Places to Visit in Nevis


The Bath Hotel, Nevis
by Suzanne Gordon

In the 1600s, sailors in search of fruit and water discovered the springs and used them to soothe their aching muscles.

Captain John Smith enroute to Virginia stopped in Nevis for six days in 1607 and wrote about using the springs to clear up skin irritations. He wrote that the water had “an unpleasant taste and was unsuitable for drinking,” presumably because of its high sulfur content.

Christopher Columbus first noticed Nevis during his second voyage to the new world in 1493, but the English did not settle it until 1628 via St. Kitts. Sugar was the dominant crop for many years, but began to wane in mid-19th century. Modern day tourism featuring
hotels, villas and private homes built for expatriates did not begin until the 1950s, although visitors came to Nevis as early as the late 1700s.

The thermal springs, which are found in several locations around the island, helped Nevis survive those sparse years between the end of the sugar days and the advent of modern-day tourism. The springs are produced by groundwater that comes in contact with hot volcanic rock along subsurface fault lines. The result is water temperatures ranging from 105 to 109.5 degrees Fahrenheit.

But with the downfall of sugar and the emancipation of slaves in 1834, the hotel’s business began to fall off and the building fell into disrepair. By 1883, Nevis’ economy had totally collapsed and the independent government was abolished and joined its neighbor St.
Kitts. It remained that way until 1983, when St. Kitts and Nevis declared their independence from Britain.

By 1890, the hotel was in a deplorable condition. Not only were the gardens neglected, but the wooden trim had been torn off to use as firewood, the roof had collapsed, and weeds and moss helped cracks form in the stonework.

The hotel was restored for the first time in 1909-1912. Lady Catherine Janet Burdon writing in “Handbook of St.Kitts/Nevis” (1920) cites recent renovation “on an extensive scale.” The steel framed balconies (52 feet by 10 feet) were added at this time and the
communal pool was divided into five individual baths of varying degrees from hot to hottest. Coffee, cigars and cigarettes were offered in the Bath House.

During World War II, commercial steamship service that brought visitors to the island was interrupted and the hotel became a camp for the West Indian Regiment. In the 1960’s,
two owners did some restoration on the building. Well-dressed guests enjoyed afternoon
tea in lavishly appointed rooms. A bath, in 1956, cost $1.25 per person.
The untimely death of its last private owner in 1971 brought restoration to a close. Since that time, the future of the hotel complex has been the subject of considerable thought and
study.

Following Independence in 1983, the Nevis Island Government acquired the Bath Hotel. Over the years, many plans have been put forth its use: a health spa, meeting rooms, even a technical school, but none of those materialized. In the mid-1990s, the hotel was used as a temporary central Police Station and magistrate’s court following a fire at the Charlestown
Police Station. In 2004, the government converted two floors of the building into government offices, and that is what exists today.

New bathing facilities were recently built at the base of the Bath Hotel property, and residents and visitors alike can still ‘take the waters’. They can be reached either from the bottom of the Bath Hotel hill off the main road, or off the main road through Bath Village.
Driving, head south from Charlestown, bear left at the fork where a gas station is located. Follow the road past a long white concrete wall until you see a cemetery straight ahead. Turn right up that road, pass the Government House and follow the road to the Bath Hotel
on your right.


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