It's a noisy and distressful world, pressing on the senses in all directions. You travel for a changeable environment peace, relaxation, calm and the avoidance of annoyance. I think that is the proper description of luxury stated by Wilde.

Villa Nova is a classic hotel outpost of considerable desideratum that is ensconced in the sugar hills of Barbados, recently capturing these awards: "Hottest Hotel in the World", from Conde Nast Traveler Magazine; Tattlers' "Prestige Hotel of the Year"; and in 2003, "Boutique Hotel of the Year" from the World Travel Awards.

Just below the al fresco dining terrace rests the beautiful blue tiled pool that is paved all around with a cool-to-the-foot coral stone courtyard. I was in the middle of the pool that is as dark (at certain angles) as any hidden local shady swimming hole, gazing at the foliage splendor, when The Birdman seemed to appear right out of the bush. The Birdman is Villa Nova's resident gardener, but he should have his own CD pressed for the bird whistles and trills he mockingbird mimics. "All the birds know me; they build nests in the gazebo where I go." He kept me entertained with the bird calls of the Pee Witter, Cane Sparrow, Yellow Bust, Morning Doves, and Wild Pigeons, and I bet he could imitate the buzz of a hummingbird!

The international jet set has discovered Villa Nova. Mick Jagger once flew over from his private home on Mustique. Liv Ulman graced the terrace with her grace. Boyance has made a dramatic and flamboyant entrance. Even Tony Blair, Prime Minister of England, stayed here. In fact Villa Nova once was owned by Sir Anthony Eden, former Prime Minister of England. He retired here, but Winston Churchill sought him out and even the Queen of England slept here, staying no doubt for the solitude. Noel Coward must have penned his motto while poolside.

The true luxuries of Villa Nova are the gardens wrapped around the coral stone cliff rural landscape. Eden found his "Eden" while gardening and raising mango and papaya trees and vegetables and herbs. Villa Nova is an oasis set on a hillside that provides for complete privacy 900 feet above sea level, with temperatures five degrees lower than on the Platinum Coast to the west. Trade winds blow thousands of miles across the Atlantic Ocean and up over the uplands keeping the nights even cooler. Warm duvets on the bed keep you warm throughout the night.

An open verandah runs around three sides of the main reception rooms to the north, east, and south of Villa Nova, keeping these rooms delightfully cool and shaded. The east and south verandahs look out onto lush lawns with flowerbeds, the fine old mahogany trees, and some of the tallest cabbage palms (roystonea oleracea) on the island. To the southeast from the gazebo distance sugarcane fields testify to the area's continuing agricultural wealth, a panoramic view across seven miles of rolling green Uplands country to the Atlantic. In the foreground is the pool copse and beyond is Moncrieffe Plantation.

Villa Nova presents a very interesting southern façade broken by a curved wall (apse) with a portico supported by fluted columns, projecting beyond the verandah, and a wing to the west. The ceiling of the portico and verandah is vaulted; a door with a pleasing fanlight leads to the dining room.

The music room is a long room of 31 feet with the apse bearing to the south. The piano was once owned by Rupert Murdoch of worldwide media fame. In the Private Dining Room the 1890 mahogany dining table is from the Queen's Park House, headquarters of the British Regiment that was once stationed in Barbados. This table bears the "scars" of the officers' spurs as they literally put their feet up on the table to relax with their glass of port. The table is of local mahogany and creates a fine balance to the room.

Doors are a feature of the reception rooms at Villa Nova. In the tropics you want plenty of doors to welcome the breezes. The drawing room has ten doorways; three to the north, two to the east, three to the south, and two to the west. The doorways of the reception room are fitted with inner doors of fine lattice work, and they can be closed on gusty days to exclude the wind. This interesting type of inner door is not frequently seen on the island. Although this makes for a very airy and cool room, it presents a difficulty in the furnishings of such a room, but British innkeeper Lynn Pemberton has a touch and flash of interior design that she must have ripped from the pages of the London Sunday Times lifestyle section. Throughout the cozy sitting areas in the Drawing Room there are several interesting pieces of furniture, including Chinese Chippendale chairs copies that were made locally on the island by Fitz Walcott. For evening entertainment backgammon and chess boards are found about the room.

You arrived for privacy and peace and calm and luxuries and Villa Nova delivers . . . with a personalized greeting card in your room.

There are only 28 Nina Campbell designed suites throughout the property, mostly in the newer addition grafted north of the hotel's apse. Each suite has a garden terrace, en suite shower, and separate claw-foot tub that you don't see too often, with the hottest water imaginable. Barbados is renowned for its clean water and air. A bidet is an added touch of luxury. The air-conditioned rooms were a little too cool for me and with a little adjustment the natural atmosphere was imbued.

A well-being center has been recently completed (Spring 2004) in the virgin rainforest near Villa Nova's pool and it promises to bring a new standard to the property. There are individual massage houses built from the wood of Purple Heart and the shingles from pest resistant Guyana Walaba which has a natural oily residue. Lynne is also planning a Villa Nova Beach Club in the near future.