STRETCHING OUT IN PARROT CAY
Indulge the senses with yoga, massages at exclusive retreat in Turks and Caicos
COMO properties are all about quiet elegance, seasoned with Asian-influenced wellness programs that are branded Shambhala.
For a guy from small town Ontario, this was a stretch: Getting up early while on a Caribbean vacation to do yoga on the beach. For one thing, I do not do yoga. For another, I was not keen to give up sleep in a comfortable bed in an elegant beach house on a private island in the Turks and Caicos.
But this is the kind of thing you do while on Parrot Cay. So, when the alarm went off, I dutifully stumbled out of bed, pulled on some clothes and made the 30-second walk to the seaside where I was met by our smiling instructor Michelle Van Lare — a fellow Canadian.
She directed me and a handful of other early risers to spread out our towels on the powdery sand, to take a seat and begin with a couple of minutes of quiet meditation, looking out to sea. Even for an ignoramus in the ancient ways of yoga, it seemed a perfectly appropriate way to begin the day. What are oceans for, if not staring at?
Faced with a bleary-eyed group of beginners, Van Lare took it easy on us, with a few light stretches, some easy poses and gentle advice to only do what felt comfortable.
A native of Windsor, Van Lare’s studies of yoga have taken her from west-end Toronto all the way to Nepal, to Australia and now to this exclusive outpost in the Caribbean. Parrot Cay is one of a string of 14 high-end properties in the COMO chain — locations that run from the urban (Miami, London) to the exotic (Bhutan, Bali).
“I was attracted by COMO,” she said after our session — adding that she had been pursuing them for five years before landing the Parrot Cay job.
“It was their vision — the wellness side of their vision.”
The vision comes from a formidable, media-shy woman named Christina Ong, a member of a prominent Singapore family. Her founding of COMO is part of the company lore. Ong, it seems, grew tired of staying in mediocre hotels as she travelled the world for her fashion business. Two decades ago, her husband, Ong Beng Seng, found a solution. He spotted a derelict parkade in London’s tony Belgravia neighbourhood, bought it for his wife and advised her that perhaps she needed to build her own hotel to meet her exacting standards.
The parkade became The Halkin, the first in the group. A year or two later, their daughter Melissa was diving off the Turks and Caicos and told her parents of the beauteous Parrot Cay. The beneficent and deep-pocketed Mr. Ong bought it for Melissa as a birthday present, although it was Christina who transformed it into the second COMO property. The COMO name is drawn from the initials of mother and daughter.
Although she does employ designers, every element of the resort comes under Christina Ong ’s scrutiny and must match her tastes — from the clean and elegant decorating choices (lots of teak and white), to healthy-eating menus and the training of the massage therapists.
COMO properties are all about quiet elegance, seasoned with Asian-infused wellness programs that are branded Shambhala, a Sanskrit word that translates roughly as a place of peace, tranquillity and happiness. Those were the adjectives that wafted through my brain as I lay prone in the spa, listening to birds chirping from the adjacent wetland as a Balinese therapist expertly administered the spa’s signature massage. Another master from Bali gave my wife an “Indian head massage,” which she raved about as the best treatment ever.
Christina Ong trains her therapists well. Mind you, this taste of Shambhala will generally run you upwards of US$200.
Parrot Cay is an island of 1,000 acres, with only the one resort, which has only 75 rooms — including those in 12 luxurious homes. There is never a crowd, even when the place is fully booked, which is perhaps why celebrities such as Keith Richards, Donna Karan and Bruce Willis own houses on the island.
“It’s a kind of La La Land,” said Nadia Razak, the resort’s genial events manager, as she gave us an island tour on a golf cart. She led us on a walk-through of a couple of the places owned by the rich and famous, which are available to rent. The only one she could identify was Karan’s place, a series of houses — yours for about US$11,000 per night.