I’d never heard of Bequia before I discovered Rock Villa, the island’s newest luxury residence, which rises directly out of the rugged hillside like a majestic 10,000-square-foot fortress. I was searching for somewhere to spend a couple of sleepy days unwinding after six fast-paced nights in St Lucia; where I could enjoy the deliciously anti-social seclusion of a private villa, but with none of the chores that might come with it. This villa, a fresh passion project from the family behind the island’s famous Bequia Beach Hotel, promised exactly that.
The whole place is a haven of understated luxury, courtesy of interior designers Smith & Butler. A pillared entrance opens onto the central Rock Lounge, where Italian marble tables and soft ivory furnishings are complemented by pale wood ceilings and vintage tropical accents. It’s got a feel of old-school Hollywood glamour mixed with clean Scandinavian minimalism – a sweet nod to the owners’ Swedish heritage. There are eight en-suite rooms with room for 16 guests, and you can book each individually should you wish, granting you a slice of the good life without need for the whole gang to be present. It’s staffed with a private chef and butler, Asha, who tempts me into an extra glass of wine with her easy Caribbean charm, and ensures I’m reassuringly stocked with snacks at all times.
But to truly understand the appeal of this place, you first have to understand Bequia itself. Pronounced Beck-way, this teeny, seven-square-mile dot in the ocean is the the second-largest island in the Grenadines, yet home to just 5,500 residents. While the buzz amps up towards the end of the year, when I visit at the beginning of June, the place feels blissfully untouched by mass tourism. It is, quite simply, a joy to explore; a visual explosion of colour, where bright turquoise shallows bleed into deep sapphire depths, and a lush carpet of trees creeps up the hillsides interspersed with pastel-painted chattel houses. Even the sandy stretch that fringes the villa couldn’t be sweeter – have you ever heard of a cuter name for a cove than Friendship Beach?
The island has a strong maritime heritage as the region’s foremost boat builders, and a unique 19th-century whaling history, first brought over by New England sailors. Walk into the buzzy village-style capital of Port Elizabeth and you will still find descendants of those early shipwrights carving intricate model boats by hand (in 1985, they made one for Queen Elizabeth II, and she came to collect it herself), along with bars like the Whaleboner, where the entrance archway is crafted from genuine whale ribs, in a homage to an island that wears its seafaring soul on its sleeve.
So when driver Ellis and I career up the long driveway to Rock Villa in the padded open-air safari car, I find it hard to believe such a modern abode even exists here. It’s certainly a departure from the main hotel’s distinctively nostalgic, retro-chic style, which was thought up by owner Bengt Mortstedt – a former Swedish lawyer and property investor turned “accidental hotelier” – who first fell in love with Bequia’s untamed charm during a family sailing trip on New Year’s Day in 1993. “Mr B” is still a regular fixture on the estate today, hosting weekly cocktail receptions where he mingles with the guests, sharing his stories with those who’ve made the 45-minute plane hop from Barbados to slip onto this slice of island time.
