Above: Long Bay Beach Resort in Tortola (All photos by CJ)

By Alexander Britell

TORTOLA — There are no crowds. There is just the beach.

Not any beach, though. Tortola’s Long Bay is one of the most beautiful in the region — the right sand, the right water, the right views.

There are no crowds; there is just the sound of the wind, of the waves as they become ridges near the shore.

The restaurant is built on the ruins of a building that was born in 1748; there is a spa, too, and a pool.

The rooms are simple with a rustic charm, pathways to get to the sand, although you might spend your afternoons in the beachfront cabanas’ first-floor hammocks.

But this place begins and ends with Long Bay itself, a beach that pulls you in and makes you listen to it and watch it, the nexus of wind and waves mesmerizing.

It’s not quiet, but it’s not loud, either; there’s a kind of mystical quality to the scene, the turquoise ridges luring you in and releasing you. The sound of the beach is all-consuming.

Tortola is a quiet island, but even here one feels hidden away.

And isn’t that the point?

To book a stay at the Long Bay Beach Club click here.

— CJ