Bath Hot Springs

Nevis was the Caribbean's first spa destination: the Bath Hotel opened in 1778 on the strength of the hot mineral stream running below it, and Georgian society crossed the Atlantic to take the waters. The hotel building survives above - now government offices - while the stream itself remains gloriously public: a chain of masonry-edged pools where water emerges at temperatures that demand a slow entry, hottest at the source and mellowing downstream. Locals soak at dawn and dusk with the ease of long tradition, and visitors are welcomed into the ritual and its unhurried conversation.

The landscape

• The hot pools - the stepped soaking chain, hottest upstream.
• The 1778 Bath Hotel - the Georgian spa building above the stream.
• The dawn-and-dusk regulars - the island's oldest social hour.
• Charlestown nearby - the Georgian main street a stroll away.

When to go

Year round - the water holds its heat regardless. Early morning and late afternoon are the traditional hours and the coolest air for a hot soak. After heavy rain the stream can run murky for a day.

Things to know

Facilities are simple: basic changing screens, no attendants, concrete-edged pools rather than spa polish. The hottest pool genuinely scalds unwary feet - test before committing. It is a living village amenity, not an attraction staged for visitors; behave as a guest in someone's routine and the welcome is warm.

Nearby

Charlestown's museums, the Nevis Botanical Gardens and the island road's plantation inns.