5 Best Hotels in Montserrat

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Currently, the island primarily offers villas (housekeepers and cooks can be arranged) or guesthouses, the latter often incorporating meals in the rate by request (ask if the 7% tax and 10% service charge are included), and there is one small hotel. Note that inns rarely have air-conditioning, relying instead on hillside breezes.

Erindell Villa Guesthouse

$ | Gros Michel Dr., Woodlands, Montserrat

Overflowing with character and characters, this rain-forest retreat is a photo album in the making, with memorable snapshots that include gardens framed by emerald hills and azure sea; colorful cocktail hours brimming with bonhomie and island gossip; and evening entertainment featuring hotly contested board games, comical calypso concerts, karaoke, ghost stories, or Montserratian dialect lessons. Warm and witty Lou and Shirley Spycalla treat guests like family, offering such complimentary extras as island tours, snack baskets, Wi-Fi access, Skype calls, beach transportation, and a cell phone loaner when hiking or beachcombing. Separate entrances guarantee privacy in the two snug, self-contained units (the poolside room is larger). If you'd rather not cook, you can feast family-style in the kitchen on enticing themed meals.

Pros

  • Engaging owners
  • Beautiful landscaping
  • Abundant freebies

Cons

  • Hike to beach
  • Makeshift evening entertainment can disrupt the tranquility
  • Occasional ash dustings
Gros Michel Dr., Woodlands, Montserrat
664-491–3655
hotel Details
2 rooms
Rate Includes: Free Breakfast, No credit cards

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Gingerbread Hill

$ | Virgin Island Rd., St. Peter's, Montserrat Fodor's Choice

This secluded mountainside retreat offers remarkable value, individually decorated accommodations, splendid views, utter tranquility, and exquisite grounds—not to mention fascinating, self-sufficient owners who believe in respecting nature and supporting local culture. David and Clover Lea, who laughingly call themselves "well-done, but grown up hippies," built the villas themselves using recycled or indigenous materials wherever possible (even the soaps are homemade). Each one offers creative touches such as trompe l'oeil window frames, hand-painted tiles, and wraparound verandahs that afford extraordinary views. Mango Mini Cottage is nearest the 17-foot oval pool; the cozy Sweet & Simple efficiency has a microwave, CD player, TV, and fridge. Reasonably priced catering is available, using fixings from the permaculture garden and fresh eggs from the family's chickens. You can pluck your own breakfast from the extravagant fruit trees.

Pros

  • Delightful menagerie, including birds
  • Free Wi-Fi and airport transfers
  • Access to washer/dryer

Cons

  • Car necessary
  • No beachfront
  • Perhaps too "granola" for some
Virgin Island Rd., St. Peter's, Montserrat
664-491–5812
hotel Details
4 units
Rate Includes: No Meals

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Grand View Bed & Breakfast

$ | Baker Hill, Montserrat

This aptly named inn is run by dynamo Theresa Silcott, who prides herself on being Montserrat's top hostess and who can take you to beaches and local shindigs, and even brew bracing bush teas using ingredients coaxed from her lovingly tended garden (replete with mini-nature trail). "When I'm not cooking for people," says Theresa, "I'm planting the food they eat." Locals justly laud her traditional cuisine: the intensely flavored goat water, stewed saltfish, and baked goods are cherished family recipes. A sports bar lures locals for darts, ping-pong, and events on the large-screen TV. Units are plain but clean and cheerful. Two budget rooms share a bath with a surcharge for TV and phone, while suites include a kitchenette and balcony. 

Pros

  • Splendid views and delightful gardens
  • Excellent local food
  • Free Wi-Fi

Cons

  • No beachfront
  • Very basic rooms
  • Only two rooms have air-conditioning
Baker Hill, Montserrat
664-491–2284
hotel Details
10 rooms
Rate Includes: Free Breakfast

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Recommended Fodor's Video

Olveston House

$ | Olveston, Montserrat Fodor's Choice

Rented to island hoteliers by Beatles producer Sir George Martin, this 1950s villa brims with history, including the owner's fabled AIR Studios (where Sting, Elton John, Eric Clapton, and Paul McCartney recorded) and guest rooms that are each named for a Beatles tune and adorned with a gold record, antiques, and sleigh or four-poster beds. Three guest rooms have access to the wraparound porch; the other three have air-conditioning. The 5 acres of lush grounds offer spectacular views of the steaming Soufrière. A Montserrat Who's Who gathers in the restaurant. Margaret, now the sole owner, greets arrivals with fresh-baked cookies, and her bountiful British breakfasts include fresh seasonal local juices and homemade preserves.

Pros

  • Incredible value
  • Gorgeous pool and glorious views of glowing Soufrière
  • Invigorating blend of locals, expats, and guests at the bar and dining room

Cons

  • No beach
  • Occasional dusting of ash
  • Wi-Fi is spotty and rooms with air-conditioning have a $10 upcharge
Olveston, Montserrat
664-491–3942
hotel Details
6 rooms
Rate Includes: Closed Jan., Free Breakfast

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Vue Pointe Hotel

$ | Old Towne, Montserrat

In late 2016, after a ten-year hiatus, Montserrat's oldest, classiest hostelry quite literally rose like a phoenix from the ashes; thanks to its gracious hosts, the Osborne family, its bar and restaurants again percolate with life in season, and its comfy, hexagonal rondavels are nestled amid grounds ablaze with red hibiscus, yellow allamanda, and pink oleander. Traditionally furnished rooms enlivened by local photos bear out the hotel's name with extraordinary volcano and/or water vistas: experience true tranquility sipping a rum punch on your terrace as the sun fireballs across the long, gray ribbon of Old Road Bay. Carol Osborne, American by birth, is as fiercely proud as any island native and a font of local lore and information.

Pros

  • Glorious setting with volcano and beach views
  • Fascinating, knowledgeable owners and clientele
  • Bargain prices

Cons

  • Continual closures due to volcanic activity
  • Mediocre food
  • Spotty Wi-Fi
Old Towne, Montserrat
664-491–5210
hotel Details
3 cottages
Rate Includes: Free Breakfast

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