What were Caribbean hotels like before trade winds were replaced by blasts of air conditioning, when morning exercise was a walk on the beach and not hot water aerobics, and when you sat watching the sunset instead of cable TV? You can still find out at Anse Chastanet Resort on St. Lucia's unspoiled southwestern Caribbean Coast.

Ever since architect Nick Troubetzkoy first purchased the first 14 hillside units, and throughout the expansion and renovation that followed, design in harmony with nature, complementing the island’s natural beauty, has remained his focal point. The 600-acre site is a lush garden of tropical foliage bordering one of the island’s best beaches, where soft silver sands dip into the clear turquoise waters of the Caribbean. A second beach, Anse Mamin, belonging to the estate is just around the corner and can be reached by the Resort’s water taxi. St Lucia’s trademark green peaks - the Gros and Petit Pitons - make for a dramatic backdrop. No two rooms at Anse Chastanet are exactly alike. Twelve beach level units are tucked away behind the coconut palms, just steps from the water’s edge and the resort’s renowned SSI Platinum Pro/PADI dive facility. Perched on the hill are Anse Chastanet’s original rooms; cheery white-washed cottages with wrap-around wooden balconies. These octagonal-shaped “gazebos” offer splendid views of the Pitons and the sea, framed by an abundance of flourishing blossoms. Chairs and beds are covered in madras prints - a traditional island fabric of bright plaid woven with the same colours as the ginger lilies, anthuriums and bougainvillea found in every room.

Further up the hill are Anse Chastanet’s deluxe suites, where Nick Troubetzkoy’s architectural imagination can best be appreciated. Roomy is hardly the word to describe them. Immense is more accurate. And the sense of space is even further enhanced by the fact that as little as possible is between guests and their natural surroundings, with entire walls open to the vistas. Indeed, it’s even hard to say where the inside stops and the outside begins: a flamboyant tree drops its red-blossomed branches gently over the balcony in one room, the veranda of another was actually built around a red gommier tree. And the famous showers-with-a-view in the premium suites are a unique luxury of Anse Chastanet.