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The sweeping landscape to the sea

What's your idea of paradise? White sandy beaches, palm trees, crystal clear seas? Well, head to pretty much any West Indian island and you'll be in for your ideal destination.

I was certainly of the sun, sand and sea-bound breed of holidaymakers. That was until I spent some time in Grenada, and realised that a few coconuts and cocktails do not a paradise make.

The likes of Barbados and St Lucia have been honeymoon hotspots for years, and the increasing tourism has seen these islands creep closer and closer towards a plastic version of paradise, and further from their traditional roots.

Not so in Grenada. The 133-square-mile island is nestled between St Vincent and Trinidad and Tobago, and is home to just 100,000 people. With more than 40 pristine white beaches, clear turquoise waters, and an average year-round temperature of 28C, Grenada easily ticks the boxes for a heavenly sun holiday, and is certainly worthy of the nine-hour flight (Virgin Atlantic go there, see www.virgin-atlantic.com).

This is no Barbados, with its fast-food joints and hotel after hotel after hotel. The island of spice, a name Grenada picked up for its abundance of seasonings, is holding on tightly to its cool Caribbean flavour, and has no desire to be Disneyland.

Days in Grenada can be filled with walks in the rainforest scouting for cocoa pods and spices, paddling in the waterfalls and watching the local jumpers' leaping from the rock faces above, or tasting and learning about Grenada's tipple of choice at the ancient Westerhall Rum Distillery.

Head down to Port Louis marina, take a boat trip, and enjoy some of the best diving in the world, or stay on dry land and watch the world go by over a lunch of lobster like you've never tasted before. Food is of the freshest variety here - fruit is the juiciest and fish is the tastiest - and you won't find a child who would choose a pizza or beefburger over rice and peas.

Grenada was forced to update itself following the massive devastation caused by Hurricane Ivan in 2004. But it was when international entrepreneur Peter de Savary took a shine to the island a couple of years ago - so much so he picked up and moved here - that things really started to take shape.

Enjoy buying coconuts from a market stall

"I wake up at 5am every day, just because I want to get going and start the day. I've never done that anywhere else," the 63-year-old tanned tycoon tells me over breakfast on the beachfront at his first finished complex, Mount Cinnamon.

"I don't have to stay here, nobody's paying me to. I could go back to England tomorrow. But I don't want to."

And who can blame PdeS, as he is affectionately referred to almost exclusively. The man may as well be king here in Grenada. £300 million of his personal pocket change has ensured the island is increasingly raising eyebrows in the Caribbean, and the locals are loving it.

I chatted to a fair few Grenadians during my trip to their simply beautiful homeland, and encountered nothing but beaming smiles and genuine kindness. Although the island was under British ownership until it became independent in 1974, there is no bitterness hanging on from the times of slavery. This is perhaps helped by the fact Grenada has historically thriven on its sweet and simple spice trade, rather than the more common and notoriously laborious crop of sugar cane.

"It is a bit of a timewarp in Grenada, the world seems to have passed it by," explains PdeS.

"The people aren't greedy like the rest of us, they are happy with what they have."

What they have is an enviable sense of pride in the traditions Grenada was built on. Traditions like Fish Friday, in the village of Gouyave - when locals and tourists alike take to the streets to cook the catch of the day over an open fire, play their favourite reggae beats, and dance until dawn.

With its deep-rooted morals and aversion to too much tourism, the Grenadian government has been pretty picky about the hotels and tour operators it gives the green light to. The plan is to keep the island as chic as possible, and they hope it will soon be regarded as the Switzerland of the Caribbean. There are whispers of a Four Seasons coming to the island, but a couples-only Sandals resort has, quite significantly, been turned away.

Peter de Savary is well known for his luxurious developments, but I think it was probably his grounded attitude and obvious love for the island that sealed the deal for him in Grenada. He loves the place, and so do I.

"It is all about fun here," he chuckles, while lighting another cigar.

"People go home wishing they could have stayed a few days longer. It definitely leaves an aftertaste."

For more information about Mount Cinnamon, and links to Peter de Savary's other developments in Grenada, including the marina of Port Louis and spa retreat of Tufton Hall, log on to www.mountcinnamongrenada.com

Relax in one of the luxurious bedrooms

When you are tired of the beach, visit the waterfalls

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