48 Hours at Nisbet Plantation, Nevis
“No 26 - The Best Hotels in the World ”
St Kitts and Nevis - two small unknown islands in the heart of the Caribbean. Not many people know about these islands belonging to the British Commonwealth. Being in the Caribbean already, we took the opportunity to explore these untouched and authentic places. After a short flight from St Maarten to St Kitts where we were greeted by a friendly lady of our exclusive accommodation - the Nisbet Plantation. One of their many advantages is that they offer a pick-up at both airports, either St Kitts or the Nevis one - latter one is quite close. Thanks to our Liat flight we had to fly to St Kitts, so they brought us from the airport to a small dock on the southernmost point of the island which was a 30-minutes-ride along the beautiful coast of St Kitts. It reminded us of the Italian Amalfi coast or French Cote d'Azur with stunning vistas of both, the Caribbean and the impressive landscape. The taxi dropped us of at a place that seemed to be a gorgeous place to bathe - a place where also the speedboat already waited. It's a five to ten minutes ride by boat. Anyways, the ride itself is worth visiting this place. On one side you have the Long Island St Kitts and right in front of you the volcanic island Nevis. They offer you some refreshments during the ride which makes the journey even more adorable. After arriving at the lovely tiny port of Nevis it was just a five minute taxi ride to the hotel, which was actually a real sugar cane plantation back in the good old days.
I would say St Kitts and Nevis is the right place for people who love calm and cozy places plus don't want to spend thousands of dollars for a Caribbean getaway. It's more a journey back in time to an untouched and original Caribbean island where time doesn't matter and the people are happy with what they have. There's no need for the chicest hotel, the most expensive cars, lavish restaurant menus and high-tech water sports. Nevis is probably the most favourite holiday destination for men since there is not a single opportunity for wives to abuse credit cards. (HAHA)
The hotel is lovely designed in an colonial style with an main building and several small villas around the main part of the property. As we arrived in the driveway, we passed by the chimney of the old sugar cane plantation and arrived at the main building where the lobby popped up in between green plants and flowers. The lady at the front desk welcomed us in a friendly way and offered us refreshing towels along with a welcome drink which was a homemade rum punch. After checking in they brought us to our room for which we had to pass by the main villa until we arrived at a vast area called the "Avenue of the Palms". A wonderful and unique place - the palms were designed in an alley down to the sea and it was a wide green area with the ocean on the back. That view is just amazing and really unique.
Our villa was separated in two rooms, one living room with a sofa and one bedroom with an air condition and a big king size bed. In front of the Villa we had two lounge chairs where we could relax and enjoy this heavenly and green place. After inspecting our suite, we decided to go to the beach. It's a black sandy beach with several sun beds and two hammocks. We fell into the hammocks and just enjoyed the beautiful sunset. Even if you don't want to chill on the beach but to enjoy the sea view you could relax at one of the sun beds at the swimming pool right next to the beach. Being situated at the pool too, the second restaurant is open for breakfast in the morning, lunch during the day as well as speciality dinners on selected evenings. When the sun finally set, we took a shower and headed up to the restaurant in the main building. Even tough we had the feeling we were the only guests in the resort (thanks to the vast grounds and tons of privacy one has at this resort) the restaurant was actually nearly full. Nisbet Planation is really super private and perfect for having a good time with your family or to make a romantic vacation with your loved one. The dinner was absolutely delicious and perfect. Over all we had a three course meal with a bottle of Italian white wine and the service is really outstanding in all ways plus attentive, they knew our names after the first time we met them.
The next morning we headed down to the pool to have a great breakfast and again they welcomed us with our names. A service many other hotels in the Caribbean - who are charging sky-rocking rates - couldn't provide. The breakfast was very relaxing with a small buffet being arranged with fresh fruits, yoghurts, warm pastries and bread. The service personnel offered a selection of hot beverages and fresh juices in addition to any egg dishes. It was very nice to sit down having the view over the pool onto the blue ocean while being able to hear the waves breaking and having the feeling of the world being a better place.
After our breakfast we arranged a private tour around the island with Calvin - the hotel's taxi driver on the island. It's 75 dollars for three hours all around the big mountain. We visited an old sugar cane plantation which wasn't totally destroyed, offering the possibility to go inside. Nowadays the people on Nevis are not making much sugar anymore since it's not that lucrative anymore. Most people work for hospitality which entitles them to tip and extra money. Most parts of the island are untouched and still very green with lots of forests so you could explore the wilderness of the Caribbean if you are interested. For all those wanting to do something during the daytime there is an eighteen-hole golf course at the Four Seasons Resort on the other side of the island with Europe-like green fee rates. Besides the Four Seasons, Nevis is still a very affordable holiday destination, so it's no surprise to find lots of families.
Later that day we had afternoon tea at the main building where they offer a small selection of homemade pastries and sandwiches along some excellent teas. Now we could really feel how the explorers back in the days spent their afternoons - and we have to admit, there are worse options to spend the day. Sitting on a terrace in the colonial styled building with a view over a green island and the Caribbean Sea. The afternoon tea is a complimentary service for every in-house guest and an excellent add-on.
Every Thursday evening Nisbet Plantation arranges a dinner at the beach restaurant with live music and cocktails. During this event, we had the chance to meet the general manager Tim and his adorable wife. It was a big honour for us that we could spend the evening with them. It was so much easier to understand the total ambiance of the property. After meeting them we knew where the personnel touch of all the staff members came from. I always say, a hotel is only as good as its management and this time was the perfect example. It's no surprise to see the property being voted 26th best hotel in the world according to Travel + Leisure. The dinner was extremely delicious: First they offered a local soup along a selection of starters before we headed to the buffet for the main courses. The chef itself was at the grill where we had the choice of fresh fish and meats. A post-dinner cocktail prepared by the famous head of bar is a must. Rumor says he remembers every guests cocktail preferences.
As all good things have to come to an end, we sadly had to leave after two nights. Luckily they offered us a late check out after they called our airline with which we had a flight from St Kitts if they could settle us to the earlier flight from Nevis. Sadly Air Sunshine is a super unprofessional and bad airline so the company itself didn't even try. Once we were ready to leave, Calvin was already waiting for us and our journey back to the airport of St Kitts began.
All in all Nevis is not the most spectacular island in the Caribbean and is not as luxurious as other islands but we can just highly recommend Nisbet Plantation and is definitely worth visiting especially if you appreciate to have an extremely perfect service - don't try to find that on other islands. We know what we are talking about ;)
We were guests of Nisbet Plantation and were hosted by the property. However all above expresses our own opinion and has not been influenced.
