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La Sagesse Nature Centre is a classic Caribbean hideaway, set in a heart-stoppingly pretty bay in one of the secluded coves of Grenada’s meandering southern coastline. It is small but has immense charm and character. Set among neatly tended tropical gardens, La Sagesse has just twelve rooms in a Great House and a modern block. On its very pretty dark sand beach, under huge and slender palms, there is a restaurant and beach bar where you can linger for the whole day in soporific contentment. There are activities – the area has been designated a preservation area for its nature and there is hiking as well as birding interest – but in quieter moments, of which there are lots here, La Sagesse catches the very essence of tropical tranquillity.
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KEY FEATURES
| Small, very peaceful and secluded Grenada resort hideaway in a very pretty cove on the island's southern shore. A Grenada inn with beach restaurant and bar, non-motorized watersports. Nature resort, birding and hiking. |
STYLE
| Part traditional ‘plantation’ Caribbean, part beach-bound castaway, nature retreat |
CLIENT PROFILE
| Independent travellers of all ages and types in search of a tranquil escape, nature lovers and hikers |
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La Sagesse sits in its own cove at the end of a mile-long drive which meanders through a very pretty valley on Grenada’s southern shore. Once you have passed a sports pitch and some agricultural plots, the island’s explosive natural life begins to overtake the road and the natural beauty of the place begins to work on you. Eventually you come to the small hotel, which sits tucked into the corner of the bay. It is incredibly pretty, with a shore side screen of palms and sea almond trees that looks out to sea, between two huge headlands that shelter it from the open ocean.
There are two centres to La Sagesse. As you enter the property the first thing you will see, straight ahead, is the old ‘Great House’, a striking two storey building the colour of peach. This is the main building of the hotel. But a split second later your eyes are drawn right, to a stone windmill, set among near-explosive tropical gardens. This is the entrance to the restaurant and bar and it is where visitors from outside come to spend the day. As well as a small, quiet hotel, La Sagesse is a beach bar - a classic place to spend a lazy afternoon - and a nature reserve, so hikers and bird-watchers occasionally put in an appearance too. The combination gives La Sagesse a good atmosphere.
Although La Sagesse was once a 600 acre sugar estate (originally settled and named by French Grenadians, as you can see from the name), the Great House does not date from the Caribbean’s eighteenth century plantation days. In fact it was built 1968, as a home for an English Lord who was developing the banana trade in the island. It has quite a grand Caribbean air about it, with bottle-balustrades, small green window-shades and slightly self-important square columns supporting rounded arches and a strange, curly, almost Dutch skyline. For all its unexpected appearance - small-scale grandeur set against all the tropical greenery – the Great House is also extremely pretty and fits the bay well.
It contains five bedrooms, all of them large. Of course La Sagesse was built as a home rather than as a hotel and so they are bigger than a typical hotel bedroom in the Caribbean nowadays. The house retains many of its original features too. The louvered windows and tall doors give out onto a large balcony. The house’s most distinctive feature is its sweeping staircase, which leads straight down from the upper floor veranda, flaring as it reaches the ground. It provides a grand and gracious welcome.
The newer building, which also contains five rooms, is beyond the Great House and set slightly closer to the sea. It has a concrete base and a wooden upper and the bedrooms are set off a corridor, three at the front, each with a patio looking out onto the beach and two at the rear – these have an upper section with a view on the bay through the trees. The rooms have beds built into concrete bases in the rooms and the furniture is made of greenheart wood. Some of the bathrooms are also brightly decorated. Beyond this building, the final two rooms are set in a wooden cottage with a good-size balcony at the front. In the rooms there is some modern art and murals of tropical flowers, which add a splash of colour to generally unfussy presentation. Around the grounds of La Sagesse you will also notice statues standing in silent contemplation.
Just as the Great House is unexpected, so is the shell of a windmill, though again it fits its pretty setting in profuse tropical gardens. Actually this was built in 2002, as the Reception and office for the hotel. It has a book exchange for guests and a small art gallery. It is also the entrance to the restaurant. Straight ahead you will see the bar and to the left the tables on an open-sided, split-level wooden deck, with a view onto gardens and through the trees to the beach. The restaurant is built with local tropical woods and has a slight nautical air. The deck is greenheart planking and there are purpleheart rafters held up by hefty masts of a local wood, wallibou. There are also dark wooden tables and chairs. Like a yacht, it is bordered by wire railings. The beach bar section is around the corner from the restaurant, in a hatch looking out into the bay. Here you can order drinks or a snack if you are down on the beach for the day.
All beaches in Grenada are public of course and so La Sagesse does have some visitors, but they tend to stay on the beach around the beach bar. It will not affect you if you are staying there as the ‘accommodation’ area, which is reserved for guests, is always very quiet. In addition to beach-goers you will see occasional hikers and bird-watchers because trails pass through the area and La Sagesse is one of the finest areas in Grenada for its birding. In general it is a tranquil part of Grenada. The name Nature Reserve comes from the fact that some of La Sagesse (the estuary, salt pond and mangroves and the southern headland), has been designated by the Parks Department as protected from development.
La Sagesse is one of just a few places in the Caribbean that manage to combine an exquisite and natural setting – in this case a small but grand country house set in profuse Caribbean greenery - and a low key but friendly atmosphere at good prices (others have gone overboard in their rates). It is relatively simple, but if you quiet and pretty tropical seclusion, la Sagesse is a form of Caribbean perfection.
La Sagesse History
The history of La Sagesse, if short, is curious and quite sensational. The Great House was built by an English Lord, Peregrine Brownlow, who was a friend of and Lord-in-Waiting to King Edward VIII, the British monarch who abdicated in 1936 in order to marry American divorcee Wallis Simpson. Later in life Brownlow was involved in developing the banana industry in the Caribbean and owned estates in several islands.
He bought sixty acres in Grenada, and while he clearly loved the place enough to build a home there, he is not fondly remembered on the island. He gained a bad reputation because of his practice of not allowing the Grenadians access over his land. There were practical concerns, for the protection of the crop, but of course the beaches in the Caribbean are public and so he was seen to be denying access to the beach. It came to a head in 1974, in a moment that became known as the Brownlow Affair. The New Jewel Movement, then a young political party in Grenada, decided to force access to the beach, breaking down the fences and marching through the land. |
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Beach & Swimming
La Sagesse has a lovely beach, a broad sweep of light grey sand about half a mile long that shelves gently into the water. The bay itself is very attractive and is partially protected by huge headlands that close it against the open Atlantic Ocean, but the setting is perfected by the lines of slender shore side palms that stand fifty and sixty feet high. It is a classic Caribbean scene. The water is shallow for quite a long way out and the waves are not usually large (though they are good enough for boogie-boarding sometimes), so it is an excellent place to swim. It also suits children well. There is not much activity on the beach but it sees some passers-by as well as the visitors at La Sagesse itself. Guests are provided with loungers and hammocks. |
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Sports & Recreation
There are some non-motorized sports at La Sagesse including kayaks and snorkelling gear. The best snorkelling is in an adjacent bay, where the reef is very close to the shore (it is quite a swim from La Sagesse itself). The waves can be large enough for a bit of boogie-boarding, so those are available too. If you are more interested in attended inactivity, say a massage in your room, then La Sagesse is able to bring in a massage therapist.
Hiking is a popular activity at La Sagesse. There is a nature walk on the grounds of the small resort itself and then there are coastal paths in both directions that take you through the dry forest to isolated beaches and snorkelling areas. They link inland to access roads and main roads, but head both ways along the coast. If you head west you will eventually come to Petit Bacaye, another lovely hotel tucked into its own cove. La Sagesse can arrange for a hiking guide if you would like one.
Bird-watching is also popular at La Sagesse, which is one of the best areas for it on the island. You will see some birds along the beach itself and many in the mangroves and salt pond, including green-backed and blue herons and jacanas. On land there are brown-crested flycatchers and hummingbirds and then offshore you may well see an osprey. La Sagesse can arrange for a birding guide if you would like one. |
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Staff
There are eighteen staff at La Sagesse, many of whom have been there since the small resort opened in 1987. You are bound to come across Cecilia, the chef, who has been there since 1994 and Rachel who has been there since 1992. Other faces you may well see include Keith (daytime) and John (evenings). There is daily maid service to the rooms at La Sagesse.
There are two owners of La Sagesse and they take it in turns to run the small hotel, living the rest of the time back home in the States. Mike is a lecturer at SGU in Art History, Comparative Religion and Humanities and so is often there in the University vacations. Nancy is there the rest of the time with her husband Jerry, an award-winning music producer from New York (he won a Grammy in 2003), who has spent a lot of time working around the Caribbean. |
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The Rooms
The rooms at La Sagesse are large and while they are perfectly comfortable, they are relatively simple and pleasantly lean. Many have platforms on which the mattresses are laid, but there is one wooden four poster among other wooden furniture.
There are five rooms in the main house, two set off a terrace at the front downstairs and two more off the veranda above, approached via the grand staircase. A fifth, smaller room, Julie’s Room, is at the back on the ground floor and has a garden view. Another five are set in the newer building. The three at the front of this building each have a patio giving onto the sand. There are two more rooms (with two queen beds) in a cottage made of wood beyond the new building. It has a very nice deck at the front, with a view through the shorefront trees, which is partitioned but can be opened.
Only one room at La Sagesse (A/C Room) is air-conditioned. Instead the rest use natural ventilation. The rooms are large of course and open, and they channel the air through wooden louvers into the room where it is whipped up by a ceiling fan. Interestingly, the small green hoods over the windows were cannily designed both to encourage any breeze to keep the interior cool and to prevent rain getting in. Rooms are screened against insects. |
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Dining
The setting of the dining room at La Sagesse is delightful. The tables sit on a greenheart deck that looks out onto low-level greenery and then onto the excellent beach. The atmosphere by day sees a passing beach trade, but in the evenings it changes and becomes a bit more sophisticated. The level of service also goes up. La Sagesse is happy to accept outside guests in the evenings.
The menu has a lot of fresh fish – landed by fishermen in the bays nearby – and so you will see fish steaks charcoal grilled or cooked à l‘almandine’. You will also find lobster, lambi (conch) dishes, steaks and lighter fare such as sandwiches and salads. You could even try their gourmet version of Grenadian ‘oil-down’. For dessert there are banana splits and chocolate mousse. The chef Cecilia has been with La Sagesse for over 10 years.
There are also fruit smoothies to keep you going during a hard day’s inactivity on the beach. |
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Children
Children are welcome at La Sagesse. They have some cots and high chairs. They often have children’s dishes on the menu. |
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Useful Hints
La Sagesse is relatively remote, set in undeveloped local Grenadian countryside and so it is ideal for tranquillity and natural pursuits. If you are looking for evening activity then it may be a little quite for you. |
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Practical Facts
Annual Closure Dates: Open year round.
Dress Code: Casual.
Facilities: Restaurant and beach bar. Reception. Gift shop/art gallery. Sun loungers and hammocks.
Complimentary: Kayaks, boogie-boards and snorkelling gear.
Other Services: island tours, airport transfers and guides for hiking and bird watching arranged. Book exchange service for guests. In room massage therapy available on request. Daily maid service. Ironing and laundry services on request.
Children: Welcome. Baby sitting available on request. Cost between US$5.00-7.00 per hour
Accommodation: 12 rooms
Room Types: All rooms have mini-bars, en suite bathrooms with showers, ceiling fans and net screens on all windows. Hair dryers and kettles available on request. 5 x Manor House Rooms - Julie's Room upstairs with garden view and king size bed. A/C Room on main floor with garden view, air-conditioning and queen size bed. Upstairs Room a large ocean view room upstairs, with kinq size bed. Pink Room a large ocean view room with veranda, mahogany four poster queen-size bed and den with convertible sofa. Green Room a large ocean view room with veranda, king-size bed and den with convertible sofa. 2 x New Cottage Rooms both with wrap-around ocean view verandas, one with a queen size bed and the other a king size. 5 x New Building Rooms - Ocean Rooms #1 & #2 each with ocean view wrap-around veranda and queen size bed. Ted’s Room & Steve’s Room are ocean view duplex suites with downstairs sitting area and bathroom and upstairs bedroom with queen size bed (can sleep 4). Ocean Suite with private ocean view veranda and king size bed.
Credit Cards: VISA and MasterCard. |
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Rates
| | 01 May-14 Dec 2007 | 15 Dec-30 Apr 2007-08 | 01 May-14 Dec 2008 | | MANOR HOUSE Julie’s Room A/C Room Upstairs Room Green Room Pink Room | 100 100 120 120 120 | 170 170 195 195 195 | 110 110 130 130 130 | | NEW COTTAGE Room #1 Room #2 | 120 120 | 195 195 | 130 130 | | THE NEW BUILDING Ocean Room #1 Ocean Room #2 Ted’s Room Steve’s Room Ocean Suite | 120 120 120 120 130 | 195 195 195 195 215 | 130 130 130 130 140 | | Extra Person | 20 | 20 | 20 | All rates are quoted in US$, per room based on double occupancy, per night on a room only basis, and are subject to 8% Government Tax (increases to 10% from 15 Dec 2007) and 10% Service Charge. All rates are subject to change without notice.
A minimum deposit of one night is required to confirm all reservations and is refundable only when cancelling at least 30 days prior to arrival, however bookings of 4 rooms or more requires payment in full prior to arrival during 15 Dec -15 Apr. |
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How to Book
If you wish to make further enquiries or a reservation, please use the WEB LINK or DIRECT EMAIL ENQUIRIES facility at the top of this page to make contact with La Sagesse Nature Centre in Grenada, or if you wish to telephone them, their telephone number will be revealed if you click on the CONTACT TELEPHONE NUMBER link. |
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UK Tour Operators
If you wish to book through a tour operator or travel organiser, please follow the TOUR OPERATOR link below.
See List of UK Tour Operators
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Locality
La Sagesse is set in one of the many finger coves along Grenada’s meandering south-eastern shoreline. It is about 25 minutes from Grand Anse and the airport, making it relatively (and pleasantly) remote from the main tourist activity of the island. It is accessed off the main road that runs along this shore (as close as it realistically can), from Grand Anse around to Grenville, Grenada’s second town. The capital St George’s is the prettiest harbour town in the Caribbean and well worth a visit. That is also about 25 minutes drive away. |
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Meet & Greet
La Sagesse is happy to arrange for a cab to pick you up at the airport on arrival (please make the request and let them know your flight time). The journey time is 25 minutes and the fare is US$30. If you would prefer to use a Concierge service, which can include transfers and general assistance while you are on island, then this is available through Caribbean Horizons. If you are booking through a travel organiser you should be met at the airport by their local representative. Please check on booking. |
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Getting Around
While much of the attraction of La Sagesse is to hide yourself away in such delightful tropical beauty, it is well worth exploring this area of Grenada. It is just possible to travel by bus (if you are happy to walk down the drive to the resort itself). Buses will drop you in Grand Anse or take you on to St George’s. The easiest option for exploration, however, is to hire a car and it gives you most flexibility. You can travel to some of the less accessible beaches and bars (for instance on the Point Salines peninsular), visit St Georges and the country, and then eat out in the restaurants.
If you will want a car for just a couple of days then this is easily arranged at Reception. Otherwise we recommend that you make a reservation in advance through your travel organiser or through Y & R Car Rental, who will deliver the car to the property and issue your Grenadian driving licence (price EC$30). Vehicles can be returned at the airport or collected from the hotel. Be aware that at the height of the season between December and April cars on island can be booked up, so it is a good idea to reserve one in advance. Also book early if you want one for a week or more because the rate will be better. Taxis are easily available through Reception at the hotel. |
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All the information on this page comes to you free of charge. Please remember to mention DefinitiveCaribbean when you contact La Sagesse Nature Centre to enquire or book your Grenada or Y&R Car Rental for your car hire.
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