Caribbean Dreams

Emma Lewis disconnects and slowly unwinds in the perfect setting – an unspoilt island in the West Indies

- Emma Lewis

I feel like I’m in a giant tropical fish tank as I swim underwater among the rocks, using a slow, powerful breaststroke, with sea urchins, starfish and colorful fish all around me. The fish dart away to hide between gaps in the rock as my large figure looms overhead. It’s silent, beautiful and very calm. But this is no aquarium; I’m snorkeling just a few meters from the beach in the West Indies.

It’s my first time in the Caribbean, and I’m very lucky to be on the rather exclusive, yet an amazingly unspoiled island of Nevis (pronounced ‘nee-viss’), near St. Kitts – its larger and better-known neighbor. But where St. Kitts has embraced the larger-scale hotel complexes and cruise ships, Nevis has no deep-water harbor and just the upmarket, low-rise and tasteful Four Seasons Resort in its top-notch location on beautiful Pinney’s Beach. Apart from that (and all the' excellent sporting and spa facilities that come with it (from stand-up-paddle boarding, tennis, and golf, to exercise classes, amazing spa treatments and oodles more) – the hotels I encounter are family-owned boutiques on the site of old sugar plantations. The historic great houses and old stone windmill bases have been incorporated into the hotel designs in wonderfully inventive ways, and they each have individual character, so are well worth visits for lunch or dinner if you’re not fortunate enough to stay in them.

ISLAND TIME