When you think of the Caribbean who do you see? College kids with a beer for each hand? Families on cruise ship vacations? Wealthy Americans sun-tanning by the pool at a five-star beach resort, their Rolexes scintillating in the afternoon sun? Maybe. But those are all endangered species.
These days you are just as likely to spot a pair of yoga pants as you are a bikini in the warm sea to our south—especially as you begin to climb the social ladder. Health is, after all, wealth. It’s become such a truism that one of the Caribbean’s best resorts is betting its budget (and reputation) to reposition.
Late last year, the Four Seasons Anguilla unveiled a full overhaul of its raison d’être. No longer merely a fancy fun-and-sun, massage-and-facial check-in, it’s now aiming to become the Caribbean wellness destination du jour and an antidote to the whirlpool society scene on neighboring St. Barth.
To achieve specialist status it has struck up partnerships with a wide range of renowned health and spiritual gurus, as well as top wellness companies. For instance, the rapidly expanding East-meets-West, cure-for-whatever-ails you brand, The Well, hosted a four-day “Recharge and Reconnect” retreat here in November led by “mind coach” Manjit Devgun and “Brave, Not Perfect: Fear Less, Fail More, and Live Bolder” author Reshma Saujani. The event included sessions with titles like “Repatterning Breathwork” and “Releasing Pranayama”—an energizing breathwork class that focused on “strengthening the body, making the mind focus, and increasing lung capacity.”
Last July, the resort wrapped up a six-day residency with “renowned acupuncture guru” Sarah Bradden, the founder of the Bradden Method. The aforementioned method is dubbed a “spiritual reset and facelift” that employs LED light therapy and prescription acupressure ear seeds (we were afraid to look that one up). Over in the hotel’s 8,800-square-foot spa—they just keep getting bigger—Annie de Mamiel (owner of an eponymous luxe skincare brand) has partnered with the hotel for bespoke treatments like the “Annie de Mamiel – The Facial.” Unlike your run-of-the-mill facial, this one begins with her discussing internal and external lifestyle factors and then dives into breath work, craniosacral therapy, and acupuncture. The session concludes with a “Qi re-contouring” and massage to depuff, increase circulation, drain toxins and release the body’s tension.
Or maybe you are a Stefanie DiLibero stan? The licensed acupuncturist and esthetician based in N.Y.C. and the Berkshires has quite the following and has joined forces with the resort to offer the “Aculectrics cosmetic acupuncture facial.” DiLibero’s signature treatment combines Eastern and Western therapeutic modalities that treat the face, the body, and the mind.
So why does Anguilla suddenly have goop all over its face? Where did all of this woo come from? The answer is simple says Diego Angarita, the general manager of the Four Seasons Anguilla.
“Void of gambling, excess nightlife and cruise ship ports, Anguilla has been able to successfully maintain a level of under-the-radar tranquility, natural wonder, and tropical charm that is unmatched by neighboring islands,” he says. “It’s the ultimate destination for relaxation and immersion into nature.”
In other words, it’s relatively un-commercialized compared to many Caribbean islands and with relatively new direct flights from Miami, Anguilla made perfect sense to pitch as a health hub.
It’s not the first holiday institution to evolve with its customer base, and it definitely won’t be the last.
