Petit St Vincent

First a warning. This is not the place to find romance. You have to arrive with someone you love and want to spend time with. There are no swim-up bars. Actually there isn’t even a pool. There is no beach volleyball either.

But what this tiny jewel of an island of about 120 acres offered was pure paradise for my wife and me, and just what we were looking for to help us unwind. It not only met but exceeded all our expectations.

We arrived on the island by motor launch from Union Island, following a short flight from Barbados (after the flight from Toronto). Following a warm welcome on the dock, we were whisked by golf cart to one of the twenty completely private cottages around the island. Our stone cottage, situated on a bluff overlooking the water was incredible. The small wooden doorway set into a stone wall opened onto a large deck, with a breathtaking 180° view of the ocean. The two-person hammock made the view even better, and a perfect place to read to each other.

Perhaps the best part about these beautiful cottages was the lack of phones, TVs or radios. The only form of communication was two flags on a bamboo pole. Hoist the yellow flag, put a message into the mailbox (What we’d like breakfast for example) and within a few minutes, an excellent breakfast cooked to order would magically appear, and be served on the deck. Hoisting the red flag signalled “Do Not Disturb” for complete privacy.

The nearest cottage had to be at least 50 metres away from ours ensuring privacy from the neighbours.

During our week’s stay, we had meals in the room sometimes, at other times we enjoyed breakfast, lunch or dinner in the amazing dining room. Every meal was supurb, and the service exceptional.

Several times, we walked the white sandy beach all the way around the island, taking about two hours to do so. Snorkeling out to the reef about 30 metres off shore was an incredible experience for me. My wife scuba dived before, but remarked that she has never seen so many varieties of fish in one place at one time.

Most of the time, we had the beach completely to ourselves. The private little beach huts had the same flag system so anytime we wanted a drink or snacks…

The guests we met at Petit St Vincent, many of whom were repeat visitors, were all very interesting too. We had privacy when we wanted it, yet pleasant social time, too.

Without a doubt, this was the ultimate travel experience for us (so far), and we would highly recommend this resort to anyone looking to share paradise with someone special.