Hot plots of St Lucia: The Caribbean island is bubbling with chic luxury homes
By Henry Sands

For years, St Lucia seemed happy to be the poorer cousin of glitzy Barbados. Even though it was only a 30-minute flight away, it had few luxury developments or tourists.

That’s all changed. The island is now home to some of the best hotels and homes in the world and has ambitious plans for more.

Many of these new developments are focused on the north of the island, on the beaches and hills surrounding Rodney Bay, the island’s glittering yacht marina.

The elegantly styled Cap Maison resort has just sold the last of its 49 cliff-top villas, while at nearby Raffles resort many of the homes around a new Jack Nicklaus-designed golf course have been snapped up.

The Landings, set on a 19-acre estate on one of the island’s best beaches, has 62 suites in spacious three-storey pavilions.

The interiors would not look out of place in Manhattan – only here you get a whirlpool spa on your balcony and a view of the Caribbean.

While most of the owners enjoy their villas as a holiday home, some live there full-time. And who can blame them?

‘It’s a perfect scenario,’ one couple told me. ‘We’re planning to spend six months a year here. When we’re away, we don’t have to worry about security, maintenance or the efforts involved in renting it out. The only problem is that all our friends keep asking to use it.’

Though the suites are sold with a freehold ownership, the resort is run by the prestigious U.S. hotel group RockResorts, who manage the rental pool.

Prices start from £320,000, with a 6 per cent guaranteed rental income and property prices expected to rise (it is 50 per cent cheaper than Barbados).

The maths added up for former Countdown host, Carol Vorderman, who was one of the first to buy.

Its secluded location, gym and luxury spa, not to mention water sports and private marina, made it a suitable headquarters for the England cricket team during their winter tour of West Indies.

Castries, only a short drive away, is where you’ll find supermarkets and the bustling fruit, vegetable and fish markets that are such a feature of Caribbean life.

A quarter of the island is covered in rainforest and its lush countryside is mountainous, especially in the south-west, where you’ll find the drive-in sulphur springs and the Pitons, the two iconic peaks.

Apart from the town of Soufriere, development is limited in the south, owing to strict planning laws and the dense rainforest.

The Jalousie Plantation, tucked between the Pitons, is undergoing a £64 million transformation to build 85 colonial style villas. Nearby are some of the island’s best restaurants and the Caribbean’s most luxurious hotel, the futuristic Jade Mountain.

Set on top of a hill, looking out over the Pitons and Soufriere, Jade Mountain has one of the best views in the Caribbean.

Each of the 24 individually styled ’sanctuaries’ has an infinity pool and the hotel has been voted one of the most romantic in the world.

It’s testament to the increasing sophistication of the island that the menu at its rooftop restaurant rivals any top London eaterie.

Each morning I collect my ingredients from the sea and the rainforest, and spend the rest of the day preparing them,’ says chef Jonathan Dearden. ‘The only thing I import is Angus beef. St Lucia is fantastic for so many things, but cows aren’t one of them.’

The island’s hotels have 300,000 tourists coming through their doors each year, but Allen Chastanet, the new tourism minister, wants to see that figure double within three years.

For property buyers, there is minimal tax on capital gains and none on rental income for the first ten years.

With its friendly community, natural beauty and reliable infrastructure, property in St Lucia could well prove to be one of the better investments of 2009.

The Landings (0800 7318137, landings.rockresorts.com). Jalousie Plantation (020 8812 4773, sugarbeachvillas.com)