Secret Bay

From north to south, between Antigua and St. Lucia, are Montserrat, Guadeloupe, Dominica, and Martinique. They’re just as beautiful as any of the other islands in the Caribbean, but they’re mostly untouched by tourism. The reasons for that are complex, and bound to change — in the case of Dominica, where the boutique hotel Secret Bay is located, it’s partly because the landscape is volcanic and mostly devoid of white sandy beaches, and partly because the island isn’t served by international flights.

Perfect: the better to get away from it all. If you want to stay at a resort with three infinity pools and five restaurants, go to Barbados or Anguilla. If you want to hike through the rainforest and meditate at dawn on a treetop platform and sleep in a clifftop villa sustainably built with native tropical wood, you go to Dominica, nicknamed “Nature Island,” and check into Secret Bay.

The hotel has just 19 villas, one more lavish than the next. The original Zabuco Honeymoon villa is situated on a rocky outcrop over the sea. And frankly, you’ll never need to leave it: there’s an indoor-outdoor living room with daybeds and hammocks, a private terrace with a plunge pool and outdoor shower, a state-of-the-art open-plan kitchen with granite countertops and an espresso machine. You can grill your own fresh fish at the villa’s barbecue and an outdoor dining area, should you wish (on request, the hotel provides an Organic Breakfast Basket filled with fresh supplies and snacks), and rest easy on a bed carved by local craftsmen from indigenous red cedar.

The Ti-Fèy villas and the Ylang Ylang villas feel like treehouses. Apple TVs and wi-fi, check, sound systems by Bose, check. A pillow menu and a mattress menu? You got it.

What about that jungle hike, though? Oh, right, the jungle hike, and the cave swim, and night snorkeling, and kayaking through a mangrove. All of that and more is within easy reach of Secret Bay, and the knowledgeable staff is ready to help you plan it. The hotel has direct access to two secluded beaches, too. You might bump into other hotel guests. And you might not. Welcome to Nature Island.