Welcome to Summer Heights!

The past couple of years have been quite the roller coaster for the Rice family. Hurricane Irma ravaged the British Virgin Islands in 2017, which resulted in the loss of our beloved yacht Endless Summer II. My parents helped design the yacht and chartered her for about 30 years. We helped many people achieve their vacation of a lifetime and instill a love for the British Virgin Islands. After Irma passed ESII was salvaged and was sold onto a new family who has repaired her and is now living aboard, but her charter days are behind her. I know there are many people around the world that will never forget the fun and amazing experiences they had with our various crew and interactions with my family over three decades of charters.

My father Barry was always a very driven man. Owning a beautiful and successful charter yacht wasn’t enough and so my parents designed and built our home and spectacular rental villa: Summer Heights. The villa, which is situated on Havers Hill, has played host to many guests since it was completed back in the late ’90s. Many of those guests have since become very good friends, returning year after year and always with a smile.

The loss of Endless Summer II wasn’t the only loss my family has endured. My mother, Rosalind (Roz as she liked to be called), lost her battle with cancer in January of 2018. She was always so brave during her fight with the disease but it all was too much in the end. Her loving nature and kind heart is missed terribly. Unfortunately in April of this year, my father came down with an illness while visiting the US and passed away suddenly. We held a lovely life celebration party for him in Tortola that was attended by over 125 people.

My parents worked very hard with our family business and I treasure the many memories we made for the guests who stayed and sailed with us over the years.  I grew up an island girl amongst all of this and I hope that some of you will remember me if our paths crossed. Since graduating from college in the USA I returned to the islands and worked both with my parents and also gaining a wide variety of experience on other charter yachts throughout the Caribbean as a hostess and chef.

Summer Heights is my next adventure and I look forward to welcoming you to this amazing villa as owner and manager. The reigns have now been handed down to me from my parents and I am excited to carry on and make them proud. Summer Heights came through Hurricane Irma with minimal damage which has all been repaired and we have made a number of recent upgrades to keep the home in pristine condition. Errol and Dian continue to work alongside me to maintain the high standards that my parents put in place. We look forward to ensuring that your vacation at Summer Heights, is one you will never forget. As my parents always used to say “Come as guests, leave as friends”!