Cotton House

Mustique
The Caribbean

The Experience

On an island long favored by the Anglo elite, Cotton House is one of those places where that fellow lounging on the other side of the pool really is that rock star he so closely resembles. And, the stiff-upper-lipped couple sitting next to you at dinner are indeed British royals. Mustique is like that--and so is Cotton House, one of only two hotels on the exclusive little island. Set on heavily wooded hills around a white-sand strand and turquoise bay, the hotel smacks of old English Caribbean, a bygone sugar plantation transformed into a posh playground for the rich and famous.

The Rooms

For a small resort, there is quite a bit of choice when it comes to sleeping. If price is no object, book the two-bedroom Cotton Hill with its own butler, garden and large pool. At the other end, there are three wooden cottages, charming little Caribbean-style abodes perched up on the slopes above the bay. No two rooms are alike, but the overriding design theme is classic Caribbean--wood-and-wicker furniture, beds hung with decorative mosquito netting, overstuffed chairs and the occasional antique. Many of the rooms have private plunge pools and verandas with expansive ocean views.

The Service

They’ve heard it all over the years, so even the most outrageous requests are now water off a duck’s back. Anything a guest wants, a guest gets at Cotton House. Assuming of course it’s available on island or the staff has enough time to source it from across the waves.

The Highlights

The actual Cotton House, a masterpiece of colonial coral-stone architecture, has undergone complete makeover island style into a luxe spa with delicious tropical treatments like the lime and pineapple body scrub, and coconut cream wraps. They could have done better with the pool (why not make it infinity?) but who cares when you’ve got a talcum-powder-soft beach just down the hill. Not to mention the fact that Mustique boasts eight other almost-always-empty beaches. Menus at the Veranda Restaurant blend straight-from-the-ocean seafood with fresh veggies grown in the rich volcanic soil of St Vincent. “Off campus” distractions include horseback riding, sailing, tennis, scuba or excursions to nearby islands like Bequia and the Tobago Cays.

 

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