Parrot Cay, Turks and Caicos Islands

Back in December 1998, COMO Hotels and Resorts (also behind Cocoa Island in the Maldives, as well as city hotels, including Metropolitans in Bangkok and London)  opened its first private island resort, in the Turks and Caicos. Called Parrot Cay, this landmark opening brought COMO’s vision of privacy and stylish beach living to the Caribbean.

The Turks and Caicos are located in the northern Caribbean, an archipelago of eight principal islands and more than 40 smaller cays, of which Parrot Cay is one. The islands are positioned some 575 miles south east of Miami, which is a 70-minute flight away. International flights come into Providenciales, the main island, from where it is a 35-minute speedboat ride to the resort.

The Turks and Caicos have been largely saved from high-rise construction. The region came relatively late to tourism compared to opportunities elsewhere in the Caribbean. This has protected the islands’ natural integrity.

The topography of Parrot Cay slopes up from the ocean towards a 50ft-high ridge along the centre of the island. The landmass covers about 1000 acres. It has 3.2 miles of white-sand beaches, including a mile-long stretch on the west side (this is the resort’s principal beach).

One mile south lies Rocky Point, an outcrop concealing more curls of sand. This is where Parrot Cay Estates is located, encompassing the largest villas, which are owned by private individuals but let and managed by the hotel.

On the quiet, east side of the island you will find the spa, COMO Shambhala Retreat at Parrot Cay, which overlooks mangroves and wetlands rich with birdlife. There are 175 species, including ruby-throated hummingbirds.  Much of the island remains undeveloped, given over to cactus and thickly entwined scrub. The ocean is warm, and beaches softly shelving. Tides are weak and shore-side currents are gentle. What makes this sea so extraordinary is its uncanny shade of turquoise.

The resort itself is made up of a principal building – whitewash with coral-pink roofing – set back from the beach on raised ground. This is where reception is located, in addition to concierge, the resort shop, bar, ‘Terrace’ restaurant, and library with Internet access, a pool table and private verandah.

On one side of this central building lies the tennis court; on the other lies an accommodation wing housing 11 Ocean Facing rooms, four one-bedroom Suites and 31 Garden View rooms which open out on to a gently sloped lawned area. All have terraces and are generously sized, with the smallest double measuring 60 square metres.

Some 200 metres closer to the beach are the Beach Villas and Houses. They comprise six one-bedroom beach houses and three one-bedroom villas all of which have plunge pools, two two-bedroom Beach Villas, and one three-bedroom Beach Villa.

These are low buildings, steps from thesand, with weathered wood cladding and decking.  The resort’s main pool is behind the beach – infinity edged, measuring some 5,500 square feet, flanked by cream teak sun loungers and two Indonesian-style thatched bales at each extremity. ‘Lotus’ restaurant, the Beach Bar and watersports centre are positioned near the pool.

The interior aesthetic is by Keith Hobbs, whose company United Designers was also responsible for the Metropolitan, London. The warm, contemporary look with a colonial-style finish is achieved with soft white cottons covering chairs, cushions and four-poster beds. Further design motifs include teak furnishing, terracotta tiles and Indonesian loungers. Windows are shuttered, and bathrooms are white tongue-and-groove with wooden surfaces.

In-room facilities are decadent in their detail. Guests can choose between air-conditioning and overhead ceiling fans. Beds are dressed in the finest Italian linens. Other facilities include flatscreen TVs with satellite channels, DVD and CD players, and minibars. In addition, guests can take advantage of complimentary WiFi Internet access.

Parrot Cay Estates complements the resort’s main accommodation. This recent project is a collaboration between Parrot Cay and private owners, who place their properties, which are designed and built by Parrot Cay, in a rental pool. They are landscaped to maximise privacy, and have commanding views of the leeward lagoon. Each is configured around a pool and has substantial private decks. Interiors share a pared down aesthetic, combining the neutral colours of sun-bleached oak and pale Caicos stone with white cottons.

Currently, Parrot Cay Estate is made up of Rocky Point, which is located on close to two acres of beachfront north of the ‘Rocky Point’ landmark on the island’s leeward flank about one mile distant from the main resort. It comprises a detached master bedroom and two further guest suites. Lucky House and Dhyani House are also three-bedroom estates. The Residence is the largest construction and comprises a complex of three villas. It includes a five-bedroom main house with a 1000sq ft master bedroom and 2700sq ft infinity pool; in addition, there are two three-bedroom villas on each side, both with pools. You can rent these elements separately. However, for larger parties the complex is ideal because of the privacy afforded by The Residence’s self-contained area.

The Sanctuary, new to Parrot Cay in 2007, is another of our flagship rentals, made up of two houses with views of both the island’s lush vegetation and turquoise sea. Each house is comprised of a second floor master bedroom/living area with 360 degree water views, three other ensuite bedrooms, as well as an infinity pool. There is a screened-in guest pavilion flanked by a main pool and plenty of outside terracing. A further formal dining area inside seats up to 20. Cedar panelled walls, teak furniture, walnut floors and limestone bathrooms are part of the high interior finish. Eclectic pieces reflect the owner’s world travels, from Bali to Africa, including an enviable art collection.

Facilities in all these privately owned houses available for rental include four-poster king-size or twin beds, air conditioning, ceiling fans, satellite plasma televisions, DVD players, direct dial telephones with voicemail, radios, CD players, interior standalone and outdoor showers, kitchens with a toaster, espresso machine, oven, stovetop, microwave, dishwasher and full-size refrigerator and substantial living-dining areas with sofas. Services include daily maids, private butlers and villa dining.

Guests of Parrot Cay Estate also have full access to the main resort and its two restaurants, with menus devised by COMO Hotels and Resorts’ Executive Chef Amanda Gale ‘Lotus’ is an easygoing al fresco poolside eatery with open kitchens serving lunch and dinner. ‘Terrace,’ with outdoor and indoor tables, is the gourmet restaurant serving breakfast and dinner. An All Day Dining menu is also available.

In addition, guests can benefit from COMO Shambhala Cuisine, designed to maximise energy and wellbeing with the use of raw foods rich in living enzymes, vitamins and sea minerals. This special menu features little salt (when necessary, Celtic sea salt is used), no dairy (as an alternative, tofu is blended with aioli to create a yoghurt), and unprocessed honey in place of sweeteners. It avoids fats, using organic olive oil instead of butter. Fish is nearly always steamed, and the only meat that appears on the COMO Shambhala menu is organic chicken. There is no calorie counting, although dishes are conspicuously light, from the soya bean, pumpkin and Swiss chard patties with tofu aioli and tabouleh salad, to the vegetable hot pot with silken tofu and udon noodles. Healthy desserts include an organic carrot cake with vanilla yoghurt sorbet.

But it is not just cuisine that caters to guests’ wellbeing. Parrot Cay’s awardwinning COMO Shambhala Retreat offers Yoga, Pilates and related treatments. The retreat buildings fit appropriately with their context, incorporating nature into the spa experience so that guests feel connected. It is a supremely peaceful location, with views over the island’s wetlands towards the North Caicos channel.

Facilities include a 540sq ft infinity pool that faces the leeward side of the island, a 1,300sq ft Yoga room aired by natural breezes, and nine treatment rooms. In 2004, the holistic centre was expanded to include an outdoor Jacuzzi garden for women only, and two Yoga and Pilates studios that guests can take over for one-on-one tuition (specialist equipment includes a rope wall, Yoga props, the ‘Reformer’ and ‘Wunda Chair’). There are also two double massage rooms and Japanese baths, meaning more couples can enjoy their treatments together.

Asian-based therapies range from shiatsu to Ayurvedic detox programs. Recommendations are made on a consultative rather than prescriptive basis, allowing therapists to respond to each guest on a one-by-one basis. In addition, COMO Shambhala Retreat at Parrot Cay hosts regular consultants including Susan King, an intuitive counsellor based in London.  An Ayurvedic Doctor is permanently resident.

Yoga enthusiasts can take part in retreats led by world-renowned teachers, including Rodney Yee from the Piedmont Yoga Center in California, and Erich Schiffmann, another Parrot Cay regular. These Retreat Weeks usually include five hours of practice daily. The experience is combined with eating healthful COMO Shambhala Cuisine and a full range of holistic treatments. The simplicity of each day lets students empty their mind of all other concerns, for at Parrot Cay, seamless service and attention to detail ensures guests can focus on the reason for their coming to this uniquely soulful place: to learn Yoga for the first time, or to deepen their existing practice.

For the outward bound, the Turks’ and Caicos’ warm and unpolluted waters promise some of the world’s best off-site diving, with PADI instructors available through two local companies. Snorkelling, beach drop-offs and fishing trips are popular, and visits to Provo Golf and Country Club, an 18-hole championship course designed by Karl Litten with lush fairways, rugged limestone outcropping and freshwater lakes. Family activities are manifold, and are supported by an experienced team of activity leaders and babysitters.

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