If you're a nature lover and a luxury hound, if tropical crowds and party boats aren't your thing, and if it's within your budget to drop $1,500 to $3,000 a night on accommodations – before meals, drinks, taxes, or excursions – Secret Bay may be exactly what you're looking for. The staff of 170, including finance, marketing, groundskeepers, concierges, drivers, cooks, bartenders, massage therapists, and maintenance, caters to approximately 30 guests (this is not a typo) nestled into about ten villas. Secret Bay opened in 2011 with four villas and continues to build up and out. They also offer a few villas for sale and permanent residency, starting at $1.4 million, but I hear that these are already sold. (Well excuse me.) The villas are like luxury treehouses, each with an infinity edge plunge pool and an outdoor shower, each surrounded by high trees. You couldn't peep on your neighbors if you wanted to. Your room door can be locked from the inside but there are no room keys. You simply don't need them. Much of the wood in the villas is Brazilian Ipe, which resists water and bugs and is wonderful to walk on. The kitchens are fully outfitted with appliances (including a washer/dryer), cutlery, cocktail shakers, wireless Sonos speakers, and highly minimalist bathroom fixtures. The toiletries are an all-natural local brand called The Coal Pot, which I found pretty amusing. Even walking around the property you rarely see guests. The most I counted at the new infinity-edge half-Olympic lap pool (heaven, in a word) and bar during a week's stay was six, 11 if you include my two sisters and the bartenders. I joked with the staff that I was the first guest ever to use the open-air gym. The paths are extremely steep and winding, not unlike the roads on Dominica, and some practically require riding in the electric golf carts that zip around and are available to you at any time. Again, you will rarely see other guests walking around, but when you do you're likely to smile at each other in a state of bliss. The temperatures never got above 85 or below 77 and there was always a breeze. Since you're surrounded by trees, the air is incredibly fresh. The restaurant, Zing Zing, serves superb five-course meals that change daily. I believe it was $140 per person per day, but I figured, we're splurging here, so why not? Drinks are not included. All the mixed drinks we had were killer delicious and inventive. There's also an option to have a concierge come to your villa each morning to cook you a full breakfast featuring local fresh fruit, eggs, and fish. Again, you only live once, so why not? Dominica is a volcanic island with more than 350 rivers, several volcanoes and a boiling lake, so take advantage of the sperm whale watching trips, the hiking, the Indian River tour, and the waterfalls. Syndicate Waterfall, about 20 minutes by car and a 20-minute hike from the resort, is jaw-droppingly beautiful. Just be prepared to ford 4 streams to get there and back, and wear good water shoes. The forest hiking is gorgeous, even if Category 5 Hurricane Maria did a number on the whole island in 2017 and Dominica has not yet fully recovered (some streetlights are still down on the roads). Get to Syndicate Trail before 10:30 AM if you want to increase your odds of seeing one of the parrots – the Sisserou or the Jaco – that live on Dominica and nowhere else, and mostly fly around in pairs. The birds in general are glorious. My birdwatching sisters were in ecstasy. I would highly advise you not to rent a car. Many of the roads are no wider than a suburban driveway, end in ditches on either side, and also support pedestrians, villagers, parked cars, downed trees, and stray dogs. You drive on the left side of the roads, which support two lanes of traffic. Lol. Especially in the area where the new international airport is being constructed, the roads are in sorry shape, worse than anything I saw in India. The night before we got there, there were flash floods and some roads were washed out. This is not Bermuda, people. This is where they filmed the second part of Pirates of the Caribbean because it's so freakishly unspoiled. The best part of the experience is the people of Dominica. They make Barbadians seem sarcastic and cynical. English is the primary language, so there are no communication barriers. They just talk to you person to person, completely genuinely. A true delight. They also have a sly sense of humor. What would I change about Secret Bay? Just a few little things around the edges: 1. A swimsuit spinner like a Suitmate at the pool area would be terrific. If you're swimming before lunch or lounging, you could just pop out of your suit for a minute in one of the changing rooms and get your trunks or bikini 95% dry. Otherwise you have to walk back to your villa, and then up to the door (our first villa had 80 stairs; this is not a typo). 2. An ATM would be awesome. We didn't have a dollar of cash in US or ECD currency on us and had to keep drawing credits from the front desk for things like hiking and excursion fees. 3. The pricing on wines by the glass is a bit high, and this list should be twice as long, but the per-bottle markups induce dizziness. As someone who knows at least a few things about wine, there is no world where a $9 Chilean Chardonnay costs $65 or a $30 Moet & Chandon entry-level Champagne costs $265. This is the Caribbean, not Antartica. 4. The staff needs to go easy on pulling the TVs out from the wall during turndown, as if we're all staying at a Holiday Inn near the airport and are racing to turn on CNN when we walk through the door. I smashed my head twice on TVs that had been pulled out in this way. Why would you need a TV at Secret Bay? 5. Even if it's only a few labels, the key light switches need some wayfinding, especially because they are the European style that get pushed down to turn on. Every night after dinner we spent 5-10 minutes trying to find the light switches for various parts of the villa. 6. The espresso machines in the room are great, but the coffee beans are mild roast at best. Especially for Americans and Germans, Secret Bay needs to get a line on some dark-roast espresso beans. I had to go online to figure out how the milk frother worked. If you're in luck you'll meet the owner, a software CEO named Gregor Nassief, who strolls around the resort once a week to visit staff and guests. It took him 17 years to assemble the first five acres of plots that comprise this spot, his favorite part of Dominica growing up as a child. He takes the enjoyment of his guests very seriously. He's a mensch. He can't do enough for you. He literally got hugs from returning guests who recognized him. Then again, we saw returning guests hugging the waitresses at Zing Zing. Secret Bay is just that kind of place. You should go. Just save up. And be prepared for two to three flights each way, at least before the new airport opens circa 2029.…