Even on a stormy day, Lovango, a small semi-private island resort in the US Virgin Islands, is beautiful. I arrived on the last rainy day in a week of rainy days. The perfect tropical weather would come later, but the rain created colorful first impressions of deep green and vibrant flowers.
Listening to the rain in the jungle canopy, I spent the afternoon drinking coffee in a low chair on the porch of my private treehouse.
In fact, the log cabin was tucked into the hillside, looking down on the cerulean waves crashing onto the private beach and Congo Cay, a limited and undeveloped island bird sanctuary across the channel. I felt like I was the only person on the island.
Privacy was one of the big draws for the Snider family, owners and operators of Lovango. Part of Little Gem Resorts, the Snider portfolio includes Nantucket Hotel & Resort and Winnetu Oceanside Resort on Martha’s Vineyard. Here, they have created an increasingly rare passport-free Caribbean sanctuary, in contrast to the large cruise ships docked in St. Thomas and the crowded beaches of St. John.
Lovango is the first newly built hotel in the US Virgin Islands in more than 20 years and was designed to blend into the landscape, maximizing privacy while offering exquisite, eco-friendly accommodations at varying levels of luxury.
From gorgeous treehouses to private three-bedroom villas, the architecture blends brutalism with island whimsy. Cast concrete rainfall showers, both indoors and outdoors, provide a modern counterpoint to the soft wooden touches that allow the dwellings to disappear into the foliage.
The 20-room (and growing) resort debuted two new one-room villas this year, on 55 acres, roughly half the island.
There are two restaurants and a hilltop breakfast service, a bar, a private pool overlooking the beach club for guests only, a cluster of small boutique shops, two famous snorkeling spots, hiking trails for those who like to walk and transportation for those who don’t. There are scuba charters, day trips to the British Virgin Islands and free ferry service to and from St. Thomas and St. John, if you feel stuck.
Sniders have a commendable focus on sustainability that touches all parts of their operation. Everything from plumbing to sunscreen is designed to keep the islands’ ecosystem healthy and restore legacy damage to the reefs.
They have also entered into a unique long-term partnership with Reef Response, a working group from the University of the Virgin Islands focused on studying resilience within reefs and rebuilding with climate change-resistant corals that encourage biodiversity. The project director, Dr. Marilyn Brandt, said that if things go well, Lovango’s reefs will be on track to be self-sustaining in just a few years.
Building in an eco-friendly way on a secluded island is a Herculean effort, and Matt Snider has spent the better part of four years working to build the relaxed luxury destination it is today.
Sustainability is at the heart of the Virgin Islands, he explained. We have carefully re-allowed everything to be in harmony with the environment. Coral restoration is one part of this. It’s a no-brainer for us and the right way to do business. It even shows us that we can do better on Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket.
But the synergy between their Northeast and Caribbean properties is stronger than just eco-consciousness; many staff members work across Little Gems properties, providing familiar faces to repeat guests.
What comes out of the pot is a resort that by its very nature is not all five-star. That’s not the point. Treehouses and gorgeous tents offer low-key access to slow tourism, while cottages and new villas are more traditional high-end retreats. The result is a new kind of resort built for the 21st century (from $795).
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Image Source : nypost.com