As if you needed any more reasons to head to the Caribbean island of St Lucia, The BodyHoliday is a 5* resort that has everything from scuba diving to body scrubs … no, we’re not remotely jealous that Business Development Manager Aaron Taylor went along to see what it’s like – not even a little bit.

First Impressions

We were met at the doors of the hotel with cold flannels and cocktails – our luggage was whisked away to our rooms, so the only reasonable thing to do was to kick things off by enjoying our drinks and checking out the sea views … not a bad start!

The Hotel

The design of the hotel is very typical of the Caribbean – open spaces with a colonial design.  It is built into a hillside so it blends into the environment, and the rooms are all vast and luxurious with predominantly white interiors and views across the omnipresent and unerringly blue sea.  Every room is designed to be a sanctuary as the venue’s ethos is ‘give us your body for a week and we’ll give you back your mind’, but while you are left in no doubt about how luxurious this place is, the nice thing is that it isn’t over the top or ostentatious.

The Spa

Being a resort, the spa is in a separate building to the main hotel, and the only word to describe it is ‘amazing’ … which is in no small part due to the fact that the venue is geared towards ‘wellness’ – it’s all encompassing with lots of facilities and specialised treatments in addition to the other activities that the location lends itself to – more on that later.  Your week long stay includes a different treatment on each full day of your stay – you are booked in before you arrive which is great because you get the opportunity to try things that you probably wouldn’t otherwise have thought of – if there is something you would rather not have though, you can change it depending on availability.

The Restaurant

Refreshments are certainly not in short supply, and the really nice thing about The BodyHoliday is that once you’re there, pretty much everything is included – one of our favourite features was the Delhi which is next to the beach and supplies smoothies and sandwiches all day.  There are three main restaurants – Cariblue is a buffet-style venue that’s open for all meals – it’s pretty casual although in the evenings it’s best not to rock up in a pair of shorts!  The Clubhouse is at the epicentre of the resort and is the most casual dining area – it has a barbeque each evening and afternoon tea every day which is quintessentially British – scones and that sort of thing.  Most impressive however, is Tao – the fine dining restaurant where I had some of the best meals I have ever had.

The Location

It’s the Caribbean – what more do you need to know?  The venue is right on the beach, which is ideal for the constant 25-30⁰ C temperatures and there are lots of activities – most of which are complimentary, including sailing, snorkelling and archery.  There is also a golf course nearby where the venue offers a discounted rate and I recommend taking a sunset cruise along the coast.  If you are feeling energetic then take advantage of the varied landscape and perhaps try extreme mountain biking or hiking in the rainforest.

The Verdict

The BodyHoliday is very much about relaxation – it’s chilled out and indulgent but offers a lot more than just sitting on the beach.  It is the sort of place you go with the aim of coming back feeling like a much better version of yourself; it is only open to those over 16 years old, and as they offer solo packages and plenty of entertainment, it is a great place to go whether you are in a couple, a group or on your own.

Top Tips

– You will automatically be booked in for one meal at Tao, but it’s really wonderful so when you arrive I recommend booking a couple of other nights as well – don’t leave it until the day because it’s really popular and a large percentage of guests are returning so they know the drill!

– If one of your treatments is a salt scrub, try not to get burned in the sun beforehand!

– You can get a bus from the airport to the resort, but if there’s more than two of you I recommend getting a taxi because it’s not much more expensive when split between you, but the bus will take 90 minutes, and a taxi will only take 45.

To visit The BodyHoliday visit Spabreaks.com or call the team on 0800 043 6600.