Those in need of a completely relaxing break in idyllic surroundings might like to think about staying at a villa on Parrot Cay. This 1000 acre paradise feels about as far away as you can get from the stresses of city life. On arrival in Provo, you will be whisked away by hotel staff in an air conditioned mini-bus for the 15 minute ride to the dock, then onto the hotel’s speedboat for the 40 minute trip to Parrot Cay. From the minute you arrive, it is as if a spell has been cast as you enter this tranquil, slow paced paradise. Whether it is something to do with the fact that most of the staff are gentle Balinese, or the wonderfully indulgent Como Shambala Spa, or just the sheer beauty everywhere, it is quite overwhelming. It is so incredibly peaceful - the sort of place you can stay and feel as if you are totally alone – during our stay, we rarely ran into the same person twice, and sometimes the beach seemed to be almost totally deserted.
Of course if you stay in a villa here, you will have your own private piece of beach anyway, furnished with sun loungers and umbrellas, and accessed by a short pathway direct from your villa. There is a choice of one, two or three bedroom villas, all with heated swimming pools, and sun decks furnished with teak furniture and a large hammock. A stay at a two or three bedroom villa means you are looked after by a private butler, with golf cart to take you around, and who will also bring you drinks, lunch by your pool, arrange treatments for you and wait on your table at dinner. Parrot Cay also offers a collection of privately owned villas (one 5 bedroom and six 3 bedroom villas) available to rent. Situated beyond the hotel grounds, around a rocky point, these luxurious villas have larger pools and their own private beach access. They offer the ultimate in peace and privacy, and all come with a private butler.
All the villas are decorated and furnished in the same simple, understated , yet elegant Balinese style, with wooden floors, white painted walls, high ceilings with fans, 4 poster beds with fine voile curtains and white furnishings. The bathrooms, many with outdoor showers, are all stocked with divine Como Shambala bath products, plentiful towels and luxuriously soft bathrobes. All the villas have air conditioning and are equipped with plasma screen TV and DVD, safes and direct dial telephones.
Many people will just want to relax with a book (the library has a good book collection, pool table, internet terminals, board games, and there is also a DVD library), but for those looking for activities, there are two floodlit tennis courts, a fully equipped gym, a 5000 sq. ft infinity pool and a watersports centre offering windsurfing, catamaran sailing and deep-sea fishing. The diving is exceptional and among one of the world’s top ten sites.
It would be a waste to stay here and not experience the Como Shambala Spa, with its wonderful range of holistic treatments. Accessed by a pathway lined with banyan trees, it consists of several buildings housing treatment rooms, yoga studios offering daily pilates and yoga classes, and several Jacuzzis and small pools. It offers a perfect ambience for just relaxing and feeling pampered, right down to the baskets of freshly laundered thick towels and bottled water at every turn.
The dining options at Parrot Cay are fabulous. A magnificent buffet breakfast is offered each morning in the main restaurant, with choices ranging from organic bircher muesli and the Parrot Cay Blend Smoothie with mango, passionfruit, carrot and beetroot – right through the spectrum to bacon and eggs, blueberry pancakes and waffles. Lunch can be a snack, or meal, brought to your villa, or can be taken in the Lotus Restaurant, an Asian inspired restaurant by the pool. Dinner can be taken here or up at the main Terrace Restaurant which has a more continental flavour. The cooking is inspired and the choice of fresh food and organic options is amazing.
Minimum stay is 3 nights, except some high season periods which require a minimum of 5 nights.
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