Sundaze in St. Kitts
I live in Wisconsin. For those that don’t know where Wisconsin is, it’s in the northern part of the United States and it borders Canada. We joke that we have four seasons: Fall, Winter, Late Winter, and Road Construction. #butseriously While we do have beautiful summers, the winters can be long and brutal – this winter was particularly brutal as we had a stretch of weather with -65 degree F windchill and -40 degree F overall. I also shoveled between 25-30” of snow #summerwhereyouat
Needless to say, I was pumped to get a break from the never-ending snow and cold and escape to the beautiful Caribbean island of St. Kitt’s. Because he’s the luckiest guy ever, Eric had a work conference that brought us down (so I guess I’m pretty lucky too J) and we. were. more. Than. Ready.
We arrived to 85-degree weather and life instantly improved. Gone were the winter coats and knee-high boots necessary in Wisconsin. Our conference was at the beautiful St. Kitt’s Marriott Resort and Royal Beach Casino. The resort had multiple pools, direct beach access with beach chairs included, many options for food and drink, and even a casino (if you’re into that sort of thing). Our first few days were spent lounging by the pools, soaking up every bit of Vitamin D possible, and indulging in far too many Frozen Toasted drinks. We did spend a little time in the casino, but since Eric and I are the worst gamblers on the planet, we didn’t waste too much of our time in there. We also ventured off of the resort to Frigate Bay and visited the famed Mr. X’s Shiggity Shack (literally a shack on the beach), stopped for a drink, and ended with dinner at Rock Lobster – get the Lobster Bisque. You’re Welcome.
Across the street from the resort is the Jolly Roger Brewing Company. Fun fact: Eric is currently in a bet with one of my other friends to see who can reach 1,000 beers on the Untappd App before they each reach 40 and 30, respectively. Because of this bet, my life has become a revolving door of breweries and beer flights, and this night was no different. Eric went through his normal studying of the menu and picked out four unique beers. However, when the bartender poured them, they were all the exact same color. For anyone that knows anything about beer, a lager, a porter, a golden ale, and a stout are normally pretty easy to tell apart just by looking at them. At first we thought there was something wrong but turns out that’s just how beers are brewed there!
One thing that surprised us was the differences in wind and waves at the different spots on the island. Our resort faced the Atlantic Ocean and there were high winds and large waves crashing constantly. On the Caribbean side, wind was minimal and waves were non-existent. Depending on the vibe you are looking for, definitely keep those things in mind when picking a place to stay on the island!
One of the more exclusive experiences we had was traveling to the Pavilion Beach Club in Christophe Harbour for dinner. This area is a members-only beach/resort which boasts private pools and serene views; however, it is open to the public for dinner as long as you have a reservation. We were lucky enough to dine here and the food was exquisite. As good as the lobster bisque at Rock Lobster was, the buttered lobster here was the best I’ve ever eaten and the coconut curry was the perfect blend of spice and savory. The architecture was gorgeous and the soft ocean breeze completed a perfect night out for Eric and myself.
If you’re looking to see a little more of the “city” areas of St. Kitts, I would recommend heading down to Port Zante. All of the cruise ships that come into St. Kitts dock here, making it a bustling and busy area with many little shops. We stopped at the center attraction, the “Cheers” beer in the middle of the square, grabbed an amazing lunch of jerk chicken and Peruvian Tequeños, and wandered in and out of the many tourist-oriented shops. On our drive to Port Zante, we also noticed the immense poverty of some of the people in the area. The housing was definitely eye-opening and reminded us that even on this beautiful island, there were still people that were struggling to make ends-meet.
Although the food at the resort was excellent, I am the type of traveler that is always looking for more. I happened to Google, “best places to eat on St. Kitts” and our next destination popped up. As it was getting late in the day, we hustled and grabbed a cab to Salt Plage, a restaurant that boasted of its sunsets and hammocks over the sea in Christophe Harbour. We arrived shortly after 5 PM and, honestly, were not immediately impressed (boy, were we wrong!) #lookscanbedeceiving We were seated at a table that overlooked the Caribbean Sea and, I kid you not, not ten minutes had gone by and the ENTIRE restaurant was packed. PACKED. There was not one empty table. We ordered tuna poke and plaintains, a couple of drinks, and settled in to watch what would be the prettiest sunset we would ever experience. Guys, I’m not kidding – if you do not do anything else on this island, GO HERE. The food was excellent, the atmosphere was amazing (a live band started playing shortly after sunset), and we seriously had the best time relaxing and enjoying our time together.
St. Kitt’s gave us a much-needed week of relaxation, a little bit of sunburn, and more drinks than we could have imagined. If you ever have the chance, I highly recommend visiting St. Kitts. The locals were very accommodating and very willing to share tips and ideas for things to do – definitely tap into them as a resource if you are running out of things to do.
Until next time,
