ROOM KEY
Secret Virgin
Crave a Caribbean getaway that isn’t a cliché? Try beautiful Scrub Island in the B.V.I., which has welcomed visitors just since 2010. By Rita Guarna
| SYD JEROME
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reaking away from the typical island vacation spots isn’t easy. Too often travelers seeking an escape from the winter blues don’t get past “B” in their mental rolodexes before settling on a destination: Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda. Happily, I made my way to “S”—for Scrub Island. Located 74 miles east of Puerto Rico, this private island is one of 60 isles that make up the British Virgin Islands in the Lesser Antilles chain. Formed by volcanic action, it comprises two bulges of land— 170-acre Big Scrub and 60-acre Little Scrub—connected by an isthmus, and it’s about a mile from better-known Tortola. Sure, I’d visited those three saints in the U.S. Virgins: St. Thomas, St. Croix and St. John, but I’d not made my way to the British islands, and Scrub seemed to offer a bit more cachet, if only because lots of people have never heard of it. Scrub Island’s earliest inhabitants are said to have arrived in boats from South America 5,000 years ago. Christopher Columbus found it, along with the other Lesser Antilles, during his second voyage. Legend has it that sailors decided it was the perfect spot to scrub barnacles off their ships’ hulls, hence the name. (The Virgin Islands themselves reputedly draw their name from a group of virgins—some accounts say 11,000—who traveled with Saint Ursula from Britain to Germany and were martyred for refusing to marry or otherwise bond with invading Huns.) The Brits took control in 1672, but it wasn’t until 2010—when Scrub Island Resort Spa & Marina opened its doors—that the isle found its place on the tourist map. A luxury, AAA Four Diamond hotel, the resort is tucked into a rugged cliff overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea and neighboring islands. It features 26 guest rooms and 26 suites, all with bamboo ceiling fans, teak furniture, private patios or balconies plus lush 300-thread-count Fili D’oro sheets with soft down bedding and L’Occitane products. There’s also a collection of two-, three-, four- and six-bedroom hillside villas, the intimate
Ixora Spa, world-class eateries including the popular Caravela Restaurant & Bar, three private beaches and a 55-slip marina. While the Scrub Island resort is a bit tricky to get to, it’s worth it; it’s a welcome dollop of summer renewal for Northerners fleeing winter’s arctic chill. Most people fly into Tortola and catch Scrub Island’s ferry shuttle from Beef Island Airport. An alternative is to fly into St. Thomas, from which you can book a private boat or take a ferry. If your idea of a vacation is minimal activity and endless repose, this is the place for you. All the better if you’d like to aid a recently battered local economy. Hurricane Irma had its way with Scrub Island in September 2017, and its 185-mph winds left a path of destruction. The resort had to withdraw the welcome mat; it partially opened this spring after a massive renovation. This September its comeback was complete. With relaxation in mind, we chose to embrace the resort’s extensive menus of spa and wellness programs. At Ixora, the services are seemingly endless: from facials and aromatherapy to deep-tissue massage to volcanic clay body wraps. There are prenatal massages and sensuous couples’ massages as well as group yoga and customized reinvigorating treatments. If none of these sound appealing, well, you probably need a massage more than you’re willing to admit! All that kneading and rolling can be draining, though—we decided to celebrate our blissful state with some serious beach relaxation. Here one can blithely soak up the sun at North Beach (one of three beaches on the isle) in a chaise longue set atop a platform surrounded by lush foliage and unobstructed views of the crystal clear Caribbean. (Accompanied by a special someone? Make arrangements for a romantic dinner on the beach.) Don’t be misled: There are plenty of options for travelers hoping to fight the seductive lure of rum-induced inertia. Once you’re fully relaxed,
consider checking out the resort’s marina at Pavilion Beach, where there are kayaks, paddle boards, snorkeling and a water trampoline for kids and the young at heart. It’s also the departure point for dive trips, snorkel tours and fishing excursions (proximity to the North Drop makes it ideal for catching tuna and blue marlin). Or visit the sailing school to brush up on nautical skills. (Two-hour lessons are available but should be booked in advance.) Popular too are guided charters that ferry guests to some of the more than 50 neighboring islands, including Norman, Virgin Gorda and Anegada. Of course, you can always just gawk at the bevy of beauties docked there. The marina has 55 deep-water slips, including five for mega-yachts up to 160 feet. For landlubbers, several natural trails lead to majestic mountain peaks with breathtaking views of the Caribbean and neighboring islands. All that exercise is sure to make you hungry. You’ll find casual fare at the One Shoe Beach Bar & Grill (after perhaps a drink in the pool from the swim-up bar at Tierra! Tierra!). And fine dining is the order of the day at the Caravela, with plenty of fish on the menu, including grouper, mahi-mahi and snapper. When you’re ready for a break from seafood, try the Jerk Chicken Breast with pineapple salsa. And if you’re a fruit lover, you’ll enjoy myriad offerings including mango, pineapple, guava, papaya, passion fruit, sugar apple and the tropical soursop. Then there’s that candelight dinner on the beach, which features spiny Caribbean lobster with a tenderloin of beef, herb-roasted potatoes and steamed broccoli. Of course, visiting an unspoiled island paradise that isn’t yet on everyone’s list may engender a certain protective attitude. Silently spinning that mental rolodex, you may wish to keep mum about Scrub Island when neighbors back home question you enviously about where you’ve been. “Away,” you may say with a mysterious smile.
Scrub Island Resort’s Ixora Spa, moved to The Passage House villa, will roll out a new menu of spa treatments. While there, guests can use one of the multiple treatment rooms, the private pool or a beachfront cabana. Other improvements to the resort include an upgraded Wi-Fi network, the expanded North Beach, a refinished infinity pool and its bar and a renovated 55-slip marina. Scrub Island Resort also provides a 24-hour fitness room and water sports at Pavilion Beach.
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