Capella Putting its Stamp on St. Lucia

The former Discovery at Marigot Bay will become a Capella resort. American novelist James Michener famously described St. Lucia's Marigot Bay as "the most beautiful bay in the Caribbean."

It's a difficult point to argue.

The stunning deep-water bay, surrounded by lush hills of tangled mangrove and rain forest that reflect on its calm, jade waters as the sun rises, is among the best-protected and most private bays in the region. It already hosts some of the world's most luxurious yachts and is home to the former Discovery at Marigot Bay resort, soon to be the 122-key Capella Marigot Bay Resort & Marina, Capella's first Caribbean property.

Horst Schulze, Capella's chairman and CEO, most well known as the founder of the Ritz-Carlton brand, was taken by the bay and its most prominent resort, which Capella bought along with the marina itself last year. It plans to debut the resort as a fully operational Capella this summer, after being totally transformed during a multi-million-dollar renovation that has the resort closed until July 1.

As much as Capella plans to invest in the resort's suites, spa and pools, Schulze's years of experience have taught him that hardware is not what leaves the biggest impression on guests.

"We get hundreds and hundreds of comments, and they never talk about the room," Schulze said during a January visit to the property. "The comments are about the food and beverage or the service or the activities."

As with the other five Capella hotels and resorts, a team of personal assistants at this one call guests before arrival to ask what they will need on site, what they might want to do around the island, and any requests they have. In my case it was a babysitter and fruit and vegetables to feed my 9-month-old. Not only did Capella provide those items, but the chef personally offered to make him purees. And Jenny, the babysitter, took such good care of our son that we wanted to take her home.

Other Capella features are a policy enabling guests to check in and out when it is convenient, and free wireless Internet. Additional complimentary surprises are surprise snacks around the pool, like "fruit sashimi" and frozen pops; a bottle of local rum with fruit in the room upon arrival; and an assortment of pastries and candies left bedside each night. After the renovation, a Capella Library will offer complimentary snacks and drinks.

Beach-lovers at the Capella Marigot Bay will be whisked by a private water taxi to a secluded cove, about 10 minutes away. Getting to the beach on a speed boat, passing magnificent yachts before zipping into the open water and around a craggy cliff to a beautiful stretch of beach, might be more fun than being at the beach itself. Once finished, the beach will feature a Capella-managed bar and grill, cabanas and lounge chairs.

The property's rooms are already well designed but will be redecorated and given new hardware in the bathrooms. The hotel offers one-, two- and three-bedroom suites with full, modern kitchens and washer/dryers. These units can be combined for larger, multigenerational families. In addition to the "personal assistants," villa guests will have private butlers, chefs and nanny service. The resort is also renovating its Garden Suites, which have their own private plunge pools and gardens.

The resort is totally upgrading its eating areas and menus, under the eye of executive chef Victor Israel Garrido, formerly of Sugar Beach, St. Lucia's Viceroy Resort. Garrido is Mexican but is inspired by local ingredients like sugar cane, coconut and rum as well as the island's fresh vegetables. Some of his most impressive dishes used local ingredients like hibiscus butter and sour orange vinaigrette. From the abundance of local seafood, he made five-spice-seasoned flying fish (only found in the Caribbean) and a smoked kingfish.

Garrido's menus will be featured in a fine-dining, rooftop restaurant with views of the bay. Capella will also keep Hurricane Hole, a bar that has long been popular with visitors staying on yachts and in villas near the bay, but will relocate it to the marina's dinghy dock area to be closer to the water's edge. Also new is the Rum Cave, featuring fine, local rums in a "cave-like" space decorated with stone, wood and rum barrels.

A major addition will be Capella's signature Auriga spa concept, taking over an empty outdoor area facing the marina. Guests will have treatments in "spa pods" and treehouses, and wooden decks and stone paths will lead to sauna and steam rooms. Next to the spa will be a full-service salon and a fitness center with a roof deck for yoga and meditation.

The hotel's bi-level pools will become tri-level, with three pools connected by a waterfall. An infinity pool will sit at the highest level of the resort overlooking the marina.

Schulze's ambitions on the island are not small: "We will be the best hotel here in a few years," he predicted. "I've never owned a hotel that didn't become No. 1 in that market within three years."

His confidence has already rubbed off on the staff at the property, where the "ladies and gentlemen" (a term Schulze started using at the Ritz) started learning the Capella way last fall, and where enthusiasm for the product is already in full swing.

When asked if he was looking forward to the change the property would undergo, Brent, one of the waiters in the main restaurant, said, "Yes. We're going to be the best resort on St. Lucia."

Source: Travel Weekly