Category: Americas

Americas

A holiday at Saint Lucia’s Sugar Beach

by s.a.bLeave a Comment on A holiday at Saint Lucia’s Sugar Beach

Some vacations keep a special place in your heart, and to say that is the case of my Summer 2013 holidays is a major understatement. After months of stress, too much work travel and a lot of hours spent at my desk, I was desperate for some time off, time to spend with my little munchkin just playing around and relaxing. I had wanted to visit the Sugar Beach on Saint Lucia, previously Jalousie Plantation, for a very long time, and eventually booked us for just under two weeks of utter bliss.

I’d heard this was a beautiful place with luxury service in a fabulous setting, so my expectations were, quite simply, sky high. We arrived early on a Sunday afternoon, skipped the usual check-in stop at the reception desk (at the Sugar Beach, check-in is done in your room) to be greeted by our butler, who took us up a short flight of steps to our little villa, which included a large suite with a bright and wide bathroom, a walk-in closet (we all know how much I love those), a little bar area, and, amazing perk, a tropical garden with our very own pool… The furniture is all white, like the walls, doors, and shutters, everything designed in pure island style, and within a couple of hours I felt myself relax in this blissful environment. In all honesty, they had me at ‘no check-in’ (after a long-haul flight from Europe, with a toddler in tow, you’ll be grateful for any shortening of the formalities and barriers between you and the beach).

The resort is small, with cottages and villas nested in the lush rain forest between Saint Lucia’s famous two pitons, on the site of an 18th century plantation. The location is totally iconic, with breathtaking views whichever way you look with the most glorious little crescent of white sand right in the middle. The beach is dotted with the most comfortable beach loungers I’ve seen, and the huge coconut straw umbrellas are big enough to shield you from the tropical sun all day long. I think if that if paradise does indeed exist, it should be part Sugar Beach part Rue Saint-Honoré…

We ended up spending many days on that beautiful crescent beach, enjoying the warm water with hardly any swell at all, meaning Little Monsieur swam very happily for hours on end. He did however insist in a little splash in our small pool at the villa at the end of each day, and his squeals of delight were all we needed to know he was just as happy as we were at the Sugar Beach.

Food is equally lovely, with breakfast served on the terrace of the main plantation house, and a choice of settings for lunch and dinner as wide as you want them. We never felt over-crowded, and the guests were a nice international mix of honeymooners and families with children. There is a spa up on tree houses in the middle of the jungle behind the original sugar mill buildings, I did spend a pretty fantastic afternoon there getting pampered to the singing of tropical birds (and maybe mosquitoes,… maybe).

When we did venture out of the resort, we visited the Soufrière region,  where the sulphur springs, botanical gardens and gorgeous waterfalls left us in awe of the wonders of the island. Little Monsieur, barely two and a half at the time, really enjoyed himself during these visits and when we got to the mineral baths at the sulphur springs he was adamant he wanted to apply the full body mud mask on himself, and swim in the warm bath, and so I had to give in and jump with him, despite being a bit cautious at first, seeing as the water is quite hot! We all came out with super soft skin, although each pore seemed to have absorbed a tiny bit of the iron-sulphur powder mix which wasn’t quite washed out by the baths cold showers and almost had to be scrubbed out in the comfort of our bathroom later that day… The swimsuits we wore that day still have a grey tinge to them, all these years later… In Castries, the capital, we enjoyed the colonial landmarks and the beautiful arts and crafts market, although all in we were very happy during this holiday to just chill most of the days.

We’re a little far from the Caribbean at the moment but I am sure that we will be back, this time bringing Little Madame with us, to enjoy the beauties of this very special place. After all, I missed the hikes (this holiday was before I discovered my love of a, ahem, fitter life), and just that beach is worth getting on a plane for.

With love, S.

Americas

A week of yoga, cocktails and fun in Tulum

by s.a.bLeave a Comment on A week of yoga, cocktails and fun in Tulum

Towards the middle of my gardening leave, before starting my current role, I booked myself for a week in Tulum in search of a bit of  me time and a lot of zen. I found both, of course, but much more. This was my very own version of ‘eat, pray, love’…

My amazing trainer become close friend N. and I arrived in Tulum one balmy evening following quite a long flight and the most surreal passport experience ever (there wasn’t a queue so much as a sea of people trying to get through to a police official, of which there might have been more than one, but it didn’t feel like it…): I had scheduled my trip exactly on Spring Week, not by design of course, but that explained the scrum at the airport! Thankfully most people were headed to the slightly unsavoury resorts around Cancun right by the airport, whilst we were driven down a bit further to the thin land strip that is Tulum.

Where to stay

Our hotel, Sanará, was neither the largest nor the cheapest, but it promised a haven away  from the stresses of urban life and the most beautiful setting, and it didn’t disappoint: minimalist boho decor with raw wood and brushed cement everywhere, and the super soft sand from the beach starts at reception, meaning you can spend the full week barefoot here. I had arrived in my kind of heaven. The room was gorgeous, such an inspiration for that holiday home that I’m still saving for, and we could hear the sea, but waking up the next morning we realised we had a jaw-dropping view from the balcony, which featured a lovely hanging chair, basically a front-row seat to the best sunrise show I’ve seen, pinks, purples, oranges. We also found out that reception had fresh coffee every morning, and we could pick up our cups on the way to the beach to admire the sunrise and its ballet of fishing pelicans.

Where to yoga

The main reason for choosing Sanará as a base was the yoga room: it faces the ocean and has big full height glass doors that can slide open. It is nothing short of spectacular. We went for daily yoga classes and sometimes double classes, and enjoyed most of them (there was a very grumpy and authoritarian instructor one day who really made me wish I had stayed on the beach and enjoyed cocktails instead of going for a second class that afternoon, she managed to strain my shoulder by forcing me down on chaturanga), enjoying the sound of the waves crashing on the beach, and looking out on to the turquoise waters and swaying palm trees. In the morning the sun shines directly into the room, adding some extra warmth to the Power Yoga classes, and I did wear my sunglasses for a couple of classes…

Where to eat

The other thing I’d been looking forwards to at Sanará? The in house restaurant, The Real Coconut, which offers fresh healthy food with a focus on wellness, plant based recipes, and fantastic taste-packed dishes. Before you look at the menu, you are struck once more by the beautiful simplicity of the decor, on par with the coolest hang-outs in NY and London. The breakfast here is to die for, especially if you sit on the sea-facing terrace, but do pack on the SPF50 sunscreen when you do, as the sun is super strong even at 8AM! My favourites were the coconut flour pancakes and the delicious Easy Green smoothie.

A great alternative for breakfast is Be Tulum, one of the hotels towards the end of the Tulum hotel strip. We had a wonderful breakfast here one morning when I came out of yoga screaming for eggs: they make a divine omelette, and the fresh juices are the kind that you wish was packed and sold by the gallon. But hands down, my favourite place for breakfast was the Raw Love Café within Ahau Tulum, where you will find raw (I know, kind of expected given the name), vegan, dairy-free, and gluten-free food: the smoothie bowls are particularly special, but if you come here for one thing, make it the iced chai latte, it is totally dreamy and addictive.

After morning yoga, we spent most of our days on the beach, enjoying our reserved sunbeds (super comfy of course) in front of our hotel room, with no cares at all beyond whether to read or swim, and when to get our lunch snacks delivered from The Real Coconut: delicious herb-infused cocktails (and mocktails for the very rare times we felt virtuous) and some pretty awesome guacamole and hands down the best tortillas ever, nice cream smoothies, all coconut milk based, also to die for etc. We also sometimes walk over to next door’s La Zebra and The Mulberry Project beach bar for the live music, the bespoke cocktails (my favourite: rhum, coconut, lychee), the ceviche and the adorable fishing boats filled with cushions that are used as seating areas. Further up the beach, we had some delicious cocktails on the swings at CoCo Tulum.

We tried a number of places for dinner… although we gave the legendary and over-hyped Hartwood a wide berth. According to the concierge at Sanará the famed place hadn’t answered email bookings in over three months; as someone who’d come here looking to leave stress behind, stressing over dinner was not an option. Instead, we sampled Kitchen Table (delicious, inventive and fabulous service), Nômade (sit in Macondo’s berber-inspired lounge area and order from both the vegan and non vegan menus), and of course the Tulum legend that is Posada Margherita (you guessed it, Italian, of the amazing variety, served by some pretty lust-worthy staff, as you’d expect).

Where to spa

Sanará does have a spa, which had some very tempting treatments and an adorable receptionist, but the cabins were a little boring and the European lady who appeared to be the lead therapist had a serious case of resting b*tch  face going on, which made us look into other options. That’s when we came across Yaan Wellness Energy Spa, and with their treatment cabins on stilts in the middle of the jungle garden and the very cool water circuit to do before or after your treatment it did give us a more special experience. I had the house massage, where my sore back and hamstrings were rolled down to a soft pulp. Did I say zen?…

Other things to do

If you must do something else beyond beach lounging, yoga, and going to the spa, can I suggest strolling through the multiple little boutiques lining the beach road in Tulum, all selling a similar assortment of pared-down swimwear, boho dresses, and barely there (but oh so pricey!) jewellery. My favourites were the shops in the little alley around MurMur bar, although the most unique place was KM33 and its walls of fabulous Allpa Hats.

This trip doesn’t feature in my Insta highlights but I have a few pics from that week on my feed that are truly enticing… A few tips: 1) Tulum is a destination for everyone but this trip was only for R&R, if I had come here with my children I would have added some visits to the Mayan sites and an outing to a cenote, and included a couple more towns for variety, 2) Due to climate change and the sudden hype around the region, the beach gets positively inundated by seaweed most times of the year, so if you don’t like swimming in seaweed go somewhere else and 3) This is a very hype-ish place but you can avoid all the parties and all the craziness by just being you, doing your yoga, and enjoying your beachtime, as we did.

With love, S.

Americas

Favourite hotels: The Mark, New York

by s.a.b1 Comment on Favourite hotels: The Mark, New York

Based on the posts I’m writing these days, escapism is definitely on my mind… I promise I will write a food post or a styling post this week, but right now my mind is on all the places I miss… And there are few places I miss at the moment like New York, its buzz, the museums, so many wonderful restaurants, and of course all that shopping. I also miss New York because I’ve spent some pretty fantastic times there over the years, both alone, with my family (I’ll write a post on a wonderful week we spent over Christmas there soon!) and of course with my girlfriends. But, first things first, let me tell you about my favourite bolthole in New York.

Finding my favourite hotel in New York took me years… I would go there loads with work in my previous job, and at first I was never able to find a place that I really enjoyed staying in. Some hotels come with a lobby which turns into a nightclub from 7pm: nice for some I am sure, but not so nice if you have to spend the evening reviewing presentations and a 5am wake-up call, but even when I come for a week-end of fun I like to decide where and when I want to go party, not have it brought just under my hotel room. Most hotels in New York also charge you a fortune for the smallest rooms you can imagine, complete noisy aircon units and no luggage stand to put your suitcase on. And finally, some of the grandest hotels in the city have decor that is firmly stuck in the 1990s…

I found The Mark after a few years of trial and error, and after that I never looked back. It is the most magical hotel in New York. Discretely tucked away on 77th Street between Madison and Fifth Avenues on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, its location is the best: a stone’s throw from Central Park, right at the beginning of Museum Mile, putting it within ten blocks of the Met, the Guggenheim, the Whitney etc, as well as just a few steps away from all my favourite NY shops… This is also quite far from the tourist areas of the city, making this a wonderful place to stay if you like to be away from the big crowds. The only downside for me is this has become quite the celeb hotspot over the years, complete with the requisite amount of drama… Sometimes the street outside swarms with paps as the hotel staff dutifully ignores the commons like me, waiting to get a glimpse of whatever B-list or A-list guest is staying, but personally I like to be ignored like that, as one of the things I enjoy in any hotel is the sheer anonymity you get from staying in a place where noone knows you. That said, I must confess I got quite star-struck that one time I waited for the lift door to open, only to find Stephen Hawkins roll into the lobby.

Once inside, The Mark hits you with old-world glamour, an elegant monochrome colour scheme that runs throughout the building, starting with the striking lobby and a grand staircase. Sconce-lit walls, mirrored lift doors, plush furnishings, and bold, abstract artwork add to the very unique elegance of this hotel. The bedrooms are big and comfy, with panelling and plush details, very classic but super comfortable, and bigger than most hotel rooms I stayed in in New York. The wardrobes are well thought-out to accommodate enough luggage to see you through a whole week of outfit changes, and the mini-bar area is both beautiful gorgeous and well stocked-up, from healthy snacks to less healthy tempting nibbles. The bathroom is so beautiful, the first time I stayed here I wanted to go back and refurbish the one I had at home to match it…

Front-desk service is polite, professional, if a bit stiff and haughty (I’m sure they are warmer to the celebrities, I find that the coldest concierge becomes quite obsequious at the mere sight of a Page Six worthy celeb), but the rest of the staff make up for it and provide first-notch service throughout. On my way to the airport on the day of my return, I asked if there was a bathroom somewhere where I could freshen up and get changed, and the bellman promptly escorted me to a suite on the business centre floor with all the amenities for me to shower before heading out to JFK. There is a Frédéric Fekkai Salon where I once popped in for a colour toner and blow-dry, and where the team is utterly lovely.

I love ordering room service here especially because breakfast doesn’t start before 7AM, a little too late if you’re travelling from Europe and are a little jetlagged, or if like me you tend to get on with your day early. The food arrives piping hot and is delicious. If you want to try and pop out to San Ambroeus next door, you’ll get a New Yorker version of the Milan outpost and enjoy the Italian pastries with strong coffee whilst watching the Upper East Side wake up. There are loads of delicious delis within walking distance, and some evenings I like to stop by at E.A.T for a takeaway to enjoy in the relaxed comfort of my room… That being said, the restaurant of the hotel serves delicious elaborate dishes, but I rarely have time to enjoy it… I do recall a delicious crudites plate one lunchtime, served in the mini courtyard with the most delicious Aperol Spritz. Next time I go, I’ll have to repeat the experience. I’ll also have to take advantage of the bike hire service and take one of the black and white bicycles for one of my tours of Central Park…

Bottom line: stay here for the location, decor, food, and neighbours, but be warned that this place can be a little snob and a little haughty, something some can find intimidating.

With love, S.