Scenery Hotel, A Full-Service Boutique Hotel With A View, Opens In Saba

When one thinks about a vacationing in the Dutch Antilles, they either default to one of the ABC islands (Aruba, Bonaire or Curacao), St. Maarten, or even pretend they’re a movie star in St. Barts.

To some extent, Sint Eustatius (Statia) is slowly building out its tourist product, with the Golden Rock Dive and Nature Resort being their latest major opening in 2021. However, most travelers don’t consider Saba as it doesn’t feature the traditional white sand beaches like what you might expect on other Caribbean islands.

At just 5-square-miles in size, the smallest special municipality of the Netherlands features steep cliffs with winding roads surrounded by lots of greenery. As the islands sits on top of a dormant underwater volcano, its shape doesn’t allow for the regular formation of sandy beaches, and most of the waters pound against large, sharp rocks rather than powdery, flat sand beaches.

Saba is also known for having the shortest commercial airport runway in the world. At just 1,312 feet, the Juancho E. Yrausquin Airport (SAB) makes for very exciting short takeoffs and landings.

This isn’t your traditional Caribbean island as guests visiting are more interested in nature activities such as hiking, scuba diving and nature photography. Then there are those just seeking a bit of peace and quiet.

Given its small size, hotels and Airbnbs options are very limited. However, this has changed as a new 30-room boutique luxury hotel was opened recently. In Windward Side, the Scenery Hotel sits just below Mount Scenery, featuring a combination of ocean-facing rooms and cottages.

Credit: Scenery Hotel Saba

In typical Saba tradition, the exterior features white walls, red rooves, and typical red and green gingerbread detailing around the doors and window frames. There are five room types, each offering varying levels of comfort, and all offering essentials such as Wi-Fi, coffee makers, mini fridges, and all offer either a private balcony or terrace (depending on which you book) with great views of the sea side and surrounding landscape.

Credit: Scenery Hotel Saba

One of the room options is called the “Scout’s Sky room”, and pays homage to the former Scout’s Place Hotel which once stood at the site where Scenery Hotel is presently located.

Credit: Scenery Hotel Saba

There is also an on-site restaurant and bar, offering a variety of European and local meal options, as well as the usual mix of cocktails, wines and other non-alcoholic drinks.

While the island is small, the hotel is conveniently located near a number tourist spots within the town, and is also central to those seeking to either check out nature trails higher up at Mount Scenery, or to go further down to the shoreline for scuba diving.

Tourists wanting to travel to Saba must first connect via St. Maarten (SXM), and then take one of the three-to-five daily 15-minute flights.

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