 Most Caribbean aficionados know the
tale of the Honorable Colin Tennant, or Lord Glenconner, the Scottish nobleman
who in 1958 purchased the 4.5-square-mile island of Mustique and transformed it
into his private playground. Tennant moved permanently to the island, located
south of St. Vincent in the Grenadines, and began selling lots to
royalty, rock stars, and other family friends. For a time, life on Mustique was,
as Tennant’s wife, Lady Anne, once said, "like one big house party," but her
husband soon exhausted his fortune on infrastructure and fun.
Though Tennant sold Mustique in 1965, his aristocratic legacy
remains. The island today is home to just 100 private residences and a single
resort, Cotton House. The resort—where the lord and lady would come with
Princess Margaret to have a daiquiri or two—occupies the site of an 18th-century
cotton plantation on a rolling green hillside above L’Ansecoy Bay. The expanse
of lawn leads to a private beach with a water-sports dock, a café, and Cotton
House’s plantation-style spa.
 Photograph by R.P. Washburne.
Guests can explore Mustique’s many other pristine beaches by
mule, a vehicle that is similar to, but more powerful than, a golf cart.
Evenings back at the resort often begin with cocktails in the Great Room, a
restored space where plantation workers once hung cotton to dry. But no trip to
Mustique is complete without at least one visit to Basil’s Bar, the watering
hole where, for the island’s modern-day nobility, life is still one big party. SETTTING: On 13 acres above L’Ansecoy Bay, on the private island of
Mustique in the Grenadines.  SLEEPING: The 17 guest rooms, cottages, and suites include the newly
built, two-bedroom Cotton Hill Residence.
DINING: Italian cuisine and Caribbean seafood specialties at the Veranda
Restaurant. The resort also offers casual fare at its beachside café and
traditional afternoon tea in the Great Room. DIVERSIONS: Treatments in the beachfront spa, horseback riding, deep-sea
fishing, and scuba diving. Or grab your snorkel gear, charter a private
sailboat, and swim with sea turtles in the Tobago Cays. RATES: $700–$4,560
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