The Caribbean's Most Luxurious Beach Experience

There are people for whom just being at the beach is luxury enough. People who don’t mind if there’s no shade, no changing rooms, no beach bar, no chaises upon which to plant their bum. Just give them a sandy strand and a towel and they’re happy. I am NOT one of them.

When it comes to the beach – well, anywhere, really – I appreciate a bit of luxury, and there are no ocean-side accoutrements too indulgent for me. Which is why I’m a big fan of the more-is-more experience offered in the beach houses at the Four Seasons Nevis.

 

Reserve one of the resort’s quartet of tricked-out oceanfront oases and I dare you to want for anything. Available for full or half-day rental, each charming retreat (fashioned after a colonial cottage with a peaked roof and gingerbread fretwork) comes complete with its own lounging and dining area; a mini-fridge stocked with complimentary soft drinks; a flat-screen TV; hand-held shower; private-label sunscreen; an iPod dock; and a stash of DVDs, magazine and coffee table books – handy in the unlikely event that you get bored watching the stand-up paddleboarders glide along the transparent waters of Pinney’s Beach.

But luxurious niceties are nothing, of course, without the service to back them up. And the FSN delivers, with the solicitous attentions of a team of beach butlers. Hoist your house’s green flag and one magically appears, ready to refresh your Nevisian Spirit rum punch.

Feeling the heat? If a chilled lemongrass-scented towel doesn’t do the trick, your butler will be happy to rain a shower of Evian water spritzes on your sun-toasted skin.

And if the munchies arise, a few exquisite amuse bouches will tide you over until breakfast or lunch is delivered right to your seaside retreat.

Of course, luxury has its price: in this case from around $300 a day up to a whopping $1000 during the festive season (excluding food and drink). It’s certainly no bargain. But for luxury-loving beach bums with deep pockets or an urge to splurge … well, one could argue that this singularly sybaritic experience is priceless.