Sabi Phagura experiences the importance of real food from the outside and within at the magnificent five-star Capella Marigot Bay
You are what you eat and it seems you are also what you apply to your body and face. “If you wouldn’t eat it don’t put it on your skin.” These were the wise words of our beauty therapist Frida who took us through a step-by-step body scrub and homemade facial making class at the luxury resort Capella Marigot Bay, St Lucia. 
And indeed all the ingredients laid out on the table in the tree house at the five-star resort were easily recognisable as those commonly found in our kitchen cupboards.
The philosophy here at the five-star Caribbean resort is to offer visitors an opportunity to encounter a destination steeped in luxury and individual choice where authentic Saint Lucian culture, cuisine and traditions blend seamlessly. And true to their word, we were encouraged to make the scrubs as individual as we are. We beat together ingredients ranging from cocoa, coffee, honey, oil to essential oils like lavender and grapefruit to either a salt or sugar base. With flawless skin like our therapist’s, I was eager to learn as much as I could about retaining my youthful looks for as long as possible.
As nice as it was to get muck in learning the secrets of making a good scrub, facial toner, and other chemical free body ritual indulgences, a massage at the Auriga Spa was very much welcomed. Treatments focus on local traditions that have been handed down through generations of healers. The magic certainly worked on me during the Fiksyon Fwote Rub Massage which sent me blissfully into a deep relaxation. I only awoke briefly when asked by my therapist to turnover.
The Caribbean island offers an abundance of freshly caught fish and prime meats mixed with mouth watering Indian herbs and spices. And because St Lucia is steeped history after it was colonised and fought over by the English and the French, its gastronomy today is multi-flavoured. There are many dining options at the resort which vary in their food offerings.
The Grill at 1461 offers guests simply prepared but delicious meats and seafood seasoned with herbs and spices picked from the hotel’s private garden. They are paired with locally sourced ripe fruits and vegetables which turn dishes into colourful pieces of art.
As faultless as the meals were here, the real show stopper for me was the meal served in the Alexandria Private Dining Room where we feasted on scallops, sea bass, lamb and beef infused in an explosion of spices. And just when we thought we had our gastronomy fix for the evening, in came an array of chocolate-based puddings and ice creams from the kitchen which rivalled creations by TV’s favourite baker Mary Berry.
Let’s face it – no trip to the Caribbean would be complete without a stiff rum. But be warned, those served in and around the resort including the swim-up Brut and Pool bar are potent even when diluted with soft drinks. Rum enthusiasts will be thrilled to learn they can top up their knowledge of this popular drink in the distillery-inspired lounge of the Rum Cave. Denis Marius offered us an engaging rum tasting experience where we sampled a selection of Caribbean’s premier rums. He told us mixing the drink with coke was practically a sin. To be truly enjoyed they needed to be drunk neat he said. Sadly my stomach wasn’t strong enough but practice makes perfect they say.
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