Montpelier Plantation

Montpelier Plantation Review

This Nevisian beauty—a Relais & Châteaux property—epitomizes understated elegance and graciously updated plantation living, courtesy of the congenial, cultured Hofmann family. The fieldstone greathouse replicates the 18th-century original; water lilies float serenely in antique copper syrup pots; and the mill houses an intimate restaurant. Hillside cottages, each with a private verandah and sea views, dot 30 acres of ravishing gardens. The public spaces and guest rooms adopt a chicly minimalist, Asian-inspired aesthetic, with rotating exhibits of mostly abstract local artworks adding panache. Bamboo is brilliantly employed: joined into rustic valances, woven as wall mats, or split for headboards. Each room is distinctive, though all have sisal rugs, Philippine hemp chairs, louvered windows, bowls of fresh flowers, large bathrooms, and a single breathtaking tube filled with orchids and grass hanging above a custom-made canopy platform or mahogany four-poster bed. Attention to detail exemplifies Montpelier: guests register at their leisure once they've settled in; if you preship your bags, they will be unpacked and your clothes pressed before you arrive. Accommodating, longtime staffers (nearly three per room) almost psychically intuit your needs. All you have to do is relax in a hammock contemplating the sea, enjoy complimentary tea by the 60-foot pool bedecked with marvelous Mondrian-style murals, or laze on Montpelier's secluded stretch of Pinney's (a 20-minute complimentary shuttle ride) where kayaks and mountain bikes are available. Cooking classes are now offered; suites have Wi-Fi and Nespresso machines; a gym and small spa are planned for 2012. Two separate villas added in late 2010 are ideal for families; one is fabulously fun and funky, with retro colors (burnt orange to olive) and artwork galore, like a painted car hood.