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The Hermitage is a Caribbean gem, a delightful, traditional plantation inn that offers hospitality in a style now mostly forgotten in the Caribbean, unfortunately. There are just 15 rooms set in delightful traditional Caribbean cottages with gingerbread pointing and criss-cross balustrades, scattered around a sloping garden, but besides its gracious air, this small Nevis hotel is also great fun. The hosts, the Lupinaccis, Richard and Maureen and family, are as entertaining, and eccentric, as the inn that they have created. The Hermitage is a great Caribbean experience and is an excellent choice for anyone that wants to get to the soul of this graceful island.
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KEY FEATURES
| Small Nevis hotel for an intimate Nevis vacation, 15 rooms in pretty gingerbread cottages plus 3-bed private villa with pool, hotel pool, tennis court, riding; ever lively and fun, family owned and run, with beach club on Pinney's Beach. |
STYLE
| Traditional plantation style, with a gracious host and hostess, excellent for Nevis weddings and small group retreats |
CLIENT PROFILE
| Easy-going independent travellers |
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The Hermitage offers the best of Caribbean experiences. A relaxed atmosphere in a traditional setting that is both gracious and charming. In an age when hotels briefly ride waves of style and modernity, where currently high Caribbean pastel is tipping into sleek tropical minimalism, the Hermitage has consciously chosen the traditional West Indies. Among the Nevisian plantation hotels it is the most friendly and familiar. Life is centred on the Great House, but the atmosphere is very relaxed and friendly. And, for the right people, great fun.
The inn itself is set on the fringes of rampant Nevisian fertility, backing up against the slopes of Mount Nevis, whose trees and bushes threaten to overcome the place. The Hermitage is a small collection of traditional Caribbean cottages, one of which is among the oldest buildings in this part of the Caribbean. They look fantastic, with their gingerbread trim and jangling colours, topped with green and red wriggly-tin roofs that meld into the rich green of the Nevisian forest.
Arriving at the Hermitage is a moment of real West Indian magic. You draw up to the reception, itself in a pretty cottage, on a circular drive. The main house is just below you, and the cottages are scattered all around the sloping estate, among massive mango and tamarind trees. Great rocks stand in the gardens, buried to their haunches in the ground. They are too large to attempt to move, but anyway they lend the place some of its eccentric character. As you stroll around the lawned grounds you will find a herb garden, a traditional barrel cistern and a limestone ‘drip’ filter which provided purified, cooled water two centuries ago. The Lupinaccis keep a number of thoroughbred horses, which live in a paddock near to the inn.
The Lupinaccis have long been active in the preservation and restoration of Nevis. Some of the cottages that contain the rooms are actually traditional island buildings that have been resurrected or reconstructed according to tradition. Others are modern shells clad with clapboard in traditional style.
The centrepiece of the property is the lovely old main house, which is one of the oldest buildings in this whole area of the Caribbean. For many years it was thought to date back to the mid 1700s, but the current thinking is that it is even older. Some of the original beams are reckoned to date from the late 1600s. At any rate it was so well designed for the climate and vagaries of the weather that it has lasted for over 300 years, surviving hurricanes, earthquakes and of course termites.
‘Ah, lignum vitae, lignum vitae,’ said the carpenter when he first went in there in 1971 and tested the beams with his hammer. Lignum vitae is some of the toughest wood in the world, so hard that it can be used to replace metal, in axles and ball-bearings (if you can cut it, that is). See the story of the building of the Hermitage.
Like so many early Caribbean buildings it was constructed by ships’ carpenters who found a good trade on land. They left their trademark construction. Ships had diagonal bracing to take account of the stresses that could hit a hull from every direction. With all its cross beams, the roof at the Hermitage might almost be an upturned hull.
The nice thing about it though is that it is as comfortable to be in now as when it was built as a home. It is centred on a drawing room, which is furnished with traditional Caribbean antiques, off which there is a library and small television room. Also there is the bar, one of the gathering points of the hotel. Look up and you will see the traditional woodwork.
The Lupinaccis first came to Nevis in the late 1960s. When they bought the Hermitage it was just two buildings and a privy. Maureen had to cook on a coalpot, or a ‘Montserrat Oven’, a wooden box lined with tin. See Richard’s impressions of life in Nevis in the Sixties. They joke that were more or less forced to open a hotel because so many cousins came to stay and they had to provide places for them to sleep. Eventually they opened the Hermitage to outside guests with seven rooms in 1985.
It doesn’t take long to feel the Lupinacci’s love of the place. But then they have overseen the placement of every nail and peg (early Caribbean houses were often built with them rather than nails) in the whole hotel. In Richard’s own words:
‘Most of the buildings had no plans, to the Building Board’s confusion’, he says with a wicked smile. ‘But then they never did when they were first built. As chattel houses, non-permanent structures, they don’t have to have any plans…’ Perhaps it’s no surprise that they are known (endearingly) as Mr and Mrs Loopy.
Such a pretty and romantic setting is the basis of the delightful atmosphere at the Hermitage, but of course it is the people that make the place. The Lupinaccis run it as if it were an extended home. Life here is centred on the main house, particularly in the evening. Guests do their own thing during the day, but then they gravitate back to the drawing room and bar before dinner, when the gong calls you out to the dining room, a terrace attached to the main house. To get the best of the Hermitage it helps to be quite social, though it is a very easy environment in which to meet people. And often there is an interesting crowd, not least the Lupinaccis themselves. You may end up eating at dinner with them.
The Hermitage is an extremely special place. What it is not is the cutting edge of modern Caribbean travel, with all the plunge pools, minimal design and spas, and all just slightly asceptic. What it is, is far more charming. And for the right person – someone well travelled but unpretentious - far more fun anyway. |
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Beach & Swimming
As a plantation inn, the Hermitage is not on the beach. There is a large pool in the gardens with loungers so you can sunbathe there.
The Hermitage Beach Club: If you would like to visit the beach, the Hermitage does have a beach club on Pinneys Beach, just north of the Four Seasons. Towels, sunloungers, snorkelling gear, kayaks and a small sailing boat are available for Hermitage guests. There is also a bar and restaurant there, serving ‘Caribterranean’ food at lunch and dinner, with signing privileges for Hermitage guests
There is a daily shuttle, leaving at 10.30am for the beach and returning at 3.30pm. |
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Sports & Recreation
There is a stable on property at the Hermitage, so guided rides into the rainforest and the surrounding area of Gingerland to Saddle Hill are possible. These can suit all standards of riders. There is also a tennis court.
The riding routes can obviously be used if you wish to go walking. Nevis Peak is a strenuous and interesting 2000ft climb from the Hermitage. A number of excellent guides lead organised hikes to look at historical sites as well as the rainforest. There is an art gallery in the Clay Ghaut Windmill and the Botanical Gardens are close by.
At the Beach Club there is day sailing and watersports including snorkelling. There are boat tours of the coastline and scuba diving can be arranged. It is even possible to go stargazing.
The Hermitage itself is a place for quiet contemplation, reading, listening to music and interesting conversation. The former Planter’s Office houses a library, and in the sitting room there are opera and musical movie videos. The Lupinaccis always provide great music. |
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Staff
The main faces at the Hermitage are the Lupinaccis, Richard and Maureen and two of their three children, Richie and Maggie. They are great fun and well worth getting to know while you are staying or at dinner. The staff are very much a part of the experience of being at the Hermitage. The kitchen is presided over by the delightful Lovey Boddie and you will probably meet Shaba Simmonds at the bar. In the garden you will come across Alford Williams.
Read more about the staff at The Hermitage. |
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The Rooms
The rooms at the Hermitage are not plush or over-styled, but they are certainly comfortable and have plenty of island character. They are designed and furnished in traditional Caribbean manner, giving the best of tropical living with louvered windows and French doors, pitched ceilings that encourage a breeze (there are ceiling fans to whip up the air on a still day, but there is no air-conditioning because at over 800 feet it is not necessary). Of course all the cottages have a veranda, often with a hammock, where you can while away the time.
The floors are wooden or painted concrete and there is a wooden veranda. The beds are hefty four posters hung with muslin nets. In keeping with the spirit of the place, prints of the old West Indies hang on the walls. |
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Dining
The Hermitage has always had an excellent reputation for its food. Under the direction of Maureen Lupinacci, Lovey Boddie and her cooks produce hearty and delightful food with a strong emphasis on the best of the West Indies and of course the best of the local produce, including fruit and herbs from their kitchen garden, even home-reared pork. Their bread (lemon, orange, poppy seed, pumpkin), ice creams, jellies and jams are home-made.
Meals are served on the terrace attached to the Great House, on tables set with pewter plates and antique style cutlery. Breakfast is a full Planters breakfast - homemade sausages, West Indian omelettes, bacon, ham or flying fish might be available as well as saltfish, bread and muffins freshly baked from the kitchen as well as wonderful pancakes (banana, pumpkin, oatmeal). Even the yoghurt is freshly made daily. Lunch is available on the terrace or poolside (or down at the Beach Club).
Dinner is an institution at Hermitage. Everyone gathers for drinks at the bar beforehand, giving you a chance to meet the family and other guests to discuss the events of the day. Dinner, served on the sound of a gong, is a daily changing four-course set menu with a soup to start, a choice of two starters and three main courses, followed by a selection of desserts. The company is usually good, so after dinner people often return to the bar.
Each Wednesday a West Indian buffet is served at the hotel. A suckling pig is roasted in the garden and then served with a huge spread of West Indian vegetable dishes such as candied sweet potato, Nevis stuffed pumpkin and tannia fritters.
Room service can be arranged to the veranda of your room. Just ring the kitchen. |
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Weddings
The Hermitage is a place that oozes romance and the stuff that memories are made from so makes for an exquisite wedding venue. There is even a horse-drawn carriage to make use of, which will be festooned in tropical flowers if you wish. You can discuss all your ideas and be sure that you’ll have a day to remember. There is a company on Nevis that specialises in organising weddings, but you won’t need one with the Lupinacci family looking after you. |
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Children
Families are welcome, especially as Richard and Maureen are now grandparents with two sets of grandchildren living in close proximity, but the Hermitage is quite an adult place particularly from the cocktail hour onwards. |
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Useful Hints
The Hermitage is a very special place but its charm lies partly in its quaint eccentricity and rustic style so if you want everything to be pristine in the modern sense it may not be the right place for you. |
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Practical Facts
Annual Closure dates: None
Dress Code: Casual by day, casually elegant in the evenings
Facilities: Reception, Swimming pool, Tennis Court, Music and Book Library, Beach Club
Complimentary: Full Planter’s breakfast is included in the rates. Concierge Service offering sightseeing, reconfirmations, excursions and most of your holiday needs. Snorkelling equipment, cards and board games
Other Services: Beach Club serves lunch and dinner with day sailing and watersport facilities. Romance, Scuba Diving, Equestrian and Adventure packages, Horseback and Carriage Rides
Weddings: The cost of the basic wedding plan US$900.
Children: Children are welcome with those under 5 yrs staying free if sharing with adults (there may be a charge if an extra bed is required). Early dinner at 6:00 pm can be arranged for children.
Accommodation: 14 rooms or suites and a 3-bedroom private villa with pool
Room Types: All bedrooms have an heirloom four poster bed, antiques and period furnishings with a bathroom en suite (tub/showers), in-room safes, ceiling fans, refrigerators, iron and ironing board, tea and coffee making facilities. 2 Hillside Rooms - Carriage House and Stable House. Two rooms with bath in a handsomely restored 17th century stone building with period furnishing, including canopy beds. 5 Deluxe Cottages: Treetops Up, Treetops Down, Tower Up, Tower Down, Twin Gables. Each overlooking the pool and sun terrace. Large airy rooms with canopy beds, bath, separate dressing area and private porches draped with hammocks. 7 Luxury Cottages: The Loft, Pink House, Blue House, Goosepen Cottage, Gate House, White House and Pasture House. Charming colonial cottages, with canopy bed in a master bedroom, separate sitting rooms, baths and kitchenettes. Extra guests can be accommodated on two couch beds in the sitting rooms which also have TV/VCR and CD players. Each has a private porch with hammocks. The Yellow Manor House: a magnificent replica of a Nevis Manor House in its own private garden with private ceramic tiled pool and period furnishings including canopy beds. On the ground floor there is a sitting room with TV/VCR, dining room (with table seating 10), full kitchen and full bath. On the upper floor there are two master bedrooms and baths with canopy beds, plus spare bedroom. There are large porches and verandas for relaxing and entertaining.
Credit Cards: American Express, Visa and MasterCard |
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Rates
| 2009 & 2010 | Summer 15 Jun- 15 Sep | Autumn 15 Sep- 15 Dec | Winter 15 Dec- 15 Mar | Spring 15 Mar- 15 Jun | | Per Night | | Hillside Rooms | 150 | 200 | 325 | 180 | | Deluxe Cottages | 180 | 265 | 390 | 205 | | Luxury Cottage | 245 | 300 | 450 | 265 | | Yellow Manor House | 650 | 690 | 790 | 690 | | Special Weekly Packages | | Hermitage Romance Per couple | 1,950 | 2,500 | 3,400 | 2,100 | | Hermitage Adventure Per couple | 2,000 | 2,600 | 3,500 | 2,200 | All rates are quoted in US$ per room, per night based on double occupancy, include full breakfast, afternoon tea or rum punch, and are subject to 10% Service Charge and 9% Government Tax except for the special weekly packages, which are for 7 nights, per couple and include service and tax. A three night deposit is required to secure all reservations. The deposit is applied to the first and last nights of the confirmed reservation and is forfeited if cancellations take place within 14 days during Summer and Autumn/Fall, 30 days in Winter and 60 days over Christmas/New Year.
All rates are subject to change without notice. |
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Special Packages
All guests receive a welcome rum punch, full breakfast is included with all rooms, as well as afternoon tea or a rum punch. Guests also have complimentary access to snorkeling and tennis equipment. Complimentary internet is also offered – there is WiFi by the pool.
HERMITAGE ROMANCE
A good deal for weddings, honeymoons, renewing wedding vows or celebrating your anniversary:
• 7 nights deluxe accommodations in a romantic plantation cottage furnished with antiques, including king-size canopy bed. You will have your own private balcony with hammock overlooking the gardens, pool and Caribbean Sea
• A bouquet of fresh flowers in your room
• Chilled French Champagne in your room on arrival
• Traditional full Planters Breakfast for two each morning.
• Daily Afternoon Tea or Rum Punch in the Great House library or gardens
• Four candlelit dinners for two in the Great House or its veranda overlooking the gardens
HERMITAGE ADVENTURE
Enjoy the peace and quietude of The Hermitage and also sample the soft adventures of Nevis. Explore our forests, ruins and natural delights while sharing the history of this fascinating island which saw the rise and fall of colonial power.
• 7 nights in a deluxe accommodation
• Traditional Planters Breakfast daily
• Daily Afternoon Tea or Rum Punch in the Great House library or gardens
• 2 Dinners for two, by candlelight, for the two nights you wish to celebrate
• 3 days jeep rental for island rambling
• Horseback riding, 1 ½ hours on village trails, a very engrossing way to view the island
• A guided nature hike for two to discover local flora and fauna
• An in-room massage to end the week
Please see rate table above for prices.
Packages can be tailor-made to include additional horse riding, scuba diving or guided hikes. |
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READERS' OFFER
Definitive Caribbean has teamed up with The Hermitage in Nevis to provide our users with another enticing READERS’ OFFER.
If you stay a minimum of seven nights you can claim a complimentary dinner for up to two adults at their weekly West Indian Buffet, which includes two of their popular SIGNATURE DISHES. Terms and conditions apply (see below).
The Hermitage’s tasty Nevis Roast Suckling Pig is the centrepiece Signature Dish of a West Indian Buffet, and the Baked Stuffed Pumpkin is one of a dozen dishes which you will be able to enjoy as part of a complimentary meal, during their Wednesday night West Indian Buffet. While you are staying at The Hermitage, you can meet the owners personally or even their cooks to get insider tips on how to prepare some of their tasty West Indian fare.
To claim your complimentary meal, all you need to do is to send us an email requesting a Coded Voucher.
Terms and Conditions:
1. This Reader Offer is exclusive to Definitive Caribbean but will be available to anyone that books to stay a minimum of 7 nights, at the relevant hotel, whether booking direct or via a travel agent or tour operator, so long as it has been read on Definitive Caribbean and a Coded Voucher is issued.
2. In order to collect the reader offer, you must apply to us by email for a Coded Voucher, which you must print out and present to the resort on arrival. No advance notice or prior correspondence is normally required, however as the offer is for a specific night, we will need to alert the hotel to confirm a reservation for their Wednesday buffet during your stay – if your stay includes two Wednesdays, then your preferred date should be made known at the time of requesting the voucher.
3. The Hermitage’s Signature Dishes of Nevis Roast Suckling Pig and Baked Stuffed Pumpkin are a feature of their weekly West Indian Buffet, which will be offered as part of a complimentary meal for up to 2 adults only, per cottage booked. The offer does not include beverages and ingredients may be changed subject to availability and a suitable alternative used. The offer is for the Wednesday night buffet only and cannot be transferred, used for an alternative meal or menu, or as credit against your hotel bill.
4. This Reader Offer is currently open-dated so may be taken up at any time while the offer is still being promoted. However, the offer may be subject to change or withdrawal without notice. Only one voucher is available per reservation. |
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How to Book
If you wish to make further enquiries or a reservation, please use the WEB LINK or DIRECT EMAIL ENQUIRIES facility at the top of this page to make contact with Hermitage Plantation Inn Nevis, or if you wish to telephone them, please click on TELEPHONE CONTACT to reveal the number. |
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UK Tour Operators
If you wish to book through a tour operator or travel organiser, please follow the TOUR OPERATOR link below.
See List of UK Tour Operators
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Locality
The Hermitage is set in Gingerland, a five minute drive up the hill out of Charlestown, and then up a short access road. Not far off are Nevis Botanical Gardens, which are worth a visit. As you head back into town, just before Charlestown, you will also find the Nelson Museum in the Bath area.
Charlestown has a number of cafes and bars, but most of the restaurants are located either in the town or north of it around Pinney’s Beach where The Hermitage has its beach club. |
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Meet & Greet
The norm on Nevis is to contact a taxi driver on arrival at the airport. There are plenty there and they provide a good service. The norm on Nevis is to find a taxi on arrival at the airport. There are plenty of drivers and they provide a good service. If you fly to St Kitts, a hotel representative can be arranged to meet you at the airport and assist with the ferry transfer to Nevis. There are two ferry options to Nevis, a private/semi-private water taxi or the public ferry and the hotel will help with information and pricing or advise of any special offers. If you are travelling with a tour operator or travel organiser, your transfer should be included as part of the arrangement. |
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Getting Around
You should definitely explore Nevis while you are there. This can be arranged through an island tour, but you may want to consider hiring a car for at least a couple of days. It means that you can travel at your own pace, visiting beaches by day and restaurants in the evenings.
If you are not travelling in peak season and you don't think you will want a car for more than a day or two, hotel reception will be able to assist you. Otherwise, we recommend that you book in advance via your travel organiser or direct with TDC Thrifty Car Rentals, who will deliver to the property and issue your Nevisian driving licence, price US$20. Vehicles can be returned at the airport or be collected from the property at a pre-arranged time on your departure day. Be aware that over Christmas, February and in August there can be a shortage of cars in Nevis, so you are advised to book in advance. Also book early if you want one for a week or more because the pre-booked rates can be better.
Taxis are readily available through the reception at the hotel, through drivers that the inn knows well. |
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