St. Elsewhere?

by Bob Seligman

Caribbean Dream: No. 15 at Royal St. Kitts.

They call St. Kitts the last undiscovered Caribbean island.

But that’s about to change.

Located in the northern Leeward Islands of the Eastern Caribbean, about a four-hour plane ride from Miami, St. Kitts has spent most of the last four centuries relying on sugar cane to drive its economy. But in 2005 the government decided to stop raising so much cane, so to speak, and turned its attention to tourism.

Which is why St. Kitts, 68 square miles and shaped like a whale, is about to become discovered in a big way.

Marriott is already there with the St. Kitts Marriott Resort & Royal Beach Casino, a 636-room facility on the Atlantic Ocean side of the island, about a 10-minute ride from the airport. Marriott Golf manages Royal St. Kitts Golf Club, an excellent 18-hole championship golf course that adjoins the hotel.

Other major hotel chains are on the way. According to sources, Auberge Resorts, Mandarin Oriental and Ritz-Carlton will open major facilities on St. Kitts, probably sometime in 2009. Barring any last-second obstacles, Kiawah Development Partners will co-develop the Auberge property with a Tom Fazio-designed championship course.

No wonder Mark Harmon, CEO of Auberge Resorts, says of St. Kitts, “It’s pretty quickly becoming discovered. I don’t know if it’s the last [undiscovered Caribbean Island], but there is a lot of truth in that.”
“We’ve seen destinations like St. Thomas and St. Martin come into their own and become major vacation destinations, whereas St. Kitts is still evolving,” adds Randall Doty, director of marketing for the St. Kitts Marriott Resort and The Royal Beach Casino. “Its recent history and transition from sugar production into tourism is still evolving and changing. It’s still a hideaway. It hasn’t been overrun as a tourist destination.”

Still, construction of restaurants, shopping and businesses is going full blast in Basseterre, the capital. In March, St. Kitts hosted a regional qualifying round for Cricket World Cup, one of the largest attended sporting events in the world, which brought significant business to the island, laying the groundwork for future sports tourism and development.

Those who discover St. Kitts, beginning with Christopher Columbus in 1493 — and those who already have today — will find an outpost surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea that has fine food, fine libations (particularly rum) and enough activities to keep you busy and enough sandy beaches to make you just lie in tranquility and get away from it all.

There’s also a fine golf course, Royal St. Kitts Golf Club, which until about three years ago shared the characteristics of most Caribbean layouts. According to Greg Downer, director of golf, the course — then government-run — was very flat, had lots of palm trees and a hybrid of Bermuda grass and weeds. It was not in great shape.

The metamorphosis from golfing moth to elegant links butterfly began when Marriott took over and spent $16 million renovating and reshaping. Thomas McBroom, a noted Canadian architect, did the redesigning. “It was a complete re-do,” says Downer. “Not too many holes are the same.”

According to Marriott Golf, the course is the only one in the Caribbean with two holes on the Caribbean Sea and three holes on the Atlantic Ocean — an idea brought to life by McBroom.
On the front side, he created the 345-yard, 4-par No. 3, framed behind the green by the Caribbean, and the challenging 197-yard, 3-par No. 4, where the sea runs along the right side of the hole and bunkers surround the green.

On the back side, he brought the Atlantic into play — and into stunning view — by creating the 3-par No. 15 and its 4-par followup. Marriott also improved conditioning by spending $1 million on No. 17, which runs along the Atlantic, by building a rock wall that impedes ocean salt waters from pounding the fairways as it had for years.

Replacing the Bermuda and weeds is Seashore Paspalum, a special, salt-resistant grass that won’t die from salt water, which is trendy in the Caribbean and South Florida. There are 85 bunkers, some of them 30-40 yards long. When new sand was recently put into the bunkers, 2,200 tons of the stuff was needed to complete the job. Wind, which affects play nearly 90 percent of the time, gives the course such a protective natural defense that rough is virtually unnecessary. It also makes the course play much longer than 7,000 yards.

Royal St. Kitts also has strong risk-reward elements. McBroom’s redesign created options that make golfers think, which is something that may become even more apparent when you play the course more than once.

The risk-reward design begins in earnest with the tee shot on No. 2, a 457-yard 4-par dogleg-right. The options are simple. If you want a short approach shot into the green, aim down the right side if you think you can clear three large bunkers and avoid the OB that clings to that side. If you want to play safe, but take a longer route, aim left toward the wider landing area that still presents potential trouble from palm trees and a big pond. There’s a similar scenario at the 427-yard dogleg-right par-4 No. 10, where the left side is forgiving while the right side, guarded by bunkers, is more tempting.

The course’s highlight is No 15, the signature 163-yard par 3. With its elevated tee and view of the Atlantic both behind and to the side, it’s the reason to put a camera in your bag and have your picture taken on the tee. But it can also be a beast. Nine bunkers offer the potential of bogey. Winds whipping in off the ocean offer the potential for worse.

The Atlantic also runs along the left side of 16 and 17, both approximate 400-yard 4-pars, presenting more windy precariousness. The 451-yard dogleg-right No. 18 completes the pleasant day in Paradise — if you avoid the water down the entire right side, the traps in the landing area on the left side and the 35- to 40-yard-long bunker to the left front of the green.

Greens fees are very reasonable. During the high season from Nov. 1 to April 30, Marriott guests pay $135 us while non-guests pay $175. During the low season from May 1 to Oct. 31, Marriott guests pay $110 and others pay $140.

There’s also the chance to do plenty of nothing in St. Kitts, which the Marriott Resort & Royal Beach Casino provides by the beachload. In addition to being an oceanfront property, the Marriott has three swimming pools, each with its own Jacuzzi. The Emerald Mist Spa has a full selection of massages, body scrubs, facials, manicures, pedicures and saunas. For do-ers, there’s four tennis courts lighted for night play, horseback riding and a modern fitness center. Youngsters are occupied at the Kidz Club, and there’s an arcade room for teenagers.

Accommodations meet all needs and come in all sizes, ranging from standard to ocean view, as well as various villas. Prices vary, especially during various times of the year. The Marriott also recently introduced the “Somewhere In Your Dreams” timeshare plan, featuring two- and three- bedroom villas with either ocean or garden views, priced from $16,000 to $75,000. To add to the hotel’s ambiance, the interior has a muted effect that’s probably more calming than you realize; the rooms are beautiful and, well, roomy. Those with an ocean view and balcony present a great way to get up in the morning and relax before you tuck in at night.

The Marriott also features the Royal Beach Casino, the island’s largest and the only one that accepts the U.S. dollar. Open 24 hours, it has 350 slots, 34 gaming tables, poker and a sports and race book.

One thing you won’t gamble on at the Marriott is the food, where the simple and elegant combine under one roof. The breakfast buffet at Café Calypso, one of the resort’s eight restaurants, is quite extensive and complete. Just don’t gorge before your round.

The Marriott is one of St. Kitts’ two highly-rated hotels. The other, Ottley’s Plantation Inn, which was originally a sugar plantation, is located at the foot of Mt. Liamuiga.

Overall, St. Kitts has a solid diversity of good restaurants to satisfy varied taste buds. The Marriott’s Royal Grille Steakhouse excels at prime rib, while Marshall’s, an island favorite, takes a Jamaican tack.

For more casual dining, check out the Shiggidy World of Mr. X’s Shiggidy Shack. Get there early, order a Ting Sling — a combination of rum and Ting, a local grapefruit drink that’s tarter than Fresca — and grab a chair on the beach to watch a sunset. Then prepare to feast on the barbecued ribs, barbecued chicken and barbecued lobster. Mr. X’s is also an island hot spot for nighttime entertainment, and the Shiggidy World includes a bonfire on the beach on Thursday, followed by a fire-eater.

St. Kitts is on the cusp of big change. Ritz-Carlton, owned by Marriott, is expected to build next to the existing hotel, according to island sources. Sandy Bank Bay at Auberge Resort, toward the “tail” part of the whale, will have views of the Atlantic and Caribbean and reportedly be part of a larger complex with Mandarin Oriental Hotels. Auberge’s plan calls for 70 individual cottages, each going for $1,000 a night and up. They’ll include large suites with private plunge pools.

“All our hotels are romantic getaways,” says Harmon. “The design of the rooms is a wonderful indoor-outdoor experience with expansive verandas looking out and doors that disappear into the walls. There’s lot of privacy.”

“St. Kitts is a great destination,” says Doty. “It’s dynamic and growing.”

And when that growth is complete, St. Kitts will no longer be a dot on a map. It will truly be “discovered.” FG

Royal St. Kitts
www.st.kittsmarriott.com | www.royalstkittsgolfclub.com
Par 71 | 6,859-5,959 yards | 73.9 rating, 129 slope
Pro’s Skinny: “If you want to have a tough day for a scratch golfer, you’re going to want to play the back tees and it’s going to be a challenge. “If you’re a 15-25 handicap and play the white tees (5,959 yards, with the 6,478-yard black tee in between), you’re going to enjoy your day.”