LUX* Me is a lighter, brighter spa brand from LUX* Island Resorts, encompassing fitness, wellbeing, nutrition and a range of specially formulated spa products. We offer a full range of spa treatments as well as some more unusual activities including sunset yoga, cooking classes and lifestyle retreats to help guests de-stress and balance their lives. Honestly Healthy is our nutrition brand and offers a range of healthy eating options and we offer guests assessments to help tailor the perfect programme for a LUX* Me lifestyle. The LUX* Me brand is designed to offer a rounded, balanced and complete set of options for all our guests.

LUX* prides itself on it’s specially chosen wine selection. Which is great, no one wants to sit and read a wine list so long that by the time you’re finished the puddings are being served. Even though we (may) all think of ourselves as elegant gastronomes, sometimes it’s nice to be offered less, but then often less is more.

This is the case with Scene 10: Scru Cap, a collection of amazing South African wines that are available at all LUX* Island resorts, each one matched perfectly to the menus, the atmosphere and the discerning palette.

Kent Scheermeyer was chosen to be the ‘Chief Slurper’ and with decades of grape growing, wine making and also (the best bit) tasting under his belt the task of selecting the perfect wines came down to him.

We met Kent on our travels and were given a tour of the vineyard. Set in the hollow of a beautiful South African mountain it was my first visit to a vineyard. Although the grapes had been picked it was still an amazing site, rows upon rows that went as far as the eye could see. You could also see the passion in Kent he explained to us just why the wine tastes so good, the mixture of soil, weather and close attention to detail.

We were soon led to the more mechanical side of the process, huge immaculate towers that looked like they could belong in a science fiction movie lined huge towering rooms. Pipes upon pipes, filtering, cleaning and measuring, making sure the wine was perfect. I was lucky enough to be able to taste a little of the latest batch of Red, directly from a tint little tap poking out of the huge cylinders, and, even though it hadn’t been aged in the barrels that we were to see next, it tasted wonderful!

As I have just mentioned, next stop was the barrels, and this felt more more as I had imagined wine making to be, a cool, dark never ending cellar filled with drum after drum of delicious grape. Then it was the turning, something that now I know seems obvious, Kent showed us how at exact intervals each and every bottle that eventually ends up on a LUX* dining table has to be turned a quarter, allowing the sediment to move around and not spoil the taste.

This behind the scenes tour was topped off with one of the most amazing lunches I’ve ever had, of course with a well selected glass of wine. Sometimes being spoiled is okay, just as long as you appreciate it.

Sometimes if we look just that little bit harder we see the unexpected. A shadow that creates the shape of an old lady drinking tea, a rolling bag caught in the wind that we thought was a shaggy cat chasing a mouse. Yes, these are all lovely poetic images, but these don’t help much if your really thirsting for a refreshing cool tropical fruit juice rather then attractive symbolism.

LUX*  BELLE MARE has come up with an ingenious way of mixing exploration, discovery, (and this is the best part….) secret prizes for the more explorative guest. Placed around in various ever changing locations guests can find a ‘message in a bottle’. If you’re brave enough to cross high, seas, venture through wild jungles and…(actually, they’re not that hard to spot) you pick up a bottle inside you’ll find a range of prizes, from free fruit juice for a week to a romantic meal for two in the sea.

The delight of discovery is one that never ceases to amaze, it feels a little bit naughty, should we? shouldn’t we? But of course at LUX* the answer is always, “yes, you should”. The recently married French couple were delighted with their little find, having crossed a dangerous coy carp lagoon to a deserted island (small exaggeration) , they rolled out the hand aged paper message and were over the moon that they had just won a meal for two.

This kind of thing for me is that extra touch that create memories and conversation. How great will it be to return home and say that you actually found a message in a bottle on an island paradise in the middle of the Indian Ocean? Even better when the message says have two delicious cocktails at the bar on LUX* rather then ‘Help! I’m shipwrecked!”

Message in a bottle isn’t just a feature of LUX* BELLE MARE as we found out some months later during a series of filming sessions. Whilst cruising around with the amazing staff at LUX* MALDIVES we actually spotted a bottle ourselves. Our driver beamed with delight as we ventured into the shrubbery and ‘hey presto” we had won free fresh fruit juice for our whole trip.

So, keep your eyes peeled and your taste buds ready. You never know at a LUX* resort just what you’ll find if you take the time to look.

CLICK HERE AND SEE JUST WHAT MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE IS ALL ABOUT

There are so many instances during a holiday where you’re required to check a bill, give your room number and sign your name. Sadly, we can’t do too much about that, but what we can do is stage little moments of generosity and surprise that go some way towards making life just that little bit more fun while you’re with us. If you haven’t already heard of our Secret Bar then you can find out a little bit more about that here. This, however, is Message in a Bottle.

On any given day there might be as many as ten bottles hidden in the grounds of our beautiful Indian Ocean resorts. Find the bottle and you will be rewarded, for inside lies a message with a little touch of delight for you to enjoy. It might be a treatment at the spa, a bottle of wine, or something else altogether.

So, if you spot the bottle, don’t be afraid to pick it up and see what lies inside. It’s for you, it’s free and it’s our pleasure!

A bottle bobbing in the water, nestled in the herb garden, under a tree… a message inside brings a smile to your face and a delightful surprise.

Scene 20….

5. Muscle Beach.

Dating back as far as the 1930′s, just outside Santa Monica groups of body sculpting men and women have ben gathering to pump iron and soak up the rays. Now based at Venice beach (South California) the assortment of free to use equipment is now as much a tourist attraction as it is a place to work out. Gorgeous bodies, happy faces and not a dime spent on powering treadmills and air con, it’s all natural. Even if some of the hulks may not look as human as most of us.

4. The Pebble Man.

Beaches are about sand, not pebbles, but if you’re local Dorset artist, Adrian Gray then the more pebbles and stones the better. Adrian is an artist, but steers firmly away from convention, he doesn’t use paint, he doesn’t use brushes and he doesn’t even need a canvas. His art is all about balance. Perfect balance of rocks and stones to be exact. By finding the minute tipping point of each stone, Adrian fills the horizon with strange and beautiful sculptures. If you see a mini Stone Henge on your travels in the West Country, take a picture, it may well be one of Adrians.

3. Sandsculpting.

Forget your bucket and spade. Forget the making a little moat and sticking in a lolly pop stick as a make shift flag. Sand sculpting has become big business, with companies now providing sand sculptors for corporate events and parties, these guys are certainly giving the ice sculptors a run for their money. Although it would be great to see sand and ice sculptures on the beach together. My monies on the sand still being there in the morning.

2. Lightning Sand

“Fulgurite’s” (yes, catchy name I know) are what happens when lighting strikes the beach. As the energy bolt connects with the Earth, the silica in the sand melts at almost 2000 degree’s Celsius and instantly creates a shard of root like glass. So next time you on the beach with an umbrella in the rain, standing by a tree, if you see a massive flash keep your eyes peeled for a Fulgurite, or as I will now call them, “Lightning Roots”. Which sounds much more poetic.

1. Screen on the Beach.

Holidays are great, sun sea, and the other ‘S’ word if you are in a more amorous mood. Feasting on fine dining and sampling the local delights. Sounds heavenly yes? It does, but if you are lucky enough to be at a LUX resort, in Maldives, Reunion Island or Mauritius you will more the likely stumble upon something amazing. Especially if you love cinema classics (which I do). Screen on the Beach see’s a part of the beach transformed into an outdoor cinema. Huge white linens framed by local trees provide the silver screen and hand made local bean bags say hello to your holiday posterior. The chefs have also created something special when it come to the snacks. Say good bye to soggy old cinema pop corn, and hello to freshly popped cheese popcorn with a sprinkle of black pepper. Succulent fresh fruit as you would expect replaces the sugary alternatives so you can lay back, enjoy the delicious treats and lose your self in a film classic as the seas gently laps at the beach. A true magical event.