Turks and Caicos

• Nelson got it wrong, Antigua is fab! - Antigua
• I don’t like Antigua. I love it! and so will you! - Antigua
• My Millionaire Week - Bahamas
• The Bond hotel to die for - Bahamas
• Join the stars in the sun - Barbados
• Short Cut to Paradise - Barbados
• My Adventure on the wild side - Barbados
• How to find the bed of your dreams - Barbados
• My Barbados Love Affair - Barbados
• The Urban Spice Man - Grenada
• The island that time forgot - Nevis
• Heaven, no news for a week - St Lucia
• The Spice Island girl - Grenada
• Slow Time! - Grenada
• Star Grazing - Necker Island, Antigua
• Where Nelson won his spurs - Nevis
• Chill Out Caribbean - Spas
• Chicville-sur-mer - St Barts
• The Most Exclusive Island of All? - St Barts
• Spring into the Caribbean - St Barts
• Frightfully Fabulous - St Kitts
• I Love Lucia! - St Lucia
• So you want to live like a millionaire? - St Vincent & the Grenadines
• My perfect Martini - Turks and Caicos

THE JOURNEY TO Parrot Cay was an adventure in itself, with a change of plane at Miami followed by a two-hour hop to the island of Providenciales. Then came five minutes which were like being on a Bond film set – we were driven down unlit alleys and across empty parking lots, suddenly arriving at a chic decked area with uniformed staff waiting to escort us to a boat.

For half an hour we sped through the night sea breeze – before being met by Martini, the designated butler for our stay. Martini drove us in a golf buggy to our beach villa (one of six on the island), where she had run a bath full to overflowing with scented bubbles and scattered bougainvillea petals.

Our cases were unpacked and a light supper left on the table. We flung open the doors so that we could hear the sea, climbed into a four-poster bed, closed the mosquito nets and fell asleep to the sound of cicadas, crickets and the gentle lapping of the waves.

The next morning I sloughed off any remaining jetlag in the villa’s outdoor shower, using the peppermint and eucalyptus shampoo provided. I dried off in the screened porch and lay on a Balinese day bed, peering out at our private pool and seductivelooking hammock. Privacy is what Christina Ong, owner of the island, understands perfectly. The six beach houses and six beach villas are completely secluded and so comfortable that you need never leave them. Just pick up the phone and have all your meals delivered, and served, by your butler.

In the main hotel, meanwhile, staff outnumber the guests, so the standard of service is exemplary. Despite being in the West Indies, more than half of the employees are Asian, most of them with experience of working in some of the other hotels in the Christina Ong portfolio. Their experience shows – nothing is left to chance. I am ashamed to say that on my return I found myself waiting for someone to pull out the chair for me before I sat down.

Just Pamper Us

Every morning we climbed up the walkways to the hotel for breakfast on the terrace, where Martini was waiting for us to find out what we wanted to do for the day. It was hard not to say: ‘Just pamper us.’ Christina Ong opened

Parrot Cay in 1998 as part of her chain of COMO hotels and resorts. Her philosophy can be summed up as less is more, and she understands that her clientele, which can vary from the rich to the very rich, need time to themselves and appreciate a resort where they can go round all day in one of the extremely comfortable Parrot Cay dressing gowns (which I did). Packing for Parrot Cay is simple – things to swim in, things to sleep in and exercise clothes for yoga and Pilates.

Throw in a couple of dresses, a few sarongs, a pair of flat sandals and a shawl for the evening and you’re done. We spent most mornings by the infinity pool, which is vast and provides a glorious view of the sea. The top spots by the pool are the chairs at either end that overlook the ocean, and which come with their own pavilion to shelter from the sun and tropical rainstorms. I resisted doing the towel-bagging exercise, although, maddeningly, some other guests had no such compunction.

One morning, I was beaten to my favourite spot by an extremely spoilt shih-tzu called Ping Pong. Her owner was in the pool and Ping Pong was torn between guarding the hotspot or running up and down the length of the pool encouraging her owner to go faster.

It was her fifth visit to Parrot Cay – Ping Pong’s, too.The beach is extraordinary, more than a mile long and not a pebble to be found. The sand is so white and so fine that it feels like crushed velvet under your feet. Here, the Atlantic is calm, buoyant and easy and safe to swim in as it is protected by a coral reef about half a mile out.

Left Me Relaxed for 24 Hours

There are pavilions scattered above the beach where you can lie on comfortable day beds and contemplate the turquoise water and dazzling, pearl-like sand. It would be very easy to spend all day in one of these, just dragging your bed out at night to lie and look at the stars. But for me, Parrot Cay is about the COMO Shambhala Retreat; shambhala meaning a place of peace and harmony in Sanskrit.

Every morning and evening there are complimentary Pilates and yoga classes either on the beach or in the dedicated yoga pavilion. I went to the yoga classes every day. The teacher, Andrea, was very patient and didn’t mind if you were unable to launch yourself into a headstand after half-an-hour of trying. By the end of the week you discover that your body can contort itself into positions that you had no idea it could ever achieve.

Lynda, the Pilates teacher, demonstrated how minute adjustments to various positions make all the difference to muscles – which you notice when you stagger out of the yoga hut, down the track and into the spa, where you can relax in the steam room lying on a marble slab. When you are about to expire, you go outside and slip into the outdoor Jacuzzi.

The massage menu is comprehensive – everything from a couples massage to the very latest in hot-stone. I was given the best facial I have ever had, which started with a foot bath and massage. My face was cleansed, steamed and lathered with oil and creams. It was a massage going deep into the neck and shoulders, which left me feeling relaxed for 24 hours. So relaxed that I felt unable to walk the short journey back to our villa, so it was just as well that Martini was outside, waiting to drive me home.

And home, alarmingly, is what it was beginning to feel like. There is something utterly seductive about excessive pampering. After 48 hours you become accustomed to being looked after, and after another day you become incapable of doing anything for yourself. You can contact your butler 24 hours a day on their own four-digit number.

My husband wanted to play chess and discovered that the set in the library had a piece missing. He mentioned this to Martini, who instantly had a brand new set sent to our villa. The food is completely delicious. You can take the extremely healthy route and have the Como Shambhala cuisine, exquisitely flavoured, fat-free and full of vitamins and minerals. This is served in both the island’s restaurants. The Terrace restaurant also has Mediterranean food and the Lotus Poolside Restaurant, which we preferred, has Asian-inspired dishes.

At the end of the beach outside our villa was Rocky Point and beyond Rocky Point was another mile or two of beach on which there are some stupendous villas. This is part of Parrot Cay Estates, where it is possible to buy a one-and-a-half-acre plot with a three-bedroom villa on it for a mere £6million.

Among those who have bought their little piece of paradise are Keith Richards, Christie Brinkley, Bruce Willis and Donna Karan. They have ocean views, infinity pools, large indoor and outdoor living spaces, and each has its own private beach. My favourite was the one belonging to Bruce Willis, which has its own long drive with a sign reading Big Daddy Boulevard. Not content with the gardeners seen everywhere on the island, Big Bruce imports his own from mainland America.

Absolute Privacy

His Boulevard is a riot of colour, rather more manincured than the rest of the island, which prides itself on being a nature reserve. To rent it will set you back £3,000 a night, basic. The Donna Karan eight-bedroom spread is available for £11,000 a night. Donna Karan’s villa is more quirky and full of Indonesian furniture, including two towering chairs at each end of a beautiful table which must sit at least 20 people.

The privacy in these villas is absolute as they are a five-minute golf-buggy ride along a dirt track from the main resort. Parrot Cay is a world away from the realities of most people’s lives, which is why it is so desirable. Money like this buys you something that is almost beyond price: privacy, discreet luxury and an escape from the day-to-day worries of managing your wealth. Just spend it.