Grenada: luxury with a guilt edge

All those treatments, all those sporting opportunities. And all those sunbeds. Hero Brown samples a spa hotel in Grenada

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Someone should put a health warning on spa holidays. "Can cause serious guilt." At the spa hotel where I stayed on Grenada, breakfast, elevenses, lunch, afternoon tea, à la carte dinner and unlimited alcohol all arrived by invisible conveyor belt like a gastronomic Generation Game. The one thing I couldn't find an appetite for was exercise.

Others didn't seem to have a problem. Anna, a determined 40-year-old nurse from Epsom, spent every day dashing from water aerobics and scuba diving to tennis, abs, butts and thighs and yoga. Edward, an intense millionaire property developer from Edinburgh, was up every morning at 5.30am running on the beach, all but flagellating himself with seaweed when he dropped pace.

My mother and I decided to take things a little more gently. We were staying at La Source, which like its sister hotel Le Sport in St Lucia, ably caters for those who think they will be active until they spy the sun loungers. As the management points out in its welcome letter, La Source is not a health farm and makes no demands on your time or diet. That said, the truly impressive sports programme, offers everything from scuba diving, sailing and waterskiing through to aerobics, yoga, tennis, and yes, even those early morning runs.

The gym classes may frustrate those used to private gym membership (the aerobics studio was small and dark), but the scuba-diving facilities were excellent, with brand-new equipment and an outdoor diving pool. Grenada, though not the best known Caribbean island for diving (that accolade goes to the Caymans), is still a good choice and there are several shipwrecks to explore.

I decided to do my TriDive (also included in the price of the holiday) on the last day. What an experience. Swordfish, marlin, flying fish and dorado all swim in Grenada's clear waters. And with an instructor accompanying me, I didn't need a Padi qualification to do it. That's where the guilt part came in. If only I'd got off my bum earlier.

The hotel is remarkably peaceful considering it is only five minutes from St George's airport and 10 minutes from the centre of town. It wraps itself around a small private beach on the south west of the island. Modern and sleek, everything is on-site, including the entertainment (from Caribbean musicians to karaoke nights).

The locals are almost disconcertingly friendly. At La Source, the fitness instructors thought nothing of striking up a conversation while you're sunbathing or coming to join you at your table for lunch. They want you to get involved, to have fun, to let your hair down. In a hotel full of stressed-out Brits, looking pale and wobbly and rather daft compared with the sleek, toned staff, this is no mean feat. I have to say it did not work on me; innate grumpiness led me to keep my head firmly in book. But my mum was far more congenial, yakking away to the instructors and other guests and happily splashing around in her water aerobics classes. She has already announced that she is going back next year. Smart lady, my mother

The Facts

Getting there

Hero Brown travelled with Caribtours (020-7751 0660). Seven nights at La Source Hotel, Grenada, costs from £1,568 per person, based on two sharing, including return flights, private transfers, all meals, drinks, land and sea sports and treatments.