COZY IN ST. LUCY

Thanks to Lord Glenconner’s vision and hard work, Mustique showed up on the jet-set radar as the world’s first island resort. Now he sets his eyes on neighboring St. Lucia with a plan to turn it into an intimate piece of paradise

When Princess Margaret was presented with two choices for a wedding present—something wonderful from Aspreys or a 10-acre lot in Mustique—she chose the latter, had the land cleared and built Les Jolies Eaux, which became her favorite retreat. The gift came from the Right Hon. Colin Tennant, 3rd Lord Glenconner, whose family had a long involvement in the Caribbean. “I rebuilt the village of 120 to its current location, and then with Princess Margaret making her home there, we set a new standard, a fantasy place which I financed—the first resort in the world,” recalls Tennant.

It takes a Lord Glenconner to impose civilization on a place whose very attraction is its natural state. As a young man working for his family company, Tennant oversaw their estate in Trinidad, sold it in 1953, and used the proceeds to buy the island of Mustique five years later. Back then Mustique was nothing more than a 1,400-acre outcrop, but under Tennant’s visionary guidance, its infrastructure was developed, elegant homes were constructed, and its reputation as an exclusive destination grew. Consequently, property on the island became the most sought after and most expensive in the world. It also became very exclusive, and for that reason, somewhat unnatural.

The party somehow ended for Lord Glenconner, who found himself looking again for that virgin territory where tropical warmth was more than a line from a travel brochure. “The situation in Mustique changed and it was time for me to move on. I spent several years looking for a new home and decided on St. Lucia,” he says. He first bought an estate on the other side of Soufriere, and when his son Henry told him about the Jalousie Estate, he bought the site unseen, knowing instinctively how beautiful and rare the situation was. “The Pitons are St. Lucia’s national symbol and biggest attraction in the Eastern Caribbean. I first came to the land by canoe from Soufriere, located on a bay the other side of the Petit Piton. There was no road, just a goat track and pier from which the local farmers transported their mangoes; it was paradise but in a more intimate setting.”

Nowadays, Lord Glenconner lives in St. Lucia permanently, although he visits England and Scotland regularly. “One of my happiest times in St Lucia was when we lived in my old chattel house, which I brought up from Vieux Fort. I ran my restaurant Bang—so called because it was bang between the Pitons—with my daughter and her husband. Everyone came, including Steven Spielberg and Nicholas Cage who came twice, with his new bride”. Bang was open every night—it was a fully working restaurant and bar.

Life on a new island suits Lord Glenconner. “My fondest memories are of Bupa, this little elephant who I bought from Dublin zoo in 1983 and transported to St. Lucia. She roamed freely all over the estate and was an attraction in herself: 10,000 St Lucians came to see her in the first month alone. She was loved by everyone,” beams Lord Glenconner.

Lord Glenconner is spearheading the development of Glenconner Beach, an exclusive development of seven luxury five- and six-bedroom villas located on the white sand beach situated in the most iconic location in the Carribean—the Val de Pitons of St. Lucia, on a property he owned previously. Located in the southwest part of the island, Glenconner Beach lies within the Pitons Management Area surrounded by the natural beauty of tropical rainforest and spectacular dive sites.

Three of the villas are frontline from the beach, while the other four are positioned on higher ground to ensure uninterrupted sea view. All seven villas have been designed for outdoor/indoor living, incorporating as much of the tropical rainforest that surround them, and making maximum use of natural resources found in St Lucia. Award-winning architect Lane Pettigrew, who has designed over 60 luxury homes and resorts all over the Caribbean designed the architecture and interior of the villas. In order to personalize their home, each purchaser at Glenconner Beach will be allocated an amount of Pettigrew’s time to help them create bespoke property through adapting the interior layouts for their own use. Pettigrew will be available for meetings wherever the client chooses, whether in St. Lucia or abroad.

Owners of Glenconner Beach have direct access to a quarter mile stretch of sans as well as a private jetty and eight mooring buopys in the bay below. The plots range in size from 13,340 sqft to 26,852 sqft.

“I have an active interest in Glenconner Beach. Glenconner Village was my idea and I expect to run an art gallery in the village with my daughter-in law. The development of part of the Jalousie Estate to include local St. Lucians has been a vision of mine since I bought the property.”

The Val de Pitons, where Glenconner Beach, and Tides, Sugar Beach are located is very secluded, accessed via private road or from the sea. “While privacy is important we do not want the area to be too exclusive; visitors are welcome, there will be little local shops along the jetty, and my home is 100 yards away. My doors are always open if visitors would like to call on me,” he says.

Lord Glenconner concedes that “Mustique was a very different enterprise”, having developed at a different time and under different circumstances. “While the whole island of Mustique is a resort, Glenconner Beach is intimate and diverse with a greater variety of experience.” But he admits to bringing some of the principles that guided his earlier development. “I have brought with me the vision of what people expect from their Caribbean homes. Space, a blend of inside and outdoor living, access to a pristine white sand beach and the crystal-clear sea, a jetty from which to board their yachts.”

It differs from Mustique because St. Lucia is an independent country with its own government, tourism body, and two international airports with daily flights to the US and UK. The island also has an excellent brand new marina, which has been extended to provide facilities for super yachts.”

At Glenconner Village this vision will create a forum for local people to sell their goods to tourists and visitors and to create a noteworthy destination in its own right for people holidaying on their yachts. “I’ve always maintained that everyone should have access to The Pitons, which are a UNESCO World Heritage site by establishing somewhere that is public. I would like the jetty at Glenconner Beach to be a place people want to get off at, to come ashore and look at the marketplace, eat at the restaurant or have a drink at the bar.”