Bequia Beach Hotel

Bequia Beach Hotel is a luxury hotel located in Friendship Bay on the island of Bequia in St Vincent & the Grenadines. Family-owned and run by Swedish owner Bengt Mortstedt. it is the largest hotel in St Vincent & the Grenadines by number of rooms. 
Bequia is known as one of the Caribbean's best-kept secrets and does not have any chain hotels or restaurants a magnet for the Caribbean cognoscenti that wish to truly disconnect and enjoy an authentic Caribbean escape reminiscent of yesteryear.
== History ==
Built on the site of the former Friendship Sugar Estate sugar plantation, part of Bequia Beach Hotel sits on land granted to Alexander Hamilton's father James Hamilton, who lived on Bequia from 1774 until 1790. After the demise of the West Indian sugar industry, Friendship Bay was later replanted as a coconut plantation.
The hotel borders former British Prime minister Anthony Eden's cottage where he spent many winters with wife Clarissa Spencer-Churchill. Clarissa's uncle Winston Churchill would visit when sailing the Caribbean on Aristotle Onassis' yacht Christina in March 1962.
After first setting foot on Bequia New Year's Eve 1992, Mortstedt inspired by Herman Wouk's book Don't stop the carnival purchased two former bed & breakfasts; the Bequia Beach Club built by German football coach Bruno Fink in 1981 catering for German divers and the former Blue Tropic Hotel. Construction commenced in 2005 and opened the first rooms in 2009.
== Features ==
The boutique resort property features 58 guest rooms made up of Suites along the beach, rooms and private villas, two swimming pools, spa, gym & two restaurants. 
Facing south towards Mustique on the mile-long beach at Friendship Bay, the hotel's design & architecture is inspired by Oliver Messel's villas in Barbados & island neighbour Mustique, with interiors portraying an old world colonial elegance of a bygone era. Vintage travel luggage adorns the reception & library with many suites also decorated with individual vintage travel artwork.
Jack's Beach Bar located on Princess Margaret Beach was acquired and refurbished in 2016 serving cocktails, drinks & food on the beach, a shuttle service for hotel guests is available. The beach renamed in honour of Princess Margaret, visited Bequia during her six-week honeymoon in the Caribbean aboard the royal yacht Britannia.
In addition to snorkelling the reef in front of the hotel in Friendship Bay, Bequia has two scuba diving stores with 28 identified dive sites around Bequia. There are several wrecks and shallow caves accessible to advanced divers. It is not unusual to see Hawksbill turtles, lobsters, moray eels and many kinds of fish when diving around Bequia
The hotel offers guests the opportunity to visit neighbouring islands Mustique & Tobago Cays on day trips with the hotel's own yacht Star of the Sea.
== Travel ==
Bequia Beach Hotel in 2019 launched a guest-only luxury air shuttle service with the hotel's own aircraft Bequia Air, a Beechcraft King Air B200 from Barbados to Bequia during winter.
Bequia can be reached via air transport with daily connections from Bridgetown, Barbados serving J. F. Mitchell Airport. Local airlines such as SVG Air, Mustique Airways, Grenadine Airways serve Bequia. 
Regularly scheduled ferries run from the main island of Kingstown, Saint Vincent to Bequia's capital Port Elizabeth, connecting tourists arriving at the international airport Argyle International Airport. 
Yachts can anchor in Friendship Bay or Admiralty Bay on the leeward side, one of the Southern Caribbean's best known naturally shaped harbours.
== Awards ==
* 'Top 25 Hotels - Caribbean' #18, 2019 Travellers' Choice by Tripadvisor
== References ==
== External Links ==
*Bequia Beach Hotel official website
*Bequia Beach Hotel on Facebook
*Bequia Beach Hotel on Twitter
*Bequia Beach Hotel on Instagram 
*Bequia Beach Hotel on Youtube
*Bequia Beach Hotel on Tripadvisor
Category:Resorts in Saint Vincent & the Grenadines
Category:Luxury hotels
Category:Luxury hotels in Saint Vincent & the Grenadines
Category:Luxury hotels in Saint Vincent
Category:Largest hotel in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines