Issue link: https://www.balharbourdigital.com/i/1546381
entity now operates the island, much like a sun-soaked co-op where home owners rotate through various positions alongside full-time staffers, under the direction of Roger Pritchard. Fifty years since that sale, Mustique remains a magnet for the world's most glamorous people. Homeowners include Mick Jagger, Tommy Hilfiger, and Bryan Adams, and everyone from Harry Styles to Kate Moss are reportedly fixtures. One thing they love more than any other: privacy, as the self-contained island keeps pesky paparazzi at bay. The vibe is distinctly low-key, no matter how starry the guest. WHAT TO BOOK The vast majority of accommodations on the island are in privately owned homes that are rented out via the Mustique Company. Here are three prime perches worth a stay. Coccoloba The sprawling four-bedroom's design takes its inspiration from Oliver Messel—the island's OG architect. It has a home gym and home office—ideal if you're staying for longer than a week or two—and thoughtful touches like the locally made Nine Isles Gin in the bar. The landmark sculpture out front was installed by the current owner in collaboration with the artist Mark Handforth. Hibiscus Sweeping views over the beloved Macaroni Beach are one amenity of this hillside six-bedroom renovation, which is slickly designed with modern white interiors and pops of color. The home gym has a Mustique Wrestling mat—the owner's son was a champion—and there's an ice bath for post-workout cold plunges, too. Indigo It's only a five-minute walk down to Pasture Bay, arguably the island's most pristine beach, from this three-bedroom property. The modernist structure centers on a Roman villa-style reflecting pool. The bedrooms are artfully arranged for privacy, ideal for friends traveling together—rather than an extended family. WHAT MATTERS • Staying at the only hotel on the island, the 17-room Cotton House, used to feel rather like a second-class choice compared to the expansive villas. But General Manager Emilie Polastron has transformed the property, and helped it feel far more like everyone's clubhouse. • Mustique's topography is quite varied so choose your villa location carefully. The upside of being close to the beaches is convenience but you'll likely have to fend off far more mosquitoes (the island, after all, derives its name from the French word for them). • Most houses will have guest books, and make sure to flick back through them for a sense of the A-listers who have shared the same perch. • The runway at MQS is short, in part by design, to restrict noisy, larger planes. If you're chartering long-haul, you'll need to land—and park—at nearby Canouan (CIW) then take a puddle jumper over to Mustique. • While many folks come in large groups, you don't have to arrive en masse; indeed, Mustique is unusual in that it offers smaller villas, like the two-bedroom Blue Waters and Greystone, both of which come fully rostered with staff in the same way a larger estate does. • The warren of roads and paths that quilt the island can be confusing, even in such a relatively small space, so don't be afraid to ask staff from your house to drive ahead and show you the way in the buggy known as a Mustique Mule. C O U R T E S Y O F T H E M U S T I Q U E C O M PA N Y "Mustique is the absence of things: high rises, cars, and tourists." — TATIA NA COPEL A ND The infinity pool at the six-bedroom Hibiscus villa The island's only hotel, Cotton House, sits right on Endeavour Bay; its interiors are relaxed and inviting, and the menu at Veranda doesn't disappoint. 136 136 BALHAR B O U RSH O P S .CO M