What to do in Saint Lucia? – A Day in the Life of Gareth Leach

If you’ve ever wondered what to do in Saint Lucia, or what it feels like to live in this Caribbean island, here we have the story of Gareth Leach.

Gareth is the general manager at one of the leading resorts on the island, the East Winds Inn, and as you soon discover, he kwows how to make the most of his job.

According to Gareth, a day in the life of a general manager goes like this:

6am. “I’m always up early, I live in a traditional Caribbean timber built  home, located in a quiet spot on the 14 acre East Winds Inn Estate.” I bet that waking up to a glorious seafront landscape at this time of the day is less painful than doing so at your average tower block in rainy Britain.

6.30am. This is Gareth’s idea of commuting and an early-morning gym workout sesion: “I take the five-minute walk to the beach for daily dose of exercise and swim for 40 minutes.”

His breakfast, appropiatedly, contains a fair share of  local produce: “Porridge topped with blueberries or banana, local honey, and a cup of strong breakfast tea.” No wonder why Gareth goes to work in such a good mood: “I take a brisk walk around the resort, greeting the early shift staff and any guests who may be in the restaurant at breakfast.”

8.30am. “Around this time I’m normally in my office, located in reception area, and the first task is checking the mountain of emails that every day appear by magic.” Do you feel sorry for him? Me neither.

10am. Well, it seems like our man has to do some work after all: “Morning briefing with Head of each department present, we discuss all topics, first  we discuss the guests…” you get the picture. 

12pm. Jokes apart, he’s a professional and a charming man who goes a step further when it comes to look after his guests at the East Windst Inn: “Lunchtime soon arrives as we prepare to say good-bye to those guests who may be departing, as often as I can. It is important for me to be around and wish those departing a safe journey home.”

2.30. Gareth remind us that in Saint Lucia you don’t have to wait till six o’clock for an after-work drinkt: “The new arrivals are greeted by front office staff with cold towels, a glass of Champagne, rum punch and water….Most times I’m on hand to assist and greet the new guests, even if they are repeaters, it has always been policy and I think the guests rather like it, after their long flight across the Atlantic.”

5.15. He finally finishes work. “I’m back home for a pot of tea, before the five-minute walk to the beach for my evening swim, more exercise. This is a lovely way to end the day, since the average temperature of the Caribbean Sea is 27C.” Seriously Gareth, how do you cope?

This is the kind of lifestyle over there then. You get a lot of nature, walks on the beach, swimming, nice weather. And that’s for someone who is working, imagine if you were on holiday.

If you want to know about partying, Gareth is your man too: “Evenings are fun at East Winds and I have time to spend a few nights with guests at the dinner table. The week kicks off with Monday night Manager’s cocktail party.”