I've been meaning to submit my review of this magical place for several months.

My husband and I stayed at Montpelier in late July of last year after business took us briefly to Puerto Rico (first time to the Caribbean for both of us). Not only was carefree Nevis the perfect antidote to crazy Puerto Rico, but Montpelier provided us with with the most amazing and relaxed vacation ever (my husband still talks about it as if we just got back, and it's been several months and we only spent a criminally short five nights).

The grounds, the bungalows, the pool and main house are just beautiful (exactly like the photos on their website, but they really don't do the place justice because it's just that lovely).

The food is remarkable too--from the the sumptuous breakfasts each morning (we still pine for corn fritters on Friday mornings) to the spectacular dinners provided by the chef hailing from a world away here in the Pacific Northwest. We ate in the sugar mill on our last evening, and it was certainly everything that all that other posters have said and more.

All of the staff were an absolute delight. Everyone knows your name quickly, and you're made to feel as if you're a friend staying the weekend at a lovely country house. Janelle was a wealth of information and helped us with our car as well as a day trip over to St. Kitts. Edison was always on hand to suggest just the right drink (and introduced to the rum we ended each evening with and wish we could find up here in the States) plus we had some great conversations about Nevisian history and politics. We loved Kaddy's smile, his laugh and especially the concoctions he made for us by the pool and at tea. All of the junior staff were just amazing too considering their young ages (I was never as gracious at 19 and 20 as they all were). The housekeeping and grounds crew were wonderful too--everything was always spotless and you never felt intruded upon at all. I know my husband always enjoyed talking with Tim, and I especially loved bragging about my golf game to Tim and his father-in-law over beers at the Cat Ghaut golf course (they were the only other folks playing that day at this crazy little course that's the anti-Four Seasons created by a great American retiree).

Of course, Calypso and Rudder were great replacements for our dog back home. Once they discovered that we were dog people, they were never far away (at the pool, at croquet, on our porch each morning, enticing us to play fetch during the cocktail hour). But with all the adulation they received from us, they never once violated the rules of entering the main house(our dog could never be as well-trained as those two!).

We loved the fact that Montpelier was high up in the hills (only a 15 minute drive to the private beach--which is storybook btw). When we ate dinner at night, we could see the lights of Charlestown below, hear the birds calling and feel the breezes that kept it about 10 degrees cooler than lower elevations. I started each morning on the patio of my bungalow with tea and my book and looked out over tropical flowers to the bright blue sea. Sigh....

Nevisians are probably the kindest people we've ever met in our life (the people of Ireland are a close second). It's a place where people yell hi to you as you're driving, flag you down in the street to give you a recipe (thank you to the wonderful server at Sunshine's) and buy you a beer at the water district bbq. Montpelier embodies the spirit of Nevis. My husband likens Nevis to the tiny midwest town he grew up in but with much better views, food and weather. I can't praise the island, her people and the Montpelier Plantation Inn highly enough. We will be back--hopefully much sooner rather than later.

This is a wonderful small retreat of a hotel with real charm, set around an old plantation house. As with other reviews the service was excellent, the inn is so small everyone knows your name and you never need to bother to sign for anything. This really makes it relaxing.

The food was good especially for the Caribbean and overall ambience was very pleasant - there was never any crush in the public spaces or pool or beach even though they were fully committed it being the holidays/new year.

The rooms are clean and fine, not spectacular but they do avoid kitsch decor that seems to be a staple elsewhere. The bathrooms need work, even the new refurbished ones are not going to wow.

What would we change? The beach could do with some improved facilities, better loungers etc and the hotel shuttle should be upgraded. Oh and the billing system can get a little complex where there is a party of more than 1 room - we had to disentangle bills at the end and then alert them to some missed charges.

However, the overall effect was making our entire party feel refreshed and ready to start the new year. We would certainly go back.

My wife and I stayed at the Montpelier the 2nd week in Dec 07. We had never been to Nevis and I decided to stay at 2 different places on the island so we could see as much as possible. Everywhere I researched recommended the Montpelier as a spectacular plantation inn. Trip advisor also contained rave reviews. The Inn was even more beautiful and peaceful than the reviews described.
The Inn is up on the side of the slope of Mt. Nevis. It has a stunning view of the island and of St. Kitts. The grounds are large and very well manicured with large grass areas and flowers everywhere. There are multiple quiet places to sit and relax (a "hidden" hammock) and the grounds are adequate to stroll around-watch out for the fire ant hills (small brown mounds of dirt in the grass that if you step on them you will be bitten immediately).
The pool area is georgeous and relaxing. The 2 mascots Calypso and Rudder will be happy to great you there (especially at tea time).
The Inn has breakfast included and complimentary tea and scones in the afternoon. They also have a cocktail hour just before formal dinner where patrons mingle in the great hall for conversation, appetizers and drinks before dinner.
My wife has some stomach issues and can eat only a limited amount of foods. Even though the daily menu is fixed at the Inn, the Owner and the chef went out of their way to accomodate my wife's needs (thank you Tim Hoffman and Chef). We also ate one of our meals in the sugar mill area. It is a stone sugar mill that has been turned into a dinning area. For just a few dollars more you get a secluded, romantic 5 course dinner in a unique ans special setting. It is a "must do" even if you are not staying at the Inn. Our servers Nicolette and Keston did a great job that night.
Contrary to a previous post on trip advisor about the owner being "a bit brusque and unaccomodating", we found their whole family to be very helpful, friendly, and quite accomodating. Their entire staff (especially: Nicole-front desk, Fernelle-restaurant, Tim-owner, Keston and Niccolette-see above) are professional, friendly and seemed genuinely interested in making your stay wonderful.
The Inn is not on or near the beach. The Inn does have a daily shuttle to a private beach area with bathrooms and a small bar. The patrons going to the beach agree on a pickup time. Some other trip advisor posts mentioned this was inconvienient. My wife and I went to the beach (which is very nice) but is started to rain. We were easily able to have the bar attendant get us a cab from there and went "downtown" for the rest of the day. You are not trapped there by any means.
We would definitely go here again--the setting is just about undescribable with words. It was worth every penny!

My stay this past summer in Nevis was my third - so obviously, I like the island quite a bit. It's quiet, serene, and beautiful. The people are friendly. The isolated, palm-lined beaches with Mt. Nevis looming in the background are nothing short of idyllic. In the past, I have stayed at the Old Manor hotel and at Nisbet. This year we decided to try Montpelier. All three hotels are very unique experiences with their own highlights.

Montpelier, like the Old Manor hotel, is located on the slopes of Mt. Nevis. The scenery is lush, the islands indiginous vervet monkeys roam about, and from the moment you arrive, greeted by a rum punch, you truly feel as if you are "somewhere else". However, the location is limiting in its distance from the beach. Although the hotel offers a shuttle service to their own private beach, it only makes the roundtrip once a day. So, you need to be prepared to leave around 10am and spend the entire day there. Once you do get there, though - the beach is beautiful: one of the most beautiful on the island, and that's saying a lot.

The hotel grounds are very nice. A day spent by the pool, good book in hand, another rum punch (and there's something great about Nevisian rum punches), and nothing to do all day until you're served afternoon tea....well, I wish I had more days like those.

Speaking of tea, the food at Montpelier is excellent. Breakfast is big - a fruit basket, pastries with lemon curd and raspberry preserves, and your choice of entree. No need for lunch. Dinner
is excellent as well - a three course meal in a beautiful setting.
The problem with meals, is that they're quite regimented. You need to decide early in the day whether you will dine there in the evenings. And if you do, there's a very short time window of seatings. We explored the island's other restaurants as well: our favorite by far was Coconuts.

If you're going to Nevis, you should realize that this is not the place for nightlife. No casinos, clubs, parties...and things close relatively early. This is a place to relax, not somewhere where you'll need a vacation from a vacation when you come back.

The rooms were nice - but it's old plantation style. It's homey, not luxury. The windows don't shut entirely. Mosquitos get in, despite the incense sticks provided in the room. The bathrooms could use some updating.

Finally, as far as the staff goes - most everyone was helpful and did everything they could to ensure we were comfortable. However, we did not experience the great hospitality from the owners that others have commented on. It is a multigenerational family running the resort, and while certain family members were very pleasant, we found the elder Hoffman to be a bit brusque and unaccomodating...certainly not the attitude we would expect when paying close to $300 per night in the off season. For this reason primarily, we will chose the Nisbet over Montpelier for future visits.