The Hatch, Harbour Island

Here is the house (named The Hatch) we rented for the week with our friends. It sleeps eight, or nine if you include the fainting chair Emil called his bed for the week (it was the perfect size for him)! We rented it from Airbnb, which as served us well over the years, from Paris to Asheville and everything in-between!

Most of the living space was outdoors — the kitchen, dining room, and living area was covered but open to the air, which was ideal since the boys were in the pool most of their waking hours when we were home, and we needed to keep a close eye on them. There was a little guest house with a bathroom where I slept with Emil & Oliver. Andrew took a downstairs bedroom with Milo, and our friends had the entire upstairs of the house. We often split up this way on vacation because Emil still wakes up at night and gets pretty scared when he’s in an unfamiliar place. This way, one of the adults was right there with him so he wasn’t wandering around looking for us in the dead of night (with a pool to fall into!). We actually all slept really well this trip! Thank goodness that part gets easier as the kids grow up!

There was so much beautiful tropical greenery everywhere! Beautiful flowering vines crept up the house and all around the pool and garden area. It was paradise!

Except for the mosquitoes. At the beginning of the trip, they weren’t too bad, but the last two days, they were everywhere. Luckily, The Hatch had fans permanently installed in strategic places, which made it impossible for the pests to swarm us. Wind works very well in deterring mosquitoes!

The boys gathered every afternoon for a movie in the outdoor space below, in order to get out of the sun and just relax for a bit. They also played games like Sorry and War, Monopoly, Stratego, and quite a few video games on Maggie’s phone! We were much more lax on screen time during the trip, but we’re getting back to our regular routine now. 

Here’s a view of the front of the house. It was so cute and cheerful with the pink shutters and doors!

Below, the shared entryway to The Hatch (which is on the right) and another little house straight ahead (I forget the name of it). 

Oliver’s persistence payed off (most likely because we told him that opening a coconut would be nearly impossible without a machete, to which he responded well can I go buy a machete then? to which we responded um… no.) and he somehow managed to crack open a fresh coconut. Andrew and Alex made us piña coladas from the coconut and coconut water that were delicious (though next time we requested pulp-free). 

The pool was the BEST part of the place, according to all three of our boys. Emil became quite a good underwater swimmer during our week there.

Below, the (air conditioned) guest house where Emil, Oliver, and I slept. This was taken on our second day there. Emil went missing. I was panicked, looking for him everywhere. I checked the guest house and found that he had put himself down for a nap. 

Sweet, tuckered out little guy! So much fun allows this four-year-old to make sound decisions about sleep… for once in his life!  

The upstairs was so beautiful during dusk — it faced the harbor side of the island, where the sun sets. There was also a beautiful area for eating, though we didn’t use it because it was very hot during the morning and day. It was perfect for drying laundry, though, and when we used the clotheslines, our laundry was all dry in about an hour! 

The Hatch was perfect for our two families! Added bonus, it was just a short walk away from the grocery store and a few little shops, a really nice restaurant called The Landing, across the street from a breakfast and coffee shop, and about a half-mile walk to the Pink Sand beach, where we spent much of our time. We were able to cook meals there, as well as relax and cool off in the air conditioning at night. Such a great space!