ABOUT US
Guests are always interested to learn how my family acquired Coconut Court and how long we have owned the business, so I thought it was about time that I wrote a ‘family tree’ of the hotel for all of you…
My dad, Charlie Blades was born and raised in Barbados. In the 1950’s he moved to Nassau, in the Bahamas, with his brother Philip. There he met my Mom, Lorraine and her sister Beverly from Hamilton Ontario, Canada. It was not long before Charlie and Lorraine were married. Their eldest son, my brother James was born in the Bahamas in 1964. Soon after James’ birth they packed up their belongings and moved back to Barbados where my father found work as a ‘tour rep,’ welcoming visitors to Barbados.
Now, those of you that are acquainted with my Dad would know what a ‘larger than life’ character he is. It wasn’t long before he owned his very own apartment hotel, White Sands in St. Lawrence Gap. This was actually an old Barbadian home on the beach which my parents renovated into a sixteen room guest house with beach bar. This work was accomplished with help from Mrs. Vera Worrell (my honourary Grandmother) who ran the Front Desk. Auntie Vera was born in Prussia (modern-day Germany) and moved to Barbados when she married her second husband, Elmer Worrell, cousin to the late Prime Minister, Errol Walton Barrow. My parents also employed one bartender; George Ashby, one cook; Ermentha Weekes and one waitress; Claudine Waithe. Their first White Sands guests were Ray and Doris Ritter from Detroit Michigan, USA and Ray and Marge Beemer from Windsor Ontario, Canada.
The family had grown by now to include Ted and Mark (the twins) and Bev and Linda. With such a large family to support, my Dad continued moonlighting as a tour rep to bring in extra money. One of the hotels that my Dad would rep regularly was a hotel in Hastings Christ Church named, The Coconut Court. The hotel was owned by an eccentric Englishman named Mr. Happy Apthorpe who owned Beecham frozen foods in the UK.
Mr. Apthorpe had taken a shine to my Dad and as he was ready to retire he asked my Dad if he would like to buy the hotel. Unfortunately, Mr. Apthorpe said the same thing to some other folks and a heated court case ensued. My parents, with the help of Sir Harold Bernard “Bree” St. John (Prime Minister of Barbados 1985-1986) won that court case and became rightful owners of Coconut Court Beach Hotel in 1975.
James, Ted and Mark received their early education at Harrison’s College in Barbados but later went onto study in Canada at Ridley College, Pickering College and Georgian College. Bev and I received our early education at St. Winifred’s School in Barbados and later Centennial College and Sheridan College both located in Ontario, Canada. We all had a great time in Canada but the freezing temperatures saw us returning home to Barbados as soon as school was finished.
Sadly, my parents divorced in 1985 but my Mom continues to live in Barbados so that she can remain close to her five children and her ten grandchildren (Jack, Kia, Katie, Ben, Lance, Nelson, Laurence, Kimberly, Lee and Scarlett). My dad, Charlie decided that he was ready to retire in 1995 and we bought his shares in the company. Dad and his wife Jean (also from Canada) retired to Atlantic Shores, Christ Church where they still live today.
My brother James and Mark took over running the hotel in 1995 and quickly extended the hotel from 90 to 120 rooms in 1996. The family purchased the old Pavilion site (the new site of the Marriott Courtyard Hotel) and completely restored the building in 2003 when it was opened by H.R.H. Prince Philip of England. James stepped down in 2003 to focus on his personal passion – preserving the environment and history of Barbados and my sister Bev took up stewardship of the hotel in 2003. Bev left the family business in 2008 and I took over managing the hotel with help from my husband Jason. With the help of my brother Mark and a fantastic group of people, we continue to welcome guests from all over the world to “The Coconut”.
Thanks very much to everyone for continuing to support us over the years. It has been a roller coaster ride sometimes but never a dull moment! I often tell persons that Coconut Court is a labour of love and we are happy to welcome you as our guests. Thanks again everyone.
Yours Truly,
Linda
Linda Lampkin,
Managing Director
