After three nights in tropical mountain paradise, we were certainly sad to leave Montpelier. The happy news, though? Our honeymoon wasn’t over! After a short trip down the mountain and around the island, we arrived at Nisbet Plantation Beach Club.
John likes to do research, and Nisbet immediately popped up when we started to look at Nevis. And for good reason — it’s the Caribbean’s only historic plantation inn located directly on the beach, and the only hotel on Nevis directly on the beach. Nisbet has been awarded the AAA Four Diamond Award every year since 2007, and in 2012 they were named Conde Nast Traveler’s #1 Resort in the Caribbean. Their Trip Advisor reviews are also impressive, to say the least.
Nisbet bills itself as “not ultra fancy and opulent, just private, romantic, and personal.” John and I definitely found that to be an accurate description. All of Nisbet’s buildings are a buttery yellow color, giving the whole resort a warm and friendly feeling right from the start. We checked in at reception and picked up our complimentary drink (alarming in color but yummy – tasted like pineapple!), then were shown to our cottage.
The decor was comfortable and clean, and definitely had a Caribbean feel to it. We really liked the attached sunroom and patio just outside our front door, and used both every day.
36 cottages are sprinkled across Nisbet’s 30 acres, and though there wasn’t as much vegetation to break them up as at Montpelier, they still felt very private. Bonus: less vegetation meant better people watching!
We alternated between using the air conditioning and leaving the plantation shutters wide open — with Nevis’ constant breeze, both were great options! This was the view from our patio — as you can see, we were steps from the beach.
John and I really liked the flexibility of being so close to the beach — if we wanted, we could make four 30-minute trips in one day and not be inconvenienced in the least. We enjoyed exploring the coastline, and took full advantage of the resort’s snorkeling equipment and beachside hammocks.
I wouldn’t say Nisbet was a snorkeler’s paradise, since there weren’t any terribly impressive reefs, but we enjoyed paddling around :)
We did manage to tear ourselves away from the beach long enough to enjoy the other amenities Nisbet had to offer, including croquet (fun!), tennis, and the hot tub. Technically the hot tub was at the beach, too, since it was right at the water’s edge :) We saw the most perfect sunset from our hot tub perch one evening after everyone else had turned in to get ready for dinner!
Speaking of dinner… we greatly enjoyed all of our meals at Nisbet! We started each day with a stunning view and yummy food at Coconuts, which is right on the beach and next to the pool. There was fresh fruit, cereal, pastries, yogurt and more to choose from in addition to cooked-to-order items off the menu. I chose banana pancakes three out of four days :)
We opted to skip lunch most days in favor of afternoon tea, which was served on the terrace of the Great House from 4-5 each day. Tea consisted of individual pots of tea (we tried the highlighted special each day — lemongrass, basil, and honey and lemon) as well as scones, sandwiches, cookies, and cake. YUM! I was so sad to leave tea behind when we headed home. We also made a little cat friend at tea: Henry, Nisbet’s official greeter!
We ate dinner in the Great House three out of four nights. Each dinner was three courses, and there were generally three choices for your starter, four choices for your entree, and four choices for dessert. Each meal included an amuse bouche, as well. John had the “Taste of Nevis” option each night (including things like curry, snapper, and jerk chicken), and loved each one. The food was unpretentious, but delicious.
On the Thursday night of our stay, we joined our fellow guests as well as many visitors from other resorts for Nisbet’s weekly Caribbean Beach BBQ. The evening began with a cocktail party, then continued with a surf-and-turf style meal cooked to order, and concluded with dancing to a local band on the beach under the stars! In my mind, this was about as “traditional Caribbean” as Nevis got, and it was just the right amount for us!
Probably the thing that stuck out the most to us about Nisbet, though, was the staff. By our first breakfast (less than 24 hours after we had arrived), everyone from the hosts to the waiters to the owners seemed to know our names, and always greeted us with a warm smile. We saw many guests launch into long conversations with the staff, but there was no pressure to engage if you were looking for a quiet meal. This, I think, is the reason most guests return to Nisbet year after year — guests are truly treated as family. We actually rode to the water taxi on our last day with a couple that had been coming to Nisbet — not just Nevis, Nisbet — for 15 years, and aside from the gorgeous surroundings, they said that warmth was the reason.
If you’re looking for a friendly but private honeymoon with all the perks of a Caribbean beach vacation and none of the drawbacks, I can’t recommend Nisbet Plantation highly enough. Be sure to check out more info on their website, and feel free to ask any questions in the comments!
Tell me: What was your number one criteria for your honeymoon? Location? History? Activities? Food? I’d love to hear!
Where can I get the monagram keepsake?
Hi Maria! I’m not sure what keepsake you’re referring to, as I don’t see one in this post. If you can be more specific, I’m happy to help!
The best biscuit I’ve ever had was honestly made by my dad. He learned how to make his own to avoid the sodium of canned. Now he never uses a recipie but always manages to make a fluffy, flakey on the outside, soft on the inside mound of awesome. Last christmas we had leftover eggnog so the day after he used that instead of milk. It transformed his already yummy biscuit into a holiday tradition we’re going to repeat every year! And he was so proud of himself.
The polka dot bowtie would be adorable on my dad and make a great addition to his father’s day present. I dressed him up in bowties for my wedding and now he loves them!
The best biscuit I’ve ever tasted actually came from Poppey’s Chicken! My fiance loves their chicken and convinced me to try their buscuits! One bite and I was hooked! Now I need to the recipe! I would love to win the Nantucket Seersucker Stripe bow tie!
The best biscuit I have ever had was homemade by my boyfriends mother – I spread it with pepper jelly and it was absolutely amazing. I would love to win the Red and White Mini Dot bow tie.
I would love to win the polka dot tie, but both are precious!
Elizabeth @ HobbyLobbyist: Oops, forgot to mention the best biscuit I ever had. It was outside of Houston at an amazing brunch place called Baby Barnaby’s. They have the most amazing honey biscuits ever!
The best biscuit I’ve ever had was my Granddaddy’s “drop biscuits” which he always smothered in gravy. You basically make a simple biscuit dough and then rather than measuring or cutting the dough precisely, you scoop it out of a spoon and “drop” it onto the baking dish.
Rob loves his bow ties and loves his seersucker, so I’d love to win the Nantucket Seersucker Stripe bow tie!
Love the sneak peeks! I love the red striped tie! Perfect for my date for a late summer wedding we are going to!
My all time favorite biscuit is my grandma’s biscuits! With some butter and strawberry jam we make every year- it’s the bee’s knees! Yum!
My grandmother’s Cream Cheese Biscuits. She says the trick is to fold them 18 times, to them get nice and flaky, but I know there’s more to it, because her’s always come out better than mine!
The Nantucket Seersucker, please!
Best biscuit I have ever had was a maple bacon sweet potato biscuit. Savory and sweet at the same time! Nothing better than a unique southern style biscuit!! As far as the bow tie, I love the red and white mini dot bow tie. My fiance is loves bow ties and this would be a great one for him and our style!
The best biscuit that I have tasted BY FAR would have to be my Nannies (great grandmother) family recipe. It was so good it didn’t need a topping, but she canned jams as well and her peach jam was To. Die. For. That Nantucket seersucker bow tie is almost as amazing as my Nannie’s biscuits!! ;)
The best biscuit I’ve ever had was at The Roanoker in Roanoke, VA–SO amazingly fluffy and light–maybe even better than your grandma’s?!
I would love, love to win the red-white polka dotted tie. :)
I have to say the best biscuit I’ve ever tasted is my mother’s gravy biscuit breakfast! I LOOOOVE it! And no where I’ve been can compare. And my husband loves it too and would LOVE to win the the mini dot bow tie! Especially for all our NCSU pride ;)
The best biscuit I’ve ever tasted was at Monell’s in Nashville, Tennessee. It was warm, falling apart with butteriness, and smothered in delicious peach preserves!
Best Biscuit ever was from Loveless Cafe in Nashville, TN. So yummy!
I would love the Red & White Mini-Dot bow tie!
Hands down, the best biscuit I’ve ever had was made by my sweet Grandma Jane. She made them every Easter, and they were always the most anticipated treat of the day! Warm and buttery, and slathered with honey :) And as far as the bow ties go, the seersucker striped oen is just the most darling thing I’ve ever seen! Beautiful shoots this week, take care!
This Yankee and her Texan are headed to Savannah and Charleston this summer, and I can’t wait to taste a whole pile of biscuits; John decked out in that red polka dot tie would be the perfect cherry on top!
The best biscuit i’ve ever had was my Momma’s. Just amazing. I’d love that polka dot tie.
The best biscuit I’ve ever tasted was at Shoney’s somewhere in Tennessee. It was the first biscuit I ever had. I am from Germany and I didn’t know what it was but after the first bite I realized that I loved it! I’d love to win the Nantucket Seersucker Stripe bow tie.
The best biscuit I have ever tasted are the ones I make. I use lard for the fat – they come out so fluffy but with a really good flavor! But I never tell people until after they’ve tasted, because they are usually grossed out. My fiance is a UGA grad and would love to have either – but I think I like the dots better for him!
Hands down…the best biscut is in Atlanta, at the Flying Biscut Cafe!! Their tangy cranberry butter is a superb compliment to a slightly sweet biscut!
By far, the best biscuit I have ever had was from Loveless Cafe in Nashville. I ate at least 6 or 7 in one sitting! I would love to win the Nantucket Seersucker Stripe Bow Tie.