A HIDDEN GEM |
| Sandals St Vincent |
We just returned from a
wonderful trip to the island nation of St Vincent and the Grenadines. AKA
“SVG”. AKA paradise. Part of the windward chain of the Lesser Antilles
St Vincent and her array of islands lie south of St Lucia, west of Barbados and
north of Grenada.
The Grenadines are a
chain of islands between St. Vincent and Grenada. Some, like Bequia and
Mustique are part of SVG, while others like Carriacou and Petit Martinique are
part of Grenada. In other words, it is remote, but the world is rapidly
discovering this hidden gem.
TOURISM COMES LATE
St Vincent is the
largest of the islands in SVG, called the “mainland” by the locals who are
called “Vinceys”. We first traveled to Bequia, the second largest island in
SVG, known as much for its shipbuilding and whaling history as it is tranquil.
Our 4-day stay at the Bequia Plantation Hotel right on the edge of Admiralty
Bay was a proper way to ease safely into paradise.
On St Vincent we stayed
at the newest resort in the Sandals family of Caribbean all-inclusive resorts.
Opened during the spring of 2024, Sandals St Vincent covers 50 acres in a
valley edged by green mountains leading to the turquoise waters of Buccament
Bay.
THE SANDALS EFFECT
It was once difficult
to fly into St Vincent because of an inadequate airport. That changed in 2017
with the opening of Argyle International Airport allowing more flights into
SVG. A previous airport, E.T. Joshua, had reached its capacity and
decommissioned with the opening of Argyle. You will drive across the old tarmac
to reach the Sandals resort. Even before Joshua the only means of flying into
St Vincent was by seaplane. |
| view from our room |
The boost in tourism is
welcomed by Vinceys and is helping the local economy through some very troubled
times in recent years.
NO, PLEASE
From an early age the
children of SVG are taught to be polite and “Yes, please” or “No, please” are proper
responses and still frequent with many adults. Even when describing the
island’s recent history of having to deal with the twin issues of the COVID
pandemic and an erupting volcano are the stories related with politeness and
smiles.
La Soufrière is an
active volcano on St Vincent on the north end of the island. It last erupted in
2021 causing mass evacuations and lots of volcanic ash to cover the island and
other nearby islands like Barbados and St. Lucia, but with no loss of life due
to the eruption. The Sandals resort is in the “Green Zone” or safe zone and was
less affected by La Soufrière.
Covid hit St. Vincent
in 2020 and along with the tumult of La Soufrière for a time life was bleak on
the island. Still, the people of SVG are extremely friendly and pleasant and
have emerged from this all with their smiles intact.
It helps that the local
economy is being fueled by St Vincent Sandals and soon a family-oriented
Beaches opening a few miles north will further boost St Vincent’s outlook on
life. The once quiet St Vincent is “opening up” and this once remote
destination in the Caribbean will soon be very popular. It also helps that
Sandals St Vincent is strikingly beautiful.
SANDALS ST VINCENT
Nestled in a valley
that leads to Buccament Bay, clouds are caught in the dramatic hills that edge
this expansive resort, and rain comes daily, softly and briefly, but gracing us
with rainbows. Late November is the tail end of the rainy season which runs
from June to November.
Normally we like a walk
out room on the ground floor, but the ground floor rooms at St Vincent all have
a swim up pool, which doesn’t interest us. So, we stayed on the third floor of
5 in a series of buildings overlooking the grounds and with a view of the
ocean. We are in the furthest building from the ocean. Our deck had couches and
a soaking tub.
There is one long pool,
broken up in the middle for stairs to get to the lone swim-up bar on the
grounds. The pool is long enough to resemble a canal. There is a curving pool
that runs the length of the “canal” on the side closest to our building. There
is a heart-shaped pool on the far end of the resort and there are twin infinity
pools at the edge of the bay. The white sands of the Buccament Bay have plenty
of chaise lounges and palapas umbrellas reserved for Sandals guests, though the
beach is open to the public.
NEVER HEAR “NO”
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| our deck |
Of course, when one
visits an all-inclusive Sandals, it is expected that indulgent whims are
catered. With several restaurants on the grounds, mostly located near the
water’s edge, we routinely order off the menu. For instance, Janet is
constantly ordering two lobster tails with her meals. Or, when I wanted chicken
breast for a meal instead of the thigh meat listed on the menu for my sandwich,
that was easily arranged by the kitchen staff.
We have been traveling
to a Sandals resort since 2018 and with our visit to St. Vincent we have been
on every island that currently hosts this all-inclusive resort. All the
restaurants are similar from one resort to another, with sushi and steak houses
and beach-side seafood establishments, but here on the mainland there is
Buccan.
As much cultural
experience as a great meal, local dishes with island flavors are served
family-style at Buccan. Servers bring out the dishes, like lamb curry, fresh
fish and yabba pot rice, and bowls of spices like tamarind chutney and rum
spice, explaining what goes best with what dish.
It is the most unique
island meal in all our trips to a Sandals resort. There are just two sessions per
night and reservations are required.
DIVE / BARS
What is a trip to the
Caribbean unless there’s rum involved. Every island has their own take on this
elixir of the gods, but often only the Jamaican-based Appleton Estate is what’s
readily available at a Sandals. On Sandals St Vincent though there is a proper rum
bar called “Three Jewels” offering an array of rums from throughout the
Caribbean. Although you can order mixed drinks at Three Jewels a flight of
different rums is the way to go. On the mainland the St
Vincent Distillery offers three rums, Sparrow, Captain Bligh, and the Sunset Very
Strong Rum. At 84.5% alcohol content this rum is not allowed in your baggage
going home, AND they DO check. At the Sandals on St Vincent only Captain Bligh
and Sunset are available, although on Bequia we were drinking Sparrow. Anyway,
Three Jewels had been our favorite watering hole though there are several
dotted around the grounds.
HOVERING
Diving is included with
a Sandals vacation, and we were certified through their PADI courses. We take
full advantage of this perk. The dive crews at whatever Sandals we are visiting
are professional and helpful and friendly, but as we get better at diving (I’m
now over 50 dives) we are treated more like efficient divers than children.
 |
| dive gear with bungalows in background |
As
with anything, there are still skills to learn and on this recent trip we
decided to take a class in “Peak Performance Buoyancy” to improve our breathing.
We used less weight on our weight belts and were able to glide effortlessly and
through the lesson we learned to ascend or descend or hover in place with just
our breathing. I came back from the dives with more air in my tank than ever
before. Of course, PADI doesn’t just mean “Professional Association of
Diving Instructors”, but also “Put Another Dollar In” and the course
cost $500 for the two of us. Money well spent.
ONE LAST PERK
Loyalty to the Sandals
family of resorts has an extra perk. Not only do we stay at a beautiful resort,
but we are accruing days and once we stay at a Sandals for 70 days, we get a
free week! We like free. A lot of our conversations at other Sandals resorts
are usually about where we are going to eat that day, but at St Vincent we were
seriously considering a return to SVG when we finally reach that 70-day goal.
It was difficult to
leave this beautiful island nation.
Thanks for reading.
Love Janet and greg
© 2025 by Gregory Dunaj
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