Freedom Bay is a new development in the UNESCO-protected site of the Pitons in St Lucia

There aren't many who would dispute St Lucia's natural charms. Small (only 27 miles long and 14 miles wide), and teardrop shaped, the island has been a favourite of British holidaymakers for decades. More recently, it has emerged as an alternative to Barbados for British buyers looking for a luxury holiday home in the Caribbean, although  it feels altogether wilder and more exotic than its glamorous southern cousin. The island's volcanic soil created the verdant rainforest landscape that makes the interior so beguiling, and the beaches are numerous dramatic stretches of black or white sand.

So far, developments in St Lucia at the top end have been few and far between. Prices are generally considered to be about 40% to 50% lower than Barbados and, as everywhere, the market slowed in the wake of worldwide economic woes, although local agents say that this winter business picked up again with buyers from Italy, the UK and Canada emerging out of the cold snap.

Cap Maison (www.capmaisonestates.com) in the north is a charming boutique hotel with properties for sale from about £700,000, and The Landings (www.thelandingsstlucia.com) has apartments from $550,000 and beachfront penthouses for about $1.7 million. Both are situated near Rodney Bay, where most of the action is to be found in the evenings. Marigot Bay is a peaceful natural harbour halfway down the west coast of the island, and the location for The Harbour Residences (www.theharbourresidences.com), a fractional offering currently in the pipeline.

To the south, where the iconic volcanic twin peaks known as the Pitons are located, is Sugar Beach (see page 70) with hotel villas for sale from $610,000. Meanwhile, at the late Lord Glenconner's Beau Estate around the corner, Savills (www.savills.com) are marketing a villa on a 2.2 acre plot, priced at £11.377 million.

The newest venture in this area is Freedom Bay. Situated right at the foot of Petit Piton, just a few minutes from the charming old French capital, Soufrière, Freedom Bay is to be built on 77 acres of UNESCO-protected rainforest land, which includes a long, sandy beach and a natural waterfall. It's
also going to be the first Six Senses hotel in the Caribbean-chosen for its eco-friendly approach by developer Robert Whitton. ‘Freedom Bay is planned as a minimum-impact development, and we are harnessing the very latest in state-of-the-art Green technology wherever possible,' he says.  

Here, the Caribbean plunges down to great depths, following the steep gradient of the Pitons, which turns the water an extraordinary deep cobalt blue. Private villas will all be built, using sustainable materials, to make the most of natural light and ventilation, and will have their own pools and guaranteed sea views. Owners and guests will be able to enjoy a choice of restaurants, a tennis club, diving school, marine jetty, Champagne bar floating out on the sea, rainforest spa and
wellness centre and plenty of communal spaces to relax in, from a library to a cocktail bar.

Freedom Bay has different models to suit hotel guests, investors and lifestyle buyers. Those who wish to purchase part or all of the hotel villas-the first of which are due to be complete in December-as an investment can do so. Prices start at £17,500 per fraction for a fixed week in a one-bedroom villa (25% of these are already sold). Whole one-bedroom villas start at £660,000, with 28 days' personal use per year. All investors are guaranteed returns in years one to six, after which they share rental returns with the hotel, and there is a guaranteed buyback on villas bought in their entirety.  

For lifestyle buyers who may or may not wish to rent out their villa, Freedom Bay (0845 052 3633; www.freedombaystlucia.com) has launched just 10 plots, four of which have already sold, at about £330,000. You build your property at cost, estimated to be from $1.1 million for a three-bedroom villa, which averages out at about $1,000 per sq ft-cheap compared with prices on Barbados-on a breathtaking site that will be protected for the foreseeable future.

Need to know

Tax There is currently no Inheritance Tax and no Capital Gains Tax on St Lucia

Flights Direct flights from London take about eight hours

Festival The St Lucia Jazz Festival runs from the end of April to mid May

Eat Try Cap Maison (fine dining), The Edge (the island's only sushi bar) and Big Chef (great steaks), all of which are on or near Rodney Bay 

* Subscribe
to Country Life and save over £50 a year