03 May 2024

Caribbean

We offer a wide choice of cheap flights to Caribbean together with Caribbean hotels, tours and self-drive itineraries.

Other Caribbean Reviews

Chill-out Caribbean

Relaxation has been refined to an art form in the wonderful hideaways of the Caribbean - as Jill Hartley found to her delight at the region's top spa resorts, where she was massaged into a state of bliss.

1 Spa massage St Barts 2 Little Dix Bay, BVI 3 Spa Fountain, Sandy Lane

IT'S NO COINCIDENCE THAT the first thing the locals say to you in the Caribbean is ‘relax’. The islands have become a haven for the seriously stressed where, thanks to some sublime new spas this winter, you can take a rest cure for both the body and mind.

Jamaica Inn, Jamaica

Little can beat a beachside massage while you drift off to the sound of the waves. Jamaica Inn, Ocho Rios, celebrated its 50th anniversary with a new spa last summer, built on a rocky bluff pounded by crashing surf.

Spa director Carolyn Jobson has worked for 20th Century Fox and Disney, so has all the lowdown on Hollywood gossip.

Celebrities who have benefited from her healing hands include Nicole Kidman, Celine Dion, Don Johnson and Jack Nicholson.

Jobson uses herbs, plants and fruits in her treatments and also favours hot rock treatments. Arawak Opia Stone

Massage is a ‘romantic speciality’ for couples, administered by moonlight.

Malliouhana, Anguilla

The tiny island of Anguilla is the sort of place where you can expect to see Liam Neeson, Harrison Ford or Pierce Brosnan barefoot in a beach bar.

They pull in the celebrities by keeping the island expensive and exclusive - no jumbo jets, no cruise ships, and no jet skis (by law) to shatter the gentle hum of rich people being pampered.

Malliouhana has one of the Caribbean’s best restaurants on Meads Bay, a beach so perfect that it feels like walking on powdered silk. Now it claims to have the region’s biggest and bestequipped spa with enough fitness equipment to keep an

Olympic squad at its peak. After a workout, you can be massaged into a state of bliss with specially blended tropical oils, using passion fruit, hibiscus, frangipani and tamarind.

Little Dix Bay, BVI

A bolthole for the Caribbean cognoscenti, Little Dix, on Virgin Gorda in the British Virgin Islands, curves round a stunning white sand crescent, backed by palms and soft emerald hills. It’s more South Seas than West Indies.

The hotel is known for protecting and pampering its guests, including top league politicians, company presidents and the odd football manager.

Now they can ease their stress levels in the new cliff-top spa, a series of private treatment cottages with boggling blue Caribbean views, private patios and gardens rampant with tropical blooms.

Treatments claim to use ‘ancient healing techniques with ocean and celestial influences’ dating back to Caribe Indians. Check out the meditation pool, on its own rocky headland, for yoga at sunrise.

Eden Rock, St Bathelmy

With just 16 rooms and four restaurants, Eden Rock on the French island of St Barts is a hedonistic temple of a hotel, so exclusive that Garbo used to come here ‘to be alone’

Today, you are more likely to find Cameron Diaz, Billy Joel, or Mariah Carey, who recently held her birthday party on the beach. The new spa has heavenly views from open-air massage tables and a discreet plunge pool hidden in the rocks.

Director Nicholas Wormser used to be the physiotherapist to French football and volleyball teams in Paris and is available for private consultations. His jetlag treatment, incorporating special exercises with massage using releasing creams, is the perfect way to wind down.

Sandy Lane, Barbados

The legendary Sandy Lane, stands proudly along the platinum mile in Barbados, a place renowned for star spotting! You will be greeted by a smiling welcome as warm as the Bajan sunset, a chilled towel and a cool tropical punch.

It is at this moment you realise Sandy Lane is no ordinary hotel. Situated on a strip of glorious white sand, edged by the sapphire blue Caribbean Sea, the hotel has lashings of subtle, colonial style.

After extensive redevelopment the hotel has not only been restored but enhanced, bringing the resort into the 21st century. Here your every need is catered for, allowing you time to rejuvenate mind, body and spirit.

The fabulous Romanesque building houses the Sandy Lane spa which offers a range of massages, treatments and wraps, encompassing traditional cultural therapies. Or take part in daily programmes of yoga and meditation, revitalising your mind.

A recent favourite with Cindy Crawford, Donatella Versace, David Coulthard, Pavarotti and Davina McCall.

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