A little bit James Bond, a little bit The Honeymooners, and okay, maybe a bit Swiss Family Robinson… this private island resort will relax you beyond what you may have dreamed possible. Or it will drive you absolutely crazy within two days (including one full day of travel time). It all depends on whether you can handle going without cell-phone service, television, in-room phones, air-conditioning, pool, and more than one solitary computer with Internet access, in a small office that the staff would prefer you didn't know about.

No doubt, Petit St. Vincent takes the "less is more" approach to luxury vacationing, and so is not for everyone. However, some people absolutely love the shuffle of tradewind breezes flowing through open windows, the feeling of cool tiles underfoot, and privacy so all-enveloping that certain guests (usually the pop stars and honeymooners) never make contact with another soul during an entire two- or three-week stay.

A little bit James Bond, a little bit The Honeymooners, and okay, maybe a bit Swiss Family Robinson… this private island resort will relax you beyond what you may have dreamed possible. Or it will drive you absolutely crazy within two days (including one full day of travel time). It all depends on whether you can handle going without cell-phone service, television, in-room phones, air-conditioning, pool, and more than one solitary computer with Internet access, in a small office that the staff would prefer you didn't know about.

No doubt, Petit St. Vincent takes the "less is more" approach to luxury vacationing, and so is not for everyone. However, some people absolutely love the shuffle of tradewind breezes flowing through open windows, the feeling of cool tiles underfoot, and privacy so all-enveloping that certain guests (usually the pop stars and honeymooners) never make contact with another soul during an entire two- or three-week stay. Service uses the "flag" system: if a guest wants food or drink or something else, they write a note detailing what, leave it in a pickup box, and raise a yellow flag outside to alert the staff. If guests want to be left completely alone, they raise a red flag, and immediately their cottage is off-access. "This is a great place to either test a new relationship or rekindle an old one," notes one male guest.

So, apart from privacy, what places this no-amenity resort among the pantheon of luxe retreats? Might as well ask why the quiet beauty at the dance outshines all the made-up blondes: Soul. Class. And a great figure. The guest cottages may be understated, but the artistry of the stone walls—handcrafted using distinctive deep-blue stones from an on-island quarry—is sublime. The ceilings are polished mahogany; the linens are Frette. And though the ambience is ultra-casual, the staff think of everything: they deliver snorkel gear in your size upon arrival, provide "beach bags" with sundries that may have been forgotten at home, and don't even do check-in for arriving guests.

The island is small enough to walk across easily, with an Atlantic beach on one side and Caribbean on the other. Regular guests often go shell-hunting on the rougher Atlantic side in the morning, and then relax on the Caribbean side in the afternoon. You can also learn sailing on a Hobie Cat, go fishing, picnic at the tiny sandbar just offshore, or circumnavigate the island on a glass-bottom kayak. Children rediscover how to play here, too, encouraged by the owner's six yellow Labradors. Adults get to spend quality time with friends and family—not only do many guests return annually, but some rent out the same cottages for a month or more each year.

The food is varied and plentiful, but more importantly it's fresh and locally sourced whenever possible. Cheese comes from nearby French-Caribbean islands, produce is mostly grown in the kitchen garden, eggs come from the chicken coop, and the seafood is fresh-caught. "You could almost have lobster three times a day," says a staffer. That alone is better than a 100-foot buffet line to most foodies. Unsurprisingly, meals are the most social times of the day—some people congregate in the bar before or after, but liquor does carry an additional charge here. A weekly beach barbecue and Caribbean steel drum show gives guests one formal opportunity to get out and meet their neighbors—all 40 of them at most, and usually nowhere near that number because most people's main reason for being here is to disappear off that radar for a time.

Lena Katz is the author of the Travel Temptations series, published by Globe Pequot, including the recently published SUN: California and SIP: California guides.