DESTINATIONS CARIBBEAN | BARBADOS
3
OF THE BEST
EXCURSIONS
Cool Runnings Catamaran Tour Book clients a boat trip where they can frolic with turtles and snorkel in the clear waters of the Caribbean Sea. Cool Runnings provides lunch and sunset cruises aboard a fleet of catamarans as well as a luxury catamaran product, Cool Runnings IV.
top top tiip
Agents can learn more about the O2 Beach Club & Spa and earn up to £40 per booking by
registering for the training and rewards programme at
oceanhotelsrewards.com
Barbados for 24 years – which are slightly more in-depth and focused on giving visitors meaningful experiences. It's a theme that continues across the hotel. Formerly
St Nicholas Abbey Visit one of the oldest sugar estates on the island, dating back to the 1630s. The mansion is one of only three remaining Jacobean mansions in the western hemisphere and can be explored at leisure or as part of a guided tour.
Ocean Two Resort & Residences, O2 Beach Club & Spa is one of the newest hotels on Barbados, yet authenticity is at its heart. The resort worked with local designer Michelle Leotaud to showcase island art – some professional like Yasmin’s, some up-and-coming – making for something akin to a local art gallery, with motifs of turtles, sunsets and beaches at every turn.
Sunflower Stables Barbados Clients wishing to tick off the bucket-list experience of horse riding in the sea are in luck. Sunflower Stables Barbados offers a morning of swimming with these beautiful creatures followed by a beach picnic with rum punch.
SUITE DREAMS There are contemporary touches too, of course. The original structure of the hotel, which was constructed nine years ago, has been renovated and repositioned as an upmarket, all-inclusive hotel. The property features 130 rooms and suites, split across three collections: the Club Collection, featuring 18 large ocean-view or oceanfront rooms; 42 adult-only Luxury Collection Suites; and 72 Concierge Collection Suites. The Luxury Collection Suites are located in a new adult-only, nine-storey tower and include several swim-up suites that offer direct access to the river pool from the privacy of their terraces. Both the Luxury Collection Suites and the Concierge Collection Suites boast views of the Caribbean Sea and offer inclusions such as a bottle of champagne, daily pre-stocked minibar with wine, personalised concierge service and spa credit per adult per stay. Concierge Collection Suites also benefit from cocktail essentials in the minibar, in-room stocked grocery items for the suite’s
34 17 MARCH 2022
33The resort showcases island art – some professional, some up-and-coming – giving it a feel akin to a local art gallery
kitchen on request and a Concierge Ambassador, who can be contacted by guests ahead of their stay. Food and beverage options include fine-dining experience Oro, located on the top floor of the new tower building and serving European cuisine with a Caribbean twist; casual hang-out spot Elements, which also serves breakfast; beachside grill Bluefin; and a nautical-themed, rooftop tapas restaurant called Brisa. The Acqua Spa is the hotel’s crown jewel, holding
court across an entire floor in the tower building. Said to be the highest spa on the island, it’s everything your average spa is not. Gone are the days of dimly lit treatment rooms: Acqua is bright, light and oh-so-white, with wide windows offering stunning sea views. Guests can try a signature treatment curated around the theme of ‘wellness through water’ or opt for what is reportedly the only hammam in Barbados. Jacqui McDermott, sales and marketing manager at Ocean Hotels Barbados, which also owns sister properties Sea Breeze Beach House and South Beach, says the aim was for O2 to carve out its own niche
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travelweekly.co.uk
CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: A Luxury Collection Junior Suite, Acqua Spa, and pool and beach, all O2 Beach Club & Spa
PICTURES: Winter Park Photography; Autosync Media; Shutterstock/Jade Prevost Manuel, J Leacock
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