Jo here. Now, there are some very good reasons to disappear in the middle of a chilly spring, at the end of an interminable winter, and head for Barbados (in a carbon off-set way, of course), but now there’s another: the brand new spa at the Coral Reef Club, which literally just opened. I peeled myself off my sun lounger for long enough to enjoy a truly world-class massage in the most spectacular setting. Karen Capaldi (her family own Coral Reef) has spared no expense on the décor: a cool, tranquil garden in which to chill, hydrotherapy pool, shaded recliners, and ultra-luxe treatment rooms as chic as any boutique hotel bedroom. The squishy towel factor’s off the scale – but what really impressed me is that the luxe factor’s matched by the talents of the therapists themselves (most also study Reiki or reflexology). I had an utterly heavenly, skin-replenishing 80-minute Swedish massage which (if I hadn’t already been in Paradise) would have wafted me there, for sure. (I had frankly all but given up having massages by beauty therapists – having had one too many lackadaisical treatments in salons - but Coral Reef Spa’s team have all been super-highly-trained and are worth every Bajan cent.) Pedicures and manicures are enjoyed (see photo) in a first-floor suite overlooking the gardens, while each treatment room is enclosed by its own private tropical garden. I frankly cannot wait to go back (and there, alas, are too few spas I feel that way about…)
