BodyHoliday Saint Lucia review: inside one of the best all-inclusive hotels in the Caribbean
BodyHoliday Saint Lucia hotel video tour by Rosie Bell
1) The backstory
When the Barnard family opened BodyHoliday Saint Lucia in 1988 on a pretty slice of Saint Lucian coastline, the word “wellness” hadn’t yet reached the mainstream. Back then, destination spas were more punishment than pleasure: think calorie counting and cabbage soup, not chocolate mousse and Chardonnay. They soon began welcoming world-class experts like Olympians, yogis, doctors, and fitness phenoms to share their wisdom through themed months and ever-evolving programs. Today, BodyHoliday remains a pioneer in the art of feel-good restoration, and its ethos extends beyond the resort’s bougainvillea-lined paths via the Barnard Scholarship Fund, a charitable foundation they launched in 2002 to support Saint Lucian youth.
At BodyHoliday Saint Lucia, wellness isn’t a rigid regime. Equal parts spa sanctuary and high-spirited playground, this is not the kind of retreat that banishes carbs or fun. You can sweat through a beachside boot camp with a trainer who once sculpted pop royalty, get pounded into bliss by a daily massage (included, by the way), then show up at The Piano Bar for a nightcap and live music with your new chums. It’s a choose-your-own-adventure approach to wellbeing run by genuinely warm people who want you to feel better, not just look better.
2) The rooms
Tucked inside candy-colored buildings, BodyHoliday’s rooms are not about flash. Whether you’ve booked a Solo Garden View or gone all in on a Grand Oceanfront with Terrace, your eyes will have something lush to linger on, and there are no TVs to distract you. The experience at BodyHoliday Saint Lucia is more about getting out there rather than spending all your time in a private sanctuary.
I was in room 515, which had a partial sea view, double bed, dresser and mirror, two slippers, and a robe I practically lived in. Many rooms have been renovated over the past few years as part of a wider refresh. Others are perched a little higher up, offering bird’s-eye views of the water and its morning shimmer. The rarest of stays are the hillside villas hidden among the foliage that offer the utmost privacy and a VIP lens on this stretch of Saint Lucia. In the evenings, all guests return from dinner to find a turndown treat in the form of organic herbal tea and cookies.
3) Food & drink
Yes, the juices come in dainty glasses, and yes, you’ll find ginger shots, salads, and fresh tropical fruits like soursop and papaya, but you’ll also overhear guests ordering pineapple mimosas at breakfast. That’s the kind of balance the resort lives by: wellness without the wagging finger.
The main hub of morning feasting is Cariblue, which lays out a bountiful buffet breakfast as well as an as-you-like-it eggs station. When the sun starts to mellow and your chakras are sufficiently aligned, the Clubhouse serves afternoon tea from 4 to 6 pm. When I was on the property, I never missed it. Cariblue Windows steps it up with a chef’s table-style tasting menu and optional wine pairings, ideal for special nights. TAO is the resort’s signature fine dining venue where East meets West in refined fashion.
For those in pursuit of something simple, there’s always the Pavilion Grill, which is a casual beachfront spot dishing up grilled seafood, kebabs, curries, and pizzas from a clay oven. Tucked up in the hills, I-TAL is a tiny, plant-powered paradise that celebrates Rastafarian culinary traditions.
BodyHoliday has two bars. The Clubhouse Bar is open till midnight and serves multi-ingredient mocktails and two dozen signature cocktails, either at the bar or directly at your beachfront table. With a blue piano tucked in the corner, The Piano Bar welcomes guests nightly at 7 p.m. and stays open until the last person heads to bed, be that at 10 p.m. or 4 a.m.
4) Services & amenities
The services and amenities at BodyHoliday Saint Lucia are really where the resort shines. For starters, every guest gets a personal daily schedule that includes a 50-minute spa treatment that’s complimentary and deeply restorative. Perched on a gentle hilltop separate from the main resort, the Wellness Center is the soul of the place, where limbs are loosened, and spirits are soothed.
Each day, an ever-changing smorgasbord of 20 to 35 activities awaits at BodyHoliday (Sundays have the leanest schedule). Think tai chi, archery, aqua fit, tennis, pickleball, therapeutic stretching, HIIT, Latin dance, foam rolling, various forms of yoga and Pilates, and tree-encircled cycling classes that might make you forget you’re exercising. Or opt for full-throttle adrenaline on the water: waterskiing, kayaking, sailing, wakeboarding, and scuba diving. If you hold a PADI certification, you’re welcome to join the included beach dives. Boat and night dives require an additional fee.
There are also guided morning hikes up Saint Lucia’s majestic peaks like Mount Gimie (the island’s highest peak) and Gros Piton (much easier than Petit Piton). Daily activities are posted on a prominent chalkboard and also listed on your in-room iPad. Most require no sign-up, just the will to show up. I ended up packing a lot in during my stay, and my greatest challenge was picking between conflicting activities that tickled my fancy.
Solo travelers are more than welcome at this hotel. BodyHoliday gently nixes awkward aloneness with communal breakfast and dinner tables every single day, hosted by the activities team, so you’ll always have someone to swap stories with.
You’ll also find a beauty salon, gym, yoga platform, pools, and a library at BodyHoliday Saint Lucia. The library, along with the bedrooms, is where you’ll find Wi-Fi. As the resort cheekily puts it, Wi-Fi might as well stand for “worrying infinitely,” and who wants that when you’ve got massages to get through and a sea calling your name? At the heart of BodyHoliday Saint Lucia’s operation is a 24-hour concierge that keeps everything running smoothly.
5) Style, decor & character
The crown jewel of the resort’s architecture is the hilltop Wellness Centre, a Mediterranean-style sanctuary modeled after the Alhambra in Granada, Spain. You half expect to hear flamenco chords as you walk its colonnaded hallways, though the soundtrack here is more likely birdsong or the subdued sounds played during massages. Overall, the natural setting does most of the talking at BodyHoliday Saint Lucia, which nods to ease and tranquility via sun-washed colors and airy interiors.
6) Location & nearby sights
BodyHoliday is tucked away in the lush folds of Cap Estate at Saint Lucia’s serene northern tip. Many guests happily ditch the outside world in favor of those daily massages and sunset swims, though you should certainly endeavor to explore the gorgeous island, which the French and British fought tooth and nail over for 150 years.
Without fail, take an excursion to Soufrière, where you can gawk at the iconic twin Piton mountains, soak in sulphur springs at the world’s only drive-in volcano, and go chasing waterfalls at Toraille. Note that it may take a little time to reach some of the sights of the island, especially if Saint Lucia’s famously winding roads are playing hard to get.
Toraille Waterfall, Saint Lucia
7) Who it’s right for & what to pack
While under-12s aren’t allowed, the resort makes room for families with teens from July through August with WellFit Tribes, a feature month where Olympic hosts lead spirited activities that make wellness a team sport. As long as you meet the age requirement, BodyHoliday Saint Lucia has room for your version of renewal, whether you’re there to train for your next triathlon or to gently shake off the weight of the world. This is a perfect place to go when you want to try new things that please your body, mind, and heart.
The vibe is refreshingly unpretentious, and this is not a resort that caters to one type. During my time at BodyHoliday, I saw octogenarian lovebirds staring at the sunset in a warm embrace, twenty-somethings playing volleyball after breakfast, and solo travelers blissed out with a post-massage glow on their faces, a book in one hand, and a cocktail in another. And the best part is that everyone fits in.
Leave the ballgowns and brogues at home. I brought heels, but they never served a purpose. Though meals at TAO and Cariblue Windows call for dialed-up elegance, generally speaking, pack for comfort, movement, and joy when staying at BodyHoliday.
One of the resort’s most glorious gifts is its deep understanding of balance. Nothing at BodyHoliday is forced, and no one is watching. Nobody cares who you are or what shape you’re in, and wellness isn’t about denying pleasure. With so many activities and classes on the roster, everyone is sure to find something that brings them joy.
More Saint Lucia stays to swoon over
