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St. Kitts & Nevis Hotel, Resort & Villa Reviews Reviews
Villa for 30 days 01/18/2005
Reviewers Rating:  Excellent
The following commentary is being made by, Richard (a.k.a. Viceroy) who was accompanied by, significant other, Liz, to the British West Indian isle of Nevis. I'm borderline, 60-ish and Liz is dodging the 50's. Having got those statistics out of the way, it should also be said that we're active, inquisitive and fortunate enough to have a month available to escape for a much needed a holiday away from Canada's upcoming winter. A further "mea culpa" is that I've had the benefit of once being in the travel and hospitality profession for about 22 years…many years ago. So where to start?
I've decided not to make a list of "to do's or don't miss"…there's enough information on the web and easily obtained publications to tantalize even the most jaded traveller. So, I'll start with our arrival on St. Kitts from Canada, anticipating a shuttle flight connection over to Nevis…with our baggage. In true Caribbean form, as we were to learn, flights get cancelled and baggage does get mislaid. Never-the-less, we did make it from the airport to the ferry terminal and sailed over Nevis, albeit without our three checked bags. The first lesson for the uninitiated is be cool, be calm and never neglect to pack essentials in your carry-on luggage…up to maximum! And if two or more of you are travelling, split up your clothing in each other's checked luggage, in case one gets lost.
From the hubbub of the Basseterre ferry terminal the contrasting scene at the Charlestown dock was almost serene. A taxi had been arranged by the management company of the villa we had rented for 30 days and Ed, the driver was kind enough to deliver us, via the grocery/liquor store (medicinal alcohol was necessary to maintain our state of calmness and celebratory mood…we made it!) to our villa, even though starter food stuffs were stocked. Our first night, and it came quickly, saw us pondering our clothing plight, forgetting that the villa was a private haven, (unlike a hotel or resort) where clothing was optional. Not a pretty sight but more or less essential for a couple of days! Oh, and that was when the heavens opened up with a brief but torrential downpour, followed by the power going out…ain't life in the tropics grand? Our start had all the elements of a Chevy Chase holiday movie script! However, candles, a couple of rum cocktails, a dip in the pool and off to bed…tomorrow had to be better…and it was!
Why Nevis? Why arrive mid-November? Why a month? Why a villa?
The first three answers are easy. Nevis was researched extensively on the net after a colleague, who lives in St. Kitts, suggested the SKN area as a great place to get a true tropical Caribbean experience. Nevis came up spades when each of our priorities were met: English speaking, good infrastructure, good beaches, friendly people, relatively crime free and, of course, the promise of good weather. We were later to learn there are many more things to add positively to any list.
Mid-November to mid-December coincided with available time away from work and a good chance that the weather gods would not have any hurricanes lingering. More important were economics, dealing with the "low season" rates and fewer crowds.
To decide on a month away in a place never visited, admittedly took some self-convincing but again, the economics of adding up airfare, accommodation and the cost of food…dining in and out…all divided by 30 days, dropped our "cost per day" to substantially less than found in most one week or ten day holidays. Okay, the total was still "outside our normal financial envelope" but I felt satisfied that we had made the right decision and budgeted accordingly. An underlying reason, however, was that we have thought about retiring to a tropical local and this would be a good way to put our proverbial toes in the pool to test our ability to adapt. In reality, at least two months would be necessary…so we'll try Nevis again, having gained much insightful experience and a love for the island.
Ah, a "villa", the lifestyles of the rich and famous…not necessarily so! Admittedly, there are very few one-bedroom villas but we found one that was ideal for our needs and budget. A principal reason for this choice is not that we're anti-social…its just that we enjoy our freedom, peace and privacy. We've done the hotel/resort, cruise and condo "thing" and prefer, for anything more than a week, no immediate neighbours, noisy kids, the antics of adults or some director of activities worrying about our lack of participation.
In strict villa terms, our "cottage" was modest, by Caribbean standards. We had everything necessary in a well maintained, delightfully decorated villa, fully equipped for self-catering. Added benefits were a private plunge pool and a half acre of lush flora, only a hundred yards to Oualie Beach and the small hotel thereon. Dealing directly with the owner (rather than a management company) was a mutual benefit to both of us. Even though a company does look after the physical property and desires to collect a commission for booking, it doesn't hurt to seek out the owner and negotiate your own deal. We actually started e-mail correspondence in May, having found the villa's web site in our research. We mentioned our ideal travel dates, length of desired stay and remained as flexible as possible for the owner who was happy to accommodate us during the time frame and budget we were prepared to pay.
Keeping the above in mind, I would recommend a villa on Nevis (and elsewhere) if any reader anticipates two or more weeks in one place. Its especially good if you're a family group or travel with another couple or two who can share the weekly cost. A hint is to try and have the local taxes included in quoted rates.
Making your own breakfasts, lunches and dining out occasionally really makes a difference…we ate out, more or less, every third day and night and found the balance, about right. Unfairly, I've left out that some smaller hotels/inns do have "self-catered" rooms/suites…small stove and refrigerator…ideal for quick meals and snacks, great if travelling with kids or the diet conscious.
Okay, that got some basics out of the way but what can you do on island that is only 32 square miles and that you drive around in two hours. First off, for any lengthy stay, or a villa experience, a rental-car is almost essential. It probably doesn't sound like a wise choice but it's not that much of financial burden if you negotiate a weekly rate. The benefit is the freedom to explore, visit the grocery stores when they have supplies in and just maintaining the psychological freedom to roam…especially to different beaches. Driving on the "wrong" side (left) of the road is an easy challenge but the local drivers and their habits of speeding and friendly beeping of horns, takes some getting used to. My daily mantra, when driving a small 4x4 was, "stay left young man, stay left."
Speaking of exploring, there is a lot to investigate. The main road is paved but getting into the hills, most beaches and otherwise, quite developed areas, you'll find the roads are rugged…slow and easy should be your pace. As previously mentioned, there's lots of "to do, must see" places listed elsewhere. However we found Charlestown a terrific place to wander around, frequenting a cyber-café across from Café des Artes where great luncheon offerings can be found, one of two bakeries for really good cookies and just catching the scene at the ferry dock when boats arrive.
The beaches were the main attraction for us. Oualie Bay was nearby and very good for easy swimming. Another Caribbean side favourite was to start at the Cades Bay Hotel property and walk south on the beach…a good two miles or more of soft golden sand and swimming…until you end up at the Montpelier Plantation Inn's (private) Beach Club and some cliffs that will stop all but the most adventurous. The MPI beach club is simply some private property with a few shelters and beach chairs/chaises…adjacent to the beach, which like all beaches on Nevis, are public domain.
Another favourite was adjacent to the Nisbet Plantation Inn, on the Atlantic side with some good and protected swimming and a super luncheon pavilion. Most folks rave about Pinney's Beach and yes it is nice but in the southern reaches, the scene at the Four Seasons and Sunshine's (busy & somewhat crowded) didn't turn our crank. Walking north out of the party scene will pay dividends in more superb beach, good swimming and more solitude. Lovers Beach was pretty wild, close to where the Atlantic meets the Caribbean and showed the effects of previous stormy weather erosion. It is a good beach-walk from just past Hurricane Hill all the way to the airport and back…the waters, currently, are suitable only for very strong swimmers.
A typical day started around 7:30 a.m., just as the sun started to flood our bedroom. Within an hour we had coffee and tea ready, cereal and maybe an egg or two prepared for breakfast and the chaise lounges positioned for a couple of hours of sunbathing, reading and a dip in the pool. By eleven we were ready for exploration or a trip into Charlestown, sometimes with a lunch packed. By two, we would generally be on a beach until around four. If dining in, I'd start the damp BBQ briquettes no later than four in order to have a reasonable heat by six! Whether eating in or out, "sundowners" were prepared to await the sunset, quite early, around 5:30 p.m. If we were out for dinner, we'd generally get home around nine but it wasn't unusual to be in bed by then, either.
For groceries we found Super Foods and Rams well stocked but…there's always a but…don't count on anything but frozen meats, sporadic milk deliveries and marginal fresh veggie choices. Everything depends upon when the freight boats arrive. The local market at the pier had a good selection of fruits and native veggies on Thursday and Saturday. There was also Mamza's, a road-side fruit and veggie stand that had local produce. Like the bakeries, get there early for the best selections. It took a while to figure out but we could buy case lots of bottled water, sodas and beer, directly from the TDC bottle outlet at good savings.
Our arrival on Nevis was immediately after two months of rainy weather in the area. This made the islands lush and green but also made it rife with mosquitoes and "no-see-ums", particularly at dawn and dusk. As the season dries up, we were told that these annoyances abate substantially. A good coating or spray of "OFF" kept these bugs to a minimum. However if bitten, we found that an antihistamine cream (eg: Benadryl) kept any swelling and itching under control. The beaches also had some little bitters around dusk…be warned & prepared!
Speaking of critters, there are all sorts of colourful lizards and geckos…they eat the bugs…in the shrubbery and in many dwellings and restaurants. Don't freak out as they are truly your friends and pose no danger. And I should mention goats and donkeys…they roam everywhere, especially along the sides of roads. They must be pretty clued into traffic, as we didn't see any "road-kill" on any road, in the 30 days we were roaming around. Lastly are the monkeys. BAD MONKEYS! They pose no danger but are real pillagers of any fruit trees and vegetable patches…to say nothing of snagging the occasional golf ball. Sure, they're cute and exotic, also skittish, but they're not small or particularly loved by the residents.
In our travels we did visit the Plantation Inns and while ideal for some travellers they, with one exception, were fairly remote and necessitated a thirty-minute drive to their "beach club". The exception was the Nisbet, the only Inn located on a beach. All of them (apparently) have 3 or 4 star accommodation and marvellous dining facilities but they just weren't our style. We also visited the Four Seasons Resort and found that while deluxe with exquisite grounds and golf course, the typical guest never left the confines of the resort. I guess for some folks this was sufficient for bragging rights once back home but the whole scene didn't appeal to us.
One thing that did strike me was that modest apartment and guesthouse accommodation was available for budget travellers. I didn't examine any but they seemed in good repair. There are no campgrounds and no tenting is permitted which seems a shame. A well-built and organized campground could diversify the tourists, in my opinion.
Dining on Nevis was never a problem but phoning ahead to ensure places are open (and if reservations are required) is a good thing to do. We ate in everything from "snackettes" (fried chicken and Johnny-cakes) to stellar dining rooms with lavish spreads. I'll give a quick summary of our dining experiences at the end of this report.
It became important to us to get "the lay of the land", so we read the local newspapers and spoke to as many residents possible in our limited time. We became marginally concerned about local politics and the power-brokering that goes on. A land sale by the government to relatives/friends at about five cents on the real dollar value was raised in one article! Admittedly short of factual information, we further heard of unrest with workers at the Four Seasons and the dissatisfaction of service people, like taxi drivers and tour operators who derive their income from the guests. Yes, the resort does employ up to 600 residents but it is evidently under a strict hierarchy and control system of wages and commissions. On a more common issue was the proposal to literally remove Hurricane Hill (hundreds of thousands of tons of rock), destroy Lovers Beach (home of endangered turtles and sea life) with the fill, build a massive hotel and expand the airport to handle 747's! Not only is this outrageous in my opinion, it impacts many residents in the immediate area that currently enjoy a very lovely portion of the island, to say nothing of the over-all impact on the entire island. To some this may be progress but if ever fully conceived, it will spoil many of the reasons to come to Nevis.
That was my rant. On to some lasting memories that start with the tree frogs that serenaded us as night fell. There were wonderful butterflies, hummingbirds, frigate birds, terns and pelicans to delight us at home or on the beaches. The ever friendly and obliging residents who made us feel at home no matter where we roamed. The spectacular Botanical Gardens dazzled our senses. The golden sands of nearly deserted beaches were what we had dreamed of. The absence of trash made this one of the cleanest places ever visited. The politeness and decorum of the children (and teens)…never a curse word was heard in thirty days or a smile not offered. Laughter and happiness seemed to prevail in all public places. Some of most wonderful characters one could hope to meet extended from taxi drivers and waiters, to hosts/hostesses of restaurants and tour operators, to neighbours and now…new friends.
In this latter instance, one highlight of our vacation that deserves special mention was to sail around the island of Nevis with Captain Les Windley. There were just the three of us on his forty-four foot sailing sloop, the "Sea Dreamer". (Please do not confuse this true sailing vessel with the "touristy, catamarans".) A full day to circumnavigate and listen to Cap'n Les' tales of his sea faring days, ocean crossings and exploits will stay with us forever, along with the complete Nevis vistas so few are privileged to observe from both the Atlantic and Caribbean seas. "Sea Nevis Ltd." is where this salty captain can be found for full and half- day sailing adventures.
It may be noticed that little has been said about St. Kitts. We day-tripped, twice and frankly, were over-whelmed by the crowds and activity…relative to being spoiled by the serenity of Nevis. As any reader may have gathered, Nevis provided our vacation of a life time and we intend to repeat the process as soon as possible.
Cheers, Richard Ludwig, Calgary, Alberta.
Viceroy
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