But best of all is the hotel's on-site batik studio, where St. Lucian artist David Simmonds designs and sells radiant sarongs, cushions, and wall panels. If it weren't for the palm trees and the view of sea and mountains, you might mistake La Haut for something out of the Old South. There are, after all, goats on the grounds and guinea fowl in the coop. Strung along the top floor of a converted factory, each room comes with a private balcony, plank floors, antiqued rattan furniture, and lace-hung French doors. For 30 years, Mago was the vacation home of Peter Gloger, a German architect of impeccable taste.
Mosquito netting ensures peaceful nights, but watch out for butterflies during the day.
After checking in near a maypole hung with streamers, check out the Whistling Frog Sports Pub, which packs in three happy hours a day and a young crowd that looks as if it's from MTV's Real World. The rough road leading to Exotica resembles the scene of an explosion, but not to worry. While the tin-roof cottages have solar water heaters, they make a wrong turn with prefab condo furnishings. Former guests tend to get religious when describing Papillote. At the restaurant, you can order grilled flying fish with taro puffs for lunch, then hike up to Dominica's Trafalgar Falls.