Taken by helicopter, this photo reveals the layered composition of the resort. The stacked terraces ensure absolute privacy in each of the guest rooms, or ?sanctuaries.?
TEXT Andrew Hotari
PHOTO Joe McNally
While many resorts in the Caribbean are often half-empty, travellers seeking one-of-a kind experiences continue to fully occupy a remote volcanic mountain escape on a tropical island.
And for good reason: after all, who doesn?t like a good mystery" Saint Lucia is definitely a mysterious place. Quaint and colourful villages, small coves that hide sheltered beaches, temperamental weather, shocking tropical vistas and immense beauty abound at every twist and turn of the torturous mountain terrain.
Perhaps the success of Jade Mountain lies in the fact that it is equally as enigmatic as the landscape in which it resides. The resort came to be through many years of intense collaboration between hotel owner Nick Troubetzkoy, who trained as an architect in British Columbia (and for whom I work) and a Toronto design team, led by principal designer Peter Bull. Conceptually, the building is a tour de force: a seven-storey hotel where each room has an integrated infinity pool and no exterior wall. The pools cascade down the side of the mountainous site, facing the ocean. Each pool is startlingly different in colour, size and shape. This lack of duplication is a central theme: each of the 30 rooms also has a different geometry and sense of space. Adding to the aura of uniquen...