Business View Caribbean | March 2021

29 BUSINESS VIEW CARIBBEAN MARCH 2021 COUPLES SAN SOUC I Over time, the hotel grew from 32 to 64 beautiful apartments overlooking the Caribbean Sea and the now-famous Charlies Spa was created surrounding the mineral spring. Today, it features 12 gazebos right on the cliff, mineral water springs, several grottos, and other fabulous amenities that make this spa a treasured Couples Sans Souci experience. The resort is now fully owned and managed by Couples Resorts Jamaica (since 2005) and has gone from its original 12 acres to a magnificent 35-acre property sitting on three exclusive bays: the Charlies Spa, the Main Beach, and the Sunset Beach. The hotel features 150 luxurious suites and is a favorite of celebrities because it is renowned as a private hideaway. To satisfy every appetite, the resort boasts three lovely gourmet restaurants, as well as two beach grills, and Charlies Veggie Bar – offering healthy choices of drinks and food at the spa area. The hotel also features a scenic pond with a jogging/ walking/cycling track that goes around and across the water – a perfect setting for enjoying tropical birds, and fishes and turtles in their natural habitat. “We have an incredible environmental program here,” says Battaglia. “We recycle our wastewater and we use the water of our pond to irrigate our lawns and flowers. The gardens here are so lush. Also the resort is producing its own water. The White River passes through the resort, and we have a permit to pump water from the river into our reverse osmosis plant to produce our own drinking water. The quality is superb. We are certified Earthcheck members and we are very proud of the awards we receive for environmental stewardship.” When COVID-19 came on the scene in early 2020, Couples Sans Souci was impacted along with the rest of the world. The hotel was closed off and on for almost six months and re-opened December 1st with brand-new protocols. Battaglia explains, “We had to be