Fodor's Expert Review Rawlins Plantation Inn

Editor's Note: This location is no longer in operation.

Civilized serenity awaits at this remote plantation inn between verdant Mt. Liamuiga and the cobalt Caribbean. Twelve acres of lavish, lovingly landscaped grounds are ablaze with hibiscus, oleander, and plumbago and dotted with the original copper syrup vats. Rooms occupy restored estate buildings (including the sugar mill) and trellised gingerbread cottages charmingly decorated with local artworks, grass mats, and mahogany furnishings. Days are spent relaxing in one of the many strategically slung hammocks, perhaps contemplating the egrets stalking the palms or the views of St. Maarten and St. Eustatius. Expat artist Kate Spencer's studio is on-site; her husband, Philip, a keen sailor, might be building or restoring classic boats. The refined 18th-century dining room, given a contemporary edge by a quietly sexy lounge, has always been an island favorite, particularly for its authentic West Indian buffet lunches (on-site gardens supply ultrafresh herbs and produce, bell peppers to papaya, pumpkin to plantain). Recent questionable additions include the construction of faux-vernacular prefabricated "Carib Cottages" for sale.