Sugar Beach: A Sweet Escape in the Caribbean

Nestled between St Lucia’s iconic twin Pitons, Sugar Beach, a Viceroy resort offers an exceptional Caribbean holiday

Here’s a true story. As our taxi from Hewanorra International Airport winds its way through dense tropical plantations, up steep hills dotted with villages and along beautiful coastlines, I turn to my husband and say: “We have to get out and explore St Lucia while we’re here.”

As the cab arrives at the entrance to Sugar Beach, A Viceroy Resort and takes us on a tour of the spectacular estate, I’m starting to waver: “Maybe we’ll just stay in the resort and not go anywhere.”

And when we finally walk into our villa – a gorgeous white-painted cottage with a private plunge pool, set on a hillside with a panoramic view of the island’s iconic Pitons and the Caribbean Sea – my mind is made up: “I’m not leaving the villa.”

Located in the Eastern Caribbean islands, just to the northwest of Barbados, St Lucia is awash with luxurious resorts and hotels, but few can lay claim to the unique and remarkable natural beauty of Sugar Beach.

Set in the Val des Pitons, directly between the world-famous twin peaks rising more than 750 metres above the water and island, this exclusive tropical hideaway offers a memorable holiday experience.

“It’s one of the most beautiful places on earth,” says resort owner Roger Myers, the British entrepreneur and visionary who bought this former sugar plantation and run-of-the-mill hotel in 2005 and, with the help of leading Caribbean architect Lane Pettigrew, created one of the region’s best luxury resorts and residential developments.

“Everything about it, for me, is mystical: the setting, the views, the property,” he adds. “There’s a transcendental beauty to the Pitons that just lifts your heart.”

With 96 guest accommodations featuring hillside villas, beachfront bungalows and sugar mill rooms; an array of restaurants; a rainforest spa; two white sand beaches; and exotic gardens, Sugar Beach is in a secluded and seductive world of its own.

The resort is located on St Lucia’s calm-water southwest coastline, about five kilometres from the bustling town of Soufrière and a picturesque 45-minute drive from the international airport.

Nestled in more than 40 hectares of tropical forest separating Gros Piton and Petit Piton, the resort has an almost ethereal quality that entirely befits its UNESCO World Heritage-listed setting.

From the unassuming main entrance at the top of the hill, the guest accommodations are cleverly grouped in small and intimate clusters of villas and cottages, cascading down the tree-covered slope like mini-waterfalls to the beautiful bay.

At the foot of the hill is an enclave of private residences, some elevated on the lower slope, others perched directly on Glenconner Beach, named after the eccentric British aristocrat Colin Tennant, Lord Glenconner, who owned the hotel before Myers.

To the right, the road meanders alongside aquamarine water to a row of beachfront bungalows fronting the main Sugar Beach and under a canopy of mature trees to the Great House.

This is the resort’s social hub, an imposing but graceful plantation-style building overlooking tropical gardens, lawn cabanas, the main pool and a breezy beachfront restaurant.

Good food plays a major role in the Sugar Beach experience, setting the rhythm of the resort’s daily schedule – breakfast at The Terrace in the Great House is followed by a casual and leisurely lunch at the Bayside Restaurant just feet from the pool and beach.

Guests gather in The Palm Court, above The Terrace, for afternoon tea and sunset cocktails, and then have various options for dinner: a standout Asian-inspired menu in the Cane Bar, which doubles as a specialty rum bar; a more formal affair in The Great Room, with its old-world colonial ambience and Mediterranean- and Caribbean-influenced dishes; or a toes-in-the sand dinner at the Bayside.

And every Tuesday and Saturday evening, Sugar Beach offers Machou, a pop-up restaurant on The Terrace alternating between a French grill and a barbecue.

The resort also encourages guests to enjoy “anywhere, anytime” dining: on the beach, in one of the lawn cabanas, on the boat dock, or under the stars on the terrace of your villa with a personalised menu to suit all tastes and special occasions.

Under the expert direction of Executive Chef/Director of Food and Beverage Jacques Chretien – with his 30-year career in the kitchens of some of the best restaurants in France and Mexico – Sugar Beach delivers a stellar culinary experience.

Chretien’s thoughtful farm-to-table approach informs his team’s menus, with local farmers delivering organic meats, vegetables, fruits and herbs to complement the resort’s global wine selection.

Expect to pay capital city prices for food and drinks at Sugar Beach. You can dine à la carte, but many guests opt for part- or all-inclusive meal plans that help keep costs from mounting without diluting the quality experience.

By day, even a full resort never feels crowded with guests scattered among their villas, the beaches, the pool, tennis courts, the fitness center and also participating in an array of water sports, from snorkelling to diving and sailing.

Another highlight is the Rainforest Spa, an intimate retreat next to the main plantation house, designed by Pettigrew, built by local craftsmen and resembling a rustic village in a tropical forest.

The spa, which cost A$2.5 million to create, offers traditional St Lucian natural therapies in seven treehouse treatment rooms, along with a wet room, manicure and pedicure treehouse, and a fascinating Temazcal Amerindian steam room set inside a stone dome.

Between meals and activities, many guests retreat to their luxury accommodations, comprising 77 hillside villas and cottages, eight beachfront bungalows and 11 sugar mill rooms close to the Great House.