TRAVEL
PARADISE
FOUND
The Ultimate
Digital Detox Awaits at
Petit St. Vincent,
The Grenadines
BY SAMANTHA READY
ON A PRIVATE 115 ACRE TROPICAL ISLAND, SET AMONGST THE GLORIOUS TRADEWINDS
OF THE GRENADINES, LAY JUST 22 SECLUDED COTTAGES AND VILLAS. WITH A STAFF RATIO
OF 3 TO 1, EXPERTLY CRAFTED FINE DINING MENUS, A WINE CELLAR TO WRITE HOME
ABOUT, SOME SERIOUSLY ENVY-INDUCING ME-TIME OPPORTUNITIES, OH AND ABSOLUTELY
NO IN-ROOM WIFI, I WAS ABOUT TO EMBARK ON THE ULTIMATE DIGITAL DETOX, THAT JUST
HAPPENED TO BE IN PARADISE...
The hideous reality of living in our amazingly
connected world, is the absolute bombardment of
technology-driven screen time; from sat navs
to smartphones, tablets to watches, we are at the
mercy of reminders, deadlines, emails, shares, likes,
and pings; cluttering our days, our downtime and
frankly, our minds. Our increasing inability to shut
off is not only detrimental to our health, but can also
negatively affect our relationships through our
inability to connect with our loved ones, and
importantly, ourselves.
So imagine my pure, unadulterated delight, when
I was offered the chance to experience a digital detox
- what’s that, a few days away, with no wifi, on my
own? - Perfect! Oh and it’s on a private 5* island
resort in The Grenadines…
Arriving at remote private island escapes, are of
course, part of the adventure, albeit it one that was
less Robinson Crusoe and more James Bond.
Disembarking the Virgin Atlantic flight from London
to Bridgetown, Barbados, we were ushered through
a separate channel to join check in for the next part
of the journey, a private flight with Mustique Airlines.
Our 8-seater, twin-prop touched down in under an
hour on the tiny landing strip at Union Island’s
international airport, where we were picked up by
the airport shuttle buggy, to make the minutes-long
journey to the harbour, to meet our private launch;
that would deliver us, like my inner-glamorous-rock
star, to the welcoming party on Petit St. Vincent’s
private jetty.
Our arrival coincided perfectly with the sun setting
behind the 275ft. Marni Hill, PSV’s (as it is
colloquially known) highest point, and we were
greeted with a sky rich in shades of orange, pink and
red, as well as cold towels and rum punch, by the
husband and wife management team; GM, and
Kent-bred no less, Matthew Semark and wife Anie
Ardiani; as well as a queue of perfectly aligned,
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