St. Kitts & Nevis

I try very hard to visit the Caribbean Sea once a year. Whether that’s going to the Bahamas for the 100th time (I love the Bahamas) or heading further south to explore a new country! I love the Caribbean so much because it is easy to get to from the states, the water is crystal clear and I love all the different island cultures!

October 2019 we were once again headed to the Caribbean, but this time it was to the gorgeous islands of St. Kitts and Nevis. To be honest, I didn’t know a whole lot about these islands when we booked our trip. Looking into the hotels and resorts on the two islands we ended up choosing The Park Hyatt on St. Kitts and I am SO GLAD we did! The other contender was the Four Seasons on Nevis, which was gorgeous BUT under construction (we had no idea) so we were so glad we chose the Park Hyatt. The grounds, rooms, food and drinks were amazing and overall in a better location! Set in Christophe Harbour, all the views looked onto the beautiful island of Nevis.

Where we stayed:

Park Hyatt St. Kitts

The Park Hyatt St. Kitts is located in Christophe Harbour, which is on the very edge of St. Kitts overlooking the island of Nevis. I personally loved this location because it was far enough away from the cruise ports and city that we felt we were on our own personal island. There are three onsite dining options at the resort and several local restaurants within walking distance that we absolutely loved! We are the type to go off property for dinner because we love diving into the culture and traditions of the country. We ate breakfast at the resort everyday and occasionally a pool side lunch but for dinner we were on the search for a more authentic experience. My favorite feature of the resort was the two different pools. They had a huge family pool that had a beach entry vibe with real sand and an adult pool on the upper deck that seriously had the most spectacular views! The only thing lacking was a swim up bar (I love a swim up bar)! They did, however, have waiters attending both pools for dinks and eats and multiple water stations! Our room was one of the more basic styles on the ground level but it was nothing short of fabulous. The layout was perfect and the amenities were on point! Some of the upgraded rooms were located on the rooftop and came with their own personal plunge pools!

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Where we ate

Like I said, we ate breakfast at the resort every morning! We dined at the Great House and they had lots of amazing choices, even a full breakfast buffet! Very, very pleased with everything they had to offer, especially the iced coffee! For lunch, we ate several times at the resort pool, a restaurant in Nevis called Sunshines (an absolute must) and another in Basseterre, St. Kitts! Dinner was definitely my favorite part of this trip! We were able to eat at some really cool places and honestly it makes me want to go back! The first night we ate at a restaurant on South Friar’s bay called Carambola Beach Club. This was very close to our resort, only about a 10 minute cab ride. Honestly, the food and drinks were great here but the atmosphere was completely dead. I think we were the only ones dining there that night. I don’t know if it was just off season or a weekday but there was absolutely no one around. That being said, that didn’t take away from the great sushi and margaritas. Reggae Beach Bar was so much fun! It was walking distance from our resort and we ventured down Reggae beach to this bar several times! On Friday nights they have a full lobster fest, a long standing tradition on the island and something you can not miss! I will say this was absolutely the best lobster I have ever had in my entire life (and I’ve been to Maine). Salt Plage was our absolute favorite place on the island! They had everything going on from fabulous food to a great ambiance. We were here almost every night. It is also located in Christophe Harbour, only about a 5 minute cab ride from our resort and is one of the top 8 beachside cafes in the WORLD according to Condé Nast Traveller. Known for their gorgeous sunsets and dock dining, we thought we had died and went to heaven! I would put this place on my list of all time favorite restaurants.

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What we did

So turns out, snorkeling isn’t that great in Christophe Harbour. We actually did not get to snorkel at all while we were there. It was such a bummer. The body of water running between St. Kitts and Nevis was very rough and churned up during our stay. Not only could you not see anything under the water, they didn’t even let snorkelers go out on the reef. We love the ocean and all the sea life so this was super frustrating. Looking back, we wish we would have rented a car. Being out on the tip of the island was fabulous because there was not much traffic and tourists but it did make it difficult when we wanted to go places and see things. We took a cab back into Basseterre one afternoon to shop and check out the downtown culture of St. Kitts. Thankfully we did this on a day a cruise ship was not in port! We were a little underwhelmed with the shopping and restaurants located in the “popular” part of town and really just wanted to go back to Christophe Harbour (definitely the place to be in my opinion). Nevis, on the other hand was a whole different story! We took the water taxi from Cockleshell Bay to Oualie Beach which took about 10 minutes. We booked this with the hotel when we arrived. Another option is to take the ferry from Basseterre to Charlestown if you are located near the city. It’s about a 45 minute ride and runs 10 times a day from 6am to 6pm. Once we arrived in Nevis, we jumped in a cab which took us straight to the Four Seasons. We wanted to check out the competition. As I mentioned earlier, the Four Seasons Nevis was under construction so it was a little underwhelming. The pool looked great and the interior of the main lobby was stunning, but overall I’m glad we stayed where we did. We left here and another cab driver gave us the tour of Charlestown. We paid him a flat fee and he drove us around to all the top sites of Nevis. First stop, the Alexander Hamilton Museum & House. Did you know Alexander Hamilton was born in Nevis and lived there until the age of 9!? Next, we stopped at the historic Bath hotel and spring house which was built in 1778 as a playground for the super rich and famous. People would come from all over to soak in the therapeutic hot spring. Lastly, we were able to go into St. Thomas’ Lowland Church, built in 1643. It was the first Anglican Church in the Caribbean and it is the oldest church on Nevis Island. I even rang the church bell! I think the best part of the church grounds was the dedicated organist parking spot. My granny was the organist for our church growing up and I think she deserved her own parking spot! hahaha When our tour of Charlestown was over, our driver suggested a great lunch spot on the beach called Sunshines. This place is located on Pinney’s Beach and probably the liveliest beach bar on the island. I would say it’s a must when visiting Nevis because of its amazing fresh seafood and famous rum punch called the “Killer Bee.” Before our voyage back to St. Kitts, we laid out on Oualie Beach soaking up the sun and hanging out with some furry friends. Did you know Nevis has monkeys living on the island?

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