Less frequented than other Caribbean islands, Grenada’s brand of laidback luxury is as intoxicating as a double strength rum punch

Words: Will Moffitt

Stumbling upon Calabash Hotel after a delayed flight halted his return to the UK Leo Garbutt felt an “aura of infectious happiness” at this sand-crescented retreat on Grenada’s southern coast. Soon after the British businessman, then a hospitality novice, bought the property with his Grenadian wife Lilian.

Almost 40 years later that aura has been preserved and channelled into a 30-room hotel that has all the facilities, restaurants and amenities you’d expect from a Relais & Châteaux property. Standing where the Caribbean Sea meets a fresh Grenadian saltwater breeze, Calabash is a picture of laidback tropical bliss.

Less visited than nearby St Lucia, Grenada’s traditional customs and local heritage have stubbornly prevailed against mass tourism. Visitor numbers lag far behind those of Jamaica or Barbados. The island's fraught relationship with the US during the Cold War didn't help its tourism credentials.

The Americans and a coalition of Caribbean countries invaded in 1983 and signs of its turbulent history are surface level — its airport is named after its deposed Marxist leader Maurice Bishop, who found a violent end during an internal coup at a fort above its harbour.

Today the island is independent and a member of the Commonwealth, with crime rates lower than many other Caribbean islands. Globally renowned as a spice isle — it is the world's second-largest producer of nutmeg – Grenada’s tourism sector is growing, and for good reason.

Populated with fun-loving people, quick to laugh and to dance – particularly after a rum punch – the island is blessed with jaw-dropping scenery. It is a place of pyramidal mountains and cobalt blue skies, where lush rainforests unfurl pockets of tropical wildness – Mona monkeys play near cascading waterfalls that spill into secret rock pools, and vast lakes fill scooped out volcanic craters.

Images below: The Carenage, a colourful promenade and in Harbour in Grenada, and Grand Etang Lake (c) Michaela Urban

At sea level immaculate white sand beaches run into boundless stretches of crystal blue ocean. Grand Anse, the island's most famous beach, runs for two miles.

Silversands Grand Anse sits right beside that sandy plot. Owned by Egyptian billionaire Naguib Sawiris, the luxury resort has 43 rooms and suites and far-reaching views into the great blue yonder from its 330-foot infinity pool – the longest in the Caribbean.

It’s a haven of clean lines and pared-down hues, with rooms and suites making good use of beach facing balconies. The odd flourish interrupts the clean, modernist aesthetic: palm trees flank the main pool and black marble figurines lurk in public spaces.

The hotel’s beachfront and hillside villas are more lavish: think private pools, gardens and in-house chefs. There’s also a sound proofed rum and cigar room sporting over 100 Grenadian rums and plenty of Cohibas.

Fundamentally though, Silversands is more geared towards serenity than opulence. It’s a place to relax. Early morning yoga or tai chi classes are complimentary and its spa boasts an exhaustive list of treatments. At Asiatique, its Pan-Asian restaurant, you’ll find delicious plates of Thai comfort food infused with Caribbean spices, while its beachfront restaurant offers snacks, steak and freshly-caught seafood.

Below: Silversands Grand Anse and its 330-ft infinity pool, and a Silversands Ocean View King suite

While Silversands feels like a self-contained resort, Calabash is more intimately steeped in island charm. It's a family affair powered by the Garbutt’s quest to sustain this breezy tropical retreat. A healthy proportion of guests are regulars and its location is relatively secluded: nestled in yacht-speckled Prickly Bay, by the white sands of Lance aux Epines Beach.

Suites overlook manicured gardens replete with swaying palm trees. Discretely tucked away at the back of my room is a private plunge pool and bath tub. The bathrooms are rich in marble and there's a terrace where breakfast comes hand delivered to your door.

At Rhodes, the first overseas restaurant helmed by the late British chef Gary Rhodes, staples are tweaked and refined to mouthwatering effect. The shrimp and callaloo tartlet with lemon butter sauce, a Calabash classic, is encased in fine parcels of delicate pastry. Signature dishes also include buttered dorado (Mahi Mahi) with fondant potato and shellfish spaghetti chitarra.

With its delicious cuisine, idyllic location and easygoing ambience Calabash exudes that spirit of infectious happiness that the Garbutt family have diligently cultivated from top to bottom.

You don’t have to search hard to find that balmy feeling of contentment elsewhere in Grenada. It’s there on dream-like days meandering the Caribbean waters, dropping anchor and scouring Jason deCaires Taylor’s magnificent “Coral Carnival” sculpture park or swimming with sea turtles.

It also hits as you tuck into fresh lobster at a rustic local restaurant, douse yourself in the cool cascades of Mount Carmel Waterfall or merrily sip on a rum punch as the day burns out.

There are myriad ways to judge a place, but when it comes to delivering that warm rush of happiness Grenada is in a category of its own.

Above: a suite at Calabash Hotel, and Coral Carnival, a sculpture park by Jason deCaires Taylor

Rates at Calabash Hotel start from ÂŁ660 per person per night in the low season and ÂŁ1170 in the high season, incl. breakfast and private airport transfers. Silversands Grand Anse, starts from ÂŁ510 per person in the low season and ÂŁ626 in the high season, incl. breakfast.

 Flights from London Gatwick to Grenada with British Airways start at £585 for an economy class return flight.

 Flights from London Heathrow to Grenada with Virgin Atlantic start at £619 for an economy-class return flight.

 For more info visit puregrenada.com.