Richard Lupinacci first came to St Kitts and Nevis in the late 60s - at a time when there were no televisions and not even any restaurants on the island - to manage the Bank of America. He was even offered a danger allowance by the bank because Anguilla (then politically connected to St Kitts and Nevis) was in the process of political rebellion. It was one of the most laid back revolutions ever to occur in history, but they weren’t to know that…. Here he tells the story of the Hermitage in his own words:
‘During our early years in these islands we encountered a community wanting to get rid of the past. We had white West Indian friends from old families who just couldn't stand the old houses and furnishings and were literally throwing them out. The term "Georgian" was a sneer not a mark of distinction. We gained a reputation for liking colonial island style which was not fashionable in St Kitts and Nevis in the late 60's and early 70's. The Hermitage was owned by one of these people, and finding no one else he offered it to us, a derelict house on three acres. Initially I think he thought we might know some crazy American who would buy it cheap. I do believe he was sincerely surprised when I said I would buy it. By then we had been living for seven years in the Caribbean, four so-so years in the US Virgin Islands and three delightful years in St Kitts and Nevis.’
‘The old wooden house had been uninhabited for a couple of years and was semi derelict, thickly covered in vines in a site that was only accessible by a 400 foot long narrow path through the jungle, all dark and still. I was able to see the house, the stone kitchens, and the remnants of many dry stone garden walls. I returned two weeks later after a relatively simple purchase and looked more closely. An old carpenter showed up and led me into the house which I had dismissed until then, thinking it a ruin that needed to be pulled down. When he banged on the beams and rafters with a hammer they rang like concrete and he exclaimed: "lignum vitae! lignum vitae!" This turned out to be the basic frame of the house. It was totally sound.’
‘Maureen sat on the front steps afraid to go in and muttered: "...he's bought Tobacco Road". The house may have been her nightmare, but it started speaking to me. I took three months off with a crew of workman and repaired most of the main structure. That was in 1971, and very little of the work has had to be repaired since then. And it survived unscathed through the 15 or so hurricanes we had in the 1990's as well as three earthquakes and the constant attack of termites. Slowly over the next 8 years we reclaimed or restored more of the property while living elsewhere in the Caribbean or the States. Until 1979 when we returned and made The Hermitage our main address.’
‘Having come from large American families we had to suffer many houseguests. One year we had 54 in six months, so we decided we had better start charging them to pay for the amenities they now wanted, such as private cottages, tennis courts, bar and restaurant, etc. So a "plantation inn" was evolved. In 1981 we restored the Loft and Carriage House building (circa 1670), in 1984 we built Tower and Treetops Cottage and the Pasture House (which was a wooden house moved in pieces from a field a mile away to its original location). In 1984 the book "Caribbean Style" was published and featured 6 pages on The Hermitage, declaring the main house "the oldest wooden house in the Caribbean". In 1987 we built the Blue House and the Pink House as replicas of earlier Nevis wooden houses. The Twin Gables and Gatehouse were built in 1988 and the White House in 1990 on a very old cottage site along the ghaut. Today there are 17 buildings in all on the compound.’
A wonderful plantation inn, with gracious West Indian atmosphere, set on the flanks of Mount Nevis. With authentic style, it is an intimate retreat for couples and weddings and honeymoons. A Caribbean gem with just 15 rooms in traditional Caribbean cottages.
