Caribbean: St. Lucia, Coconut Bay Resort and Spa

Experience the authentic (yet-to-be-discovered) Atlantic side of St. Lucia. Nestled amid swaying palms along Savannes Bay on the island’s undiscovered south coast, with friendly people, beautiful vistas and Caribbean “quiet” days, The Bay is offers families an all-inclusive beachfront vacation option. Walk along the soft-sand beach, wiggle your toes in the water, watch local fishermen, count sea gulls, snorkel in the bay, sip tropical drinks and gaze at the surf as the sun sets. This is the good stuff.

Our visit was short but rewarding. The Bay is an enchanting spot from which to discover the island or simply chill out and recharge. General Manager, Newton Grey explained to us that Coconut Bay Resort and Spa is a place which welcomes families. It is not however only for families but instead a resort for those wishing to experience refreshing island hospitality and enjoy the best of St. Lucia. Maintaining a standard of excellence, he and his staff continually look for ways to make he vacation experience better for their guests. From weddings and vow renewals to reunions and family celebrations, they enjoy the opportunity to make once-in-a-lifetime memories happen.

Resort: Step off the plane at St. Lucia’s Hewanorra International Airport, and you’re about five minutes from one of the best-kept secrets in the Eastern Caribbean. Coconut Bay Resort and Spa is nestled along St. Lucia's pristine Atlantic shores. Spanning 85 lush acres fringed with coconut palms, The Bay is a secret getaway spot offering guests of all ages an easy all-inclusive vacation. The lobby area is an open space with huge over-stuffed colorful seating and tables with chess, backgammon, checker-game designs painted on them. Not just for families, the resort provides services to meet the needs of families with young kids while not diminishing the service to adults. From the first welcome drink to the last bite of pineapple, it’s all good. Need to know: The resort offers complete wedding services.

Amenities: The 254-room property offers Caribbean-cool views from every room, some of the pristine ocean and others of the tropical island. And along with either a king-size bed or two queen-size beds that sleep up to four, you’ll have a comfortable, separate sitting area. Amenities include air conditioning, ceiling fans, satellite TV, direct dial telephone, in-room safe, iron, ironing board and bathroom with shower and hairdryer. Bonus points: Need more family space? Connecting rooms are available by request. Need to know: Wireless internet connection is also available in certain locations on property. Voltage in rooms and throughout the property is 220 volts and electrical outlets accept only the British standard flat 3-pin plug. Guests are advised to bring a converter and an adaptor with them, as they are not provided by the hotel. The front desk staff will charge cameras for guests.

All-included: In addition to comfortable sleeping arrangements, guests receive a welcome drink on arrival and a weekly cocktail party hosted by resort managers and staff. Full breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks each day at a choice of three restaurants or the beach grill. Unlimited juices, soft drinks and alcoholic beverages at a choice of three bars, plus the swim up pool bar. Within site of the scrumptious adult buffet tables there is a smaller children’s food buffet serving a variety of kid-friendly comfort foods including pizza, spaghetti and pancakes as well as tempting fried plantains, luscious pineapple, tamarinds, coconut juice and Caribbean treats. The two specialty restaurants each have a children’s menu which changes during the week. Bonus Points: Clever drinks abound, young kids can sip a “Bob-the-Builder” (banana/milk/milo) drink or sample a “The Harry Potter” (Sprite/grenadine/tomato juice). This is the good stuff.

Activities: On site you’ll find three pools and a water park - the largest one on the island of St. Lucia. The water park features two tropical waterslides and a lazy river which carries guests effortlessly along winding turns and under cascading waterfalls. Directly in front of the main lobby area is a pool set up for volleyball and a daily entertainment program provides a variety of land and pool activities. Throughout the week guests enjoy evening entertainment and theme nights featuring the uniqueness of the island and its culture. The Towel Hut by the pool provides beach towels, board games (on loan) and also water-sport items for day trips. Also in this area are two pool tables, ping pong, Foosball and an arcade with two video game stations. On site is a fitness center offering the latest in exercise equipment for individual workouts as well as aerobics classes. The tennis center features four courts. Bonus points: There is an outdoor whirlpool as well as an adults-only pool.

There’s a spa: Located on the property, at the edge of the sea is the Kai Mer (French Creole for house by the sea). The tranquil facility provides guests with ocean view treatment rooms with private outdoor showers, relaxation lounge, 12-head Swiss hydro shower, two steam rooms and two sauna rooms. The spa offers an extensive selection of treatments, facials, massages and pedicures. Best news for families, teens are allowed. Signature spa services include ocean front massages, Coconilla – a combination treatment, and a “choose your own aloe” experience.

New in 2006, CocoLand. Created for the Resort’s younger guests CocoLand combines fun with education. The action starts as soon as the kids arrive at the resort when they receive their CocoPacks. These include a tote bag, water bottle with strap for the jungle tours, T-shirt, bucket or baseball hat and scrapbook to record adventures from CocoLand. Because the youngsters are pre-registered, the planning and organizing is already done, allowing the kids to get right to the fun. There are two age groupings, with curriculums designed to cater to the different interests of each. Children ages three through eleven are part of the CocoLand Kidz Klub, while ages nine through fourteen make up the Adventure Club. The kids that qualify for both groups have their choice of which group they want to experience.
While at the Kidz Klub, youngsters take informative nature hikes on Coconut Bay's eighty-five palm-fringed acres and learn about the Caribbean's geography and St. Lucia's ecology. They also participate in supervised arts and crafts, enjoy the Caribbean's largest all-ages water park and play at the Kidz Klub water playground. All kids will discover St. Lucia's history dating back to tales of pirates, local traditions and up to current day customs. Exploring lush foliage and indigenous animals from the iguana to the orange winged parrot will be part of the fun and enlightening curriculum.
The Adventure Club for the older kids combines a variety of physical and educational challenges that require teamwork and problem-solving skills. The water park has two huge water slides and a lazy river. The "Coconut Canon" is the fastest water slide in the Caribbean with kids reaching blazing speeds until they're shot out of the slide like a rocket. The "Survivor-like" Adventure Club for the older kids combines a variety of physical and educational challenges. Though no kids will be voted off the island, the tasks will be exciting and stimulating. Need to know: Each staff member at the center is CPR certified.

The Beaches Destination Resort & Spa

Thailand's first integrated resort in Bang Saray Bay, Thaila

With the support of the Board of Investment of Thailand and the Tourism Authority of Thailand, The Beaches will be the new shining symbol of the country and will be the benchmark of destination resorts in Asia. It has also joined with True Corporation, one of Thailand’s largest technology companies, to create Thailand’s first wireless lifestyle convergent communities which will feature state-of-the-art technology throughout the entire project. The masterplan architect and designers behind the success of The Beaches Resort & Residences are award winning world class design firms – Carl Ettensperger of C&C Studio and Terry Henriksen of Henriksen Design Ltd, who have worked on 5-star hotel projects such as Mandarin Oriental, Hyatt Hotels, Ritz Carlton, Siam Paragon Bangkok, Huvafen Fushi Maldives (2008 Worlds Best Beach Resort, Harpers Bazaar Travel), Hard Rock Hotel – Universal Studios, Florida, and many more prestigious resorts. Set over 88 rai of landscaped gardens, man-made beaches, and water lagoons, The Beaches private community will have four grand 5-star hotels, stunning water villas and Private Residences. The Beaches Resort has the best of everything – International Waterpark and Surf Park, The Beaches Longevity & Wellness Spa, state-of-the-art fitness club, a Grande Promenade with an international village with over 20 restaurants and retail, tennis academy and a Watersport centre. It is also centrally located in the heart of Thailand in Bang Saray Bay, a tropical oasis – 10 minutes from Pattaya and only 90 minutes from Bangkok Chairman and CEO of Pacific Shore Developments, Liakat Sultan Dhanji, has been responsible for making the brand a success. According to him, Thailand needs something distinctive if it is going to stand out against the stiff competition developing in the region. V9 Design & Build, were invited to build the resort’s website and, from initial discussions with Mr Dhanji, ideas were centred on creating an architecture that would concentrate on eMarketing by employing Web 2.0 technologies. Living in Bangkok, you see glitzy front-page supplements that dominate Thailand’s English dailies, full-page magazine and newspaper colour ads that abound large project launches, and the billboards that predominate the city and Skytrain. You can only imagine the cost of such publicity and its significant impact on a project’s bottom line. That is not to say that elegantly-produced brochures and local media advertising doesn’t have merit, but it has always seemed that it is a sort of marketing overkill — a gunshot rather than rifle approach to project exposure. Professional blogging: it increases company revenue over time through the marketing and relationship building power. The ability to write effective, interesting, and informative blog posts has proved itself be a highly cost effective option. It is even more effective when added as a seamless addition to a resort’s website for several reasons. First, Google and the other major search engines like content and change which adds value to a site’s PageRank™; it extends keyword range; it is disseminated to the world’s largest blog directories; and it is accompanied by RSS. Article writing and press releases can be submitted to the world’s largest websites, especially two that are associated with Google and Yahoo. Over the last few years, search engines have made it increasingly difficult to reach a targeted audience. Gone are the days of mailers, link exchanges and non-industry-related links. Even with ezines, there’s no guarantee you will be read. A great alternative to this is RSS (Really Simple Syndication). It is not a well-known method for companies to publish and distribute content in this format (e.g. publicity releases, news, newsletters and articles). Syndication means you don’t have to visit each site individually to see what’s new — you simply scan headline summaries in a reader and click to read the full text. Most real estate projects use Flash technology that presents brilliantly-animated images but fail with their eMarketing efforts because of it. Search engines cannot see beyond the front page. There are two large property developers in Thailand, both of which have projects that have only their home pages listed. Both are poor examples of internet marketing and are therefore spending fortunes on print advertising. In contrast, The Beaches will bypass outdated marketing methods by creating a wealth of exposure, both in Thailand and internationally. The Beaches, to our knowledge, will be the first large-scale real estate development project in Asia to employ Web 2.0 as its online publicity vehicle. Chris Heath is the sole proprietor of Soho Properties a Bangkok based real estate agency specializing in the Thailand area.

Day Spas The Perfect Pampering Experience

Around the world, day spas are attracting the attention of weary travelers, the overworked and anyone else in need of pampering. These getaway hot spots are usually nestled among mountainous, remote areas that are surrounded with rural serenity. Day spas often combine the luxurious spa experience with a full-service hotel and resort.

Spring-fed mineral baths, natural hot springs, a soothing Jacuzzi experience and mud baths are just a few of the amenities awaiting your arrival at day spas. For those who aren't familiar with hot springs, these natural occurrences are often thought to have magical healing powers in their ability to sooth and comfort achy muscles, joints and provide an overall feeling of wellness.

For the day spa guest who wants to receive the full spa experience, a beauty and facial salon are available in most facilities. From manicures to pedicures and a complete line of skin treatments, both men and women can take advantage of these spectacular luxuries. Day spas aren't just for adults, however, as there is always plenty for the children to enjoy. Among the activities include arcades, snacks and other fun activities that every youngster will like.

If you are thinking of paying a visit to a day spa, it's a good idea to call ahead and make a reservation. If possible, call early so that there will still be space on the day that you choose to make the trip. Before visiting, it's a good idea to become familiar with the spa's hours of operation, availability of overnight accommodations, walk-in and cancellation policies, etc. All of this information can be obtained through a quick telephone call to the spa's office or a visit to their website, if available.

As one may expect, the day spa experience comes with a price tag. The actual cost, however, will vary from one location to another and will largely depend on the amenities that you select. Price lists are often available verbally or online and payments are typically required in advance before your treatment(s) begin.

The majority of individuals choose to visit a day spa because they are looking for an escape from their otherwise hectic life, some time away from the job or just a vacation that includes some well-deserved pampering. No matter the exact reason, day spas are the perfect way to pamper your problems away. These luxurious treatments are continuing to gain in popularity, as is evident with the many resorts that have been built around their focus. In many areas, these resorts are a leading source of revenue for the community and the businesses around it.