Hotel of the week: The Jalousie Plantation, St Lucia, West Indies

St Lucia is a spectacularly beautiful island and the Jalousie Plantation dominates its prime location. Constructed in 192 acres of rainforest, the hotel cascades down the mountainside between the Pitons, the lava spikes for which the island is famous. Its owner, Colin Tennant, aka Lord Glenconner, bought Jalousie in the days when you could reach this part of the island only by canoe. He now lives next door and sometimes pops in for breakfast. The resort has the usual five-star facilities – a spa, gym, watersports, kids' club etc – but at heart it is a quiet place for the well-heeled to relax.

The bedroom

Accommodation is mostly in bungalows decorated outside in clapboard and inside in pastels, each with a garden and some with a plunge pool. The generous-sized rooms are charmingly simple, with high ceilings, king-size beds and good bathrooms. Phase by phase, as part of a $50m refurb, the bungalows are being stripped out and turned into gleaming cul-de-sacs, with wet rooms, decking and sunken pools.

The food and drink

There are four restaurants, offering barbecues, American snacks, themed nights, and fine dining.

The access

The resort is built on a steep mountainside, so Jalousie is not suitable for people with limited mobility. Children are welcome.

The damage

Kuoni Travel (01306 747008; kuoni.co.uk) offers seven nights' all-inclusive accommodation in a cottage from £1,616 per person, based on two sharing, including return flights with British Airways.

The address

The Jalousie Plantation, Val des Pitons, Forbidden Beach, La Baie de Silence, PO Box 251, Soufrière, St Lucia, West Indies (0845 217 7846; thejalousie plantation.com).

Elizabeth Heathcote