There is something about Mustique that entices me. Perhaps I should credit Vanity Fair and Hello Magazine for my unabashed awareness of the island’s popularity with the British Royal Family and rock star royalty like Mick Jagger. There is a quiet and unobtrusive glamour to this peaceful 2.2 square mile island in the Grenadines with its impressive blue waters and pristine beaches.
“Celebrites are not the rich people on Mustique,” my island chauffeur tells me, asking me not to take photos of the villas or visitors during my stay. I must admit, there is a discreet aura you immediately feel when on Mustique that is both intimidating yet reassuring.
Pink House, Mustique
The island is owned and operated by the shareholders and villa owners (from 17 countries) of the Mustique Company whose purpose is to maintain the tranquility and privacy of the island. The Company oversees most of the villa rentals and also owns the beautiful Cotton House, the only Caribbean-style luxury boutique hotel on the the island. Once an 18th century cotton warehouse and sugar mill, Cotton House lends itself as the unofficial island welcoming committee hosting a weekly cocktail party in its Great House for all the residents and visitors on Mustique.
Sunset at Cotton House
Everyone on the island knows Stan Clayton and his wife Elizabeth, the gracious owners of Firefly, a welcoming and charming 4-bedroom guesthouse and restaurant where celebrity guests have been known to give impromptu performances on the piano in the lobby bar.
The Pool at Firefly Mustique
Rumor has it Bill Gates, a frequent visitor, enjoys Firefly so much he would love to buy it, but you won’t hear that from the island chauffeur.
Of course no holiday on Mustique is complete without an afternoon on the beautiful Macaroni Beach or Pasture Bay and an evening or two at the world famous Basil’s Bar where Wednesday nights are legendary for music as people celebrate the good life. I know I did!
World famous Basil's Bar
Mustique in the Grenadines
Getting there:
There is direct service daily to Barbados and St. Lucia from the UK, US, Canada and South America on British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, American Airlines, Delta and LIAT. The Mustique Company will arrange flights from Barbados to Mustique (the runway purposely does not accommodate private jets, just the way the Mustique Company likes it.)
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The real truth is that me and my 53 lbs of luggage (filled with work stuff and shoes) were not exactly boarding a private jet or a mega-yacht like my friend, Tonya. Win Air’s 10-seat puddle jumper (12 minutes to be exact on 
Aside from the fact that my pilot looked like he had just graduated from high school, landing in St. Barts is an adventure in itself. Beautiful vistas of carved out beaches calm my nerves in prep for the frightful entry where I would close my eyes tight before landing. 
Over a mountain, drop and land. Yes, that is the ocean in my immediate sight.
Is it my imagination or is everybody here seriously good looking? The beach boys look like they’ve stepped off the pages of French Vogue. Relaxing on the beach, I’m having one of those moments where I say to myself…”My life does not suck right now”…Cue Mr. GQ Beach Boy…“Yes, I’d love some more Evian, si vou plait. Merci.” 
Parisian designer Christian Liaigre. Only 37 suites, its sleek, Caribbean cool appeal is sophisticated and stylish.
overlooking the bustling Gustavia, the main town named after King Gustaf III of Sweden where all the high end shopping is found (fortunately it was Sunday so I didn’t have to find out how many euros I couldn’t afford!)…
finishing up the actual work meetings that I promise did take place and putting the 
For a pretty penny, you can even buy an entire alpaca (or 3 for that matter as they do come in herds).
I’m mortified! Are those really my fuzzy flannel PJ’s hanging perfectly in the closet? Why didn’t I throw in some La Perla or some Cosabella! All my makeup brushes were perfectly lined up, too! 
Now on Sunday mornings I find myself saying the very phrase “Onyx (my cat) be teefin’ my bacon” or in other apt situations describing 
Airport Security
Example
Lesson: Establish your space in the first few minutes, and you’re guaranteed to have a peaceful flight, little conversation required.
Etiquette
Truth be told, the way I see it, you’re not exactly the guy I’m going to entrust making sure all passengers safely exit off the plane raft in 
Having taken the ferry on a choppy day from St. Martin (SXM) to Blowing Point, Anguilla, my first stop was to see the newly renovated Cap Juluca 
JB was starving by this point, so I convinced him that the “Pho” – a typical Vietnamese noodle soup looked good. Slurping his soup, I couldn’t help but laugh that I had obviously steered him wrong – “pho thing!” He was still hungry after dinner. 
te dinner on the beach with the sounds of steel drums– your typical evening in the Caribbean, right? Grilled Caribbean lobster, fabulous Caribbean menu by Chef Daniel (the new Chef at CuisinArt) and island tunes by Dumpa.
Oftentimes resorts put together press trips for magazine writers to come experience the resort and destination as a whole. We had the good fortune of having a pretty fun group together for several days, with no shortage of laughs. I’ve decided that in addition to my husband, my “desert island person” would definitely be Dave Lyon, the Director of Sales & Marketing at CuisinArt Resort & Spa. (You know… the one person you’d most like to hang out with on a desert island.)
Having gorged ourselves on delectable Caribbean cuisine into the wee hours of the Caribbean night, we had actual “work to do” and as always, I’m ready and willing to help out.
Here I am relaxing (ahem, working!) in the Aquatherapy Pool (the first of its kind in the Caribbean.) The photographer is Greg Johnston who also shot the photos for the Turks & Caicos Club (
Relaxation was the name of the game. We were both working on such a fast pace, we were forced to slow down, sleep alot, eat great seafood, walk the cobblestoned streets and just truly vacation.
One afternoon we drove the the southwestern most part of Portugal called “Sagres.” Truly stunning cliffs and ocean views–maybe a little too nice as someone fell off the cliff the week before (no joke.) We were too cheap to go into the fortress and pay the admission as the “free views” were plenty for us- with no shortage of yelling at each other to ”get back from the cliff! You’re too close!” Every time we look at that little point on a map, we think, cool, we’ve been there (we didn’t fall off.)
JB was en route to Fargo, ND, in the cold of winter (ahem, who has the better travel schedule??!) when I booked our trip to Portugal. “Hon, it’s booked. 10 days Ireland & Portugal.” Panic set in on his part , but my feeling has always been that we’re always going to be busy, so you really just have to make the time. “He will eventually come around,” I thought. The word “non-refundable” ensured me that we were going to have a really great time. A few short weeks later, we were off to Ireland! 
