It was a miserable and cold morning in London, but frankly I didn’t mind! I had that spring in my step as I made my way from my snug yotel Gatwick room to the terminal and hopped onto my flight to Antigua- Not a bad way to start my weekend! As this was my first visit to both Nevis and St Kitt’s I was desperate to experience the local culture and visit the beautiful properties that I had heard so much about.
Arriving at Antigua airport it was brilliant to be greeted by a steel band and it certainly got us in the Caribbean mood. From Antigua airport we took a small 6 seater plane over to the Island of Nevis- a great way to travel and the views were amazing! Touchdown, narrowly avoiding the local goats who had decided to take a stroll..We’d arrived in Nevis.
Our first hotel was the beautiful Montpelier Plantation & Beach, a unique hotel built around the remains of a sugar mill on a 60 acre plot around 700 feet above sea level. The privately owned property shows artistic flairs at every corner, in fact in every room and you can easily lose yourself in the paintings. If you are thinking of visiting Montpelier please take a moment to admire the beautiful tree outside of the Great House, It is over 50 years old.. and the gardener who planted it, still works there.
As a member of the prestigious Relais & Chateaux the cuisine and standards at Montpelier Plantation & Beach are exemplary. Our first evening was spent sipping cocktails in the Great House before enjoying a Mango Festival Menu with a visitor from Texas, Chef Scott Higby. We were lucky enough to be on island during the annual Mango Festival which led to special menu’s and cocktails celebrating this!
The following morning breakfast ( eggs florentine!) was served by the lovely Lesley before I headed out to explore the grounds. There are some really beautiful spots within the hotel and I can imagine grabbing a book and finding your “own” spot would be very easy. Before I knew it It was time to head to Nisbet Plantation Beach Club, a property that is extremely popular with many of our repeater clients.
The first thing that struck me about Nisbet Plantation Beach Club was the vast space. The hotel is set in acres of property and at no point do you feel like they have squished in hotel rooms or built tower blocks. Nothing exceeds two floors and the Avenue of palms is really quite breathtaking. The grounds gently lead you down to the beachfront which is beautiful in an unspoilt Caribbean way. Over looking the beach is the Seabreeze Restaurant where we sampled a Ting & Sting ( I’ll leave you to find out what that is!) and Flying Fish in a coconut crumb which was delicious.
Sunday morning started off with Montpelier Plantation & Beach’s famous Lobster and scrambled egg ( Sunday brunch will never be the same for me again!) before jumping on the complementary shuttle to the beach. Here you can enjoy private beach cabana’s and loungers with a full beach service. Twice a week they hold a bbq down on the beach where you can dine on Lobster with garlic butter and fresh salads!
Monday was the start of another new experience for me… We were off to St Kitts! After a smooth 10 minute ride on the water taxi we made our way to Ottley’s Plantation. Set in 35 acres surrounded by a rainforest, donkeys, sugar mill ruins and huge tree’s with ribbon roots the height of me Ottley’s Plantation is such a unique hotel. Ottley’s Plantation has just 23 rooms including the cottage resided in by Princess Margaret during her stay many years ago when the property was a large private residence. One thing I would recommend at Ottley’s Plantation is to sit and enjoy the atmosphere at the pool bar in the evening, it really is magical.
My time on the Islands of Nevis and St Kitts was incredible and I enjoyed sampling these three extremely unique and boutique resorts. If you have any questions on these islands please don’t hesitate to give us a call! For more information on holiday Nevis and St Kitts contact our friendly travel specialists on 01752 880 880 or email info@tropicbreeze.co.uk.
Author EmilyCategories News, Reviews