TheBodyHoliday Review, Tips, & Tricks
We just got back from an amazing stay at TheBodyHoliday in Saint Lucia, one of the things we found about the resort is that it does have a learning curve (scheduling nuances, meal times, etc.) once figured out we adored it and plan to return each year (if possible). I wanted to take the time primarily to give a thorough write up of the core categories to help newbie BodyHolidayers like ourselves.
The vibe of BH is whatever you want it to be, it is mostly a British holidayer destination, but there were people from everywhere. Everyone was very friendly and those who wanted to socialize you quickly formed great friends with. Our best summary of the vibe is that we started with solo breakfast at wellness cafe on Day 1, on our last Day (Day 6) we had 7 people at a table in Cariblue post-beach fit.
If you wanted a sporty holiday, you could make it this, if you wanted a beach rot with drinks holiday this could also be it!
Arrival/Departure
There are 4 options for transfers, that can be billed to your room: Vehicle which is about 1 h 30m (from UVF) by some very windy and bumpy roads, so really recommend ginger chews and dramamine - you can do either executive transfer (air conditioned service) ($135 total for a couple at time of writing) or Standard airport transfer $99.
They also offer helicopter transfers to SLU Airport on the north of the airport, this costs $202 and requires a minimum of 4 persons to be confirmed. This would be followed by a 20-30 minute car drive at $45/person.
There is also a ferry to Castries that operates late in the afternoon. The ferry has beer, wine snacks and includes ground transport to & from the boat, and to & from accommodations. 5-10 minute drive from Rodney Bay Marina where you are dropped off. With total trip time 1.5 -2 hours. Departs at 3:30 pm.
The UVF airport is sparse and food options leave something to be desired, so would highly recommend leaving enough room for traffic but dont be so conservative you are stuck waiting in a small island airport for too long. Security/Passport control for us took all of 10 minutes with only carry-on bags - and does require shoes off, laptops out, etc.
Grounds/Accommodations
The grounds are kept immaculate and are so lovely to walk around, the specific venues for activities and spa (will detail later) are also really thoughtfully designed.
We opted for an Oceanview room vs. Oceanfront, and honestly to us it was spectacular, we would love oceanfront, but for the cost increase did not feel we had sacrificed much.
They offer 5 room types: Garden View, Ocean View, Ocean Front, Suites and Villas. The villas have butler service, and for some this is needed to drive you up and down to the resort, or get yourself a car to drive up, all far away villas include parking.
See linked video for Oceanfront room walkthrough. - Will update this post with it shortly.
One of the key features of all rooms and villas is a tablet that updates with a QR code for activity schedules, and showcases all the spa options, menu options and special events happening.
Turndown service occurred each night with a teapot for tea (their own Living West Indies brand) and small biscuits.
Room comfort was great, we prefer a firmer mattress and that’s what was there, as well as a pillow menu should the standard pillows not suit you.
Pre-Arrival / Scheduling
We had several issues with Webroom as we tried to operate as told by our booking email, booking reservations for dinner and spa times via webroom. However 2 days before departure we were alerted there were issues with Webroom so to do everything manually via message/email/call with the concierge. Do this 2 weeks ahead.
This did result in us getting less preferred meal times for the popular two restaurants (Tao & Cariblue WIndows) as well as very varied Spa Times.
You will be welcomed to the resort at drop-off, and your bags and yourself taken to the room. One thing that was not mentioned to us that we luckily realized was that we still need to check-in. Formal check-in is needed to get your card on file for incidentals, and receive your spa schedule, and any other items you may have scheduled.
Spa
You receive one inclusive treatment a day (excluding arrival/departure days and christmas day) - options include - https://www.thebodyholiday.com/therapeutic-cares/.
I had the Serenity Massage, Lucian Lime and Ginger Scrub, Heaven & Earth (twice) and Aloe Body Wrap.
All were well worth and would recommend, especially the aloe wrap at the end of your holiday if you have caught the sun.
In the spa there are additional areas to enjoy prior/after your treatment - the Thallasotherapy pool (this was a slightly aged facility but still nice) - there is also a shower in this room if you are coming directly from a workout or pool/beach.
Infrared Therapy - you can go in and sit for 20 minutes at a time at anytime during active spa hours.
Timing of Spa: this is a hot topic and all times have their pros/cons. Most popular time is afternoon 2 onwards, as at this point you are choosing between spa and normally 1-2 activities vs. any earlier and you are choosing spa over 5+ activity options at the same time.
For me 2pm -5pm was often quite a sleepy time and left me feeling snoozy for the rest of the day which I did not prefer, vs. early in the morning I would feel that all relaxation benefits from it were soon lost from all the other activities. For me I think a sweet spot would be noon, to avoid peak sun, and activity loss.
If you do end up with an activity you want to do scheduled at the same time as your spa, an option is to pursue a ‘no-show’ show up to the spa at your desired time, and at 10 past, if they have any no shows they will fit you right in for any of the inclusive treatments.
Treatment Substitutions - there is an option to forgo an inclusive treatment for a supplement/none included treatment, which grants a small discount depending on the treatment $20-50. There is also often a weekly/monthly special which you could add without substituting for the equivalent of the discounted substitution rate.
Activities & Sports
There are so many activities available, see pictures of schedules from our visit. Some of our favorites included: Beach Fit/Beach Bootcamp we did this every morning and loved it, ours was guest hosted by Julien Alfred (olympian) and her team. Aqua fit was also a sleeper hit for us, originally dismissed as being for older people, we tried it, loved it, and kept returning. It was both fun and a good workout.
Beach Volleyball was a great way to get to know people, occurring from 5-6 pm officially, but you could kick off a game anytime should you want.
The Reefside Yoga deck is a particular highlight as it is so scenic, and the perfect relaxation spot for yoga.
There is always Intro to Tennis, Intermediate Tennis and you can also pay a supplemental fee for private coaching with Neil the TennisPro. Neil was great, giving fantastic advice, encouraging, and was very skilled able to improve our tennis games via fun drills.
Archery (intro and intermediate) is fun, but a smaller facility (3 targets) so if there is a big crowd (ours was about 10 people) you may only go twice.
Dining
There are 6 dining choices, with various opening and closing times to ensure food is virtually always available. Compared to our previous all-inclusive holidays BH blew them out the water for quality and when you wanted to choose it - healthiness.
Tao has a lovely view and atmosphere with many asian inspired options, this menu featured the most supplemental $ options, but you would still readily be able to do a full meal in included rates.
Cariblue Windows- has themed tasting menus each night, one included tasting menu, and a more robust supplemental tasting menu + supplemental wine pairings. We went on caribbean night, service and food were both lovely - especially the crispy pork cutlet and jerk chicken, and we were truly wowed by the Callaloo Soup.
Cariblue - the outdoor portion next to windows (wednesday’s windows is closed and converts to buffet style). The service here was also fantastic and food options were delightful, and had your Ayurvedic Dosha recommendations. Breakfast and Lunch here is plentiful and can be as healthy or decadent as your choose.
Wellness Cafe - We did this for almost all breakfasts except 1, the portions and opening times were perfect for us. We would start each day with one of their healthy options, a wellness shot, and smoothies. The perfect post-beach fit accompaniment.
Pavilion Grill - Themed buffets each night - we had two of these: their Grill on the beach night, on Friday (this was our arrival night and could not have kicked off the holiday any better). Personal favorite - the ribs! On Sundays they do a true English Roast with Yorkshires, Beef, Turkey or Ham!
This location also does afternoon tea from 4-6 with scones, finger sandwiches and other small desserts.
I-TAL: Supplemental dinner charge $90/person. We did not try this but all who had spoke very highly of it, we will do it next year!
Other:
We did the scuba refresher and it was great ($100) and really felt effective. Our dive instructor covered all the important things and even some items I felt were not covered during my initial certification.
The guest Yoga instructors were lovely - Dr. Rebekah Jade and Amy Jo Glover. Amy taught a Yang to the Yin class at sunset that was really soothing and nice, with lemon oil to pressure points on your forehead. Dr. Rebekah did an inversions workshop that catered to all levels and really helped my practice.