Summer Rates: Caneel Bay
#1 Carib. Tennis Resort awaits Rates: $395+ from May 1, 2010
www.caneelbay.com





Summer Rates: Caneel Bay
#1 Carib. Tennis Resort awaits Rates: $395+ from May 1, 2010
www.caneelbay.com


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Rate Four Seasons Resort Nevis (closed)


Four Seasons Resort Nevis (closed)

Pinney's Beach, Nevis, West Indies

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Currently closed, at least through the November 1, 2010 after suffering damage from Hurricane Omar.

When the Four Season Resort Nevis opened in 1991, it surprised me by building what remains the second largest tennis complex at any Four Seasons worldwide: a 10-court, hard and red-clay facility that wraps around the central plaza of the Sports Pavilion. Four Seasons Resort NevisAs at any other Caribbean resort, tennis had to compete with the beach—a battle it will almost always lose between the hours of 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.—and it also shared center stage with a Robert Trent Jones, Jr. golf course laid out on the slopes of the 3,232-foot dormant volcano of Nevis Peak directly behind.

Hurricane Lenny in 1999 forced the resort to close for a year; however that led to the construction of a well-equipped fitness center and spa, both at the Sports Pavilion, thus bringing more traffic and attention to the courts. Then Peter Burwash International pro Jeff Henkelman came along and ratcheted up the level of service by providing guaranteed game matching—often recruiting employees—and such courtside amenities as chilled, peppermint-scented towels, orange slices, and lemonade to supplement the usual water and dry towels.

His 16 years of service with PBI have taken Jeff HenkelmanHenkelman from his native Canada to Japan, Bali, Malaysia, Europe, and finally to Nevis. Since arriving following the hotel's reopening in November of 2000, he has drafted a tennis calendar that features some sort of event or clinic every day of the week, from beginners' sessions on Monday to drill with the pro workouts, Cardio tennis, and a guest/management mixer. When players need opponents he turns to his local members or to people on the staff.

Overall you expect attentive service at a Four Seasons but that experience is enhanced here by the seductive charm of the local Nevisians, whose innate and genuine friendliness and hospitality impresses everyone who stays here. "We don't want you to go," said the two bellman when they came to fetch my bag on the day I left. "We hope you will come back very soon."

Tennis Features

Pro Shop: 869-469-1111

Courts & Fees. There are four red-clay and six hard courts, arrayed mostly in pairs around the two-story pro shop that serves for tennis and golf. One of the hard courts is a show court, individually fenced and bordered by a three rows of wooden benches beneath a wooden roof. There are also two other individually lighted hard courts, while the southern pair of red-clay courts has high stanchions intended to light both. Court fees: $35/hour, with "Avid Player" options of $55/person/day, or $210/person/week.

Other Recreation

Beach. Pinney's Beach stretches for four miles along this western coast of Nevis. The section that borders the Four Seasons was substantially renourished—reconfigured, actually—in the aftermath of Hurricane Lenny in 1999. The resort actually created a sand-covered berm to protect the resort from the sea. Lounge chairs and umbrellas stand atop that rounded and rather hard-packed hillock, whose far side slopes gently down to the Caribbean, while the side nearest the rooms slopes gently down to a line of palm trees and then an expanse of grass. The southern section is quieter; while the northern section borders two swimming pools, the watersports center (with Hobie cats, kayaks, seaboards, paddleboats, snorkel gear and more—non-motorized equipment is complimentary), and the 18th green of the golf course.

Golf Courses. Designed by Robert Trent Jones, Jr., this 18-hole course climbs up and down the lower slopes of the 3,232-foot dormant volcano of Nevis Peak. The 15th is among the most spectacular, requiring a drive across a ravine to reach the fairway while monkeys provide commentary from the adjacent trees.

Spa & Fitness Center. For tennis players, the Spa and Fitness Center could scarcely have a better location, just off the plaza that borders the courts. The Fitness Center contains a dozen cardio machines arrayed along a wall with windows on the tropical foliage and Nevis Peak outside. Behind those machines is a row of nine or so LifeFitness stations, supplemented by dumbbells and freeweights. The Spa has 12 treatment rooms, six of them in tiny cottages with cedar-shake roofs, yellow clapboard siding, and white gingerbread trim. They flow through a courtyard filled with tropical gardens. Guests can use the time before or after treatments to relax in an air-conditioned lounge or sit outside on a covered patio paved with stones or around a plunge pool with views of Nevis Peak or around a second pool with a waterfall. Treatments ranges from a variety of traditional massages to body wraps, skin-care services, manicures, and pedicures. Rooms service delivers spa cuisine.

And ... There is shuffleboard and horseshoes.

Lodging

The resort has 196 rooms and suites in gingerbread-trimmed cottages that follow the curve of Pinney's Beach behind an expanse of lawn and a line of palm trees. These are spacious and handsome accommodations, with sepia-colored marble floors, mahogany and rattan furnishings, a bright, tropical decor, including a lithograph of the colorful houses in Charlestown. First floor rooms open out onto patios and thus have direct access to the beach; second-floor rooms afford more privacy and have screened in balconies. All are equipped with a variety of creature comforts, including satellite television, DVD players, coffee makers, ethernet access (at $15/day), and oversize marble baths with soaking tubs and separate walk-in showers. And in a boon to tennis players, each cluster of rooms has a free guest laundry (there's even a package of detergent)—something you rarely find at an upscale resort but one that also partly explains why Four Seasons Nevis is popular with families.

See Also

If you're contemplating a Caribbean tennis vacation, you should also look at:

Rates and Reservations

The resort has 196 rooms and suites in gingerbread-trimmed cottages, which variously have golf course or ocean views. Minimum stays may apply at certain time of the year. The following rates are for lodging only exclusive of applicable taxes and service charges.

Nov. 1-Dec. 17, 2010
Rooms: from $395. Suites: from $1,300

Four Seasons Resort Nevis (closed)
P.O. Box 565
Pinney's Beach, Nevis, West Indies
869-469-1111
Toll-free: 800-332-3442
Fax: 869-469-1040
Web Link: Four Seasons Resort Nevis (closed)
Book Online: Four Seasons Resort Nevis (closed)

Travel Essentials

Alexander Hamilton HouseTravel Instructions. There is a small airport at the north end of Nevis served by turbo-prop planes (American Airlines flies in daily from San Juan, Puerto Rico). The alternative is to fly to the nearby island of St. Kitts, where Four Seasons staff, if given notice, will meet the flight and transport you to the pier for the 45-minute boat ride to the hotel.

General Tourist Information. For information about Nevis, check out the Nevis Tourism Authority web site or phone 866-55 NEVIS.