While I sing the praises of Parrot Cay often and loudly, I am sure that many of you write me praise off because I work here. Well, for you doubters and naysayers out there I offer a brand new Parrot Cay Como Shambhala Retreat Review from the Frequent Traveler Blog.
Regarding the other guests,
"The guests also were fairly diverse—mostly couples but also a few families—and I counted the following nationalities represented: American, Argentine, Brazilian, Belgian, British, Costa Rican, Italian, Canadian, Spanish, and Pakistani. Non-human guests included a miniature schnauzer, a shi-tzu, and a weiner dog, so yes, the place is quite dog friendly. At least half of the people we talked to were return visitors. This in a resort with less than fifty rooms."
The island,
"Blessed with unspoiled beauty. The only other beaches I have been to that might rival this one were in the Maldives. TCI is much closer. The sand is bright white, The water is jewel-toned clear. The weather is sunny windy and in the 80s. The ocean water temperature is perfect. The beach is never crowded thanks to difficulty of accessing it (a 30 minute, 500-HP speedboat ride from the international airport on the island of Providenciales. Can’t say much more—this place is naturally, absolutely beautiful.
The grounds and common areas are attractive, well maintained, and lacking pretense."
The service,
"Service was generally top notch. The room itself is serviced three times a day. A generous plate of fresh fruit awaited every afternoon in the room, and on the first night, it was accompanied by an entirely decent bottle of Piper Heidsieck Brut. For the pain and suffering incurred in seven years of marriage to me, my also wife received a nice hand-embroidered and lavishly wrapped beach sarong. Nice touch. Bottles of Fiji water accompany the evening service. Complimentary flip flops and other nice freebies abound in the room."
The food,
"Outside of a couple of missteps, I give it an A. Not only did it taste good, but the program achieves significant variety out of just two kitchens. The wine program is good, and there are decent bottles to be had from $50-$500. I was surprised by its variety, again given the logistical challenge of getting and keeping wine safely at this far-off location. But perhaps the most impressive thing is that this is the first time I felt like I ate healthy for five straight days without ever feeling deprived—that is a monumental accomplishment for someone who quite literally has dreams about steak, bacon, butter, pasta and other less than stellar nutrition chart components."
The spa,
"The spa buildings (there’s like 6 of them) offer all kinds of services, are newer and offer more of a Balinese feel to them (COMO is an Indonesian company). The spa is rumored to be one of the very best. It looked great."
All in all,
"Yes, there were a few glitches, but after five days, its easy to understand why so many fellow guests were repeat visitors. I would absolutely go back,...."
Great beaches, great service, great food, great spa, lots of repeat guests. Come once and you will want to return! Sorry, the Pilates job is already taken!
