Hotel of the Week: St. Lucia’s Famed Sugar Beach Adds a Spectacular New Art-filled Villa

The property encompasses 130 cottages scattered amongst the hillside tropical flora and along the sands, along with a handful of larger oceanfront villas for larger groups to rent. The latest in this collection, which begins welcoming guests this spring, is Spice of Life: a capacious nine-bedroom residence designed by Bermuda-based Botelho Wood Architects. Spanning 35,000 square feet and accommodating up to 18 guests, this private home is named after a book written by Sir Harold Mitchell—the grandfather of Sugar Beach’s owners—and offers the ultimate in luxury indoor-outdoor living overlooking the turquoise waters of the Caribbean Sea.

With the towering Pitons providing a dramatic backdrop on either side, the contemporary residence sits in stylistic contrast to the colonial white cottages up the hillside behind. The building is organized into two wings, with accommodations arranged on either side of a spacious main living area, with a comfortable lounge, a huge dining table, and a commercial-grade kitchen all opening to the stepped pool deck.

In-house chefs can take care of every meal, while outdoor cooking facilities for barbecues and pavilion dining areas can be activated for casual al fresco bites. The bedrooms, which are furnished with either Emperor King or twin beds to accommodate family groups, each have a slightly different layout. The majority face the ocean and have generous terraces accessed via floor-to-ceiling sliding doors. In the upper-floor primary suite, an office and an expansive closet join the sleeping and bathing quarters, all opening to a huge covered balcony with a sweeping vista.

Sugar Beach hosts an impressive collection of contemporary art, including several large-scale sculptures dotted around its grounds, and Spice of Life features its own museum-worthy collection. The pièce-de résistance? A James Turrell light sculpture that’s positioned pride of place in the central dining room—and even visible through the glass frontage and across the infinity pool to boats arriving into the bay. Throughout the other rooms are works by some of the most prominent names in contemporary art: Yayoi Kusama, Salvador Dali, Otani Workshop, Anish Kapoor, Damien Hirst, Daniel Arsham, Xavier Veilhan, Julian Opie, and Tom Sachs. Interior decor including custom-designed furniture is intentionally neutral, allowing the art to stand out.

Additionally, Spice of Life guests have access to a private gym and beach area, and individual concierge and culinary teams. However, the villa’s occupants can can also utilize the property’s eight restaurants, a well-equipped fitness center, and a newly opened Racquet Club that offers tennis, padel, and pickleball courts.

A variety of treatments offered at Sugar Beach’s treehouse-style Rainforest Spa can be recreated in the residence’s stone outdoor showers, and experiences like art classes and chocolate decorating at the new Cocoa Mill—an homage to the island’s heritage and the ruins of a historic mill on-site—can be arranged upon request through the private concierge.

Furthering this exceptional experience, every Spice of Life booking includes a private fireworks show from the dock below the residence, lighting up the majestic Pitons and ensuring that every vacation at this one-of-a-kind location is absolutely unforgettable.