New Yorkers headed to Caribbean islands like St. Bart’s or Anguilla are likely to run into familiar faces from the city or the Hamptons. To avoid them, without compromising on all that is plush, throw your dart at Grenada.
About 100 miles north of South America, the West Indian nation is the aromatic “spice island’’ of the Caribbean, producing 40% of the world’s nutmeg (no wonder it changed hands between France and England before gaining independence).
Grenada is also particularly picturesque. Waterfalls spout from mountains, beaches are filled with volcanic sand, lush rainforests abound and there are breathtaking botanical gardens. The marina at St. George’s harbor is buzzy with a boating community, magnificent yachts, restaurants and shops. It’s well worth taking a cruise around the island to get a seafaring perspective, stopping at the underwater sculpture park. If you would prefer to explore by foot, there are walking trails that afford spectacular vistas.
But nothing this good stays a secret forever, and those familiar faces from Palm Beach and Amagansett are being drawn by a new wave of five-star resorts.
Next month, luxury wellness powerhouse Six Senses will unveil its first Caribbean resort on Grenada’s south end, La Sagesse. It features 56 guest rooms and 12 villas, plus a spa overlooking the lagoon. Forest bathing and candlelight yoga are on the menu, as are creole-inspired and locally foraged dishes.
Meanwhile, Silversands opened its second property on the island, Silversands Beach House, in February. Situated above and below a cliff on Portici Beach, the intimate escape has only 28 rooms, including cliffside accommodations with private canopied balconies, and suites that sit directly on the beach. There is also a spa treatment room, and Azzurro, a Mediterranean inspired restaurant serving handmade pasta, local seafood, and homemade pizzas.
But if privacy is your goal, Silver Sands’ original property will do nicely. It’s the type of resort you never have to leave.
You can stroll white powdery Grand Anse beach the property rests on, curl up on a lounge chair with a book in the afternoon, end the day with a muscle melting massage at the spa, before dining at one of the hotel’s two restaurants in the evening.
At Asiatique, Thai flavors enhance dishes of crispy fish with callaloo leaf, kaffir lime and chili sauce, or Indonesian braised beef in coconut milk with lemongrass and turmeric. After dinner, the lounge, Puro, offers cigars and a rum tasting menu.
The hotel’s long 100-meter pool, the longest in the Caribbean, flows endlessly toward the sea. Also large are the resort’s three- and four-bedroom villas, which sit directly on the beach with large kitchens and private pools. These are far from little plunges — they are junior Olympic! — and the feeling of having one all to yourself for your entire stay, while you look out over your own little beach, is serene.
