Meaning to build a hotel in an entirely different location, Febles and Loshusan stumbled on The Potlatch Club and fell under its spell. Their reclamation project—among the thousands of its plantings are hundreds of mature palms that Febles had ingeniously relocated to look as if they’ve always been here—took them 12 years. The result feels immaculate and serene, simultaneously timeless and fresh. With only 11 whitewashed suites, cabins, and villas spread out over a dozen verdant acres, its sense of calm and pampered privacy is complete.
There are other places on the island that, like The Potlatch Club, feel a little less tame than tidy, snug Harbour Island. Places like The Other Side and The Farm, two bucolic hotels owned by Ben Simmons and his wife, Charlie Phelan. The couple grow food for the restaurants at The Farm and also run the wonderful Ocean View, across the bay on Harbour Island, which retains the air of bohemian chic of Ben’s mother, Pip, who was the original spirit behind the hotel.
If at Coral Sands we’d practiced the art of doing nothing, at Potlatch we perfected it. From Pineapple House, the property’s largest villa, a stone path led past our private pool to the sea. A pergola stood at the dunes, like a private doorway to the beautiful wide, empty beach. We spent much time under thatched beach umbrellas, contemplating the endless movement of the ocean that shaped this island from compounded shells, coral, and stone. Post-contemplation, we walked up the beach to Tippy’s, a painted blue shack with a fantastic bar and carved fish on the walls. We ate garlic shrimp and fried fish sandwiches, drank cold Kalik beers and fruit punch.
At Potlatch we wandered over to The Sandbar, an open-air pavilion with a high spire on the roof, slow-moving fans, and irresistible cocktails. In the clubhouse there was a grand piano, a fireplace, and the original black-and-white tile floor that survived during the property’s dormancy. On the walls are mementos and photos of the great and good who have holed up here over the decades. Our Beatles-mad family was immediately drawn to a framed facsimile of Paul McCartney’s handwritten lyrics to “Oh! Darling” in blue ink on Potlatch Club stationery. Paul and Linda sneaked away here for their honeymoon in March of 1969. Paul apparently found inspiration in the resort’s luxurious quiet, also writing “She Came In Through the Bathroom Window.”
