July 16, 2008

CARIBBEAN | ST. LUCIA

St. Lucia Luxe

By Nicole Cotroneo

The Caribbean’s rising star reinvents the oceanview villa.

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It used to be about staff-to-guest ratios. Now, luxury is defined by the number of “romantic cocktail spots” a property affords. At least that’s the case at Cap Maison, St. Lucia’s latest island hideaway, opening this week. With just 50 guestrooms, this north-coast retreat counts four libation venues, including a clifftop lounge overlooking the Caribbean Sea, and a beachside bar where even the water that licks the shore is reputedly “gin-clear.” Oh, but there’s more: You can also sip your bubbly on a champagne cruise, aboard the resort’s private yacht with air-conditioned, cherry-wood interiors (for an extra cost).

Set across four acres of a former sugar plantation, Cap Maison is decked in Spanish-style archways and no less than three swimming sanctums: one courtyard pool skirted by a shaded terrace, and two cascading infinity pools perched atop a bluff. But even the hotel’s Oceanview Villas have their own pools — not to mention pro-grade kitchens, outdoor showers and private gardens — while the largest at 3,000 square feet offers a chic rooftop terrace too.

Cap Maison is just the latest among a number of boutique properties changing the face of St. Lucia. One of the first was Ladera, a multi-award-winning retreat renowned for its cuisine as well as its three-walled Dream Suites with plunge pools and panoramas of the Pitons. Then last year Jade Mountain raised the bar, tricking out their open-air suites with 15-foot ceilings and glass-tiled infinity pools. Even St. Lucia’s old guard is catching on: Sandals Regency La Toc unveiled four swanky new villas this month. Breathlessly named “Sunset Bluff Million Dollar Luxury Villas,” they feature tri-level sundecks overlooking the ocean, and waterfall-fed plunge pools cantilevered from the resort’s highest point.