LOOKS PRETTY SPA-MAZING
FIONNUALA BOURKE goes back to school as she joins the voluntourism boom in Jamaica.
WHETHER it’s for rest and relaxation, a girlie celebration or a romantic weekend for two, the luxurious new destination spa, the Spa at Carden is ideal.
Opened in January, the 4,500sqm spa is situated in the picturesque Cheshire countryside within the grounds of the awardwinning Carden Park Hotel.
As well as two large vitality pools, extensive thermal suite, beauty lounge and a variety of relaxation spaces, the Spa at Carden also has one of the UK’s largest spa gardens, plus an all-weather Bollinger champagne bar for those all-important bubbly moments.
Try the Indulgent Spa Day which includes a spa garden and thermal experience (10am-5pm), choice of 50-minute spa ritual and a healthy lunch in Elements restaurant. Prices £135 MonThurs/£145 Fri-Sun. Or, push the boat out with the Bollinger Experience Spa Day, from £230. See cardenpark.co.uk/spa/days/
A PALATIAL PLACE TO STAY
TAJ Hotels has opened the Taj Fateh Prakash Palace within the City Palace in Udaipur, India, on the shores of Lake Pichola.
The building was constructed in the 19th century as a venue for royal occasions and its 65 rooms feature marble floors, oil portraits and vast windows opening onto the beautiful lake and the Aravalli mountain range. Rooms from £300, B&B. See tajhotels.com
FAMILY FUN IN LONDON
DESIGNED for families by families, Park Plaza London Riverbank’s Ultimate Family Suite includes an abundance of features that kids will love including chalk board walls, neon lights, a bunk bed and more – plus chic décor and finishing touches for the adults.
Priced from £230 per night based on two nights’ accommodation including breakfast arriving March 1, 2020. Sleeps two adults and two children. For more information and to book, parkplaza.com/ ultimatefamily
HUNDREDS of smiles greet us as we park up on a bumpy driveway covered in shale stone. The air-con inside our minibus is humming and the dark windows dim the glorious sunshine, but they can’t block out the exhilarating buzz of laughter and chatter from the children outside.
It’s lunchtime at The Exchange All Age School, just five miles from the luxurious Sandals Resort in Ocho Rios where we are staying.
Its 200 pupils are taking a break from lessons at 10.30am, but then they started classes at 7am.
The school operates on a shift basis it doesn’t have enough room to school all 400 pupils at once.
These children, aged five to 11, will finish at noon. When the next shift arrives, their school day will end at 5pm.
We are privileged to visit the school on a Reading Road Trip organised by the Sandals Foundation, the charitable arm of the renowned luxury Sandals Caribbean Beach Resorts.
The non-profit organisation was set up a decade ago to create a positive and sustainable impact on local communities.
One of the most important aspects of this work is to help 580 schools across Jamaica, Barbados, Bahamas, Antigua, Grenada, Saint Lucia and Turks & Caicos. The foundation helps with upgrades to buildings and technology, providing computers and reading resources and helps with literacy.
Sandals guests are delighted to support the programme, with voluntourism becoming an increasingly popular trend among luxury travellers to the Caribbean. In fact, many regularly recommend a Reading Road Trip as a holiday highlight. It certainly was for me.
Before leaving the UK, we were invited to bring any reading materials we had with us to donate to a local school. My nieces had plenty of brilliant books they had enjoyed reading and were thrilled to be able to pass them on to younger children.
And it was a pleasure to meet a talented class of gorgeous fiveyear-olds who had such a passion for learning.
Our group was provided with a lesson plan to deliver to groups of five about the importance of looking after the environment.
We were then entertained by some impressive singing and a dance show.
Once back at Sandals Ocho Rios it was fun to compare experiences in the charming traditional Caribbean-style resort, with its stylish mahogany furnishings.
The all-inclusive resort provides privacy, luxury, comfort and luxury in a beautiful coastal setting.
There are 11 top-of-the-range restaurants and you can also treat yourself to a lively night out in a Sandals first – a resort Speakeasy. We needed a password to get in and, once inside, the stylish 1920s bar had all the thrilling style of a Peaky Blinders soirée.
The Sandals Foundation also prides itself on its efforts to protect the environment. When we arrived, a lot of work was underway in the Bahamas to help victims of Hurricane Dorian.
Back in Jamaica, a focus continues on conservation, and we are taken on a trip to see the inspiring work of former Birmingham head teacher Mel Tennant to conserve turtles.
Mel has built up a reputation as a ‘turtle whisperer’ due to his project at Oracabessa Beach, where a new resort is underway with help from investors, including Jamaican celebrities Shaggy and Usain Bolt. Mel has lived in Jamaica for 20 years since retiring and has an amazing insight into the plight of Hawksbill turtles.
The endangered species, which is over 100 million years old, was being poached by locals for meat. But Mel and his team of volunteers have worked hard to change