Petit Calivigny, Grenada

Photo: 473 Grenada Boutique Resort

Your travel requirements changed quickly over the last few months. Gone are the days when you booked the biggest resorts, the hottest tables, and the most popular activities. But you still need to get away. So you’re now looking for quick flights, remote locations, and lots of solitude.

The Caribbean is an easy first trip. There are many islands from which to choose. Nonstop flights are available to a handful of them. While accommodations range from those mega-resorts you’re trying to avoid to renting private homes. Neither is really your style. There’s a whole spectrum of places in between, though.

Your perfect-right-now spot might be on Grenada. The Spice Island is overlooked by a lot of travelers. Those who go off the Caribbean’s well-beaten path find small resorts around the little capital, St. George’s, and the island’s most famous beach, Grand Anse. Few visitors venture beyond the southwest coast.

Photo: 473 Grenada Boutique Resort

That makes Petit Calivigny feel wonderfully isolated. The rocky peninsula, along the southern shore of Grenada, is less than a half-hour from the airport. But it’s a residential area instead of a commercial strip. Palm trees, a jungly undergrowth, and tropical gardens cover much of Petit Calivigny. Its beaches are small, sandy, and usually deserted. Plus its only resort can barely be called a resort.

473 Grenada Boutique Resort has eight freestanding villas. Just eight. So overcrowding is never a problem. The little resort, named after Grenada’s area code, was built by an English couple. They live on-site with their three children and are always available, before and during your stay, to answer questions and help with logistics. The creamed-colored villas have shingled roofs and one, two, or three bedrooms. Slate floors, well-equipped kitchens, walk-in showers, bold Grenadian art, and high-speed WiFi are inside. Furnished terraces are outside. Your ocean view one-bedroom loft villa could quickly become your private oasis or remote office.

It’s up to you how much you want to socialize at the resort. Your villa can be stocked, in advance, with groceries for real seclusion. There isn’t a true restaurant, but the chef will prepare lunch or dinner in your villa or around the pool. He also creates family-style meals, complete with canapés and sangria, at the Grill @ 473 on Sundays. The pool, which has a view of the Caribbean Sea, is shared by all the guests. While kayaks, paddleboards, and snorkels can be used on the two little beaches that flank the resort. Suddenly, isolation looks very appealing.

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