BodyHoliday St Lucia Review: Why We Keep Going Back

There are some places you visit once, tick off the list and never think about again. And then there is the BodyHoliday in St Lucia, a resort that got so firmly under our skin last year that we booked to come straight back. So consider this my honest BodyHoliday St Lucia review, written from a sun lounger on Cariblue Beach with a spicy margarita within arm’s reach and absolutely zero regrets.

If you have never heard of it, the BodyHoliday is an all inclusive wellness resort tucked into Cap Estate at the very north of the island. It has been doing the wellness thing since 1988, long before green juices and sunrise yoga were cool, and its famous promise sums the place up perfectly. Give us your body for a week and we will give you back your mind. Big claim. Spoiler: they deliver.

We came back because we loved it so much the first time, and this year I wanted to write everything down properly so you can decide whether it deserves a spot on your own list. Plot twist: it does.

Let us talk arrival, because this is where the holiday begins. We landed in St Lucia at around 3pm, and from the airport you have three ways to reach the resort. You can take a car, which is roughly a two hour drive. You can take a boat, which is about an hour and forty minutes. Or you can do what we did and take the helicopter, which is around ten minutes in the air.

Reader, take the helicopter. It is worth every penny. We had the same pilot as last year, who is an absolute character, telling you all about the island and cracking jokes the whole way. We were practically there within twelve minutes. You land at the airport on the other side of the island and then it is a twenty minute taxi to the hotel, and the views alone are reason enough to splash out.

If the helicopter is not in your budget, do not panic. The car and the boat both get you there, just more slowly. But if you can stretch to it, that ten minute flight sets the tone for the whole trip.

The moment you pull up to the BodyHoliday you are handed a ginger shot, which is the perfect little reset after a long journey. It calms any travel queasiness and instantly makes you feel like you have arrived somewhere that actually cares how you feel. A small thing, but it sets the scene beautifully.

This year my friend Stacey and I decided to book separate bedrooms, and I cannot recommend it enough. As much as I love a good girls’ trip and all the chatter that comes with sharing, there is something gloriously grown up about having your own room to retreat to. We were up on the sixth floor with those views, and being able to properly relax in your own space, even at the age of 42, feels like a real treat.

I will be honest with you, because that is what you come here for. The rooms at the BodyHoliday are comfortable and spotlessly clean rather than over the top lavish, and that is part of the charm. This is a resort that puts its energy into the experience, the treatments and the food rather than gold taps.

What lifts the rooms are the little touches. The turndown service in the evening is a genuinely lovely surprise and adds that extra layer of luxury you might not expect. After a day of hiking, yoga, massages and dancing, coming back to a freshly turned down bed is exactly what you need. If you want something more lavish, you can look at the resort’s top tier villas, but for most people the ocean view rooms do the job perfectly.

Now to the part everyone wants to know about, and the part that makes this BodyHoliday St Lucia review worth reading. If you do not already know, here is the headline. Every single guest gets a treatment included every single day. Yes, every day. That is wild value, and it is the reason so many people keep coming back.

The Wellness Centre sits right at the top of the hill, and getting up there is a bit of a workout in itself. There are a good hundred steps to climb, which is all part of the experience if you ask me. If stairs are tricky for you, do not worry, because there is a shuttle you can arrange at reception. But if you can manage them, do, because the view at the top is worth every step.

Once you are up there it is just stunning. I would describe it as Moroccan in feel, with all the spa rooms arranged around the edge and a beautiful pool area in the middle. You get your treatment schedule at the start of the week so you can check in, see which room you are in and plan your days around it.

My honest tip, and I really mean honest, is that the therapists vary. Some are absolutely incredible. Some are average. Every now and then you get one that is a bit of a let down. It has become a running joke among the friends we made out here, comparing notes over a cocktail about who got the dreamy massage and who got, in our words, slapped. When you get a brilliant one though, you are so grateful, and the good news is you can request your favourites once you find them. Mine this trip were Joycelyn, Sierra and Keisha.

Joycelyn gave me the Heaven and Earth massage, which starts with a foot scrub, then your feet are wrapped in a hot towel while she works on your arms, chest and head. She found so many knots in my back that she recommended I upgrade to a bamboo massage, which I booked the very next day, and it was worth every extra penny.

Two practical tips. First, do not be shy about saying what you want. Tell them if you like more pressure, or in my case, ask them to turn the air conditioning down, because I get cold halfway through and then spend the rest of the massage trying to pluck up the courage to say something. It is your treatment, so make it yours. Second, book your slots early. The booking window opens well before you arrive, so get in there and grab the three, four or five o’clock afternoon slots if you like to be active in the morning and wind down later. Leave it too late and you will be stuck with nine, ten and eleven in the morning, which means trying to relax into a massage and then heading straight into a spin class. Not ideal

The team who run all the activities are called the Bodyguards, and they are the real stars of the show. Think Butlin’s redcoats but with serious athletic ability and the kind of energy that makes you want to leap out of bed for a 7am hike. They are warm, funny, ridiculously fit and full of personality.

We did the morning walks most days, from a 25 minute hill climb followed by a 15 minute descent, to a longer hour and fifteen minute hike down to Cap Beach where I had smashed my 10,000 steps before 9am. Then there is yoga in what is basically a beautiful hut on the beach, with the most tranquil views of the ocean and the resort. Even if you are not a yoga person, do it. We had a visiting trainer called Trevor who ran a Float class that flowed beautifully, and it was up there with the best I have ever done.

The variety is unreal. Tai Chi with Edwin, whose calming aura alone is worth showing up for, was a gorgeous way to start the day, and he teaches golf too. There is a stretch and mobility class with Highley, a former hurdle athlete who narrowly missed the Olympics through injury and now champions listening to your body and preventing injury rather than just chasing performance. His calming voice and his knowledge are something else.

And then there is aquafit. Forget every limp aquafit class you have ever endured. Our trainer Darren was doing high kicks and leaping into the sky beside the pool while we worked out and cried laughing. If you are not smiling in aquafit here, you have got the wrong trainer, which honestly never happens.

I still got my weight training in at the gym, which is up near the Wellness Centre and is modern and well equipped. But the real highlight was Felix, the in house personal trainer. You get a 30 minute PT session included in your stay, and please do not waste it. Felix took one look at me and knew my legs were different lengths, knew which muscles I was overusing, knew I needed posture work, and reset my whole stance. When I mentioned I was seeing a physio at home, he stretched me out and cracked my back too, and what was meant to be half an hour turned into a full hour. I am going home with genuine clarity on how to train better, which is rare from a single session.

Breakfast is a buffet, with a chef cooking eggs and omelettes to order and a brilliant spread that covers everything from pancakes, sausages and bacon to all the genuinely nourishing stuff your body craves after a morning of exercise. It strikes the balance perfectly.

Down on the beach, the service is the dream. You grab a couple of loungers, one of the beach team brings you two towels each with no rationing in sight, and then you simply pop your little flag up whenever you want a drink or some food. They come to you. Healthy lunches, protein smoothies, ginger and beetroot shots, you name it, all without having to move. They even come round with icicle pops, fresh fruit pops and cold towels at random, which is exactly the kind of detail that makes this place special.

In the evenings there is usually a theme. We arrived on a Friday, which meant the Caribbean barbecue on the beach, and I will say it now, that was my favourite meal of the entire week. Do not miss it. And the cocktails. Oh, the cocktails. No sad pre made all inclusive slush here. Everything is made fresh, and the spicy margaritas that Stacey and I demolished at sundowners were perfection.

After dinner, head to the piano bar, which is the resort’s after hours spot. It is called the piano bar because there is a man playing the piano and everyone sings along, gets on the keys and gets involved. That bar only closes when the last person leaves, and there have been some epic nights. A little nugget for the music lovers among you, this is the very piano bar where Amy Winehouse sang to a small group of guests back in 2009 during her time on the island. A lovely piece of history with your nightcap.

You never have to fight for a spot on the beach or by the pool here, which alone makes it stand out from every other all inclusive I have been to. Big comfy cushions, umbrellas, the flag service, it is all set up perfectly.

The watersports are all included too, so make the most of them. We did tubing, which is the one where a speedboat tows you around the bay on a giant rubber ring while you hang on for dear life and laugh until it hurts. There is also waterskiing, sailing, windsurfing, kayaking and more, and the team running it all are so friendly, patient and kind. I learned to sail here last year, which tells you everything about how good they are at putting nervous beginners at ease.

I have to give a special mention to Orlando, our waiter on the beach. Funny, friendly and nothing was ever too much trouble. Once we got to know each other he would check in on us constantly, bring waters, sort our food orders and organise our towels. It is people like Orlando who turn a great holiday into one you rebook before you have even left.

Last time we visited we never left the resort, so this trip we wanted a proper taste of local life. On Friday night St Lucia hosts its legendary Gros Islet street party, also known as the Jump Up, which has been running every Friday for over fifty years on Dauphin Street in the fishing village of Gros Islet, just down the road near Rodney Bay.

We were told to have dinner at the hotel first and arrive around 8.30 to 9pm, which was perfect timing because that is when the street was packed with people dancing. The speakers were stacked so high I genuinely mistook them for a boat, and the bass made my chest vibrate. They played everything, from local Caribbean rhythms to 80s and 90s classics. If you come to St Lucia, do not miss it.

Another lovely touch is the manager’s drinks, held at a luxury villa up in the hills that the resort owns. You can actually book the villa for family or friends, and being invited up for sundowners is a brilliant way to see a different side of the place. We did it last year and loved it just as much this time.

Coming back is clearly something the BodyHoliday rewards. This time we were given a t-shirt and an invitation to the Friday sunset cruise as part of the returning guest perks, and we received a branded water bottle just like last year. These touches, alongside the turndown service and the constant little extras on the beach, are what build such a loyal returning crowd. I would genuinely love to know their guest retention rate, because the number of familiar faces here tells its own story. You arrive as a guest and you leave as friends, which is really what this whole BodyHoliday St Lucia review comes down to.

I will always give you the honest picture, and the honest picture is that the good massively outweighs the not so good. Yes, a couple of treatments were average, and I had one therapist whose energy was off, which when you are there to relax really does matter. But the warmth of the Bodyguards, the waiters like Orlando, the trainers like Felix and Highley, and the genuine care that runs through this place is what stays with you. These are people who learn your name, your preferences and your story, and that is increasingly rare in big resorts.

This is a grown up, adults focused kind of place, so it is ideal if you want a wellness holiday with proper substance. It is perfect for friends travelling together like Stacey and me, for solo travellers who want to meet people and join in, for couples who want active days and romantic sundowners, and for anyone craving a reset after a stressful stretch of life. If you want to lie completely still and do nothing for a week, you absolutely can, but the magic here is really in the doing.

So there you have it, my full BodyHoliday St Lucia review. It is not flawless, and I would never pretend it is, but it is special in a way that very few resorts manage. It teaches you to slow down, to listen to your body and to put the chaos of everyday life into perspective. Their slogan, give us your body for a week and we will give you back your mind, is bang on accurate, which is exactly why so many of us keep coming back.

And here is some exciting news to leave you with. If the Caribbean feels a little too far, the BodyHoliday is opening its first ever European resort, BodyHoliday Algarve, in Portugal in 2029. So whether you fly to St Lucia or wait for Portugal, this is one wellness experience I cannot recommend enough. Give us your body for a week, indeed. Mine is already counting down to next time.

Is the BodyHoliday in St Lucia worth it?

For us it is so worth it that we returned the very next year. The daily included spa treatment, the brilliant Bodyguards, the fresh food and the seamless beach service make it stand out from a standard all inclusive. It is not flawless, but the experience and the value are exceptional.

Your stay includes a spa treatment every single day, all your meals and drinks, fitness and movement classes such as yoga, Tai Chi, hikes and aquafit, watersports including sailing, windsurfing and tubing, and a 30 minute personal training session. Some specialist treatments and the helicopter transfer cost extra.

You can travel by car, which takes around two hours, by boat, which takes about an hour and forty minutes, or by helicopter, which is roughly ten minutes in the air plus a twenty minute taxi. We took the helicopter and would recommend it for the views and the time saved.

Yes, and you really should. The booking window opens well before you arrive. Book afternoon slots around three to five o’clock if you like active mornings, because if you leave it late you will be left with early morning slots that clash with the classes.

Yes. It has a grown up, adults focused feel and is wonderful for solo travellers who want to join in and meet people, as well as for friends and couples. The group classes and shared meals make it easy to make friends, and many guests return year after year.

Yes. BodyHoliday is opening its first European resort, BodyHoliday Algarve, in eastern Portugal in 2029, around forty five minutes from Faro airport. So if the Caribbean feels too far, Portugal will soon be an option.