I recently returned from the most amazing trip to The BodyHoliday Resort in St Lucia. Friends and I were there for a wedding and decided to combine it with a bit of a holiday and what and an incredible holiday it was!

Located in the very north of the island The BodyHoliday is set in the most idyllic secluded bay. This was a very different sort of holiday for me and probably the only one I have ever been on where I left fitter and healthier than when I arrived. And all without really having to try, which is the absolute beauty of this resort. All in all I was there for 11 nights, which I would say was the perfect stay given the amount of time it takes to get there. Some of our group only came for 6 days and they were just about getting into the routine of things before it was time to go. It does take a couple of days to settle into it all and to work out how best to plan your days to ensure you get the most out of the resort and the incredible island.

So this is what a day in paradise looks like…I would wake up relatively early (certainly for me given that I was on holiday), throw open the curtains and take in the incredible view before having a quick shower and heading to breakfast. Breakfast was a real feast. You could be as healthy or as naughty as you wanted with everything from waffles, French toast, fresh eggs, bacon etc to fresh locally sourced fruit and granola on offer. Next stop was the spa! The Body Holiday package included a daily a treatment, each of which lasted about 45-50 mins. You could choose from any of the following and they were all superb:

• Heaven & Earth
• Lucian Lime & Ginger Scrub
• Aromatherapy
• Aloe Yogurt Body Rub
• Full Body Massage
• Elemis All Skin Type Facial
• Deluxe Coconut & Spice Combo
• Thalasso Therapy
• Hand and Foot Massage
• Thalgo Oxygen Facial

I really enjoyed the Lucian Lime & Ginger Scrub on the first day, which is designed to remove all your dead skin so that you can maximise your tan on your holiday. The Aloe Yogurt Body Rub was also fantastic following a day of too much sun. My absolute favourite though was the Aromatherapy. The beauty therapist chooses the correct blend of oils for your skin and then proceeds to soothe away all of your stress and tension – bliss!

After a treatment we would usually investigate the various different activities on offer throughout the day. For the boys it usually involved something competitive like water skiing, wakeboarding, sailing or tubing. Other classes included personal training sessions, yoga and dance classes. Water aerobics was a popular activity for the girls in our group especially as it was outside in the sun.

The joy of the hotel is that you can do as many (or as few) activities as you want. Some mornings would be busy but at other times we just took in the views from our loungers, walked down the beach and swam in the sea. There really isn’t any pressure to do anything but the staff are so welcoming and the resort is full of active people so before you knew it you would often find yourself participating in things that you hadn’t necessarily planned to do.

For lunch there were 3 great restaurant options: The Grill for fish, meat and salads all cooked on the grill (well not the salads!), Cariblue restaurant which served a different themed lunch everyday and finally the Deli for fresh salads, shakes/juices and paninis. After overindulging at lunch we would all take a couple of hours to relax, digest our food, sunbathe and take in the views. It was never long though before somebody would suggest a game of table tennis or pool, which would give us a good excuse to get in the shade and cool down, often with a Peeton, the local beer.

After sundowners we would all gather in the Piano bar before dinner to talk to friends and other guests before dinner and so the evening would begin!! Towards the end of the holiday we went deep sea fishing so dinner was our catch (kingfish) on the grill. It tasted delicious, especially knowing that it had gone from ocean to dish in no more than 3 hours. One of my favourite restaurants was Toa which hangs out over the sea. As you dine you can hear the waves slowly crashing onto the beach below. The restaurant offers a fusion of eastern and western flavours and was voted one of the world’s 60 hottest tables by Conde Nast Traveler.

I really didn’t want my time in St Lucia to end and I would thoroughly recommend The BodyHoliday to anyone who wants an active beach holiday (although don’t be put off by the word active – you really can take this holiday at your own pace). Both British Airways and Virgin fly everyday to the island and the resort is about 90 minutes drive from the airport.

To find out more visit their The BodyHoliday website.