The Hotel Chocolat Hotel

Rabot Estate Soufriere Saint Lucia West Indies

It was surely just a matter of time before the people behind the Hotel Chocolat chain opened an actual hotel devoted to all things cocoa. It’s no surprise then that this chocolate-lovers’ paradise is situated in a cocoa plantation on the Caribbean island of St Lucia, famous for its fine single-estate beans. The Rabot Estate has existed in the south-west of the island since 1745, but the hotel only opened fully in December. As you arrive in reception, the view opens up over one of the island’s soaring twin peaks, the impossibly pointy Gros Piton. The hotel itself – just 14 self-contained, stilted villas (‘cocoa pods’) nestled 300 metres up a hillside around a leafy courtyard – blends into the landscape. Each luxe villa is decorated with dark wood and floaty white fabrics, and has a private open-air rain shower. West-facing villas can get very hot in the afternoon, however – there’s no aircon. The restaurant, Boucan, relies heavily on cocoa, but it’s done with the lightest, freshest touch. Villas from £350, including breakfast.