Fodor's Expert Review Nevis Hot Springs

The Caribbean's first lodging, the Bath Hotel (built by businessman John Huggins in 1778), was so popular in the 19th century that visitors, who included Samuel Taylor Coleridge, traveled months by ship to "take the waters" in the property's hot springs. It suffered extensive hurricane and earthquake damage over the years and long languished in disrepair. Local volunteers have cleaned up the spring and built stone pools and steps to enter the waters, though signs still caution that you bathe at your own risk, especially if you have heart problems. The development houses the Nevis Island Administration offices; there's still talk of adding massage huts, changing rooms, a restaurant, and a culture and history center on the original hotel property.