By Krista Madden
When I go on holiday now, it’s not enough to just head for the beach and get the latest Jackie Collins out for 2 weeks waiting for an ‘acceptable’ time to have your first Pina Colada (usually around 11am). I want more to do and I want to exercise, so I can enjoy the great food, eat desserts and have cocktails and ice-cream, it has to be a balance now or I get depressed coming home half a stone heavier. Elite Island Resorts have come up with some fun packages that are way more fun than just hitting the hotel gym and getting fed up with the stairmaster after 12 minutes and ensure you never to step in there again.
The team at Elite are great at looking for new ways for your holiday to include activities that make you switch off and give you some new ways of thinking that impact your life beyond passport control on the way home. They were the first resorts in the Caribbean to make their beaches mobile free eight years ago and launched silent beach cinemas, so continuing with their quest to make us feel better ‘inside and out’ they have added some new activities to their 2017 menu. I tried them out at Galley Bay in Antigua, one of my favourite islands in the Caribbean. Greeted off the plane with a Rum punch and taken to my beautiful room looking out to sea I was already in paradise, after a re-group at the TeePee bar for a cocktail I didn’t want to go home.
There are all the usual fun water sports and of course the best place to swim in the world, that calm, inviting turquoise water, as the beautiful Caribbean sea is just a few steps away from your accommodation. Large beachfront suites are standard with an outside shower to make that morning swim impossible to resist before homemade banana bread finds its way onto your breakfast plate. I do not know how that happened everyday!
What else can you do at Galley Bay for fun?
floatfit®CARIBBEAN is one of the more strenuous ways of staying in shape in-between swimsuit changes and do expect to have a little accidental dip in the middle of your workout. The class is a 20 mins HIIT session including traditional moves that you are used to doing on dry land like squats, lunges and burpees but try doing them on a wobbly aquabase® mat and see how that challenges you. We did our class in the sea at St Jame’s Club and Villas and it was such a fun class, but we all agreed we did feel the burn and totally felt we had done some work as we headed towards another slice of banana bread. Naturally we had felt it was well earned. We also did a sunset yoga session on the mats in the pool at Galley Bay, some moves are easier than others but you definitely feel like you get a full body workout. See my full review here.
Colour me Calm Club
Now it’s time to exercise your mind, just as important as the body. I loved my colouring book with thoughtful quotes and mindfulness techniques to help with a digital detox, gratitude and breathing practises and a guide on how to meditate. The drawings are of views and landmarks across the Elite Island Resorts by the wonderful artist and illustrator Adam Stower and the words are by the lovely Dr. Nicole Gehl a psychotherapist who has lived on the island and has a busy clinic in London. There is something so relaxing about just colouring in, it has become totally acceptable to do colouring in now as an adult, I can recommend you find yourself a book and a set of pencils and get started. Every guest is given a book to take home and if you wanted to be more social and show off your skills of staying inside the lines you can take yours to the ‘ink and drink’ sunset sessions that are on every day.
Sketch Club
This was one of my favourite things to do at Galley Bay, I really had no idea how much I would enjoy learning to sketch and attempt playing with water colours. It helped that Adam Stower was such a patient, enthusiastic and encouraging teacher, the way he broke down the stages of how we started with a pencil outline right through to how to create light and shade and mix our colours, we all felt like budding artists after just one session. I can see why these classes are so popular, we did a boat trip one day, took our sketch books and water colours with us to hop off the boat, swim to shore, then set ourselves up on the beach and just paint what we saw in front of us. I loved this totally immersive way of switching off to everything else that was going on apart from my view and my paint set, this was my meditation and I have continued to do this at home and even now pack my little water colour set when I go on holiday.
Stay Safe in the Sun
Another exclusive to the Elite Island is a really smart partnership with the Swiss suncare brand Ultrasun. It is impossible to not want to enjoy the sunshine and get a little colour when you are in the Caribbean, but with the advice of trained staff at the resorts you can at can get some good products that will protect you from burning and make you more aware of how much your skin should be protected. Ultrasun is also great for men and kids who don’t believe in applying products on the hour like us girls, one good application of Ultrasun will have you covered for the day. Naturally you shouldn’t sit in blazing sun all day long and not expect to go a bit red but with a sensible SPF and these good formulas you are doing your best in the heat. Big favourites of mine are the tinted formulas for face and body, I wear their Tinted Face SPF30 in Honey throughout the summer just as a lovely tinted moisturiser.
Dining at Galley Bay
There are three outdoor restaurants at Galley Bay, there really is no need to leave this beautiful property, unless you fancy taking a jet-ski out to the shipwreck to do a spot of diving, does that count? I find breakfast is always a treat when you are on holiday and you will find the perfect selection in Sea Grape restaurant from healthy fruit to freshly made omelettes and indulgent French toast and pancakes. One morning I asked if they would make me poached eggs with avocado and one of the lovely servers said she would give me some of the avocado she had bought for herself if they had run out, so every morning we shared an avocado, so lovely. Such friendly staff who treat you like family, genuinely want to help you with anything and make you feel like nothing is too much trouble. Working in such a beautiful environment must make you wake up in a good mood, how can those views not ease away any cloudy thoughts. Ismay’s restaurant serves some of the more fine dining options, we had a delicious meal there one evening including my first ever dish of pan roasted line caught wahoo fish, served with basil and saffron confit. The Barefoot Grill is super casual and open all afternoon should you need a snack. All of the restaurants overlook the sea and the view of palm trees, white sandy beach and blue sky at any time of day will have you mesmerised, it’s a gorgeous place to be.
The Spa
The outdoor spa with rooms that are secluded with the sound of the ocean and birdsong instead of Enya on a loop are just standard at Galley Bay, I had a wonderful massage by a really good local therapist with the strongest hands to ease away the tension in my shoulders. There is a full spa menu, including manicures, waxing, pedicures and facials in a relaxing space where you can shuffle up up in your robe and slippers to a glass of champagne while you wait for your appointment. Ahhh…
The Rum Shack
Make sure you head over to the Rum Shack for at least one night, if you can stay awake long enough for a nightcap. We were so sleepy and relaxed most of the time, we were the first to arrive one evening and had such a fun night in this cool little hut that looks like it was made as a secret island after-party venue, there were so many Rum options, you will have a lot of fun (and a few morning headaches) trying to get through them!
So many great reasons to book for a luxury Caribbean holiday with Elite Island and I would be on a flight straight back to Galley Bay for their warm hospitality and beautiful beachfront setting any time. The relaxed atmosphere and friendly environment makes you feel like you need to go back because after one stay you feel like you are part of the family too.
Booking & Packages for 2017
Hayes & Jarvis (01293 762 456, www.hayesandjarvis.co.uk is offering a seven night holiday to Antigua with prices from £1,999 per person and savings of £404 per person. Departing on 16 May 2017, this trip includes a seven night stay at Galley Bay Resort and Spa by Elite on an all-inclusive basis, transfers and return international flights from London Gatwick with Virgin Atlantic.
* Colour me Calm, floatfit®CARIBBEAN and Ultrasun are available at all Elite Island Resort locations
* Illustrator Adam Stower will be in residence for a 4 day sketch workshop in August 2017 (dates will be available on the eliteislandresorts.co.uk website)