Jade Mountain Was Built With No Fourth Wall, So Every Room Faces the Pitons

Jade Mountain sits on the hillside above Anse Chastanet beach, near Soufrière on Saint Lucia's west coast, sharing its access road and grounds with the older Anse Chastanet resort next door. It was designed by architect Nick Troubetzkoy, who also built and owns Anse Chastanet, and opened in 2006 as a smaller, more experimental property carved into the same hillside. Its defining idea is structural: every suite, called a 'sanctuary' rather than a room, is missing its fourth wall entirely, left open to the view instead of glazed or screened.

A view built into the room itself

Each sanctuary has its own infinity-edge plunge pool, positioned so the water appears to run straight into the sea and the twin peaks of Gros Piton and Petit Piton beyond it. The Pitons, volcanic plugs rising directly from the coastline, were inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2004, and Jade Mountain's whole layout is oriented around keeping them in frame from bed, pool and open-air bathroom alike. Furniture and structural elements were built by local craftspeople using poured concrete and tile rather than imported materials, giving the resort a heavier, more sculptural feel than a typical timber-and-thatch Caribbean property.

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Shared grounds, separate character

Guests at Jade Mountain can use the beach, dive centre and reef just below at Anse Chastanet, reached by a shuttle down the same steep access road, while Jade Mountain itself keeps to adults-only sanctuaries higher up the hillside. The two properties share ownership and some staff but are run as distinct experiences, with Jade Mountain positioned as the quieter, more architecturally driven of the pair.

Getting there

Hewanorra International Airport, Saint Lucia's main international gateway, is in Vieux Fort in the island's south, roughly an hour to ninety minutes by road from Soufrière depending on traffic; the resort arranges private transfers, and some guests opt for a helicopter transfer to cut the drive down considerably.

Traveller tips

• Jade Mountain is an adults-only property; travelling families typically book at neighbouring Anse Chastanet instead.
• The resort's access road is steep and winding; internal transport around the grounds is largely by golf buggy.
• December to April is Saint Lucia's drier season and the busiest period for the south-west coast.
• Anse Chastanet's reef, a short walk or shuttle from Jade Mountain, is one of Saint Lucia's better-regarded snorkelling and diving spots.