Business View Caribbean - January 2016 65
panded to six, and will have eight by the end of 2016.”
Because of its unique combination of secluded loca-
tion and upscale amenities, within a few short years,
Secret Bay became known as one of the best boutique
hotels in the Caribbean. It has been selected by Travel
& Leisure as one of the best new hotels in the world;
by Harper’s Bazaar as a top resort; and by CNN as a
Secret Island Getaway. TripAdvisor Traveler’s Choice
Awards also ranks Secret Bay as a top resort in the fol-
lowing categories: Luxury, Small Hotels, Romance, and
Service. In November 2015, Secret Bay was named
the Small Caribbean Hotel of the Year by Caribbean
Journal.
Nassief describes Secret Bay as an “eco-luxury” resort
and is passionate about maintaining the property in
a sustainable and environmentally-friendly manner.
“I think my connection to Dominica and its pristine
landscape shaped that passion over many years, and
of course shaped the vision for Secret Bay,” he says.
“We wanted to build something that afterwards would
look like nothing had happened - that would fit into
the landscape and would not in any way impact the
environment. One of our goals was that as you passed
by the property from the sea, you could not tell that it
was there. Remember, this was to be our home – the
house of our dreams. So with Fruto (award-winning
Latin American architect Fruto Vivas), we designed
something really beautiful and elegant. That did not
change as we scaled it down; we simply created many
such homes, just smaller. They were never intended to
be hotel rooms, but beautiful homes. So that is where
the luxury element emerged. And our vision for pre-
serving the land gave it the ‘eco.’ Eco-luxury was really
the natural end result.” Thus, the resort’s four villas
and two bungalows have been positioned across the
site to ensure privacy and seclusion. All the properties
