With the Covid, the flu and the worst cold ever, we face a triple threat this winter. And, for many, the general grim post-containment unease has been difficult to shake. While good daily habits are essential to help support our immune system, a weeklong intensive wellness reboot is just the cure that can kickstart a healthy new lifestyle.
However, many medi-spas are joyless – applying tasteless raw foods and strict diets – not to mention their prohibitive cost. This is not the case with the all-inclusive luxury resort Bodyholiday in St. Lucia which has been catering to the needs of its stressed and tense guests for 30 years with a happy combination of fitness and fun (there is a free bar. ).
New for 2021, the station has launched four new programs designed to deal with the consequences of the pandemic. Wellness Rehabilitation, COVID Recovery, Boosting Your Immunity, and Corporate Wellbeing are uniquely designed to help clients overcome everything from anxiety to burnout to persistent physical damage. caused by the pandemic.
Stacked on the lush hillside overlooking a stunning Cariblue Beach at the northern, upscale tip of the island. It is an 80-minute drive from Hewanorra International Airport. Arrive in style with a helicopter transfer ($ 175 per person each way) if you’re in the mood.
With 18 acres to play with, Bodyholiday keeps most of the action as close as possible to the beautiful bay and its crystal clear waters. The buildings are spread across the entrance and are colonial in style, open-air and simple. The wellness center is modeled on the pleasing symmetry of Moorish architecture and is a clever operation. Here you will find 33 spa treatment rooms, a gym, dance studio, thalassotherapy pool, yoga studio, skin clinic, BodyScience clinic and the peaceful Ayurvedic temple Pavitra. Overlooking it all, in the hills you’ll find the amazing new farm-to-fork restaurant, Ital (we’ll talk about that later), as well as tennis courts, archery and the golf course.
While this is undoubtedly a luxury resort, the value of the all-inclusive offering is unmatched. The price of a room includes breakfast, lunch and dinner (in three different restaurants), all drinks by the glass (the wine is excellent), afternoon tea, a daily spa treatment 50 minutes, yoga, infrared sauna, meditation, fitness classes, hiking, golf, tennis, fencing, archery, all water sports and an introductory scuba diving course. There are also three freshwater swimming pools, one of which is used for free aqua aerobics lessons. If that doesn’t keep you occupied, there are plenty of extras available as well, such as a snorkeling trip around the beautiful island. In non-Covid times, there are sunset cruises and parties at the famous Gros Islet “jump-up” street party.
That’s why you’re coming. With the complimentary 50-minute daily spa treatment (choose from an impressive 170 to choose from), relaxation becomes easy. During my stay I enjoyed a deep shiatsu massage, a ginger lime scrub, a therapy called Heaven & Earth that put me to sleep, and an Ayurvedic oil massage. hot Abhyanga. I had a life-changing osteopathic session with on-site magic osteopath Maite, who realigned bones that have long needed realignment, and a CACI collagen boosting facial at the Skin Clinic specializing in non-invasive beauty.
The guiding concept of Bodyholiday is ‘give us your body for a week and we will give your mind back to you’ and it starts even before you are on the flight via a pre-trip consultation with the resort’s senior doctor. From there, a tailor-made program is organized with as many additional therapies and treatments as you are willing to pay. Existing tailor-made programs include Better Aging and Better Sleep, as well as new offers for 2021: Covid Convalescence (minimum five-day retreat with treatments including meditation, yoga, reiki, manual lymphatic drainage, hypnotherapy and osteopathy), Corporate Wellbeing ( specifically designed for top-flight executives who are exhausted) and Boost Your Immunity (a focus on prevention rather than cure). All $ 800 per person.
Unless you embark on one of the more regulated programs with a specific goal in mind, there’s a good chance you won’t come back thinner or more toned (I didn’t). The food portions are generous (and delicious) and the drinks are afloat, but that’s what makes Bodyholiday so charming: the location, the genuine friendliness of the staff, the joy of its approach to well-being leave the guests behind. relaxed and light clients. In a place where your only daily concern is whether you’d rather have a head massage before or after lunch, the problems go away. For people who have let bad habits take hold or have underlying painful issues, there are experts at BodyAware who can provide nutritional counseling, fitness testing, and education.
Experience is what you make of it. For the wellness enthusiast, the resources are there and tailor-made programs can help you achieve your goals, but for clients who need a week (or more) to pamper themselves and smooth without judgment, it is the perfect place.
This is where Bodyholiday deviates from the average wellness retreat. The dining options are endless and interesting: reserve a table at Cariblue Windows for tasting menus and food and wine pairings; hit Tao for Asian fusion; and Cariblue for buffet breakfast, lunch and dinner. The Wellness Cafe serves healthy meals and snacks on the beach (tip: try the Caribbean bento box) or the Pavilion Grill is the place to be for more carb-rich beach snacks like pizza and pasta.
New for 2021, is I-TAL. The Rastafari-influenced restaurant is nestled at the top of the Coubaril Valley and is housed in its own working mini-farm. Most of the ingredients of the dishes prepared by Chef Juliana come directly from the organic vegetable garden and are found on the plate. Go there for an unforgettable sunset dinner.
If your idea of wellness involves a glass of rosé for lunch, sunsets on the beach, and nightcaps after dinner, then Bodyholiday is for you. The Piano Bar stays open until the last man or woman standing, and the beach has a flag system: simply raise your flag and a fresh mango daiquiri is brought straight to your lounge chair.
The 155 rooms range from single rooms with garden views to ultra-luxury villas with infinity pools. The Ocean Front rooms or suites, a few meters from the edge of the azure water, are the ones for you. Information, routes and help are accessible via the tablet in the room and there is a button to press for champagne (and you thought well-being was a question of restraint…). All rooms are equipped with REN toiletries and Bluetooth audio systems; but none have a TV for a disconnect and disconnect vibe.
A wellness center for adults, resolutely focused on pleasure. Solo travelers are well catered for, as are couples and groups of friends. As a place to reset after a few rough years, we can’t think of better.
Rates start from $ 385 per person, per night on an all-inclusive basis, including daily spa treatments, water sports, classes, and scheduled activities; thebodyholiday.com.
