STRESS-REDUCING SPOTS : Two Ways to Rejuvenate, Caribbean-Style-in a Cruise Ship Mega-Spa or at a Tranquil Island Resort : SAMPLING RETREATS ON ST. LUCIA, ST. MAARTEN AND JAMAICA

When my parents first took me to the Caribbean when I was 10, some 25 years ago, we rented an A-frame house on a quiet beach in Antigua. The highlight of the trip for me was meeting a local girl my age while playing in the sand. She invited us to her home, down the beach. We joined her family for a lunch of fish her uncle had caught that morning, sweet cornmeal steamed in banana leaves, and tall glasses of clear coconut water. At the end of our vacation, one of their neighbors came all the way to the airport to see us off, bringing a gift of homemade hot pepper sauce.

In those days, that was what Caribbean pampering was all about: strangers being graciously drawn into the friendly pulse of an island. I’ve returned to the West Indies countless times since then, on vacations and on assignments to write magazine and newspaper articles. Today busy hotels stand along the once-serene shore where my new friend and I fashioned sandy fortresses. Residents are still affable throughout most of the Caribbean, but invitations to home-cooked meals are almost as uncommon as fur coats. On more than a few islands, part of the change is that pampering now comes in the form of sophisticated health spas at plush resorts.

I’m not referring to the old style European spas where wealthy, elderly people went to soak in mineral baths and be cared for by doctors. And I don’t mean simply massages and weight rooms. These full-scale health and fitness retreats offer a menu of exotic treatments; the exercise classes often include reggae dance or step classes, and there’s usually state-of-the-art exercise equipment.

At Caribbean spas, meals may not qualify as strict “spa cuisine.” When it’s time for a culinary workout, diners usually have a choice of hearty fare and lighter selections, with an emphasis on tropical fruits, vegetables, seafood, and lean meats. Menus usually include a variety of high-style/high-health creations such as pumpkin bisque, red snapper with papaya relish, and passion fruit sorbet.

A word of warning: These hotels aren’t for bargain hunters. During the more expensive winter season, rates begin at about $300 a night for two people sharing a double room. Some of the best are all-inclusive and can cost $400 or $500 a night. But this covers all meals, drinks, most sports and spa services--and means that once guests arrive, they never have to open their wallets. Also, many spas offer day packages for travelers who prefer to save by staying elsewhere.

The first time I visited a Caribbean spa a few years ago, I was hooked, and I’ve been to many of the 20-odd in the region. With dry, sunny days and cool evenings, the winter months are a great time to go. The resorts usually offer expert guidance in choosing treatments and activities, but in contrast to the Marine-Corps-style regimens of some health retreats, most have no structured daily schedule. They usually allow vacationers to create their own balance between spa activities and diversions such as hiking, jogging, sailing, snorkeling, scuba diving, golf and tennis.

In fact, one of the best aspects of visiting a spa that’s part of a tropical resort--as opposed to the classic self-contained type--is that traveling companions don’t have to be perfectly in sync. My boyfriend, who sometimes travels with me, isn’t into seaweed wraps or stretch classes, so he can head for the golf course, the tennis court or the beach while I do my thing. Perhaps because of the wide choice of non-spa activities, these Caribbean health retreats seem to attract almost equal numbers of women and men.

When people ask my favorites, I tell them about two places in St. Lucia: the Oasis at LeSPORT (with its extensive, guided spa program) and Jalousie Plantation (with wonderful views); one in St. Maarten: Port de Plaisance (with attractive architecture); and, in Jamaica, Ciboney Ocho Rios (with exceptional villas).

Ever since I first went to St. Lucia a few years ago to cover their water-sports festival, I’d heard great things about the Oasis spa at LeSPORT resort on the northwest coast of this island in the Eastern Caribbean. Last summer, I finally got the chance to stay there. Attracting many Europeans, LeSPORT sits at the edge of Cariblue Beach, about 20 minutes from Castries, the island’s capital.

With dramatic Moorish archways, tall columns, decorative tiles and fountains, the Oasis spa complex mirrors the Alhambra palace in Grenada, Spain. It is perched on a hill overlooking the rest of the all-inclusive resort, and is one of the few spas in the Caribbean where a prescribed treatment program is designed for each guest. My warm-up began my first morning as I climbed the 72 steps to the entrance. Each new guest was interviewed and examined by the resident nurse. Then we were given schedules of the three treatments we would have each day. Clad in white robes, we floated in and out of the private treatment rooms along open-air corridors surrounding the swimming pool.

In most Caribbean spas, the staff is overwhelmingly European, American or Canadian. When I’ve asked why this is so, I’ve received mumbled responses about the expense of training or the lack of interest among residents. But here, I was pleased to find that the highly skilled, extremely warm attendants were all St. Lucians.

LeSPORT claims to be the first resort to bring thalassotherapy to the West Indies. Dating to early Greek and Roman civilizations and prescribed by doctors in France today, this series of baths and underwater massages is said to allow the vitamins and minerals in seaweed and seawater to penetrate the skin.

Underwater jets gently pummeled my body with salt water as I relaxed in an algae bath. During a seaweed wrap, I was slathered with a marine plant mixture whose smell made me think I was being served at a sushi bar. Then I was wrapped in plastic and covered with a heated blanket. After a sea-salt and oil loofa rub, my skin tingled and glowed.

A jet hose shower gave my circulation a boost. Standing 12 feet away and chatting with her daughter who was visiting from Florida, the attendant used a high-pressure stream of seawater to knead my muscles. The essential oils (extracted from flowers, spices, herbs and woods) were wonderfully fragrant during my aromatherapy massage.

While I waited on the balcony between treatments, I watched the step and dance classes through glass walls--and caught my shoulders bouncing to the muffled calypso tunes. I took a few step classes myself and worked out on the cycles and Multi-Gym. But the stepping I enjoyed most was the daily 7 a.m. hike, during which our guide led us along winding roads, past sweeping views of undulating hillsides and sea-shimmering shades of turquoise, teal and navy.

All meals at LeSPORT were served in a breezy, alfresco dining room. The food was delicious. I couldn’t resist second helpings of christophine (a zucchini-like vegetable) with onions and peppers or the soup made from callaloo (a cousin of spinach). But the cuisine legere (low-calorie) menu wasn’t as light as it was touted to be. Cream sauces and fried potatoes (no matter how thinly sliced) aren’t going to melt pounds.

A woman I met while soaking in the thermal springs in southern St. Lucia raved about the setting of the island’s other spa, nearby. So I decided to buy an eight-hour pass to this all-inclusive resort. With a small beach, Jalousie Plantation is in a startlingly scenic part of the island. It sits between the Pitons, the island’s twin conical mountains. The Sugar Mill rooms (in the main hotel) and the one-bedroom cottages (with private plunge pools) face the water.

My $75 pass covered all meals, sports, and access to some spa facilities for one day. Guests staying at the resort are treated to two 25-minute massages a week. Both overnight and day visitors also have use of the whirlpool, men’s and women’s saunas, exercise equipment, aerobics and dance classes.

The Jacuzzi and hot and cold plunge pools look out on the ocean and the Pitons. I spent some time lounging in the whirlpool as I sipped a glass of tangy soursop juice and drank in the view. Then I took a calypso dance class. Afterward, I tried some of the treatments for which both overnight guests and day-trippers pay an additional charge (ranging from about $15 to $60). The Vichy shower was wonderful: First my body was rubbed with a loofah and algae oil for about 20 minutes, then I had an invigorating 15-minute shower with water shooting from tiny nozzles all around me. As I sat in an oversized hydrotherapy tub, plankton-rich thermal waters forced through underwater jets soothed my limbs.

The mountainous beauty and low-key charms of the half-French, half-Dutch island of St. Martin/St. Maarten in the Netherlands Antilles thoroughly impressed me when I first visited about a decade ago. But several years later, when I saw all the new hotels, gaudy casinos and T-shirt stalls, I vowed never to return. Then at a party a few months ago, I overheard someone talking--to say “enthusiastically” would be an understatement--about a recent vacation at Port de Plaisance Spa & Tennis Center on the Dutch side. He persuaded me to give the island another chance.

Port de Plaisance overlooks boat-studded Simpson Bay Lagoon. Especially in the orange glow of the sinking sun, the marina is a gorgeous sight. Surrounding this cove, the resort’s white gingerbread buildings are trimmed in sky blue and topped with red roofs. As I walked around the peaceful grounds, I almost forgot there was a busy casino on the premises. The artificial beach is only good for sunbathing, but guests are transported by boat to a natural sandy strand for swimming.

It was last fall when my boyfriend and I arrived for a long weekend. Our luxurious suite, typical of all the guest units, was so spacious we were tempted to gather some folks and throw a party.

I began each day with a guided fitness walk around the grounds or an aqua-aerobics class in the outdoor 23.5-meter lap pool. Then my boyfriend and I worked out on Lifecycle machines, treadmills, stationary bikes or the rowing machine. We each arranged to have a one-on-one fitness and weight training session in which the trainer gave us pointers on how we could improve our exercise routines at home.

The next day I had a wonderful “deluxe hydration” facial that seemed to last forever. Beauty treatments (such as facials, eye masks and pedicures) are surprisingly varied for a Caribbean resort. Rates run from about $10 for a firming neck mask to $70 for an aromatherapy full body massage lasting an hour and 10 minutes.

Because of its strong culture, thriving arts scene, rugged mountains and jungled greenery, Jamaica is probably my favorite Caribbean island. But there are parts of it I could do without. If I hadn’t been on assignment, I never would have stayed in tourist-packed Ocho Rios on the north shore last spring. Being bombarded by hawkers selling ganja (marijuana) and mass-produced wood carvings is not my idea of fun. But Ciboney Ocho Rios resort was an oasis amid the frenzy.

Sand and sea may be just across the road, but the all-inclusive hotel boasts 90 swimming pools. The main one is shared by guests in the 36 rooms in picturesque Great House, built to resemble an old plantation manor. Other pools are exclusively for vacationers staying in the hotel’s hillside villas and cottages.

I booked one of the special villas, each of which has a private pool and Jacuzzi in an enclosed courtyard. All villas come with attendants who prepare breakfast (and other meals upon request) as well as afternoon cocktails by the private pool.

The day I arrived, a skilled masseuse worked the kinks out of my neck and shoulders in the solarium, by the spa in the Great House. In this cheerful room, sunlight streamed onto tropical plants growing from the rough stone walls. All Ciboney guests receive one back and neck massage, a manicure, one pedicure, a 25-minute full-body Swedish massage and foot reflexology. A gym, whirlpool and men’s and women’s steam rooms and saunas are available, as well as aerobics classes.

Since most Caribbean spas don’t offer rigid regimens or true spa cuisine, they may not shave off many pounds--but hey, muscle weighs more than fat, right? And a few days at one of these resorts whenever I can afford it sure helps restore my peace of mind.

Christmas is a New York City-based free-lance writer and co-author of Fielding’s “Bermuda & the Bahamas 1994 . “

GUIDEBOOK

Caribbean Spas

The following rates are nightly for two people sharing a double room:

The Oasis at LeSPORT (Cariblue Beach, P.O. Box 437, St. Lucia, West Indies; telephone 809-450- 8551, reservations 800-544-2883, fax 809-450-0368); rooms begin at $400 through Jan. 28, $480 through April 9, $420 through Dec. 23. Rates include all spa treatments; three meals a day and beverages; greens fees, clubs and transportation to the nine-hole golf course; other land sports, and water sports such as scuba diving.

Jalousie Plantation (P.O. Box 251, Soufriere, St. Lucia, West Indies; tel. 809-459-7666, reservations 800-392-2007, fax 809-459-7667); $550 through April 3, $480 through Dec. 19, including all meals and drinks; spa treatments and facilities; squash, scuba diving, kayaking and other land and water sports.

Port de Plaisance (Union Road, Cole Bay, Sint Maarten, Netherlands Antilles; tel. 011-599-5- 45222, reservations 800-732-9480, fax 011-599-5-42315); $305 through April 7, $220 through Dec. 15, including all spa facilities, no meals.

Ciboney Ocho Rios, (104 Main St., P.O. Box 728, Ocho Rios, St. Ann, Jamaica; tel. 809-974-1027, reservations 800-333-3333, fax 809-974-7148); $410 through March, $380 through Dec. 15, including three daily meals and all beverages, selected spa treatments, non-motorized water sports.