Unlocking a Caribbean Eden

When creative director Gabriella Kahlil was researching the idea of a spa for Palm Heights, the gorgeously conceived boutique hotel on the Cayman Islands, she was struck as to how isolating these sybaritic experiences can be. The Garden Club, as the 60,000 sq. foot area was baptised, started taking shape in a more convivial form.

“It is a social space for members and guests in a natural setting. Many spas are steeped in traditions that offer solitary experiences yet many global cultures from Turkey, Korea, Italy to South Africa have all traditionally shared social bathing practices. The Garden Club adopts this global transcultural history and mirrors the diversity of the Cayman Islands,” says Kahlil of the multicultural three island group which is home to over 130 nationalities, amongst its 70,000 residents.

Interior designer, Khalil who is known for her sensuous, eclectic taste (the hotel is designed as a 70s mansion complete with an Ettore Stotsass wall hanging and Mario Bellini sofas), imagined a more magical, exploratory setting. Thus, the Garden Club is an escape where you will find yourself taking the waters in all different forms amongst the 6 plunge pools and outdoor ritual baths. Numerous treatments are on offer in the oasis with its hanging walls, labyrinthine gardens and tavertine clad structures designed by Dong Ping Wong of environmental architecture practice, Food New York. “Grand Cayman offers natural healing qualities with its clean air, turquoise blue ocean, and abundance of vegetation. The emphasis on bathing stems from both this and the significance of water circumstantially, visually, and culturally on the islands,” adds Kahlil who has invited a whole roster of experts to deliver specialist services. In the mix have been Ricari Studios' trademark lymphatic drainage massage program and Nikki DeRoest's beauty and skincare program.

But spa is not all about lazing and bathing. The adjoining, Athletics Club, comprising a sprint track, boxing ring and work out studios boasts a guest list of Olympic athletes, pro sportspeople and dancers taking the classes. Plus, Khalil has designed Tropical Fitness workout wear too (just in case you forgot your kit or wanted a momento) of this little Caribbean Eden just two hours from Miami.