BodyHoliday, you say? Sounds like hard work. – GAY TIMES – Gay Times Magazine

‘I’ve been 42 times,’ says Andy from Bournemouth over sunset cocktails and truffled mushroom tarts on the terrace of BodyHoliday’s zhuzhy Villa Hibiscus, with a glint in his smirk that suggests he won’t stop till he reaches a neat century. ‘It’s the best place on earth.’

Drama, much? But let’s look at the evidence.

14.105029 / N 14° 6′ 18.105”, which roughly translates as the best bit of the Caribbean Sea side of St Lucia. A scoop of tepid waters, half-moon beach and diddy boats bobbing along to the breeze that takes just the right edge off a consistent 28 degrees in March. An hour and a half-ish from the international airport on the Atlantic side, which seems a schlepp but means you get a massive glimpse of this mountainously beautiful island in transit, taking in the millefeuille of lush through your blacked-out MPV. And, if you’re lucky, you’ll get Merv driving, who moonlights (and days!) as a tour guide, so you’ve got your Wiki notes on the history and topography of St Lucia before you even arrive.

‘Or you could just take a helicopter,’ someone in a kaftan tells us later, breaking it to us just like that.