Nice work if you can get it
IN more news of tough celebrity gigs, Giles Coren and Monica Galetti are back to visit stunning hotels around the world. Surely they can’t believe their luck as they journey to various incredible, unaffordable places in far reaching destinations.
They have to roll their sleeves up, joining the staff behind the scenes, but let’s not pretend it’s really that hard going for them.
This time they are at Jade Mountain, an entirely hand-built hotel in St Lucia that is carved into the cliff top.
From afar it looks slightly like a multi-storey car park wedged into the cliff, but up close, it’s an architectural wonder, with eight levels, 150ft above sea level, nestled in 600 acres of forest. “It’s like something from Tarzan,” says Giles.
Each of the 29 bedrooms has no outer wall, so is open to the ocean and mountain view, and each has its own private infinity pool and personal butler.
“It’s like someone’s painted scenery across my hotel room,” says Monica.
While there, Giles finds that room service is tougher than it seems, and Monica dives for Lionfish, which they both serve to guests visiting especially to have their wedding on the beach. Giles also joins the pool cleaner on a vertigo-inducing job, while Monica reminisces about her childhood while eating the pulp of cacao pods.
With rooms costing up to £2,700 a night, most of us mere mortals will never visit, but for a gawp at how the other half live, this is priceless.