Nisbet Plantation Beach Club

In Depth

Nisbet Plantation Beach Club is unique among the plantation house hotels of St Kitts and Nevis in that it is actually set on the beach. The great houses that give the island so much of its character were generally built (200 years ago) close to where the cane was planted, cut and crushed, often on highground, where anyway it was cooler and healthier. But if sugar was king two centuries ago, sand is king today, and so Nisbet has come into its own. In addition to the grace and finery of the plantation house hotel, you get the easy relaxation of a small beach resort.

And Nisbet’s setting is completely different too. Earlier this century the estate was a coconut plantation and some of the original trees still run in neat lines, fronds tousled in the ocean breeze, down to the beach. The view through the palms is simply fantastic, one of the loveliest in Nevis - an island that is already full of supreme views.

By day Nisbet’s centre of gravity is down on the beach, which is very good. It has some of the best sand on the island, powdery white and set against the rich blues of the sea. At the weekends the beach can get quite lively (relatively, anyway) when the islanders themselves swell the numbers, but generally there is a small crowd sunbathing, swimming and sitting under the coloured wooden sunshades in front of the beach bar, Sea Breeze. Just behind here is the pool, next to the daytime restaurant, Coconuts.

If the beach is the daytime centrepiece, it takes a look back, over the rise, to see the tropical Georgian elegance of the Great House. Dating from 1778, this is set on stone arches and has a wooden upper storey with a graceful low-pitched shingle roof. Suddenly the atmosphere of the hotel is completely different. Between four and five in the afternoon tea is served, sometimes outside on the terrace under the arches.

Inside, the Great House has the same traditional West Indian style, with wicker furniture on highly polished wooden floors. Drinks and dinner are held in the Great House each evening. You start in the piano bar, where there is musical entertainment, and then move through to the front balcony, from where there is often a moonlit view to the sea. With its candles and reproduction antique furniture the dining room has a delightfully romantic air.

Looking straight down the double alley of palms by day, the cottages are barely visible, but if you walk down towards the sea then they become visible to the left and right. They are set in octagonal cottages and small blocks trimmed with traditional gingerbread, angled to catch the best of the ocean breeze. Inside they use traditional Caribbean design too, with a screened porch and a sitting area. The bedrooms are largely white, splashed with brightly coloured floral bedspreads. There is air-conditioning, but it is rarely needed and louvres can be opened up to let in the sea breeze.

The layout of Nisbet, with cottages scattered around so much space, makes it easy for guests to tuck themselves away quietly. The hotel is very popular with honeymooners for instance. But it is also easy to meet other guests, at the beach by day. Then you meet again in the bar in the evenings, in the formality of the Great House.

Nisbet Plantation has a special place in Nevisian lore. In 1787 Fanny Nesbit married a young Horatio Nelson, stationed in the area in command of HMS Boreas and who later died at the Battle of Trafalgar. She was a widow (she had been married to a Dr Nesbit who came from the plantation) and they met and married on Nevis. She was given away by Nelson’s friend and naval colleague, the future King William IV. The marriage was not ultimately a success of course as Nelson took off with Lady Hamilton. Nisbet also has an interesting story in the more modern past. It was turned into a hotel by Mary Pomeroy in the 1950s.