3 minute read
Bay of Plenty
Restored to its former glory, Sugar Beach more than matches the most spectacular of Caribbean surrounds, says FH Darafshian
LIFE IS SWEET Sugar Beach, a Viceroy Resort, lies between St Lucia’s famous Pitons
Far too often, words like ‘dramatic’ and ‘picturesque’ are appended to travel dispatches when such language is either extraneous or simply exaggerated. But not here, not as one descends a steep valley on a series of switchbacks beneath a drenched tropical canopy between – and in the shadow, quite literally, of – St Lucia’s vertiginous Gros and Petit Pitons. The two lush peaks, guardians and symbols of this verdant West Indies island, loom large and flank a cobalt bay where a crescent of sand shoulders the former Jalousie Plantation. While the volcanic spires and the waterside setting remain as timeless and eye-catching as ever, this 18th-century sugar mill, situated amid 40 rainforested hectares, recently benefited from a three-year, $100m-plus rebuild and is now dubbed Sugar Beach, a Viceroy Resort.
Gone are the wicker chairs, stuffy oversized furnishings and omnipresent buff colourscape that was predominant previously, replaced by clean, contemporary cabana-style trappings that give the entire property an of-the-moment feel. Accommodations now comprise a community of 80 ingeniously constructed whitewashed wooden houses, situated behind pristine picket fences which either rise up into the rainforest or are staggered down the hillside and onto the seashore where four one-bedroom beachfront bungalows have been newly created, as well as five luxury cottages. Each of these, together with another 11 revamped rooms, with either sizable terraces or private walled gardens just steps from the new-look pool, are accessorised with four-poster beds, freestanding baths and plunge pools. But, for the ultimate in solitude, nothing surpasses the 25 multi-bedroomed private residences, each with panoramas of the Caribbean and the Unesco-protected peaks, which frame every view.
BELOW Grand Beachfront accommodation has an airy, contemporary feel
LEFT AND BELOW The palm-fringed, beachside main pool at Sugar Beach has recently been refreshed
OVER AND ABOVE A bird’s-eye view of Sugar Beach, a Viceroy Resort
The hub of the property is the former plantation house in which public spaces are commodious and colonial in style, and where the hotel organises a bevy of culinary activities – the rum and chocolate tasting, which you can work off in the new gym pavilion afterwards, is highly recommended, as is grazing the themed buffets with live cooking stations where there are plentiful menu options for younger palates and enough variety to keep most guests happy and well fed.
For the more somnolent, there is the 876sq m Rainforest Spa, which comprises seven thatched, treehouse-style gazebos beneath the natural parasol on the valley floor. Connected by raised wooden walkways, they are the perfect setting for an endless list of welcome and restorative treatments that, after the innumerable watersports diversions, as well as a multitude of classes (be they aerobics, yoga or Pilates), offer welcome respite – very much like one’s arrival at this now rousing coastal retreat. sugarbeachviceroy.com
ABOVE Inside one of the new private poolside cabanas
BELOW The Great Room restaurant, where regional fare is served
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