Two adventurers discover Petit. St Vincent
Upon leaving the Air Force in 1962, Hazen K. Richardson II, (known as Haze to his friends), and his flying buddy, Doug Terman, purchased the 77-foot schooner, JACINTA.
Together they went into the charter business and their first customer, Mr. H.W. Nichols of Ohio, expressed interest in purchasing an island. The following year, Haze and Doug sailed the Grenadine chain and anchored at the then uninhabited Petit St. Vincent.
The island belonged to a woman who lived on the neighboring island of Petite Martinique. Although it was rumored that she would never sell, a deal was struck and arrangements were made for Haze, Doug and Mr. Nichols to purchase the island and build a small hotel.
Work begins on the island
In May 1966, Haze and Doug returned to Petit St. Vincent to clear the necessary land. There was no water, electricity, food or means of communication. They lived on JACINTA for seven months, plucking their meals fresh from the sea. The Swedish architect, Arne Hasselqvist, who just so happened to be sailing in the area at that very time, met with Haze and agreed to design the 22 cottages and main pavilion.
Though the initial plan had been to find a manager for the hotel before completion in December 1968, Mr. Nichols asked Haze to stay on as a “temporary” manager. He did, and as time wore on, he eventually became the full owner of Petit St. Vincent.
Over the years, the hotel gained a loyal, repeat guest base. It was the first hotel in the Caribbean to become a member of the Leading Small Hotels of the World and one of the first hotels to be featured in Andrew Harper’s Hideaway Report.