Articles
Get Disconnected
Lose That Hi-Tech Connectby Judy Colbert
Have you noticed more hotels and resorts advertising that they're totally wired? Each property offers more options for you to use your laptop, PDA, and whatever electronic devices are essential for your "normal" daily operation.
What's wrong with this picture? Well, um, you're going away on vacation, right? So you can disconnect from the daily strife? If you want to stay connected, you can stay home or in your office.
When you want to get away from all that connection, then head
toward the luxurious Caneel Bay Resort, St. John, U.S.V.I., the
resort Laurence S. Rockefeller created in 1955. Instead of a day
filled with meetings, taking lunches, deadlines, carpooling, and
rush-hour traffic, it's a Thai massage, tanning on a different beach
every day for a week (there are seven secluded beaches: Honeymoon,
Caneel, Little Caneel, Paradise, Scott, Turtle Bay, and Hawk's
Nest), a dinner party catered in a candle-lit sugar mill ruin, a
private sail on the 65-foot classic Alden schooner "True Love" from
the movie "High Society" or a sunset picnic of champagne and hors
d'oeuvres on a wind-swept hill overlooking nothing but gorgeous
scenery.
Not only isn't there a T-1 line in your guest room, there isn't even a telephone, fax-modem, television, or a radio. However, the 166 airy, spacious guest rooms do have louvered walls, open picture windows and ceiling fan to take advantage of St. John's trade winds, handcrafted furniture, comfortable reading chairs (there's a place for your drink and your book), and personal bar and wall safe. With a staff of 450, providing an excellent guest-staff ratio, you know your every whim will be satisfied.
From your private balcony or patio, there are incredible views of the blue upon blue upon blue Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean, palm trees, beaches, and the billowing sails of yachts carrying people to the various corners of the world.
As a replacement for charging up phone bills, you're charging up your personal batteries.
This is good for your personal well-being, but, interestingly enough, it also works for an executive getaway. What a great place for private meetings and team-building activities. And, for the romantics, there are wedding packages available and the resort will take care of all the arrangements.
If the scenery and long walks along the beach aren't enough, or if you've been in the rat race for so long you don't know how to relax, there is the new Self Centre at Caneel Bay. This program, exclusive to this Caribbean resort, lets you give attention to a personal renewal in an idyllic setting.
Jan Kinder teaches meditation, breath
work, yoga and imagery to help quiet your mind and rid your body of
stress. "With busy schedules, time constraints, career pressures and
family placing demands on our lives, we recognize the longing of
adults of all ages to experience a better quality of life," says
Kinder, who has practiced and taught mind/body techniques for over
two decades. "The Self Centre Bay is more than a vehicle for
R&R, as it enables vacationers to reconnect within themselves
and to achieve an internal 'sense of place' that facilitates
self-discovery and self awareness, and hopefully, contributes to a
new style of living."
"Our resort is known for its natural serenity, its seven pristine beaches and for its ability to provide a total 'disconnect' for all our guests," says Brian Young, managing director of Caneel Bay Resort. "We have taken the timeless philosophy for which are known one step further, so that our guests can now focus on their inner selves and their pursuit of contentment to improve the quality of their lives, well after they have left Caneel Bay. The Self Centre helps to mold a unique vacation experience whose elements can be incorporated into their daily lives long after the vacation is over."
Another amazing attraction is the relatively inexpensive price for an unwind package, start at $3,175 for two people for four nights in a courtside room during off-season, from mid November through mid December. Even Cottage 7, which is where the celebs stay, starts at $5175 during off-season and goes to $6275 in prime time, early January through the end of March. Those prices include full breakfast and dinner daily, the private picnic mentioned above, water color lessons, snorkel cruise and beach barbeque, massage for two for three days, sunrise relaxation therapy session, aromatherapy care welcome gift, round-trip airport transfers, and tax and service charges.
As a refresher, St. John, with a population of about 3500, has the smallest population of the three major U.S. Virgin Islands. Two-thirds of its 19 square miles is dedicated to a U.S. National Park. It's a short (45 minute or so) ferry ride from Charlotte Amalie, provided a couple of times a day by Caneel Bay or for a few dollars from Cruz Bay. Although there's an excellent gift shop on property, if you have lots of souvenirs to take back to friends, family, and business associates, you can head over to the tourist shops in Charlotte Amalie to take advantage of the $1,200 per person duty-free allowance. English is the official language, and the U.S. dollar is the official currency.
One of the lovely features about the Virgin Islands is the average temperature ranges from 77 F in the winter to 82 F in the summer, so whether the weather is too cold or too hot where you live, it's bound to be better at Caneel Bay.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:Caneel Bay Resort
PO Box 720
Cruz Bay, St. John, U.S.V.I.
00831-0720
340/776-6111
340/693-8280
(fax)
888/767-3966
http://www.rosewood-hotels.com/
Photographs by Judy Colbert