The attitude is build-it-and-they-will-come - the businessman envisions a place of luxury hotels and villas, eco spas, restaurants, shops and other niceties geared toward a chic set that includes his friends (he is an unabashed name dropper, peppering conversations with mentions of Bill Clinton, Mick Jagger and the like). The marina will be able to accommodate yachts of up to 300 feet.

With a population of about 102,000, Grenada has previously held a low-key position on the tourism map. In fact, the English-speaking West Indies island nation may be the last of the truly authentic places in the Caribbean.

Once a favorite of sailors as a gateway to the Windward Islands, there hasn't been much of a tourist trade of late beyond small hotels and resorts. Most businesses cater to locals rather than tourists, though a new cruise facility is attracting visits by cruise ships on Southern Caribbean itineraries.

Grenada serves up white-sand beaches, deep-blue waters, mountains, rainforests and much lush greenery - one-sixth of the land is protected as national parks. Yet it is best known as the place where Ronald Reagan sent troops in 1983 - following a coup and amid increasing coziness with Cuba and the Soviet bloc - to ``rescue'' American students attending the island's medical school. The country has had a stable democracy since 1984.

The economic mainstay for generations was nutmeg, with one-third of the world's production coming from the ``Spice Island.''

Then came Hurricane Ivan, the 2004 storm scoring a direct hit, destroying about 85 percent of the structures on Grenada and stripping most of the nutmeg crop.

It takes nutmeg trees about 10 years to regenerate. So island officials took a serious look at tourism and opened the door to more development, with de Savary leading the way. He is known as the developer of the St. James's Clubs in London and New York, the Abaco Club in the Bahamas, Skibo Castle in Scotland and Bovey Castle in England. Tax incentives were part of the deal.

Grenada currently has only 1,500 hotel rooms. But with de Savary's plans for villas and luxury hotels, and the unrelated construction of a Four Seasons Resort and other small projects, that number is expected to double by 2012.

Grenadians see their island as ``the sweetest island in the world,'' according to Junior Cuffie, harbormaster for de Savary's Port Louis marina. And they want to keep it that way, at the same time welcoming the opportunities development provides. Tourism officials are quick to point out the emphasis is on luxury and lesser projects have been turned away - the floodgates are not open.

At de Savary's Mount Cinnamon, a boutique resort, 21 luxury villas sold out in a matter of months last year. A second phase is under way with two- and three-bedroom villas priced from $795,000. Nightly rentals, available after March 1, are from $500 per night.

The white-walled complex occupies a hillside above Grand Anse beach, Grenada's main beach, with two blissful miles of white sand and not a high-rise in sight - though you can see the colorful Georgian buildings of St. George's harbor in the distance.

Elsewhere, the coast - Caribbean on one side and Atlantic on the other - is rippled with fjords and isolated tiny beaches, some accessible only by boat.

The scenery is stunning, and so is the unspoiled local charm.

In little villages, there is dancing in the street, literally, especially on weekly Fish Friday, centered in the northern village of Gouyave.

Visitors will see donkeys and goats crossing small winding roads. Some locals still wash their clothes in streams and you may see women carrying goods on their heads.

In one town, Victoria, a bridge just went up a few months ago to connect a main road to the school. Before that, the children, in full school uniform, would cross stones in a roaring stream to get to school.

Traffic lights have only been a factor on Grenada for the last decade, and there are still very few.

Will this all change with the upcoming development? Probably.

But, promised Cuffie, ``We don't want to spoil it. We don't want it like Barbados and those places. We want it like Grenada.''

ITAL STEW

Early adherents adopted the dietary laws of Leviticus and Deuteronomy. Though there are different interpretations of ital regarding specific foods, the general principle is that food should be natural, or pure, and from the earth. Rastas therefore avoid food which is chemically modified or contains artificial additives (e.g., colour, flavourings, and preservatives). Some also avoid added salt in foods. In strict interpretations, foods that have been produced using chemicals such as pesticides and fertiliser are not considered ital.

In common with religions such as Judaism, Islam, and Ethiopian Christianity, Rasta prohibits the eating of pork. Some Rastas also avoid eating shellfish because, in common with pigs, they are considered to be scavengers. Most Rastas avoid the consumption of all red meat, many do not eat fish or those fish over 12 inches in length, and some are strict vegetarians.

Stricter interpretations also avoid food that has been preserved by canning or drying and even prohibit the use of metal cooking utensils. Foodstuffs such as grass and other herbal remedies are permitted within this diet. In this case, only clay and wood cooking pots, crockery, and cutlery are used. Few adherents of ital follow the strictest interpretation; some Rastas do not adhere to them at all.

  ITAL STEW INGREDIENTS

1 lb Yam
1 lb Pumpkin
1 lb Coco
½ lb Cassava
½ lb Breadfruit
2 pt Vegetable stock
1 Hot pepper
Freshly ground black pepper
Plain or cornmeal dumplings
3 Green bananas
Juice of ½ lime

1. Remove the seeds from the pumpkin.  Wash and peel the yam, pumpkin, coco and cassava
2. Slice the breadfruit into wedges, peel and cut out the heart.
3. Chop all the vegetable into fairly large pieces.
4. In a large pan bring the stock to the boil.  Add the vegetables, the hot pepper and black pepper.  Turn down the heat and simmer for 20 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, mix the dumplings and add to the pan, turn up the heat and cook until the dumplings are done.
6. In a separate pan boil the green bananas in their skins, having cut off both ends and split the skin deeply with a knife.
7. When cooked, allow to cool a little before peeling.  Cut each banana into 3 pieces and add to the stew with the lime juice.
8. Remove the hot pepper once the stew has reheated.
Serves 4–6