As I sat poolside reading a book, I noticed an older man with silver locs walking along the beach. He was carrying a white bucket and immediately I knew what it held. With a wave of my hand, I captured his attention. “Do you have any Julie mangoes?” He looked at me with a smile and said, “Lucky for you, I have one left.” The island girl in me was content: sand, sun, and a sweet Julie mango.
The most southern of the Caribbean’s Windward Islands, Grenada is no stranger to tourism. But the past few years have taken the island from an insider destination to a place on the tip of everyone’s tongues — including my own. “Grenada is having a renaissance. I’ve always thought it was an amazing island, but it’s literally Grenada to the world right now. Tourism is booming,” says Petra Roach, CEO of the Grenada Tourism Authority.
All you need to know before planning a trip to the Caribbean Island — Grenada
One of my favourite places to stay on the island is Silversands Grand Anse, which opened in 2018. I am a person of Caribbean descent — my family is Haitian and Guyanese — and the resort has become an extension of home during the five years I’ve been visiting. The wow-worthy property, which has the longest infinity pool in the Caribbean, is just one of many luxury hotels that have popped up on the “Spice Island” in recent years.
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In February, I flew to Grenada to visit Silversands Beach House, which had just made its debut on Portici Beach. The property has the minimalist look and feel of its sibling in Grand Anse, but feels a world away. While the Beach House doesn’t have a grand infinity pool at the entrance, the seemingly endless blue water of Portici wasn’t a bad replacement.
Book your stay at Silversands Resort Grenada at Grand Anse via Booking.com
Book your stay at Silversands Resort Grenada at Grand Anse via Agoda.com
When I arrived, Azzuro restaurant, which overlooks the beach, was buzzing with staff preparing for lunch, but I didn’t have to wait until then to eat, because they had already prepared a plate of panko-crusted coconut shrimp — a favourite of mine from the other location. My villa was at the centre of the beach, with views perfect for sunrises, and far enough from the pool that I felt like I was in a bubble.
However, on this visit, there would be no bubbles. After a few days at Grand Anse, I drove an hour north to St. David parish and Six Senses La Sagesse. This sprawling, village-style resort is the first Six Senses outpost in the Caribbean, with grounds enveloped by two pristine beaches and a lagoon. As I headed to my hillside pool suite, I made note of the dried nutmeg shells that had been sprinkled on top of the flower beds and added a pleasant aroma to the air, and of the new hotel under construction next door — an InterContinental resort, scheduled to open in 2025.
International hospitality brands aren’t the only ones helping Grenada make its mark. Barry Collymore, owner and executive chairman of Mount Cinnamon Beach Resort, is excited about the property’s recent suite and villa upgrades — but is more proud of his 100 percent Caribbean staff. “We were importing all the skills, and as I did my research around the islands, I realised that it was a pretty common thing,” he says.
Book your stay at Mount Cinnamon Beach Resort via Booking.com
Book your stay at Mount Cinnamon Beach Resort via Agoda.com
To address this, he launched the West Indies School of Hospitality in 2021. “We’ve been able to grant 2,000 scholarships, many to talented Grenadians,” Collymore says.
Airlines have been noticing Grenada’s rise also. In 2023 JetBlue increased its service from New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport and Boston Logan International Airport, making access to Grenada from the East Coast even easier.
The tourist-focused activities allow visitors to celebrate the sweet side of the island, like viewing the famous Molinere Underwater Sculpture Park with locally owned Savvy Sailing, or enjoying a five-course meal at Dexter’s Restaurant, located in chef Dexter Burris’s house. He and his team share laughs, stories, and locally flavoured dishes on the two quaint balconies that overlook the streets below. The experience feels more like a Sunday meal at grandma’s house than a traditional restaurant moment, and that’s the charm.
That charm can also be found at St. George’s market, where visitors must stop to grab the island’s main export, nutmeg. It can also be found beneath the tranquil Seven Sister Waterfalls and in the stories of women farmers at GRENROP, an organisation that supports the production of cash crops. As Grenadian publicist Yvette Noel-Schure puts it: “When I see nutmeg from Grenada, I’m connected to the land, to the soil, and to my past. I’m connected to being a farmer’s granddaughter and knowing that my education was paid for with the sale of nutmeg, cocoa, and bananas.”
Like Roach, Collymore, and many other Grenadians, Noel-Schure wants to share her homeland with the world, but is simultaneously protective of it. “I am an elitist when it comes to Grenada,” she says. “This country is for special people. And I’m not talking about colour or income. You just have to have a good spirit about you and joy in your heart, because Grenada is special.”
Book your stay at Six Senses La Sagesse via Booking.com
Book your stay at Six Senses La Sagesse via Agoda.com
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(Feature Image Credit: John Athimaritis/Six Senses La Sagesse)
This story first appeared on travelandleisure.com
Related: 7 All-Inclusive Resorts In The Caribbean For Your Next Girls Trip
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