Jade Mountain

The fourth wall is missing. In each of the 29 sanctuaries at Jade Mountain, above Soufrière on the south-west coast of Saint Lucia, the room ends in air where the Pitons rise out of the Caribbean, and the bed, the bath and in most cases a private infinity pool face the gap. Nick Troubetzkoy, the Canadian-born architect who owns the resort with his wife Karolin, drew the building himself and opened it in 2006 on the hill above Anse Chastanet, the resort the couple had run since the 1970s.

History

Troubetzkoy came to Saint Lucia as a young architect and took over Anse Chastanet, a beach hotel on the bay of the same name, which he expanded over three decades. Jade Mountain was his long-planned second act: a building on the ridge above the bay that would give every room an unbroken view of the Pitons, the two volcanic spires that are the island's emblem and a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2004. Construction took years, much of it by hand on a steep site, and the resort opened in late 2006. It has since collected most of the awards the travel press gives to resorts in the Caribbean and became the best-known luxury resort on Saint Lucia.

Architecture and design

The building is a series of bridges and platforms stepping up the hillside, connected by open walkways rather than corridors. Each sanctuary is reached by its own bridge and has its own number of private square metres; the floors are terrazzo and local hardwood, the tiles in the pools were made in different colours for each room, and the furniture was built on the island. There is no glass on the open side, no air conditioning, and no telephone or television in the rooms; a resident butler, called a major-domo, handles requests. The structure is concrete coloured to blend with the hillside and planted so that from the sea it reads as part of the slope.

Rooms and suites

The 29 sanctuaries fall into several categories by size and by the kind of private pool, an infinity pool in most and a whirlpool in the rest. All have a king bed facing the view, a bathroom open to the room and a living area. The Pitons are visible from every one, with the sea below, and guests spend much of their stay without leaving the room. Rates include access to the beaches and facilities of Anse Chastanet below.

Dining

The Jade Mountain Club, on the top of the building, serves what the resort calls Jade Cuisine, developed with the American chef Allen Susser as consultant, using fruit, vegetables and cacao from Emerald Estate, the Troubetzkoys' organic farm in the Soufrière hills. The resort's chocolate laboratory makes bars from the estate's cacao and runs tasting sessions. The restaurants of Anse Chastanet, including an Indian restaurant and a beach grill, are open to Jade Mountain guests.

Wellness

The Kai en Ciel spa and fitness studio offers treatments in the room or in its own space, and the spa at Anse Chastanet is also available. Scuba St Lucia, the dive centre on the Anse Chastanet beach, covers the reef at the foot of the resort. Yoga, mountain biking in the Anse Mamin estate and boat trips to the Pitons are arranged by the resort.

Weddings and events

Jade Mountain is a wedding and honeymoon resort before anything else. Ceremonies are held on the Celestial Terrace, the open roof above the club with the Pitons in view, and in the sanctuaries themselves for couples alone; receptions for small parties are held in the club. With 29 rooms the resort cannot take large weddings, and groups are usually accommodated across Jade Mountain and Anse Chastanet together.

Location

The resort sits above Anse Chastanet bay, about three kilometres north of Soufrière by a rough road. Hewanorra International Airport, at the southern tip of the island, is about an hour and a quarter by road or ten minutes by helicopter; George F. L. Charles Airport near Castries is roughly the same time by road from the north. The Pitons, the Sulphur Springs and the Diamond Botanical Gardens are all close to Soufrière.