Business View Caribbean - January 2016 73
prepares authentic Italian cuisine
in the resort’s beachside restau-
rant, with ingredients imported
directly from Italy and flavored
with herbs from the resort’s own
organic garden.
In 2008, Bertucci added a yoga
pavilion on the beach and a well-
ness center with an Asian spa,
staffed by Balinese therapists
who offer traditional Balinese
massages. “I lived in Bali for
some years, so the influence of
Balinese culture and the look is
everywhere in LaLuna,” he ex-
plains. Indeed, all of the resort’s rooms feature four-
poster Balinese beds and open-air, bamboo bath-
rooms with Caribbean Sea views.
Over the last three or four years, Bertucci expanded
the resort by adding seven luxury villas, four of which
have already been sold, and all of which are available
for rental. LaLuna has 55 employees and is open year
round for its mix of American, British, Canadian, and
local Caribbean visitors. After taking a year’s sabbati-
cal from construction, Bertucci says that he wants to
build some more villas in 2017, but on a much smaller
scale. Instead of the four and five bedroom buildings
he recently completed, the new villas will likely be two-
bedroom units. And, instead of each one having an in-
dividual plunge pool, several units may share one.
As is typical of many Caribbean resorts and hotels,
LaLuna maintains a 70+ percent occupancy rate,
which is perfectly fine with its relaxed host and the at-
mosphere Bertucci wishes to preserve for his guests,
many of whom have become good friends over the
years. The resort markets itself digitally and a brand
