Travel

Jade Mountain

May 29, 2015

After 3 days at Anse Chastanet, we moved up the mountain to our very own sanctuary in the sky…

Jade Mountain is the younger, glossier and altogether more exclusive sister hotel to Anse Chastanet, perched above the same bay just a little up the hill. From the seas below, it looks like the mad, beautiful creation of an infamous Bond villain and once you get inside it isn’t much different. Made up of long, floating bridges, wavy, tiled ponds and Labyrinth-like stairs all directed towards those expansive rooms with totally open sides that look out over the bay and onto those Pitons, this place is a bit of wonder.

Initially I thought I’d find it weird being so open to the elements but quickly discovered the open breeze and absolute silence and privacy made these rooms some of the most special I’ve ever been lucky enough to sleep in. We started off in a ‘Jacuzzi room’ (no pool but an epic bath) and were treated to our last night in a ‘pool room’… you might think small, functional plunge pool which would be lovely enough, but in fact you have your very own, swimmable infinity pool right next to your bed.

All this amazingness doesn’t come cheap – Jade Mountain is a place for honeymoons, special occasions and the just plain lucky. But the lovely thing about Jade is it’s lack of pretention and flashiness; this is luxury for those that want to escape not those who want to be seen. No ostentatious bottles of Moet on white day beds; just lots of couples of all different ages quietly enjoying each others company. You share the same beach and activities available at Anse, but what you do get is 24/7 butler service (from the nicest guys I should add), fruit kebabs and ice lollies delivered to your sun loungers, random treats waiting for you after the beach, breakfast in bed and delicious, romantic dinners in the sky.

Our days started with massive, delicious breakfasts filled with coconut, guava and local cacao in the peace of our own ‘sanctuary’… For our final few days, we hit pause on being active and succumbed wholeheartedly to the beautiful beach with our books. Stick a flag in the sand next your bed and someone will appear waiting to bring virgin Pina Coladas, plantain chips and shrimp salad to your beds. Yep, I know, very spoiling….

After showering off the salt and sand, we made our way up to the Celestial Terrace for sun downers overlooking the bay….

If all this wasn’t romantic enough, one evening we were treated to something of Cinderella proportions.

We made our way down to the beach to get on the water taxi to take us round to Anse Mami (the resort’s private beach) for a little dinner for two….

And this is what we arrived at….

Burning torches, bougainvillea petals, flickering candles and champagne awaited us for our very own private Castaway dinner overlooking the sunset. I almost had a fit of nervous giggles the whole thing was overwhelmingly dreamy. We had our very own chef who whipped up not three, but five delicious courses right there on the beach. Puts those disposable beach BBQs and sandy baguettes to shame…

After filling ourselves on romance, champagne and steak for 3 hours, we got back in the boat and headed back round to the flickering lights of Anse Chastanet and Jade Mountain. Strangely this was one of the nicest bits of the evening; being on a speed boat under the stars is a bit of a rarity and feels kind of awesome, if only for a couple of minutes.

The hotels really come to life after dark. Steel bands, rum punch and hanging, yellow lights make for a pretty special scene. And back up at the top of the hill, Jade Mountain’s bridges and tunnels look even more amazing when illuminated from top to bottom with firefly-like LED lights.

The rest of our time was spent wandering and exploring the resort’s winding paths, rocky coves, long, photogenic docks and generally soaking up every corner of the beautiful beaches. We concluded our six days hankering for even more time to do even more at this lovely, welcoming piece of the Caribbean.

It’s always a bit of a balancing act on holiday, trying to do things and experience a place beyond the beach, while also switching off and escaping from the real world, but I think Jade Mountain and Anse Chastanet have got it sorted…. You leave feeling rejuvenated, relaxed and swaddled in that fuzzy holiday feeling, while still feeling smug at how much you stretched your legs while learning a few new things along the way. And let’s be honest, everyone wants to feel a little bit smug before getting on that dreaded plane home…

Travel

Jade Mountain

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