Inside the Caribbean resort that stars in ITV’s new Traitors-meets-White-Lotus show
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This week saw the launch of an intriguing new ITV game show series, The Fortune Hotel, hosted by Stephen Mangan. In the first episode of eight to be aired Monday-Thursday over two weeks, 10 pairs of contestants checked into a luxury Caribbean hotel before embarking on a series of challenges resulting in one couple winning £250,000.
Each pair of contestants is given a briefcase upon check-in and then has to either keep hold of the one case containing £250,000 (as the Fortune Holders), get hold of the winning case (as the Fortune Hunters) or give away the case with an early check-out card (as The Unfortunates). Case swaps happen at the end of each day according to how well each couple has done in that day’s challenge.
If you’re thinking this kind of small-screen deception sounds familiar, you’ll be unsurprised to hear that reviews have been quick to draw parallels (albeit not universally flattering ones) with BBC smash The Traitors, as well as dark luxury hotel-set drama The White Lotus.
You might also be wondering where exactly in paradise the show was filmed. Enter the sleek Silversands hotel in Grenada, with sites across this Caribbean island also coming into the spotlight. I was there last week and experienced its winning location, minimalist design, spoiling spa and fine dining for myself.
Silversands Grenada sits prettily on the mile-and-a-half stretch of Grand Anse Beach on the island’s buzzing south-west coast. Backing these powdery white-sand shores are the tropical gardens surrounding the hotel’s contemporary, high-ceilinged and open-to-the-outdoors buildings. Then there’s its showstopper infinity pool, which is said to be the longest in the Caribbean. Forested mountainside rises up behind the beachfront property.
Fortune Hotel contests first open their briefcases inside the property’s palatial rooms. Just 43 ocean- and garden-view rooms and suites, including penthouses overlooking the ocean, occupy two three-storey blocks fronted with floor-to-ceiling glass on each level and wooden slatting. Two- and three-bedroom villas overlooking the ocean and an additional four-bedroom beachfront villa, all with pools, are hidden away in their own private pockets of greenery.
The focal point of Silversands, however, is undoubtedly the long, palm-lined infinity pool that stretches 100 metres from the lobby area where you see contestants meet at the start of the series to the sandy shores onto which the resort faces.
Over the weeks the show was filmed, contestants may have had the chance to dine at Silversands’ globally inspired restaurants, which span the sophisticated Asiatique, Mediterranean-influenced Grenadian Grill and laidback open-air Beach Lounge.
Fine-dining Asiatique offers modern Asian-fusion creations such as Indonesian braised beef or lobster with red curry sauce in an indoor-outdoor space. For me, sitting on the atmospherically lit terrace after sundown, a highlight was the Yam Talay, combining the local seafood with chilli paste and a spicy Thai sauce.
The Grenadian Grill meanwhile focuses on showcasing seasonal, local produce in both Mediterranean-inspired and authentic local dishes served in an open-sided setting just steps from the beach. The locally caught seafood, perhaps cooked creole-style, is a highlight of this restaurant’s menu, which also encompasses favourites such as coconut panko shrimp and lobster fritters. Every Friday it hosts a barbecue to the soundtrack of a DJ.
By night, just like the Fortune Hotel contestants, guests can settle into the Beach Lounge or sink into one of the armchairs at the elevated Puro bar, which is set back from the shore. This space is distinguished by its contemporary Caribbean design and has a professional “rummelier” leading rum-tasting sessions on request, with some made on the island.
An oasis of the resort that you may not get to see in the TV series is the spa – where I spent as much time as possible. The courtyard pool of this tranquil space is no less impressive than the infinity pool you’re first met with, although admittedly not as superlative in length, lined with loungers and cabanas in a serene space featuring palm trees and overhead wooden slatting with hanging white lanterns.
In its convenient location just a 10-minute drive from the historic capital of St George’s, Silversands places guests within easy reach of many of this island’s sites, which count historic forts, rum distilleries, waterfalls and an underwater sculpture park among them. Indeed in the first episode of the show, contestants were tasked with seeking out a series of landmarks in the surrounding area.
On my last day on the island, I spent the morning cruising along the south-east coastline in a traditional Grenadian sailing boat. As a paradisiacal location for televised trouble, this is hard to beat.
Silversands Grenada offers doubles from £402, including breakfast.
