Mustique:
The Caribbean's Best Kept Secret
A Private Hideaway In
The Caribbean ~ by Heather Prince
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| (Editor's
note: This article originally appeared in the February 2003 edition of
Escape From America).
Gazing out
the twin propeller plane window the jagged emerald island seemed to float
in the tri-colored turquoise Caribbean waters.
This is the
first site of the illustrious private island of Mustique: The upper crust’s
best kept secret. Tommy Hilfiger, Mick Jagger , Princess Margaret and Viscount
David Linley, just to name a few, all have enjoyed the splendor of the
small 1,400 acre island located in the Caribbean Grenadines. Luckily for
me, this was the location of my best friend’s wedding, so I became one
of the few who have been able to sneek-a-peek into the secret life of the
rich and famous.
The best way
to reach Mustique is from Barbados. From there you can charter a flight
that costs between $179-$200 per person each way. The 45-minute flight
touches down at the quaint Mustique airport where the short landing strip
looks more like a ramp. Accommodation arrangements must be made ahead of
time, especially since most Villas on the island require at a minimum a
one-week stay. Most of the villas in Mystique can be rented. Prices
range from $5,000 per week, for a two bedroom, to $27,000 per week, for
a nine bedroom, depending on the villa and the season. There is one hotel
in Mustique,
The Cotton House,
which rents rooms for $410 to $1,300 per day.
The mode of
transportation is a Mule cart, which resembles a golf cart. The carts rattle
and bounce along the semi-paved paths scattered with hazards such as slow
moving tortoises, fallen branches, potholes and deep ravines, which keeps
the little island gem a non-commercialized retreat.
Each villa
on the island is equipped with a cook, butler, maid and gardener. It was
a little uncomfortable for me to get used to being served. My butler
laughed at us when we would help clear the table after meals; we also refused
to ring the silver service bell: until the last day when we did it as a
joke to see how our butler would react. |
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| The Grenadine
Islands of which Mustique is a part were orginally called "Los Pajaros"
- the birds. The islands were a favorite hiding place for 16th and
17th century pirates who used the hidden bays of Mustique to hide from
the Spanish. The most famous pirates were the buccaneers who poulated the
island of Hispañola. After Hispañola was abandoned by the
Spanish at the end of the 16th century, due to the depletion of gold and
the extermination of the natives, the island was overtaken by predominantly
French and Dutch castaways and deserters who suvived in the interior of
the island by hunting cattle. From time to time they would set sail in
order to raid; these raids - directed for the most part againist
the Spanish - were often supported by the British. The raids were
sometimes executed at sea, but more often than not, they were conducted
on land. The buccaneers would overtake a Spanish town locking the local
population up in the church and then drink, rape, torture and burn their
way back to sea. |
| The buccaneers
died out after the Treaty of Ryswick of 1697 which committed the English
to a policy of executing buccaneers and denying them a safe port in the
West Indies. |
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Our butler
explained that often his job is very tough. They get very uptight visitors
who want perfect service. For this reason, the house staff are very professional.
Most of them will have this job for life. From the moment I arrived at
my villa, I was greeted with a silver tray holding glasses of frothy, fruit
drinks garnished with fresh flowers from the yard. We got very close to
our villa staff: on the last day as we left our staff hugged us all goodbye
as if we were their long lost relatives. When leaving, all staff members
must be properly tipped. Suggested tipping guidelines can be faxed to your
villa if you request them from the Mustique Company. Tips can be steep,
around $150-$200 per staff member, but definitely well earned.
.
| The Island
of Mustique was made private when it was leased for 99 years from the British
Commonwealth by Scotsman Colin Tennant aka Lord Glennconner in 1958. He
turned the island into a hideway for British royals and celebrities. He
lost the island in the 1970s, but lives in nearby St. Luca. Check out the
movie The Man Who Bought Mustique to learn more about Tennant. |
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“Downtown”
Mustique consists of a grocery store with a massive selection of rum and
two tourist shops. One of the gift shops has affordable items such as tee
shirts, postcards and beach toys; the other, sports the island’s true side
with expensive merchandise like La Perla swimming suits, Tommy Clothes
and bright, big brimmed hats.
Basil’s Bar
is one of the two bars on the island. It looks like something out of a
Gilligan’s Island episode with thatched grass roofs and walls and floors
constructed of wooden planks; the bar is built on stilts that rise three-feet
above the ocean.
After the sun
falls below the ocean horizon the disco ball at Basil’s begins to sparkle.
At night, Basil’s is a jumping nightspot with a “who’s who” list that would
make most big city night clubs envious. While sitting drinking Basil’s
unique drink called “Mustique Grin” I spot some models sitting in the booth
next to us.
An average
day in Mustique begins with a dive in your villa’s pool, plucking a flower
for your hair and meeting in the open dining room under a waterfall of
yellow buttercups hanging on vines. Then the rest of the day is yours to
read books by the pool as you sip rum punch until lunch. After a while
I started to loose my sense of time even the date and what day it was. |
...
The cooks
of the villas prepare delicious gourmet breakfasts, lunches and dinners.
Breakfast usually consists of a bowl of juicy mangos, pineapple and bananas
followed by eggs and bacon, fresh squeezed juice and bread. Lunches
can be packed for day excursions.
Typical dinners
are large and exotic followed by dessert. Curry and coconut are used a
lot in their cooking. Barbecues near the beach can be arranged ahead of
time. Callaloo soup is a must! The olive-green puree soup is made of a
local plant similar to a dandelion. It’s not pretty to look at, but it
is delicious and full of nutrients.
Macaroni Beach
is the most well known beach on Mustique. The clean almost deserted
beach has stunning, warm turquoise water and hammocks strung in its palms
that fringe the sand. I happened to be enjoying a day on the white sand
the same day that Tommy Hilfiger was doing a photo shoot. While my
friends and I were getting the nerve up to go ask Tommy if we could be
background models one of the photographers came over to us and asked if
we would mind moving down the beach out of the shot. Oh well, Tommy doesn’t
know what he is missing.
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If poolside
lounging and beach combing get tiresome, Mustique Company offers plenty
of other activities for all ages such as, catamaran and deep-sea fishing
tours, horseback riding (thoroughbred of course), canoeing, wind surfing,
tennis (and private tennis lessons), snorkeling and scuba diving.
Every Tuesday
night Mustique Company hosts a “get-to-know-you” cocktail party at the
Cotton House. Hors d’oevres and champagne are passed around as locals stick
in tight cliques and vacationers in hushed whispers talk about celebrity
citings while their eyes dash around the room for someone famous.
After a week
in Mustique, I know what it is to be completely relaxed. I looked at my
watch only once, to make sure I got to the wedding on time. Regretfully
I must pack my bag and head back to New York. A week was not long enough.
Now I plot my return. Possibly as a Tommy model? I doubt it, but they might
need a stable girl. |
| Rooms go
for $500 to $1400 a night on Mustique. A private villa can run up to $17,000
a week. |
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