For those in need of creature comforts only available on dry land - room service on a sailboat is a rare thing, indeed - there are several resorts in St. Vincent and the Grenadines worthy of extended shore leave. This trio of getaways (two occupy entire islands while the third sits hidden in its own private Eden) shares a common bond: All were created by dreamers who first arrived on sailboats.
Petit St. Vincent: Flagship Service
One of the first things you notice about Petit St. Vincent - after its gorgeous necklace of a beach - is the dogs. Yellow labs, to be precise, no fewer than nine of them at last count. They seem to be everywhere - napping near the bar, romping in the surf, sniffing a little too close to the island's chicken farm.
"They've become one of the trademarks," says Haze Richardson, who owns the 113-acre island and its 22-cottage resort. "I've had labs on the island since day one."
That was 32 years ago, after Richardson and a buddy, Doug Terman, bailed out of the U.S. Air Force, bought an old wooden yacht and began chartering in the Caribbean. It eventually brought them to PSV, where a wealthy charter client helped them buy what was then a scrubby, deserted island. The two men began building the resort from scratch and it was the first island in the area to have electricity.
Terman left some years ago to follow a career as a novelist, but Richardson continues adding special touches to the island. He built a reverse-osmosis plant to supply fresh water, planted extensive vegetable gardens to stock the restaurant refrigerator and even keeps a chicken farm that provides 10 dozen eggs a day.
The resort's most charming trademark is its "flag service." Each of the secluded stone cottages - some on hillsides, some near the beach - comes with a flagpole. Guests raise a yellow flag to signal that they have filled out a room-service request and a waiter in a golf cart is promptly on his way. Hoisting a red flag means "do not disturb."
(For more information, call 800-654-9326 or visit www.psvresort.com.)
Palm Island: Romance Resurrected
Before you can appreciate the "new" Palm Island, a love story is in order.
After World War II, the story's hero, John Caldwell, found himself in San Francisco, pining for an Australian woman, Mary, whom he had met during the war. So he bought a sailboat and set out for Australia to rekindle the flame.
It's important to note that Caldwell had never sailed a boat until heading across the Pacific Ocean. He made it all the way to Fiji before losing his mast. The happy ending: The couple eventually reunited, sailed back across the Pacific and wound up in the Caribbean where, in the 1960s, they signed a 198-year lease for what was then called Prune Island. The name changed after the Caldwells began planting the first of thousands of palms that now cover the island.
After Caldwell died in 1998, the resort was sold to Rob Barrett, of Antigua Resorts, the hotelier behind such top-notch properties as Galley Bay, St. James Club and the Royal Antiguan. After more than a year and a US$10 million renovation, the new Palm Island Resort opened in January. Its 40 guest rooms feature British Colonial or tropical wood furnishings and most come with stunning original artwork - underwater scenes painted by Dr. Patrick Chevallier, Palm Island's resident physician. There are plans to build five "treehouse" accommodations on platforms nestled in the limbs of island hardwoods.
With a new swimming pool, restaurant and bar, plus the option for various kinds of water-sports and excursions, Palm Island has definitely been dandied up since its "prunish" days, but it still honors the memory of the loving couple who first set down stakes here.
(For more information, call 561-994-5640 or visit www.palmislandresorts.com.)
Saltwhistle Bay Club: Low-Profile Luxury
Many a sailor has steered a boat into Saltwhistle Bay and, scanning its shoreline, assumed the place was largely deserted. At first glance all that presents itself is a long, white crescent-shaped beach bolstered by palm trees and stands of mahogany.
But slowly the eye begins to pick out stone cottages beneath the trees or spots a groundskeeper diligently raking the sand with a Zen-garden purpose or hears the sounds of conviviality that could only be coming from - yes! - a bar.
With its 10 romantic guest suites and 3,000 feet of beach, the 23-acre Saltwhistle Bay Club is a fine base camp for exploring the charms of Mayreau. The tiny island has barely 200 residents, many of whom work at the resort. Owner/ manager Undine Potter opened the hotel 22 years ago with her former husband after they discovered the bay while on an extended sailing vacation.
"All I did for the first year, it seemed, was clear out cactus," said Potter, who studied hotel management in her native Germany.
Saltwhistle's kitchen turns out terrific food and sailors are welcome to anchor offshore and make reservations for one of the open-air stone huts where meals are served. Mixologists John Louis and Stephen Horne preside over the bar, where the house drink - Mayreau Magic - offers a fine introduction to the island.
(For information, call 784-458-8444.)
Note: All three resorts welcome visitors at their bars and restaurants, even those who show up unannounced by boat. But there are varying restrictions on when non-guests can use the other facilities.
Posted online 08/01/00.
