Buyers after fair weather and fairways are investing big in golf resorts in Europe and the Caribbean. A comfortable green-side home in the sun is now seen by some as a haven from overcrowded city life and never-ending health challenges. In fact, it’s a hole in one.
As the global property market rediscovers its mojo, Peter Swain salutes the sectors and cities forging ahead. Leading hostelry marques are offering remarkable residences that combine the ease and comfort of hotel living with all the privacy of one’s own four walls. In London and New York, tempting new projects woo with cutting-edge design and peerless panoramas.
One unexpected side effect of the past year is that new homes at super-luxe golf destinations are becoming increasingly desirable – not only for holidays, but as primary residences.
Location, location, location: dining on Nevis is all about deciding whether to eat by the beach or up the Peak. At Montpelier, Golden Rock, Hermitage, Nisbet, Sunshine’s and the Four Seasons, specialities include conch chowder, spiny lobster, red snapper, and for dessert, soursop ice cream.
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The rum revival on St. Kitts and Nevis is gathering pace, as local producers create new blends fit for royalty. When Camilla Duchess of Cornwall visited, she was offered a rum punch at Hermitage. “That’s delicious and packs a punch – it’s really alcoholic!” she declared.
St. Kitts has three distinct restaurant districts, each with their own character: the Peninsular, Basseterre and Frigate Bay. With Christophe Harbour and the Park Hyatt at its heart, the Peninsular has become the culinary capital of the island.
The latest global trends in city living are all about sporting, social and spa amenities, reports Peter Swain, who also explores global golf developments and the rising market in Lisbon.
Big-name designers and beautiful settings ensure the latest crop of new and revamped golf courses in Europe, the Middle East, the Americas and Far East raise standards across the board.
“It all started with Shitao,” says Brice Marden. “He was maybe the last great Chinese master painter of landscapes. His work often features bamboo and rocks, and when we were designing the final phase of the Golden Rock garden on Nevis, I was in a big Shitao phase.”
With its mouthwatering mix of exotic local flavours and historic influences, Caribbean cuisine is a melting pot of culinary cultures. Here are five regional treats to be enjoyed in Barbados, St. Kitts, Grenada, St. Vincent and Antigua.
Visitors who’ve been to St. Kitts and Nevis before might be wondering: what’s new for this year? Answer: a new Customs House at Christophe Harbour, a new sushi joint on Nevis, and much more.
There’s so much to do on Nevis for sightseers of all ages and interests, Visitor has created three customised itineraries: for families, the adventurous, and the more romantically inclined.
Travellers landing at Robert L. Bradshaw Airport on St. Kitts or Vance W. Amory on Nevis, as well as seafarers sailing straight into Christophe Harbour, and passengers arriving in Port Zante or Charlestown, can expect a first-class welcome.
Housed in converted sugar mills dating back to the 17th and 18th centuries, Nevis’s four plantation inns each provide an enchanting setting for a lunchtime libation or evening cocktail. These remarkable ‘great houses’ also represent living history.
Kittitians and Nevisians love their cricket – and also enjoy a good party. Combine the two and you have the Caribbean Premier League (CPL). And there’ll be fireworks in March 2019 when England play two T20 matches at Warner Park in Basseterre.
Five-star to funky, modern to traditional, St. Kitts has it covered. While on Nevis, variety is the spice of life, from international resort to plantation inn, on the beach or up the Peak.
Opening this year, Christophe Harbour’s innovative new Customs House on St. Kitts confirms the exclusive marina development as ‘The New Gateway to the Caribbean’. “I’m crafting the new in the style of the old,” says architect John Haley.
Charlotte, North Carolina, is an important banking and business centre with some of America’s very best golf courses, including the incomparable Pinehurst No.2, on its doorstep.
Appearing regularly on the PGA Tour as well as bucket lists of travelling players, the holy trinity of golf in the Carolinas is: Pinehurst, Kiawah Island, and Hilton Head. Peter Swain makes the pilgrimage.
As the world faces a variety of perceived existential threats, New Zealand is becoming a popular choice among those who can live part of their year anywhere in the world. “Potential buyers step off the plane and just breathe – they love our clean air and green landscape.”
Five minutes with … Lior Lev Sercarz. The right spice mix, “brings the third dimension to a great dish. It elevates a dish by delivering texture, scent and flavour and, beyond that, an emotion. Like a handmade suit, each blend is made-to-measure for that particular client.”
Sybarites visit St Barths to be seen, and Anguilla to get away from it all. The island with the best beaches in the Caribbean has a host of chic new hotels and luxe villas for visitors to enjoy.
‘Home’ is a place where one can relax in private, where absolute comfort is a given and one is surrounded by friendly faces. Above all, it’s a state of mind. And so is Amanera in the Dominican Republic.
Christophe Harbour’s ocean-side beach bar on St. Kitts might just be the only such venue in the region with a purpose-built dancing table. “We planned it that way from the start,” says internationally renowned architect and designer John Haley.
The official 2017 St Kitts and Nevis Visitor magazine: how to arrive in style, where to stay and eat on Nevis, the best chilling and thrilling attractions to visit, and sporting opportunities that include golf, cycling, diving and triathlon.
Ocean views, lush vegetation and innovative design make many Caribbean golf courses truly world-class. Peter Swain casts an eye over some of the best players in the field
This MACO guide to laid back carousing on St. Barths reveals the right venues for lunch, sunset cocktails, dinner and late night partying. From foie gras sliders to mahi mahi dumplings, and tuna tataki to magret de canard, the island boasts some of the most varied cuisine in the Caribbean.
On the Caribbean island that blends the style of Saint-Tropez with the energy of South Beach, the chefs are the real rock stars.
Idyllic beaches, secure anchorage, designer shopping and sophisticated hospitality notwithstanding, the secret to this Caribbean isle’s continued pre-eminence is simple: a flair for reinvention. Here are some of the most notable innovations du jour.
