Heather Russell, Senior Events Manager, Group 7 Events
We were extremely lucky to attend a MICE FAM trip to the beautiful island of Saint Lucia last week, hosted by the Saint Lucia Tourist Board, some of the island’s most beautiful properties and creative DMCs.
Beautiful Marigot Bay
The Tourist Board’s strap line is ‘Simply Beautiful’ and we couldn’t agree more, captivated by the natural beauty of the island and the laid back, yet luxurious, atmosphere unique to Saint Lucia. The island really has a lot to offer the incentive market with a huge variety of luxury hotels. This includes the laid back country living at Capella Marigot Bay, where you can watch the yachts rolling in while wandering along the waterfront to enjoy a rum cocktail at a beach front bar, or Sugar Beach, a Viceroy Resort where cool and contemporary décor creates a chic desert island hideaway, with private bungalow accommodation complete with hammocks, hot tubs and sea facing bedrooms.
Jade Mountain
Hotels taken care of, the DMCs can help put together varied and unique programs dependant on the objectives of the event and tastes of the guests. Creating memorable experiences is key to incentive travel and what could be more memorable than a night at Jade Mountain, a hotel that truly connects you with the nature and scenery of the island with open front bedrooms, with private infinity pools and the most unrivalled view on the island of the Pitons World Heritage Site.
Then for the more adventurous groups, there is Snuba or Sea Trek, revolutionary activities that allow diving beginners to experience the magic of the ocean’s bed. Then on dry land there is the zip wire challenge that takes you on a tour through the jungle via zip wire, swinging about amongst the trees, whilst taking in the breath-taking landscape and learning about the plants and animals that live there.
Rum tasting at Cap Maison
Moving onto the evening again the island has a real diverse mix of activities. We enjoyed a wine tasting evening at Cap Maison resort, where the purpose built wine cellar and table allows guests to be fully involved in the activity asking questions and learning about wine and food pairings. In total contrast, every Friday night Gros Islet street party is the place to be for locals and tourists with the whole street opening up with bars, food sellers and a huge sound system that has the crowd dancing late into the night. Nothing is more authentic than a night filled with rum cocktails, Soca and Reggae music.
After a week spent in Saint Lucia we are totally bewitched by the beauty of the Island and can’t wait to introduce the magic to our clients and create ‘simply beautiful’ moments for their incentive travel needs.
Heather Russell, Senior Events Manager, Group7Events