This Caribbean Island You've Never Heard Of Has Luxury Hotels, Stunning Blue Waters, and Some of the Best Snorkeling in the World

Blank, baffled stares. That's what I was met with when I told people I was heading to Canouan, a three-square-mile island within the Grenadines archipelago. "Where's that?" my friends – even the most well-traveled – would ask. I pulled up a map on my phone, dragging my finger along the Caribbean Sea, pinching the screen in and out, and eventually pointing to a coat-hook-shaped speck roughly halfway between St. Vincent and Grenada. I waited for a glimmer of detection. "Never heard of it," they'd say. The truth is, I hadn't either.

Canouan is something of an enigma in the Caribbean. Just a 45-minute flight from beloved Barbados, it has managed to remain a secret, save for a privy few — an in-the-know crowd who come to moor their million-dollar yachts (Robert Downey, Jr.) or dodge the paparazzi (George Clooney, Leonardo DiCaprio). It's even been touted as a "place where billionaires go to escape millionaires."

Not long ago, though, the island had no running water or paved roads, and it tallied more turtles than humans. Now, there's a runway for private jets, several luxury hotels and villas, and a multimillion-dollar marina for mega yachts. And yet, arriving here still feels like unearthing something new.

When viewed from an airplane, Canouan looks like many other Caribbean islands, with emerald-green hills and tiny villages surrounded by turquoise waters dotted with yachts and sailboats. Up close, the island quietly unfurls along the road from the airport, revealing ocean vistas and a small, lively village. There are no packs of cruise passengers, no tawdry tchotchke shops, and no overdeveloped swathes crammed with hotels and restaurants. Instead, "traffic" means breaking to let the turtles pass (Canouan is the Carib word for "island of turtles"), and the natural areas are so unspoiled you feel as if you're one of the first to visit. Even better, it all sits just below the hurricane belt, steering clear of storms that typically hammer the region. So there's no bad time to visit.

Despite such an apparent allure, the island keeps a pleasantly hushed profile. Its remote location helps. Charter flights offer the most direct route. Ferries and commercial flights — the latter stopping on other islands — are also available. Canouan Estate Resort & Villas has its own Cessna, which makes the 20- to 25-minute jump from hubs like St. Lucia, Barbados, St. Vincent, and Grenada.

We flew from New York to Barbados, where a dedicated team whisked us onto our chartered SVG Air flight, looking after our luggage. Twenty minutes after landing, we arrived at the Mandarin Oriental, Canouan, a gorgeous luxury resort previously known as the Pink Sands Club.

The 26 suites start at 1,300 square feet and come with marble bathrooms, terraces or gardens, and panoramas of the water only made better by a glass of fresh watermelon juice in hand. And while the Caribbean has plenty of chic, removed-from-the-world accommodations, the Mandarin Oriental's multistory hillside villas are in a league of their own, with infinity pools, patios, elevators (in some), and more than 5,000 square feet of space in each plush perch.

Despite the rebranding, the hotel acknowledges its previous incarnation with signature bursts of pink – from the umbrellas dotting the beach to the loungers by the stunning infinity pool that seemingly drops into the ocean.

The resort's luxury ethos extends to its culinary offerings, whether you choose to fuel up at one of the fine-dining establishments or in your suite or villa. Order the saltfish and coconut dough boy for breakfast and thank me later. The hotel can even arrange a "castaway" picnic on a secluded beach.

Just a short golf-cart ride away, Canouan Estate also has two tasty restaurants — L'Ance Guyac and Shell Beach Bar & Grill — while Soho Beach House and Shenanigans are great for those who want to venture off a bit farther. No matter where you eat, though, be sure to kick off the evening with a sundowner at Turtles, a cocktail bar at the Mandarin Oriental that overlooks Carenage Bay.

And then there's the spa: After checking in at the beachfront reception area, guests take either a funicular up a hill to access one of the 10 treatment villas that overlook the bay or a boat out to one of the spa’s two overwater bungalows. The latter feature balconies, steam showers, and glass floors through which guests can gaze at the cerulean waters as they drift off during a massage, facial, or body scrub.

Active travelers can take advantage of the resort's complimentary catamarans, stand-up paddle boards, or kayaks, or they can play a round of golf at the Jim Fazio–designed 18-hole course – pausing for sunset cocktails on the 13th hole.

One morning, I opted for the short — albeit deceivingly steep — climb up Mount Royal with Kezzy, the Mandarin Oriental's nature guide. Pumping my arms and hoisting my knees high to keep the momentum going, I pushed my way toward the 877-foot summit, the highest point on the island, pausing to appreciate the tortoises and soldier crabs with whom we shared the trail, until a hummingbird flitting between branches commandeered my gaze down. Reaching the peak instantly erased my memory of the effort it took to get there. Stunning views of neighboring islands, including Mustique, Union Island, and Petit St. Vincent, unraveled in every direction. I asked Kezzy, who tackles the trail almost every day, whether he tires of the scenery. "Never," he said.

That seemed to be a theme on the island. Another morning, we sailed out to Tobago Cays, comprised of five uninhabited islands and a protected coral reef with some of the best snorkeling in the Caribbean. Somewhere between swimming alongside a trio of green turtles and spotting schools of stingrays and sea urchins, I thought to myself, this is too good to be true. Later that afternoon, as we bobbed back toward the hotel on our catamaran, our guide, unprompted, shared: "I love the water. Every day is different — it doesn't get old."

In a place like Canouan, though, you don't need to jam your itinerary. Most days, I found myself moseying over to the sand in front of my suite more than a dozen times a day, dipping my toes in for a moment, and watching the waves slow dance in the evening breeze. In the afternoon, I'd linger on a lounger with a book, finishing each chapter with a plunge in Carenage Bay.

On my final day, I snapped one last photo of the sea, translucent under the midday sun, and texted it to a friend with the caption, "We have to come back." After all, I'm not one to keep a secret.