Necker Island reopens with more celebration opportunities

Necker Island, Sir Richard Branson’s private hideaway, has been painstakingly restored after Hurricane Irma and in 2020 it becomes available for small group bookings through Virgin Limited Edition

Necker Island, Sir Richard Branson’s home and private hideaway in the British Virgin Islands has set 2020 dates for its Celebration Weeks. This lush tropical island, situated in the Caribbean and known for its stunning reefs and beaches, is mainly hired on an exclusive-use basis. But on certain weeks of the year it opens up ‘hotel style’ to allow guests access to one of the most secluded and exclusive islands in this part of the world.

These ‘Celebration Weeks’ at Necker Island are perfect for honeymooners and, while you’ve missed the first 2020 date (3rd-9th January), there are other opportunities from early autumn, with four celebration weeks. September dates (19-25 Sept and 26 Sept-3 Oct) are adult only, while in October (17-23 and 24-30 Oct) families are welcomed to the island.

For the first time 2020 sees the island become available for small group bookings. These weeks begin in June 2020, with small groups of between 8-15 able to book the island on a shared non-exclusive basis. Again, rates start from US $5,000 per room, per night.

While the rates are at the ‘splurge’ end of the spectrum, so too is the island. In fact, Necker Island is more of an estate – a lush 74 acres surrounded by turquoise waters and coral reefs. The island is fringed with beautiful white sandy beaches for perfect seclusion.

Guests visiting in 2020 will be among the first to see the restoration of Necker Island, following more than two years of work to undo the damage caused by Hurricane Irma. The island’s newly renovated Bali Lo complex has been returned to its former glory with the addition of private plunge pools and will be open from April 2020.

While the setting is even more luxurious, the key ingredients of a stay at Necker Island remain as wonderful as ever. Your per-night cost includes accommodation, meals, all drinks and local room taxes, return transfer from local airports (Virgin Gorda or Beef Island) and the on site services of a dedicated team of staff.

If you can tear yourself away from your luxurious room, you have free access to a whole host of other facilities, including two freshwater infinity pools, a capacious beach hot tub, two floodlit tennis courts and lots of watersports opportunities – from water skiing to SCUBA. And yes, the island has WiFi so the isolation may be splendid, but you will be able to share the odd Instagram snap of yourself enjoying life in the lap of luxury.

Of course, if you’d like to go the whole hog you can also book Necker Island in its entirety. It’s where Sir Richard Branson got married. His daughter Holly also chose it for her celebration.