Petit Saint Vincent
Petit St. Vincent, known locally as PSV, is an island 40 statute miles (60 km) south of St. Vincent in the Grenadine islands. It consists of softly rolling hills spread over 115 acres (46 ha) surrounded mostly by two miles (3 km) of white sand beaches and is home to a luxury beach resort.
The island is privately owned. In 1963 Haze Richardson and Doug Terman chartered their yacht, JACINTA, to Mr. H.W. Nichols, Jr. and family. During this three-week cruise, Mr. Nichols expressed interest in purchasing an island and building a small hotel. Haze and Doug helped Mr. Nichols find and purchase PSV from a woman on the neighboring island of Petit Martinique. Haze and Doug oversaw the building of PSV on behalf of Mr. Nichols who asked Haze to stay on as manager temporarily. Haze did and never left, becoming owner of Petit St. Vincent resort after Mr. Nichols' death in 1985.
PSV consists of 22 ocean view cottages, about half are elevated on various bluffs offering stunning views of the archipelago and the remainder being beach front villas. All cottages and villas are extremely spacious, have bedrooms with super-king size beds, lounges and ample sun-decks or beach front gardens. With a staff count of over 130, this boutique resort offers a staff to guest ratio of 3:1.
The guest cottages are all air conditioned, they come fitted with Bose iPod docks, Nespresso coffee machines and daily homemade cookies that are to die for, Italian 300+ thread count linen, soft Mascioni towels and even BVLGARI bathroom amenities come as a standard. The resort follows an unplugged, no news no shoes concept and does not have televisions or telephones in the guest cottages.
Guests are encouraged to enjoy the privacy of their cottages and room service is available for each meal without any extra charges, guests place their orders in the quaint flag pole on the entrance of their cottage, raise the yellow flag and a butler will pop by in one of the island's mini moke cars and will take care of the guest's orders and requests. If guests would like complete privacy the flag pole comes also with a red flag, when raised this informs the team that they wish to be left undisturbed.
The main pavilion restaurant offers gourmet food & service, the talented executive chef delights guests with daily changing menus, a focus on the local caught fish and organically grown produce from the island's own expansive chef gardens, however succulent Black Angus Beef, New Zealand Lamb and other treats make regular appearances for the meat lovers. During the recent renovation a large walk in wine cellar was built at the main pavilion restaurant which houses over 4000 bottles.
The barefoot beach restaurant follows a more relaxed vibe, although the cuisine is still delicious, the menu offers a large variety of fresh grilled fish, lobster (in-house guests can each as much as they like at no extra charge) and a nice variety of Mediterranean style salads, along with homemade pizzas cooked in the on-site clay pizza oven and even Black Angus Beef Burgers.
Owner Haze Richardson died in a swimming accident in Costa Rica on Saturday February 2, 2008. His wife, Lynn Richardson, continued managing the resort until November 1, 2010 at which time it was announced that she had sold the island/resort to business partners Phil Stephenson and Robin Paterson. During 2011 and 2012 the new owners invested heavily into the island and resort. The island underwent a full refurbishment, each guest cottage was completely stripped bare and refreshed with modern contemporary furniture and colour scheme, air-conditioner units were installed into each cottage, along with new hardwood doors and windows. A new beach front cocktail bar 'Goaties', named after the longest standing employee, and an open air restaurant were built and opened at the end of 2011, along with a rustic/elegant tree top spa complex managed by an expert team of Balinese therapists.
New soundproof generators have been installed as well as state-of-the-art reverse osmosis water making equipment, providing every tap on the island with safe drinking water which is processed from ocean water.
The island and resort are managed by husband and wife team, Matthew & Anie Semark, since August 2011. Following the redevelopment of the island and the increase in service standards and guest experiences the resort was invited into the exclusive portfolio of 'Small Luxury Hotels of the World' in July 2013.
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Coordinates: 12°32′N 61°23′W / 12.533°N 61.383°W