St. Kitts & Nevis - living the Caribbean dream!

Natalie Poat on 26 May 2018
My holidays for the last few years have taken on a bit of a Caribbean theme and 2018 was no exception with a last minute trip to Saint Kitts & Nevis.

These lovely islands just 10 minutes apart by water taxi could not be more different. St. Kitts with its deep water harbour and Georgian fort and scenic railway long popular with cruise ships seems a world away from sleepy Nevis with its converted sugar plantations and 3 hole golf course!

Our first stop was St. Kitts and we split our stay between the simple style Timothy Beach Resort on the beach at the end of "the strip" in Frigate Bay and the recently opened Park Hyatt St. Kitts, Christophe Harbour. At the Timothy Beach we had a mountain view room and a warm welcome at the Dock Bar popular with locals watching the sun go down and a tasty dinner at the Sunset Café.

The Park Hyatt was a step up and my husband Tim is still talking about the amazing seafood meal we had in the Fisherman's Village months later. Set on a private beach facing Nevis the rooms all face the sea and many have private pools. There are two pools (one just for adults), a spa and fitness centre, kids club, water sports centre and a choice of bars and restaurants. The staff were some of the friendliest I have ever met and made our stay a dream - and we would love to return.

We toured the island in a hire car passing through the colourful capital Basseterre, climbed up to British designed Brimstone Hill Fortress dating from the 17th and 18th centuries with its commanding views of the surrounding countryside and islands, Black Rocks a notable rock formation, had lunch at Arthur's at Dieppe Bay in the north of the island and watch the sun go down at Salt Plage accompanied by live music.

We were sad to leave St. Kitts but Nevis was an absolute gem. We arrived by water taxi into Oualie Beach on the leeward coast and it was just a short taxi ride to our hotel the renown Nisbet Planation Beach Club once frequented by Prince Charles and still incredibly popular today and justifiably so. This converted sugar plantation with sweeping views down through the palm tree lined avenue to the sea still has its original Great House which dates back to 1778. The rooms are cottage style and dotted throughout the grounds and we had a lower deluxe junior suite located close to the ocean. We had breakfast overlooking the pool and ocean in Coconuts, lunch at Sea Breeze where we were entertained by a local band on Sunday and dinner in the Great House. The staff greet you as old friends and it is not surprising that many guests have been returning time and again.

The very helpful Nevis Tourism Authority arranged a tour of the island by ATV with the wonderfully named Funky Monkey and we visited historic landmarks such as Hamilton Estate, New River & Coconut Walk Estates, the Cottle Church and St Thomas' Lowland Church (the first Anglican church in the Caribbean built in 1643), Golden Rock Inn with its beautiful gardens, Hermitage Plantation Inn which was built around the oldest wooden house in the Caribbean dating from around 1670 and passed the local 3 hole golf course and the drag racing track which must have the best view of any track in the world. we ended the tour at Sunshine's Beach Bar - home of the "Killer Bee" cocktail and one of the liveliest beach restaurants on the island popular with locals and tourists alike. We even took a stroll round the botanical gardens.

We indulged ourselves dining out at Bananas which is hidden away above Hamilton Estate and surrounded by lush tropical gardens, the Gin Trap with its 101 gins and the amazing Montpelier Plantation & Beach where we were guests of the hotel. Montpelier is a boutique hotel in a unique location and Restaurant 750 where we dined on the terrace with wine pairing from the knowledgeable sommelier was a delight and I can't thank manager Helen Kidd and her team enough for their hospitality. This is a dream of a hotel and look forward to staying in the future.

My husband says he wants to try somewhere different next year but I think I have left my heart in the Caribbean....