Source: Erasmus Williams FB
CHARLESTOWN, NEVIS — Chargé d’Affaires at the United States Embassy in Barbados, Karin Sullivan, joined members of the Nevis community in celebrating the restoration of the historic Bath Hotel.
According to a statement released by the Embassy on Monday, the restoration project was made possible through a grant from the United States Government totalling more than US$400,000.
“Through our partnership with the Nevis Historical and Conservation Society, the United States is helping to safeguard Nevis’s rich history for future generations. Together, we are preserving the stories that inspire and unite us,” the Embassy stated in a post on its Facebook page.
The celebratory event was attended by the Premier of Nevis, the Hon. Mark Brantley, and Mrs Brantley, officials of the Nevis Island Administration (NIA), representatives of the Nevis Historical and Conservation Society, and guests.
The Bath Hotel is located in a small village on the west, or Caribbean, coast of Nevis, just south of Charlestown near the southern end of Gallows Bay. The village derives its name from a large volcanic hot spring nearby, which has been used for therapeutic bathing for centuries.
During the 18th century, an elegant two-storey stone bathhouse and hotel were constructed near the hot spring source. Built in 1778 by aristocrat John Huggins, the Bath Hotel is recognised as the first tourist hotel in the Caribbean. The main building sits on a seven-acre property that includes the thermal Bath Stream.
The hotel operated as a popular tourist destination for approximately 60 years before closing. It reopened in 1912 but was shuttered again in 1940. With the outbreak of the Second World War, the property was repurposed as a training centre for the West Indian Regiment.
As of March 2021, the hotel and surrounding grounds are owned by the Government of Nevis and are registered in the name of the Nevis Housing and Land Development Corporation, the legal entity that holds land on behalf of the Nevis Island Administration.
While the hotel itself is not currently in operation and now houses offices of the Nevis Island Administration, the hot springs remain open to the public. The structure is built above five natural hot springs, with water temperatures ranging from 104 to 115 degrees Fahrenheit.