers and coffee, bottled water and telephones with data ports for personal voice mail. Handicapped rooms are available as well.

Many of guests that stay at Hotel Santa Barbara are on business. Appropriately, Hotel Santa Barbara provides valet parking and a complimentary continental breakfast in Mediterranean-style lobby. (There is no restaurant on premises.) And for those guests that are secret agents, they also have safety deposit boxes and same day laundry / dry cleaning services. The 480 square foot conference rooms boast a corporate feel. Rentals for overhead projectors, flipcharts, white boards and TV/VCRs are available as well as excellent catering recommendations - some of which include Woody's BBQ, Savoir Faire and Pierre Lafond.

The Hotel Santa Barbara has many services

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Josh Edelson, Jetsetters Magazine Correspondent – Read Jetsetters Magazine at www.jetsettersmagazine.com To book travel visit Jetstreams.com at www.jetstreams.com and for Beach Resorts visit Beach Booker at www.beachbooker.com

Josh Edelson, Jetsetters Magazine Correspondent. Join the Travel Writers Network in the logo at www.jetsettersmagazine.com