After a successful opening in December, Nelson Spring Beach Villas & Spa is currently offering attractive nightly rates, starting at just $135 US (approx. ₤95).  The resort is located on 3.5 acres of coconut-lined beachfront property and features 24 expansive and luxurious one, two, three and four bedroom villas. The Yachtsman Grill, a new beachfront/poolside restaurant will open this week at Nelson Spring. With a barefoot casual ambiance, it will also offer chandlery service to yachts. Other amenities include pool with swim-up bar, tennis court, fitness centre, a day spa and nearby restaurants. Also located at Nelson Spring Beach Villas is the new Spa Nevis, a day spa started by US natives Bill and Peggy Hart who moved to Nevis in 2002. The spa, which opened this month, offers a range of treatments including exclusive signature services such as a mango honey butter massage, a coconut, pineapple and mango hot stone massage, a champagne mimosa body polish and a coconut sugar scrub and wrap. Visit www.spanevis.com for more information.

Chrishi Beach Club Restaurant & Lounge opened on Cades Bay Beach just last month.  The Beach Club features affordable snacks, beverages, and internationally inspired entrees served in the beachside pavilion or seaside. Chrishi Beach is open for lunch six days a week (closed Monday) from noon to 3 pm and the bar is open until sunset. For more information contact Hedda Wienpahl on 869-662-3959 or [email protected]. 

The Palms Spa at Nisbet Plantation Beach Club has been completely redesigned and recently reopened in a new, expanded space.  In addition to a full menu of standard spa treatments, The Palms Spa offers a selection of unique treatments such as the Nisbet Plantation Signature Island Breeze Massage, Papaya-Pineapple Body Scrub and Epicuren’s Noni Body Wrap, which have proven to be favourites.  For more information, please visit http://www.nisbetplantation.com/about/facilities/thepalmsspa.shtml.

The Villas at Sunset Ridge, situated on the gentle slopes of Mount Nevis, overlooking Cades Bay, will offer uninterrupted views of the surrounding lowlands and Caribbean Sea.  Construction began last summer and the first villa will be complete this May.  Phase I is expected to be complete by late 2011.  The villas can be purchased as a private residence or can be placed in the rental management programme with the LiveNevis Developments Rental Company. Prices begin at $715,000 USD (approx. ₤501,185).  Visit www.livenevis.com for more information or call 0800 707 6691.

The completion of a geothermal power plant in late 2009 is expected to allow Nevis to be 100 percent self-sufficient with renewable power.  Currently, construction of the three major wells is complete and construction of the production wells is expected to begin this March/April.  According to Kerry McDonald, CEO of West Indies Power, the company will also begin construction of the 10 megawatt power plant at the same time, which is anticipated to supply power to Nevis in the first half of 2010. 

The launch of the direct British Airwaysservice to neighbouring St. Kitts on 10 January now makes travelling to Nevis even easier.  Flights to St. Kitts depart each Saturday from Gatwick at 10:30 am. and arrive at 4:45 pm. the same afternoon.  The return flight departs St. Kitts at 6:15 pm. and arrives at Gatwick on Sunday morning at 7:50 am.  Nevis is just a 45-minute ferry ride away from St. Kitts.  For more information, please visit www.ba.com.

The island of Nevis is located in the Leeward Islands of the West Indies archipelago.  This tiny jewel is just eight miles long and six miles wide, yet it has a natural beauty that is unparalleled. Lord Horatio Nelson used Nevis as a base of operations in the mid-1780s and married a Nevisian, Frances Nisbet in 1787.  Nevis continued to be part of the British colonial holdings until 1983, at which time it gained independence, and still exhibits the British influence today, with traditional afternoon tea and driving on the left side of the road.  Its green foothills support tropical rainforests, secluded valleys, historic plantations and the remains of sugarcane fields while its turquoise waters lap palm-fringed beaches.
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