You will find just such an enchantress on the southwest coast of St. Lucia ... FIND
ALL YOU DESIRE IN A CARIBBEAN ISLAND HIDEAWAY RESORT. WRITTEN ...
BODY & SOUL
Sugar Beach
FIND ALL YOU DESIRE IN A CARIBBEAN ISLAND HIDEAWAY RESORT WRITTEN BY JENNIFER WILSON
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PRODUCED BY JENNY BRADLEY
s there anything more bewitching than a beauty with a past? You will find just such an enchantress on the southwest coast of St. Lucia, a relatively undiscovered part of the Caribbean’s Windward Isles. Here, pastel colonial cottages with slow-turning ceiling fans and thatched tree houses dot 100 acres of rain forest slopes that tumble toward a white-sand beach on a beautiful bay. Sugar Beach resort resides in the valley between two volcanic peaks known as the Pitons. The view between these twin spikes is so ➤
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BODY & SOUL Accommodations Sugar Beach’s villas come complete with
gingerbread trim, private plunge pools, mosquito nettingdraped four-posters—and air-conditioning, of course. Pristine soaking tubs and other elegant fixtures beckon resort guests.
precious that the ground is considered sacred to locals—a fact that nearly prohibited its development decades ago when the land was home to an abandoned sugar plantation. Enter Britain’s rakish Lord Glenconner, who, according to newspaper accounts, set out to build a luxe resort here after successfully purchasing the West Indian island of Mustique and turning it into a hot spot for such jet-setters as Princess Margaret, David Frost, and Mick Jagger. But the eccentric lord with a pet elephant couldn’t duplicate his success in St. Lucia. “He literally came here in a canoe from the nearest village, Soufrière, because there weren’t even roads at that time,” says Roger Myers, a former accountant for the Rolling Stones and founder of the Café Rouge restaurants, who eventually bought the property
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after it had changed hands a few times. With a three-year, $100 million renovation, Myers created a paradise from the former Jalousie Plantation. Unlike typical high-rise, allinclusive, glitter-factory resorts, Sugar Beach operates as a series of cottages and villas within the valley, now designated as sacred on an international scale as well—it’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site. A new 9,427-square-foot Rainforest Spa includes seven tree-house treatment cabanas on stilts, accessible via a winding walkway built atop the original aqueduct that once supplied water to the sugar mill. An adjoining rain-forest walk includes a suspension bridge spanning the ravine and stream below. “It’s gorgeous,” says Myers. The spa provides such traditional services as massages and facials, plus hikes ➤
BODY & SOUL The Rainforest Spa includes seven thatched-roof treetop cabanas
scented by island beauty rituals. Indigenous treatments and therapies—from the signature Sulphur Seduction to the use of natural, island-grown ingredients—are de rigueur.
to a sulphur spring and an Amerindian sweat lodge called a temazscal. The 59 villas, pale in color and detailed with gingerbread trim, all feature private plunge pools, high-beamed ceilings, and hardwood floors. Eight beachfront bungalows offer a contrast in style with whitewashed adobe walls and thatched roofs. Interiors and furniture in both are calming white. Mosquito nets drape the beds. “The individual villas are very colonial,” says Myers. “I wanted interiors to be simple.” The designs reflect his private home on St. Lucia. He culled the island style from some favorite design books, including Maisons des îles Martinique, by Brigitte Marry
and Roland Suvelor, and Island Life: Inspirational Interiors, by India Hicks. A stunning main pool mirrors the clear blue bay waters that hold a pristine coral reef. An updated dive facility offers classes, snorkeling excursions, and snuba (a cross between snorkeling and scuba). Resort bars and restaurants emanate local reggae sounds. Other amenities include a top-notch gym, a children’s club, Wi-Fi, and flat-screen televisions. All exist in service to the mountainframed view of a shimmering bay and beach that’s seen its share of intrigue. “I came to St. Lucia determined not to do anything,” Myers says. “But I just knew: If I ever do anything again, it should be this.”
Find It Sugar Beach—a Viceroy Resort. Luxury cottages from $770 per night during
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high season. For more information, visit viceroyhotelsandresorts.com/sugarbeach.
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Feeling Pampered at Home
Such heavenly concoctions as Rodin olio lusso luxury body oil, $110, and lip balm, $30, not only soothe the skin, but exude the scents of jasmine and neroli. (oliolusso.com)
