Laluna

We know it’s not very cool to go sniffing around a hotel’s star-spangled guest book, but when the celeb-haunt in question seems at first glance like a modest jumble of beach shacks, a little reassurance might be in order. In part, what makes Laluna so desirable is its discreet location — a lush hillside rising from a secluded white-sand beach shared by just sixteen cottages, near the far southern tip of Grenada. Yet the private, postcard-perfect Caribbean setting is really just a prerequisite for what makes Laluna so appealing: a laid-back tropical fantasy version of escape from the workaday world.

Call it rustic chic, call it barefoot luxury. Whatever you call it, they’ve got it down at Laluna. Look a little closer and that modest jumble of shacks turns out to be one of the most effortlessly sophisticated hotels in the Caribbean, as stylish and luxurious as it is unostentatious. Owned by a former Prada consultant and designed by the interior decorator who did Giorgio Armani’s villa, Laluna takes its design cues partly from the Southeast Asian tropics. The mottled paint and knotty exposed wood beams of the spacious cottage suites’ exteriors give way to airy, open-plan rooms fitted with Balinese antiques, four-poster king beds, walk-in closets and all the usual screens and docks and appliances of a luxury hotel. Each comes with a private veranda and its own plunge pool, plus an open-air shower with views of the sea.

Those plunge pools and showers are made a lot more enjoyable by the amount of privacy on offer. Many of the rooms are freestanding cottages, and the foliage of the jungle into which the rooms are built provides a natural screen. The views, in short, are geared to people who want to gaze at the beach, not at their neighbors.

As private as it all is, there’s also a little socializing on offer at the restaurant, where a Calabrian chef prepares fresh seafood and traditional Italian dishes. It’s in the restaurant that the hoteliers’ Italian heritage comes through most strongly. They’re obsessive, for one thing, about the ingredients they source — veggies from the organic garden on site, prosciutto, parmesan, extra virgin olive oil and other staples imported from top Italian producers.

If you want to do some ingredient-sourcing yourself, you’ve got some choices. You can head out in a fishing boat with the chef to haul in the catch of the day, visit the island’s famous Saturday spice market or, for some cocktails, head to the local rum distillery. Of course you could just as easily spend all day slipping between snoozes in the room, dips in the plunge pool and sea, massages, yoga sessions — in short, doing all sorts of nothing.

Please note: There is a 3-night minimum requirement at Laluna and they can only accommodate guests over the age of 12.

How to get there: Laluna is conveniently located 10 minutes from St. George's and Point Salines International Airport.