Belle Mont Farm opened on Dec. 12 on Kittitian Hill on the northern tip of St. Kitts. It is the first chapter of a 400-acre, luxury sustainable development community that will include villas, farmhouses, 84 cottages, four restaurants, village shops and an 18-hole golf course. Caribbean editor Gay Nagle Myers went there to check in and check it out.
This is no ordinary Caribbean resort. It's not on the beach, but is set high in the hills of St. Kitts with clear views of Saba and Statia dead ahead.
On a clear day, St. Barts and St. Maarten/Martin are visible on the horizon.
I see them from the wooden deck bordering the infinity pool on the deck of my cottage.
The word "cottage" does not do my abode justice. I'm in a one-bedroom, style-savvy sanctuary with cathedral ceilings, wooden floors, a king bed perfectly positioned with a view of the Caribbean, louvered doors and windows and gadgetry so sophisticated that it may defeat me.
Instead of the ubiquitous flat-screen, there's a movie-size screen that unrolls in front of the window with the flick of a switch.
A device that looks like a TV remote turns on the rear-view projector, and from the iPad on the control panel of the writing desk, I can then select from hundreds of shows on Netflix as well as order room service, scan current newspapers, listen to music and check email.
My cottage has a wine refrigerator, a separate minibar stocked with sodas and water, a sleek French press coffeemaker and an old-style telephone.
But it's the bathroom that rocked my socks. It is outside on the covered side deck with a privacy hedge of tall palm fronds to block the view from the neighboring cottage. The clawfoot porcelain tub is open to the elements. The loo does have a shutter door, as does the shower. Two vanities with lighted mirrors flank the tub.
Rain isn't an issue, Carlos Salazar, general manager, told me. "Rain goes from east to west on this island. It won't blow in on the deck."
I'm not sure I'll bathe during this trip. Those fronds don't look tall enough to me, but I'll take a dip in my pool, open the louvers for the breezes by day and the chirping of the tree frogs at night.
I may never leave my cottage, although I have a busy day tomorrow, beginning with a yoga meditation session by the main infinity pool. I've never done yoga, and I don't meditate well, but I'll give it a try.
Then it's a nature hike, followed by a foraging outing with Normandy-born executive chef Christophe Letard among the rows of farm crops to select the greens for dinner, a key element of the farm-to-table focus at Belle Mont Farm.
I may never leave this place.