Tripadvisor has named Palm Island Resort in the Grenadines as one of the top luxury lodgings in the Caribbean for 2023.
Palm Island Resort, a privately owned luxury hotel in the Southern Grenadines, was ranked number 20 on Tripadvisor’s list of “2023 Travelers’ Choice Best of the Best Luxury Hotels with above-and-beyond service and amenities for days.”
“We award Travelers’ Choice Best of the Best to hotels with a high volume of above-and-beyond reviews and opinions from our community over a 12-month period,” said Tripadvisor on its website.
“Tripadvisor is the “world’s largest travel platform*,” assisting 463 million passengers each month in making every journey their best trip.
Palm Island was originally known as Prune Island. It was leased in 1966 for 99 years by Americans John and Mary Caldwell from the St. Vincent and the Grenadines government for US $1 per year.
The caveat was that they built a hotel to provide employment for local people. At that time, the island was uninhabitable, with a swampy, low-lying interior but stunningly unspoiled white sand beaches on the shoreline.
The Caldwells planted coconut palms to reclaim the land, a practice Johnny had learned from previous projects, giving him the nickname “Johnny Coconuts”. And so Palm Island evolved, and by leasing a few select building plots for private homes, funds were raised to construct a ten-bedroom hotel, The Palm Island Beach Club, which they ran for the next thirty years.
In 1999, the hotel was purchased by the current owners, James Lane, an Englishman, and Rob Barrett, an American.
Extensive renovations followed to create 41 luxurious rooms and suites, a sumptuous spa, and beautiful facilities for hotel guests.
Two of the private residences were also purchased to create spectacular villas for small groups of friends or family. while a plant nursery was crafted to cultivate fresh produce and herbs for the restaurants.
