Discovery at Marigot Bay

Arrive at the recently reinvented Discovery at Marigot Bay on St. Lucia’s western coast, and the first thing you’ll do is a double take. The Pink Snail, its lobby-level champagne lounge and reception area, is a design statement: see-through Ghost chairs by Philippe Starck are arrayed around a glowing pink-resin bar crowned by two huge twinkling chandeliers. The room pays homage to the giant pink snail from 1967’s Dr. Dolittle, filmed nearby. That’s not the only reference to the area’s colorful past. The Hurricane Hole bar, once a place where everyone from Sophia Loren to Michael Caine bent their elbows, has been restored to its slightly louche glory, cask-barrel tables and all. But Discovery’s overall impact is more au courant than old Caribbean, thanks to the bold, modern interiors of its 57 suites: slate-tiled bathrooms, streamlined shutters, and ebonized desks with tapered, metal-tipped legs. Outside, the lush landscaping makes the buildings look as if they’re growing right out of the surrounding rain forest.