Actor Stephen Mangan was lucky enough to go to the Caribbean for four weeks last year for the filming of ITV’s Fortune Hotel. Now back in the UK (but yearning to return), he shares his tips on what to do, and more importantly, where to find the best spots for drinking rum.
Where is your favourite destination and why?
Grenada. I’d never been to the Caribbean before. I just imagined it wouldn’t interest me and I don’t know why I ever thought that because it’s just fantastic. Grenada isn’t as busy as some of the other more touristy islands in the Caribbean. You don’t feel like you’re in the middle of a tourism hotspot.
When was the last time you were there, and who were you with?
I was there for four weeks in November which, you know, is not a month I would ever worry about missing in this country. I was working and I can try to pretend it was tough — we did work 12 hours a day, six days a week — but we were in the Caribbean. I’d go back in a shot.
Where do you like to stay there?
We stayed at a hotel called Silversands which we renamed The Fortune Hotel for our TV show of the same name, which we were filming there. You walk in, and the first thing you see is a 100m long pool which is ridiculously long for a swimming pool. There are all sorts of fantastic villas with their own pools and I was in an apartment on the third floor. ITV booked out the entire hotel, so there was miles of cabling and whole villas taken over with camera equipment. But it was right by the beach; the long pool finishes, you step out of it and you’re standing on the beach.
What are your top restaurants?
You can’t go wrong really because most of the restaurants are down by the sea. It’s quite a small island, so there’s a lot of coastline relative to the size of the island. You nearly always find yourself sitting looking at the sea, and the sunsets are actually spectacular; the light is amazing. We used to eat at a place called 61 West in St George’s, which was a very cool restaurant, a short walk down the beach from where we were staying. The fish tacos were great, there was lots of tuna carpaccio. And then there was more Caribbean, jerk chicken type stuff. Lots of seafood, scallops and prawns, stuff that was caught fresh from that day. I would go and ask what’s just come in and go for that. I also went to a place called Laluna, which is a very swanky hotel, but with an amazing restaurant. That was really good, and the hotel we were staying at had another hotel called Silversands Beach House, which I would also recommend.
What is the one unmissable thing you recommend doing?
I think getting out on the water is worth doing. Getting into a speedboat or a yacht, or a boat that will take you around to a little cove somewhere and you can jump off and swim in the sea. I think that’s definitely worth doing. We had a couple of huge yachts, which were slightly out of my league, but I got the chance to do it for the show. Apart from that, it’s relaxation. I’m all Action Jackson when it comes to holidays. I’ll go on a skiing holiday or I like running, but something about the heat and the sun and the sand makes you just kind of want to do nothing. So lean into that would be my advice. A place like Grenada for me is all about sitting under a sunshade and reading a book with a nice drink. It makes you feel lazy.
Is there a hidden gem you are willing to share?
The River Antoine Estate rum distillery was very good. We did a day wandering around that, and they do tours and tastings of the rum. I’m not one for gift shops, but if the gift shop is basically lots of bottles of rum, I’m in.
Where do you like to let your hair loose?
It’s quite hard to throw a stone and not hit a rum shack. So, you just walk out to the beach, find the first rum shack or bar and just sit there. You don’t want to walk more than 100 yards really because it’s too hot. You just want to sit and drink. So that’s what I did. They did some ridiculous rum punches in Grenada that were lethal. Especially if you’re like me, and you’re used to drinking pints. So the amount of liquid you put away in an evening is quite a lot. Drinking these rum cocktails… I was talking a lot of rubbish very quickly.
The one thing you would bring home as a souvenir?
Just down the opposite end of the beach to Silversands, there was a nice little market with various little shops, selling bags and T-shirts and spices, which are big over there. I’m not a shopper though. I get no pleasure from it whatsoever, but I’ve got a nine-year-old and he was delighted with his shark’s tooth necklace.
Your favourite beauty spot?
Fort George. I think that’s worth going to because as with lot of forts, it’s perched right up on the top of a hill. It was built by the French in the 18th century, so it’s certainly seen better days, but it has fantastic views over the whole of the island — if you can drag yourself away from your deck chair for an hour or two.
Your packing essential?
I always bring my own speakers so I can listen to music.
Your dress code for the destination?
Linen. It is so hot, and it’s hard when you come from London in November to imagine what it’s going to be like. I presented in a suit, and we did some scenes in the Lady Luck Bar, which is where all the intriguing case swapping happens and all the drama, like people getting eliminated. But the sound department thought that the air conditioning was making too much noise for the first week and I had one suit that was made of wool. It was not pretty.
The Fortune Hotel Season 2 is streaming on ITV from August 6
