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Island hopping: Caribbean spa travel guide
British Virgin Islands: Little Dix Bay Virgin Gorda
Renaissance is occurring at this venerable property, one of the original Rock Re-sorts (opened in 1964). While it still has many rooms from the '60s and '70s (their main drawbacks: modest size and tiny bathrooms), the resort has recently built two villas (one two-bedroom, one three) and eight very spacious junior suites and created four handsome one-bedroom suites out of older rooms. And last year it unveiled a cliff-top spa, which gets the Caribbean gold for "extraordinary views." The waiting area, chaises around the spa pool, looks out on Sir Francis Drake Channel, and the nine treatment rooms, nicely hidden in the vegetation, enjoy the same prospect.
The Cliff Spa Suite, the couple's treatment room, has the largest terrace and the best ocean view. You could easily spend a morning at the suite, going from eight-o'clock yoga or Pilates by the pool to the divine little beach at the base of the cliff for a swim, then back up to the suite for treatments, with the finale being an alfresco lunch from the spa menu.
The therapists are first-rate. Nancy Brock gives a dynamite trigger-point massage (pressure applied to a specific point to relax a muscle; 50 minutes, $115). The hydrating body treatments, particularly the Mango Pineapple Sugar Scrub (25 minutes, $70) and the Virgin Gorda Goat Milk and Honey Wrap (55 minutes, $125), are a good way to counteract the drying effects of the omnipresent wind.
The guest rooms at Little Dix Bay stand just back from the scallop-shaped beach. That and the Children's Grove play facility draw a fair number of couples with young children to the resort. Nonetheless, the atmosphere is adult and smart-casual, with the bar and restaurant very lively and social in the evening--although the food is just so-so. On Saturday nights, the place to go dancing is Chez Bamboo, just over the hill.
It's great to see one of the Caribbean's old-timers in the prime of life. --G.W.
Rates $625-$4,400
Reservations 888-767-3966
Website www.littledixbay.com
Upon checking into this spa, you hear one cuckoo-clock chime and then, a moment later, a spa valet materializes from inside. It's your first clue that the Kayantý Spa marries two distinct (and most unlikely) personalities--Swiss punctuality and Mexican graciousness--into one smoothly functioning operation.
Having a spa valet is a great idea. He or she explains the layout, functions as a kind of butler--mine even brought a bottle of water into the steam room--and then takes you to the waiting area. "Your therapist will be here in two minutes," he said pleasantly, while arranging an amenity more spas should offer: a warmed, spice-laden neck pillow. I
couldn't help but watch the clock, and sure enough, 120 seconds later, Alejandra Ochoa appeared.
The spa's name comes from the Mayan phrase ka a yaan tah, which means "to be reborn," and the spa hits the anthropological note consistently throughout its extensive menu (49 treatments), while also offering modalities from around the world, such as shirodhara, Zen shiatsu, and Balinese lulur. (Spa director Simona Dumitru's picks: the Mexican Vanilla Wrap, the Warm Sea Fango Therapy, and the Piedtitas Stone Facial.) The Mayan Avocado Yogurt Wrap (50 minutes, $130) left my skin feeling superhydrated as promised, although the execution is a bit awkward as the therapist tries to work the avocado paste onto your back while you're lying down. Why not just have you turn over?
The spa has a gorgeous outdoor treatment palapa on its spacious terrace and inviting relaxation patios with whirlpool baths, and the 365-room hotel is an enclave of exclusivity and good service on what is admittedly a hoi polloi coast. But the color of the sea (an ivory-turquoise blend) still rivals that of Anguilla, and Cancýn is an easy shot from almost every major U.S. city.
What remains in my mind about the Kayantý Spa is another sharp trick. Before the therapist leaves the treatment room so you can disrobe, she hands you a small remote control. When you're settled on the table, you click it. In the hall, the light above the door turns green, the signal for the therapist to enter. Why hasn't anyone thought of that before? --G.W.
Rates $499-$4,000
Reservations 800-241-3333
Website www.ritzcarlton.com
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