Secret Bay

region at 754 square kilometers, it’s also one of the least populated – with only 72,660 residents. What it lacks in people it makes up for in nature as the home of 365 rivers, the world’s second-largest boiling lake, volcanoes, mountains, waterfalls, hot springs and both black and white sand beaches. Much of the island is protected national park land and it’s typically been a go-to destination for divers, hikers and bird-watchers. Among Secret Bay’s signature elements is a commitment to sustainability, which is borne out by an appearance and amenities far different than the commonly held image of “Caribbean resort.” So long as arriving guests have done their due diligence, Thomas said, paradise awaits them. “I’d say 99.9 percent of our guests leave happy and satisfied,” she said. “But you have to do your homework. If you come here expecting what you see in other places, you may be disappointed. Dominica is a young island. There’s no shopping mall. There’s no major cinema to go to. The ones that are surprised by that are the ones who didn’t do their research.” Indeed, there is no formal check-in area and there are no restaurants at the resort. Instead, all rooms come equipped with full kitchens and a transition is under way that, by the end of 2014, will see to it that fruits and vegetables served to guests will have been grown in an on-premises garden, according to Marvin Daniel, the resort’s operations manager. Also planned by the end of next year is construction of an on-site solar farm that would take up 1,800 square feet of space and produce enough power – 2.3 kilowatts, Daniel said – to handle all of the resort’s lighting needs, though electricity to run other equipment would still be generated elsewhere. Additionally, no trees were cut down during construction, which means many of the units were designed around existing trees and have incorporated them into the design. A drip irrigation system was put together to water all the potted plants on the site, and plans are in the works to do away with all plastic water bottles and supply all incoming guests with stainless steel bottles that can be refilled with filtered water in each room. “There are quite a lot of projects, not all of them large, that we’re working on,” Thomas said. “That speaks to our eco-sensitivity. Our aim is for guests to relax, enjoy and be one with nature and have the opportunity to get to know themselves, or one another. Our resort is one that conforms to the environment. We’re not forcing the environment to conform to the resort.”