By 4:30 p.m., with everyone primed and ready, the butler guided us across the tarmac to a nine-passenger vehicle and seated us in charmingly worn leather seats. Taking off ahead of schedule, we spent just 25 minutes in the air before our pilots made a quick right turn towards a small landing strip with a green and blue painted terminal. Goats grazed nearby and jade-covered mountains loomed above as a dog wagged its tail in welcome.
We had landed in Bequia (pronounced Beckway) from Barbados, a lightning bolt-shaped island slide in the Grenadines. You can easily walk on the island, which is only 9 km long and 2 km wide and is carefully protected by the neighboring islands of St Vincent and Mustique. We had flown there in an old air ambulance that had been repurposed by our final destination, the Bequia Beach Hotel, to ease the passage of its guests to this hard-to-reach island. Climbing into one of the converted pickup trucks you see all over the island, we set out to comb Friendship Beach, the warm afternoon breeze softening our travel-weary faces. The Atlantic coastline whizzed by in a blur of fishing villages and chattels, like a sun-drenched postcard from the sleepy Caribbean of old.
When I arrived at the hotel it was quiet but quickly turned into the kind of place I love, just like Bequia. Surrounded by ten acres of lush gardens, almond trees compete for the sun’s attention with towering coconut-filled palms, and frangipani and jasmine scent the air. The resort is owned and operated by the Mortstedts, an Anglo-Swedish family who are often seen around chatting with guests or greeting the next party. Bengt Mortstedt, a self-styled “accidental hotelier”, fell in love with Bequia while sailing in the Grenadines and snapped up an old boarding house.
Since its opening in 2009, he has gradually designed with the help of his family – including, more recently, private villas – in a way that is deliberately unfashionable, as it was never his style in the first place. A Palm Springs-like pool is surrounded by green hillsides and flanked by marshmallow-pink cabanas inspired by Bengt’s favorite hotel, Beverly Hills. While in our beachfront suite, the interior took us on safari, dressing up with a leopard-print dresser and wicker chairs and keeping cool with rattan ceiling fans. Just beyond our balcony, waves crash with authority onto the usually calm beach below, reminding visitors that Bequia is always dancing to its own tune; So slow down, give up, and drink the rum.
The days here were as calm or action-packed as we wanted. Each morning, I resigned myself to the perks of London and jet lag in the Caribbean, drifting from bed to the balcony to watch the sunrise over the left-most bend of Friendship Beach, calming down just in time for the first time after the trade winds had sent the sea wild. dunk of the day. Fueled by fresh passion fruit juice and an ‘omelet that has it all’ at the hotel’s beachside restaurant, Bagatelle, it was time to explore – or not.
One day, armed with instructions from reception, we walked from Friendship to the spine of the island, admiring the views over Port Elizabeth before descending back down to the Lower Bay. It was my preferred spot on the Caribbean side of the island with its calm turquoise waters and horizontal weather. We wallowed in its velvety shallow waters as kids splashed nearby, stopping under the lunch sun at De Reef to eat grilled red mullet and drink creamy piña coladas from tall jars. An idle chat with the owner gave us the heads up that there would be a party that night at the Plantation House, part of the annual Bequia Music Festival; and went on a spontaneous journey with a local fisherman named Hayden on a small wooden boat named Peaches. He pointed to Moonhole, a private enclave built into the cliffside further up the beach, and we cast hand-held lines in hopes of catching tuna. We didn’t catch anything – “return around full moon” he advised – but it was the kind of fortuitous afternoon that Bequia offers in spades.
The next day, an island tour with the charming Roberto revealed the island’s flamboyant past and wild viewpoints (ask to see his favorite view from across St Vincent), as well as a volunteer-run turtle sanctuary to the north. Fishermen stopping in Port Elizabeth, the beating heart of Bequia, were cleaning the day’s catch by the harbor, while market vendors were selling lime jellies, guava jams and wood carvings, accompanied by music in their local dialects.
With perfect timing, Roberto dropped us off at Princess Margaret’s Beach just in time for lunch; The late royal family stayed here on their honeymoon on their way to Mustique. This is now home to Jack’s, Mortstedt’s casual beach bar and restaurant. This place attracts the British yacht crowd with its blackened tuna burgers and lobster Caesars. After a few cocktails, there was little to do for the rest of the afternoon except sunbathe on yellow-striped lounge chairs and wander this perfect slice of beach in search of the occasional coconut.
But despite the seductive qualities of Bequia’s Caribbean side, I was always drawn to the Atlantic side. Perhaps it was because the horseshoe-shaped bay was almost empty, with a group of fishing boats bobbing at the far end, with pelicans diving among them; or that its waves drag me into a deep sleep every night. Or maybe the fact that Bequia Beach was the only hotel in Friendship Bay felt like going behind the scenes.
On our final evening, we went for dinner at the newly opened Sand Bar, a cozy, airy shack with rocking chairs and mahi mahi tacos, and met a cast of salty local characters who’ve come to the island over the past decade. Among them were Laura and Carlos, who owned a restaurant (named after her) just off the Belmond boardwalk in town, where we had sautéed shrimp for dinner that evening. Another of those serendipitous Bequia desserts that I’ll be eating until I return to the island – hopefully next year.
Turquoise Holidays (turquoiseholidays.co.uk), 7 nights in a Classic Room at Bequia Beach Hotel B&B is available from £1,999 per person, including international and domestic flights and airport transfers.