“You really have to want to come to Dominica,” says Dominque Marchand, who with her husband, Daniel Langlois, has just opened the Caribbean island’s third luxury hotel, Coulibri Ridge. And she’s absolutely right.
Coming from Los Angeles, I took a 1:13 a.m. flight to Miami where after a one-hour layover, I flew to the island’s Douglas-Charles Airport and arrived at 2:24 p.m. After that, motion sickness was nearly guaranteed on the two-hour drive through the island’s windy road before arriving at the resort.
Of course, it’s a bit easier from the East Coast, as Dominica receives daily flights from Miami as well as limited flights from San Juan, Puerto Rico. But the island’s unique topography — its nine volcanoes across the island’s 250 square miles (647.49 square kilometres) allow for few stretches of flat land that could accommodate runways — can mean that, on windy days, even private planes will get stuck or delayed elsewhere.
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However, its challenge in accessibility is precisely why the island has been kept free of overdevelopment. (And perhaps why, when you tell most people you’re going to Dominica, they assume you mean you’re headed to the Dominican Republic.)
Indeed, in an effort to distinguish itself, Dominica — pronounced “daa-muh-nee-kuh” and named by Christopher Columbus after arriving to colonize it on a Sunday — rebranded a few years ago to “The Nature Island.” Personally, when I hear “nature,” my first thought is “bugs.” But that’s not the case at all at Coulibri Ridge.
Set on the island’s southern tip, just above where the Caribbean crashes into the Atlantic, the boutique resort receives consistent natural breezes and cooler evening temperatures that shoo away mosquitos and flies. Spiders? A rare occurrence.
This luxury resort in Dominica has stunning ocean views!
If you’re lucky, you might see a boa constructor cross the road while you’re driving out of the resort, but snakes — and other threatening creatures — are hardly an issue. Instead, nature in Dominica is defined by the landscape, which in addition to its abundance of volcanoes, boasts 365 rivers, 12 waterfalls, lush hilltops, and nutrient-rich volcanic soil that grows “just about anything,” as more than one local told me.
Upon entering Coulibri Ridge, a bumpy road leads through rugged, lush greenery before ending at the arrival centre, the lowest part of the resort’s development. Even here, sweeping views of narrow peak mountains, verdant valleys, and azure water in the distance are enough to quickly quell any jet lag or car-induced nausea.
Although it’s spread over 285 acres, Coulibri Ridge has just 14 rooms. A series of seven near-identical, side-by-side structures each host a lower-level 930-square-foot studio room, with a 1,550-square-foot duplex suite above it. Duplexes feature both stunning mountain and valley views — spotting deer and wildlife in the distance can make it feel like you’re at an island safari lodge — and sweeping ocean views.
Private sun decks with plunge pools welcome guests at the rooms’ entrances. A lower level includes a double-height living room, powder room, kitchenette, and dining area that leads to a second covered patio facing the ocean, which is perfect for watching the sunset. Upstairs, bedrooms open to the closet and dressing area, and a second full bathroom. Air-conditioning units upstairs keep the rooms cool, while downstairs, screened windows and patio doors allow for naturally cooling cross breezes.
Coulibri Ridge is the 24th property to join Beyond Green — a portfolio of sustainable independent hotels around the globe. If you weren’t aware that you were headed to an eco-minded property, the missing thermostat downstairs might be your first clue. (There are still the aforementioned air-conditioning units, though.)
There are other hints alluding to the property’s efforts to be sustainable: the compost container in the kitchen cabinet, the compostable coffee pods, the lack of single-use plastics, and Earth-minded product choices in cleaning supplies and even spa treatment ingredients.
But Coulibri Ridge’s strongest commitment to the environment perhaps comes from what most guests don’t see. Touring me through the property one morning, Langlois leads me behind one of the resort’s restaurants and opens a door to a long hallway. On the left are a series of batteries that store surplus renewable energy produced by solar panels and wind turbines. On the right are batteries and solar inverters. At the end of a hallway, a single computer monitors power generation, storage, and distribution.
“The idea for this project came to me in 2003,” Langlois says. “We had wanted to do an experiment where we could source all of our water and power to live completely off the grid. Dominica’s topography — abundant sunshine as well as evening rainfall — made it ideal, and while we hadn’t always imagined it would take shape as a resort, in the end, it made the most sense.”
The project technically first broke ground in 2001, with Langlois and Marchand using local workers. However, after only a single building had been constructed in five years, they realized they’d need to bring in additional labour. The resort was all but ready to open by September 2017 when a massive hurricane hit the island, wiping out many of the surrounding towns and leaving them without water or power for nearly a year and a half.
“Even though our resort wasn’t badly affected, we couldn’t reopen until we had helped resuscitate the town,” he adds. To that end, the couple rebuilt the nearby elementary school with hurricane-resistant materials, renewable energy backup systems, and a fully equipped community kitchen. They also constructed a jetty in the nearby village of Scotts Head to aid emergency evacuation efforts in the case of hurricanes and other natural disasters, while also supporting the day-to-day activities of local fishermen and tourism providers.
After years of making sure the town was back to normal and ready for visitors, Coulibri Ridge welcomed its first guests in December 2022. “We had a bunch of young people in their 20s, thinking that they had found the next ‘hot spot’ for New Year’s Eve,” Langlois says. “I don’t think they were necessarily disappointed, but this definitely isn’t what they were expecting.”
While Dominica might not be the Caribbean’s new hot spot, it should be on every nature lover’s list. Instead of miles of sandy shores, Dominica’s jagged coast affords crystal-clear waters for snorkelling, scuba diving, and lionfish spear hunting. This Caribbean Island’s interior landscape has made it a trekker’s dream, with the 114-mile (183.46 km) Waitukubuli National Trail running the length of the island. For a taste of culture, head into the village of Roseau for souvenirs like intricately woven local grass baskets and island T-shirts sold by a local graphic designer. You’ll find no shortage of beach shack restaurants serving up freshly caught fish.
The Mesa restaurant serves it all
That said, it’s hard to compare to the food back at Coulibri Ridge. Chef Damian Mason, a Dominica native, spent 20 years working at resorts in Barbados before returning home to spearhead the resort’s culinary program. The resort’s breakfast and lunch restaurant, Mesa, serves anything from vegetable omelettes and an array of freshly squeezed juices to gazpacho, fresh fish burgers, and quinoa salad. The dinner restaurant, Vista, opens to an expansive outdoor lounge and serves a rotating nightly menu of specials that could be anything from coconut curry lobster in a banana leaf to lentil dal with pickled onions and garlic naan.
There’s also a gym, daily morning yoga classes taught in an outdoor pavilion, two infinity-edge pools (which use copper ionisation instead of chlorine), a decadent spa treatment room with ocean views and a private outdoor tub, and one of the most tranquil settings in the Caribbean. Suffice it to say, once you do finally arrive at Coulibri Ridge, it might be hard to leave.
Nightly stays start at USD 650. To book a stay or learn more, visit coulibriridge.com.
(Hero and feature image credit: Coulibri Ridge)
This story first appeared on travelandleisure.com
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