Saint Kitts and Nevis

Caroline Piccaver on 19 December 2018
Working in travel, we are constantly learning about new destinations and this often involves events in the UK where we learn about the history and geography of a place as well as about tourism, where to stay and what to do whilst there. This year I was invited to an event by the Minister of Tourism for Saint Kitts and Nevis. There were representatives from several hotels and also the tourist boards. At the end of a very informative and fun evening I was the lucky recipient of the prize draw for the holiday.

My prize consisted of four nights at Park Hyatt St Kitts with a full day island tour and three nights at Nisbet Plantation plus a half day island tour. I was so excited to have won this prize, I was booked before the end of the week.

Saint Kitts and Nevis (aka the Federation of Saint Christopher and Nevis) were among the first islands of the Caribbean to be settled by Europeans, lying in the Leeward Islands chain of the Lesser Antilles. It is the smallest Sovereign state in the Western Hemisphere, in both area and population with Queen Elizabeth II as the Head of State. The capital is Basseterre on larger Saint Kitts with Nevis lying 3km south-east across “The Narrows” is dominated by a dormant volcano, Mount Nevis.

My long-suffering husband, (Saint) Christopher, came along with me and we took the direct BA flight (with a short stop en route in Antigua to drop off and pick up passengers). The flight with the stop was around 10hrs30 so very doable for just a week. On arrival in Saint Kitts we were shuttled to the stunning new Park Hyatt resort, with a quick stop en-route to catch one of the stunning Caribbean sunsets. Everyone knows I love a sunset!

Being shiny and new, everything about Park Hyatt has been well thought out, stunningly designed and of the very highest standard. Our room was high tech with calming, subtle décor. We had a terrace overlooking the pool, a huge bathroom with twin sinks, a freestanding tub, walk-in shower with rain-shower, separate WC. Rooms have an uber-comfortable, over-sized bed, with quality linen from which to watch the over-sized wall-mounted TV. The resort is ideal for those who are into wellness and relaxation. The spa is top-notch, and activities are geared up for health and wellbeing too. Even around the pool there’s an iced water urn and factor 30 sunscreen dispenser and enthusiastic staff run around with trays of refreshing water all day to make sure no-one is dehydrating in the Caribbean sunshine.

During our four nights on the beautiful island of Saint Kitts we were taken on an island tour, visiting Brimstone Hill Fortress, parts of which date back to 1690 and is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site and we also visited Romney Manor and botanical gardens. This is the home to the Caribelle Batik and where for over four decades the colourful textiles have been created in the traditional process that started in Africa. We saw stunning scenery, had a couple of hotel site visits, we were treated to lunch and dropped back at Park Hyatt to enjoy the late afternoon.

We ventured out a few times. One of the highlights was Salt Plage for the sunset. Wow! What a sunset! We also found a couple of nice little restaurants as we wanted to experience the real St Kitts away from the hotel.

Sadly though, all too soon it was time for us to pack our bags and get down to the Park Hyatt Pier where we were being collected for our speedboat transfer across to Nevis. Just 10 minutes and we arrived at Oualie Beach where a taxi was waiting to take us to Nisbet Plantation, 10 minutes down the road. On arrival we had a warm welcome from Tim the Manager, a cold towel and a fruit punch and then shown to our room.

Nisbet Plantation is the Caribbean’s only historic plantation inn located on the beach, so this makes it quite unique. It is made up of 30 acres of lush tropical landscape. Accommodation are bungalows dotted around the property with a Great House as the main restaurant and bar area. Our room was in a block of four junior suites closest to the sea. We were on the first floor with a vaulted ceiling, so it had an amazing feeling of space. We had no glass, just louvred shutters for letting the light and breeze through which was a totally new experience for me. Accommodation was very traditional in design, with no TV or high-tech functionality, just beautifully comfortable room with all you need such as air conditioning, safe, bath robes and amenities, an iron and ironing board and a minibar. Our front balcony had sunbeds for relaxing and listening to the sea gently lapping onto the beach around 50 metres away.

We only had three nights at this beautiful hotel, so we decided to make the most of it. We dressed for pre-dinner cocktails and dinner and headed to the Great House. It was a little like going back in time. I felt we should have been drinking Martini’s (shaken not stirred)! Dinner was a formal affair. A varied menu which changed daily and great service from Rosalind, who has worked there for 30 odd years. After dinner, we were back in the bar where the other guests were welcoming and enjoyed some interesting conversation, live jazz and a nightcap.

Thursday nights at Nisbet are different, however, the Caribbean Barbecue takes place at the beach bar and restaurant. It kicked off with a secret recipe rum punch, followed by a barbecue buffet with the steel band and Caribbean music.

The island is stunningly beautiful with Mount Nevis dominating. For the adventurous, walking to the summit is a popular pastime. It takes just a few hours. We are saving that for our next visit. We were taken around the island which takes around two hours. We visited interesting historical buildings such as churches, old sugar plantations, hot springs and baths and we were shown some other gorgeous little hotels where the rich and famous can come and hide out if they need to escape from the rat race.

Even while we were there, the very talented Joss Stone was practicing her songs in a room very close to ours in preparation for a free concert she put on for the people of Nevis as part of her world tour. We were even lucky enough to be invited along as it was on our last night. What a treat! Just a few more amazing memories to add to my travel memory bank.

Thank you, Saint Kitts and Nevis, you were awesome! See you again soon.