Friday, February 27, 2015

Sun, Fun and Snorkel in Nevis and St. Kitts

I woke up to palm trees swaying and a light ocean breeze. I didn’t take me long to remember I was a Nisbet Plantation in Nevis, a boutique slice of paradise.

After some light yoga, I walked down to the beach for breakfast. My cottage was one of the first ones so it wasn’t that close to the beach, but close enough so that the sense of the waves instantly relaxed me.

Coconuts is the restaurant for breakfast at NisbetPlantation and I don’t think I could have dreamed up a better scene for the morning. It’s open air dining with clear views of the beach.

They offer a buffet filled with fresh fruit and juice – including a different special juice each day – breads and yogurt. You can then order their specialties from their menu.

I thought I was keeping it simple with a veggie filled omelet and corned beef hash, but the hash turned out to be like no other I had previously. It included fruit (pineapple?) and was absolutely delicious.

My friend and fellow travel writer Sue Campbell is an absolute beach lover and I let her do her own thing while I walked along the sand and took it all in.

I had grown up near the ocean, but living away from it has made me appreciate it more and, this resort was on a perfect beach. 

While some people could lie on the sand and play in the water all day, I preferred to walk along the water and take in the blue hues.

Before getting ready for our catamaran boat trip to St. Kitts I did some laps in the pool. 

Despite the fact that the resort was full, there was so much room for everyone here that I felt like I had it all to myself.

It was a bit too warm for the hot tub, but I vowed to come back and take advantage of the beach views from that comfortable spot.

Calvin, my driver from the previous day, came to pick us up and take us to the boat. The dock was at the Four Seasons Hotel so we had a chance to take a look at that luxurious property before we took off on the catamaran with Leeward Island Charters.

I would highly recommend this tour company and can honestly say it was one of the most fun island trips I have ever had. They had an open bar, music, and dancing on the boat. At the St. Kitts snorkel site, they were very helpful with equipment and provided us easy access to the water.

The afternoon was a blast and I know Sue and Phaon, another travel writer we met at Nisbet Plantation, would completely agree as they had some great snorkeling and were on the boat deck for the dancing.

We were back at Nisbet Plantation in time for High Tea on the patio of the Great House. I enjoyed a cup of jasmine tea and some scones before heading back to my cabin for a rest. There’s nothing like relaxing in the sun for hours to make you want to take a nap!

I dressed for dinner and met Sue for cocktails at the Great House before dinner. It was a beautiful night and we decided to get an outside table so we could feel the breeze and look at the stars.

We had another luscious international dinner. I really went for the variety with a chicken enchilada, vegetable pasta, and chocolate cake and ice cream for dessert. Sue stuck with the steak and wasn’t disappointed.

We once again retired early, getting ready for another sun-filled day in Nevis.  


Thursday, February 19, 2015

A Few Bumps on the Road to Beautiful Nevis

I knew it wasn’t going to be an easy trip when my friend and fellow travel writer, Sue Campbell, invited me to join her on the island of Nevis, but it sounded like an ideal way to spend a week during the winter.

Nevis Tourism booked my flights and I was set to leave Champaign in the morning for a flight to Chicago, then onto Miami, for a flight to St. Kitts. I would then take a ferry to the island.

It was a lot of traveling to get there, but we did plan to stay over a night at the St. Kitts Marriott to cut it down on the way back.

With all that travel planned, it just took one little problem for the trip to go off schedule, and that happened at the beginning. I missed my first connection and couldn’t get to Miami in time for the last St.Kitts flight of the day.

I didn’t want to take a chance of all those connections again, so I did continue on to Miami and got a hotel room at the Fairfield Inn for the night. I was onboard my flight to Nevis the next morning with a first class upgrade, thanks American Airlines.

Everything from there went smoothly and I boarded the van waiting for Nisbet Plantation visitors at St. Kitts airport. We headed to the dock.

The beach in front of the dock was quite crowded with students from the nearby veterinary college. They looked like they were having a lot of fun, but I just wanted to get to Nevis.

I didn’t have to wait long for the boat that would take me to Nevis. It is only a six minute ride. We were offered drinks when we boarded and didn’t even get to finish them before we arrived.

Although the ride is scenic, the boat goes a bit too fast to take it all in, but I had plenty of time to smile at the beautiful beach in front of me on this small island.

It was also unfortunate that the moment didn’t last for long as it began raining pretty hard. Our driver, Calvin, pulled up as close as he could in his van to pick us up and take us to Nisbet Plantation.

Calvin, with his famous van that reads “I am what I am” in the back, would be our driver throughout the trip.

It didn’t take long to register as my check-in was done by the General Manager himself, Alistair Forrest. Sue and I were scheduled to have dinner with him and I was excited to hear more about this amazing resort.

Just before I had left for my trip to Nevis, I had received word that the Nisbet Plantation Beach Club had been named “Best Beach Resort in the Caribbean” by Travel & LeisureMagazine.  

I had already been excited about the prospect of exploring this small resort (only 36 rooms) on this large beachfront property (30 acres). The award just made me more anxious to do so.

My room was not yet ready so I met Sue up in the Nisbet Plantation Great House. High Tea was moved to the inside because of the rain.

I actually started my tea time with a Pina colada so I could get into the Caribbean mood. It didn’t take long, though, to realize how hungry I was and the tea sandwiches and scones were next for me.

Alastair met us in the Great House and escorted me to my room. The cabins were nicely spread out, but there were two rooms in mine. I also had a visitor from next door – the farm next door. It seems a Nevis cow was ready to welcome me to my temporary home!

We went past my small patio into the cottage. It was adorable, with wicker furniture in a small living room and a bedroom, bathroom, and closet in the back. There was Wi-Fi, but no television. I did have a welcoming bottle of rum and a refrigerator filled with beer and water.

I used the next two hours to unpack and rest up before I met Sue, Alastair, and another writer, Phaon Spurlock for cocktails at the Great House.

There is only one restaurant for dinner at Nisbet Plantation, but I quickly learned there was no need for another. The menu was varied and the food was excellent.

For my first meal here, I started with Pork Satay as an appetizer.

My main course was Chicken Parmigiana. It was done beautifully and served with sautéed fresh vegetables.

I finished with a banana crepe topped with vanilla ice cream.

It had been a long day so it was easy to drift off to sleep, dreaming of the beautiful beach in front of me.