This New 5-Star Resort Is Putting a Little-Known Caribbean Isle on the Luxury Map
It’s Sint Eustatius officially, but Statia to locals—no matter what you call it, this lush Dutch Caribbean island has zero name recognition. After all, it’s not a celebrity hideaway or white-sand beach destination, and only a handful of cruise ships dock there a year. But what this tiny volcanic isle with a turbulent colonial past lacks in glamour and renown, it more than makes up for with top-rated diving and seriously sumptuous hiking. Oh yeah, it also, at long last, has its first luxury hotel.
Golden Rock Dive & Nature Resort is the passion project of Dutch entrepreneur Peter Barnhoorn, the former CEO of a fair-trade rose distributor. He quietly opened his vast eco-resort on the island’s Atlantic coast in late 2021, and has continued to add new amenities for outdoorsy travelers, from a PADI dive center to padel and pickleball courts. A movie theater is slated to open there later this year.
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Statia measures just 8.1 square miles, but has played an outsize role in history. The land was sighted by Christopher Columbus in 1493 and changed hands more than 20 times between European nations. By the 17th century, it was under Dutch rule, operating as a major hub and duty-free port in the trans-Atlantic trade in enslaved people. In 1776, Statia became the first foreign government to recognize American independence by returning the gun salute of the Andrew Doria brig. Around this period, the prosperous island was dubbed Golden Rock.
Accessible by a dirt road free of traffic lights, the resort of the same name is a gleaming, contemporary oasis. The property sits at the base of the Quill, a 2,000-foot dormant volcano, and fans out over 40 acres sloping down to the Atlantic coast. A hop-on shuttle ferries guests around the grounds, aflutter with hummingbirds and butterflies and gorgeously landscaped with tropical plants and trees. On a clear day, the outlines of St. Barths and St. Kitts are visible in the distance.
Guests choose between two on-site restaurants, considered by locals to be the island’s best. Breeze serves reliably tasty reef and beef, from a succulent whole lobster with herb butter to a ribeye steak. Bobbie’s Beach Club is known for its sushi, pizza and barbecue. Both have kid’s menus with five options for picky eaters.
Accommodation is sleek, spacious and unfussy in the modern Dutch tradition. Each of the 70 rooms, suites, villas and cottages has ocean and garden views, a furnished outdoor terrace or balcony and comfy king-size Swiss Sense beds and linens. However, you probably won’t be spending much time indoors with so many on-campus activities: a tennis and basketball court, a gym and mini golf course are among them. As for the beaches, most guests don’t bother going, since the Atlantic side has dangerous undertows while the black-sand Caribbean one named Oranje is not particularly inviting.
As there is no shopping or restaurant scene to speak of on the island, hiking, snorkeling and diving are its biggest draws. There are numerous trails winding through the national park, but a trek up to the rim of the Quill for spectacular panoramic views of the crater’s dense rainforest and the valley is a must-do. The path is of moderate-to-challenging difficulty, with fixed ropes for the steep and slippery parts at the top, and takes a few hours. Start early to beat the heat.
Golden Rock’s dive center is located at the bottom of the property and boasts its own man-made, ocean-fed lagoon, said to be the biggest in the Caribbean. A sunken school bus sits 30 feet under, simulating a wreck. Guests can take diving lessons or refresher classes in the well, then visit 36 designated dive sites in St. Eustatius’ pristine, protected National Marine Park.
Take the 327-foot-long Charles L. Brown (depth of 100 feet), a decommissioned cable-layer boat that was purpose-sunk in 2003. Not only can divers explore the interior of the ship, but the area is teeming with an amazing variety of marine life, from eagle rays and horse-eye jacks to Caribbean reef sharks. The Nursing Station (depth of 63 feet), meanwhile, has several 18th- and 19th-century anchors – a common artifact here – along with colorful lettuce sea slugs and nurse sharks.
The most precious underwater find is a blue bead, once used as currency to pay for enslaved people from Africa, tobacco, cotton and rum. Enslaved people who worked on the island’s plantations also purchased goods and services with them. According to the local tourism board, the beads are the only historical item allowed to leave the island.
Legend has it that you don’t find the blue bead; it finds you. And when it does, you’re destined to return to this laid-back island, again and again.
Golden Rock Dive & Nature Resort rooms from $475 per night, bed and breakfast
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