How to Live the Private Island Life Without the Private Island Credit Score

At Lovango Resort + Beach Club in the US Virgin Islands, bliss is just a ferry ride away.

If you ’re planning a trip to the US Virgin Islands(as many might be , now thatpassport refilling timesare skyrocketing ) , you ’re most likely choosing between three master hubs : touristed St. Thomas , with its nightlife and shopping , adventurousSt . Croix , where you’re able to soar up above the ground ziplining or explore underwater by scuba . Or the nature - mindedSt . John , where over 60 % of the island is devoted to the Virgin Islands National Park and its hike , bivouacking , andvolunteeringopportunities . None of those options vocalize appealing ? Perhaps you might be concerned in going private .

Just take a peek out of your airplane window before landing and you ’ll see that the big , populated guy cable mentioned above are not the only blob of volcanic rock rising out of the sea . In fact , there are multiple . Some are tufted with green ontogeny . Most are uninhabited . One , Little St. James Island , is ill-famed ( seem it up ) . And another , just a short 15 - minute ferry ride from St. Thomas or 10 minutes from St. John , is the blissful 118 - acre private isle of Lovango , purchase — at least one-half of it , anyway — by hoteliers Mark and Gwenn Snider of New England ’s Little Gem Resorts in 2019 . In plus to theirWinnetu Oceanside Resorton Martha ’s Vineyard andThe Nantucket Hotel , they now bet theLovango Resort + Beach Clubamong their fleet , the first private island recourse in the USVI . But do n’t worry — you do n’t postulate a private island - sized coin bank account to visit .

The recourse read its name from its island abode , Lovango Cay , a name local legend says was inspired by a brothel that once graced its shore — or , more precisely , what would materialise inside that bordello . Pirates would sail up to the island , engage in a short love … and then , go . The truth is n’t quite so cagy . pronounce and sometimes written as Lu’ongo or Loango , the island was most in all likelihood named after a pre - colonial African kingdom that concern what is now western Congo , Southern Gabon , and Cabinda from the 16th to 19th centuries .

Your island awaits (the one on the far end).|pics721/Shutterstock

However , the island ’s prurient — and entertaining — fictitious descent taradiddle first concocted by a charter police captain to rile up tourists does contain a kernel of verity . Though the kingdom , for the most part , has been devoid of Indigenous inhabitants for centuries , there is evidence of some form of military control starting in 1728 . At one full point , in 1917 , the population swell to 49 Dutch occupant spanning 19 households , let in enough youngster to warrant the creation of a public school .

This Luxury Hotel Was Founded by a Real-Life Pirate of the Caribbean

Go hunting for treasure—or cocktails—at Saba Rock.

Some years later , after a go bad HOA development , the island lie dormant . For a while a food motortruck would be parked out front of what would eventually become the Sniders ’ property , serving up cocktail to those sailing by ( no word on if any were pirate … or if they were selling anything else besides food and booze ) .

Today , you could still get cocktails , though in a different looping . The Lovango Resort + Beach Club offer 11 sustainably build treehouse rooms and glamping tents along with a beach club opened to public use . There , those looking to go out their Swiss Family Robinson dreams can do so for around $ 1,500 a night . But for just a fraction of that price , anyone can bask a slice of the private island life . The beach club offers day passes , which take up at $ 135 each and let in ferry drive , snorkel the island ’s coral reefs , and access to the island ’s secluded hiking trails . It ’s a perfect addition to tack on to your USVI getaway — you’ll feel as though you ’ve stumbled onto one of the last places on earth that still feel like a secret .

come alive up at the resort , and there ’s no misunderstanding you ’re in the tropics . Sun rain cats and dogs through the slats of your wooden treehouse or the furrow of your glamping collapsible shelter while doll — some visiting from the sanctuary island across the way , some who suppose you , too , endure in the trees , because your rest home blends in so seamlessly — relentlessly badger you for some coffee talk of the town . You give in , taking in some razzing gossip with your morning loving cup while gazing out on the bluest strip of water in the USVI . Not a bad way to start the day .

The views from the restaurant are not too shabby.|Courtesy of Lovango Resort + Beach Club

later on , you may hike along one of three trails , each about thirty minutes long , before reward your efforts with snorkel diving around one of two reefs . Pick the reef by the dock , where they ’ve partner with the University of the Virgin Island ’s Reef Response to support coral return , and you might find a surprise : parrot Pisces darting around coral planted on metal rebar , spelling out LOVANGO ( it ’s in the early stage , but it ’s getting there ) .

Up until now , you ’ve barely see to it another soul — the private island life is private indeed . But this fussy island has something of a disunited personality . After snorkeling , switch up your vibe from Gilligan to glam with lunch at the slick beach club next to the infinity pocket billiards front out to St. John . Pair your repast with cocktail that utilize local breadfruit - infused vodka and other ingredients grown on the island , like lemony tamarind . And talk of St. John , a day misstep there is just a little ferrying ride away , mountain of time to get back for moony dinner with your feet in the sand , soak up a scope that feel world away from home . No passport command .

To say they ’re serious about their foodaround herewould be quite understatement . The menus curated by chef Stephen Belie alone are worth the price of a day pass . And it ’s Belie ’s deep food worldly concern connections that inspired theTaste of Lovango , the stamping ground ’s first food fete , hold earlier this calendar month with participate chefs including Tiffany Faison , Sam Choy , former Daniel Boulud and Thomas Keller chef Brian Arruda , and James Beard rise Star semi - finalist Robbie Felice . There were roasted Sus scrofa and Thai coconut meat rice and foie gras moisten with passion yield sauce , plus blackened chicken wing and banana leaf - steamed fish and full-bodied olive fossil oil bar ( oh my ) .

The views from the restaurant are not too shabby.|Courtesy of Lovango Resort + Beach Club

Fancy food festival away , you ca n’t help but wonder what it was like to natter Lovango before the refuge touched down and took over . Could you just … swim up and claim a spot on the beach ? Miami - base chef Adrianne Calvo and her corporate executive chef Egg Siu pamper me . Their first sojourn was in 2018 , and they were looking for an dangerous undertaking . Back then , they would only have Mondays off fromChef Adrianne ’s Vineyard Restaurant and Bar , so anything they did had to be well worth it .

The Largest U.S. Virgin Island Remains an Uncrowded Paradise

And it’s no big deal if you forget your American passport at home.

“ Chef Egg would curate a station that we could wing to from Miami without a headache , spend a day there , and be back on the note on Tuesday forenoon , ” say Calvo . On the list was an epic journeying to St. Thomas which included renting a private boat and hopping around the Caribbean Sea . At one degree they landed on Lovango . “ It just pop up , ” said Siu . “ And I was like , ‘ This expect salutary . ’ ”

“ At that time , it was a dock , a beach bar , a couple of lunch carte du jour items , and they were cooking out of a food truck , ” explains Calvo . “ And we were actually blown off by how good it was . ” So good , in fact , that a few years after the pair return to film an instalment of their YouTube show , Searching for Maximum Flavor . And while at the time of production the food motortruck was gone , the cocktails and receive beach bar vibe was still there . Not to mention some grampus opinion . The rice and pea plant dish up she remembered might have been replaced by lobster guacamole and the unsophisticated sour grass with wave staff members in tidy uniforms , but that exciting feeling of key out something fresh stay .

As the first new anatomy in the USVI in 30 years , all eyes are on the Lovango Resort + Beach Club . And though it continue to be a work in forward motion it ’s really impressive what the Sniders have done with the place in just a brusk time . Sure , “ secret island holiday resort ” is overdraw a tad : The resort takes up one-half of the island , with 97 % of the other half owned by a native patrimonial Virgin Islands folk alongside six separate half - acre parcel gambol private homes . But the preceding four eld have been a clank course in sustainability by necessity , as building off the grid tend to be . They ’ve had to check how to do things like purify their own H2O , use solar and wind world power for push , utilize an anaerobiotic septic system , and break down glass to redisperse as sand . Naturally , what start as an interest in eco - friendly practice presently farm into a core business organization school of thought .

This Luxury Hotel Was Founded by a Real-Life Pirate of the Caribbean

“ As we have had Lovango , it ’s made us question what we ’re doing in [ the properties in ] New England , ” enounce Matt Snider , undertaking coach and the son of proprietor Gwen and Mark . “ Here , it ’s more of our lifeline , and often we do n’t have other resources because we ’re an island . That synergy works for us : We need piss , we need business leader , and we ’re gon na do it the ripe means . ”

The holiday resort squad ’s five - year plan includes adding more villas with pool , follow by a watering hole , and then a gym , prioritize according to customer feedback ( in this heat , guests are n’t always jonesing for a gym ) . “ I moved down from Manhattan , ” says Snider . “ This is quite the adventure — there ’s no overnight Taiwanese solid food delivery here . But we ’re finally at a stable peak to be capable to do wonderful things . ”

So if you ’re ready to commingle your Gilligan with a short glam , now ’s the meter to grab that day pass . Or heck , spring for the overnight . Because in this universe , everyone deserves a taste of the individual island life . After all , it ’s always a good time to sleep together … and go .