From sailing lessons to sword fighting, Globetrender speaks with Andreas Pade, managing director of Rosewood Little Dix Bay, about its new ‘pirate school’ collaboration with Black Tomato, as well as what luxury means to families in the 2020s.
How is the way you are catering to families with children changing?
Family travel with children makes up around 20 per cent of our business. For 2021, family travel is a huge focus for us. We can provide “isolationist travel” here at Rosewood Little Dix Bay, which is located on Virgin Gorda in the British Virgin Islands, thanks to the abundance of space and well-distanced villas, so that families can feel safe and enjoy quality time together.
With schools having been closed and families having to isolate and home-school, it’s been a tough year with few adventures and even less travel. It is not surprising that now the demand for family travel has rocketed and, as a result, we have launched a couple of packages to support this trend.
We have partnered with luxury travel agent Black Tomato, which itself has seen a remarkable 70 per cent increase in bookings for multi-generational travel since January 2021.
Curated in partnership with Black Tomato, our “Treasure Island” package we have just launched offers a bespoke itinerary of experiences and activities inspired by children’s fiction and fantasy including sword fighting, sailing lessons, and even a private catamaran charter to the Dog Islands. After a year of being locked indoors, children are craving opportunities to let their imaginations run free.
In addition, Rosewood Explorers (a brand-wide feature across various Rosewood properties) is a culturally creative and hands-on programme that includes activities like Caribbean folk arts and crafts, jewellery making and storytelling.
Rosewood Little Dix Bay is the ideal family crowd-pleaser, allowing parents to relax and unwind whilst the children are attended to by our friendly associates.
Are you doing anything to intentionally create ‘Instagrammable’ moments/scenes/scenarios for families?
Our “Treasure Island” package includes a dedicated photographer to capture the adventure at a moment of choice, whether it be during a sword fighting lesson at pirate school, a sailing lesson or around a stargazing bonfire.
These high quality and professional images will be perfectly “Instagrammable” for the parents should they wish to publish on the platform.
How important is family/children as a target audience for Rosewood?
As a brand, Rosewood has been dedicated to creating opportunities for guests to experience travel in a meaningful way that enables them to connect with new cultures and new destinations around the world.
Guided by the brand’s philosophy of “A Sense of Place”, the children’s programming offered at each Rosewood location taps into the destination’s local environment and heritage.
The Rosewood Explorers programme offers a range of fun-filled activities for younger guests, age-appropriate adventures and events are designed to celebrate culture, stimulate curiosity and encourage a connection with the surrounding natural environment. Through this offer, the brand can tap into this growing multi-generational trend.
Rosewood Hotels & Resorts have properties in a wide variety of locations that are ideal for families, and the brand recognises the importance of engaging outdoor and creative activities to disconnect children from technology. We want to help create indelible family memories that people have missed over the past year. The ultimate luxury is quality family time.
What are other Rosewood properties doing around the world to make stays for children personalised and special?
At Rosewood Baha Mar, for example, Explorers are invited to board the “Ship of Wonder” and unlock the many adventures that await them at the Captain’s Club and within the Captain’s Quarters.
Explorers can engage in fun daily programs and hands-on activities, from being a junior chef and making a variety of food creations, to being an artist and making murals, sculptures and sketches. Whether it’s stories, movies or games, Junkanoo costumes, drum beating or cowbell shaking, Explorers will be entertained on board the “Ship of Wonder.”
At Rosewood Phuket, the hotel is home to authentic Thai weaving looms used for classes that not only demonstrate the intricacies of weaving, but also improve motor skills by teaching kids how to use their arms, hands and feet at the same time.
Other activities include creating clay creatures modeled on those living in the surrounding area or making potpourri from leaves and flowers collected from the destination – both will help kids get familiar with indigenous animals and plants.
The Rosewood Explorers programme at Rosewood Abu Dhabi introduces children to the many wonders of the world, looking at how to preserve its beauty by highlighting their very important contributions to our global environment.
A lesson on global warming, children are taught the many ways that they can minimise the harmful impact we have on the Earth, through thoughtful living, sharing sustainable principles and promoting eco-friendly lifestyle choices to support global ecosystems.Embracing local culture, the children practice calligraphy, make Arabic cups and read books of local authors. They teach children mindfulness with yoga sessions and introduce them to meditation. The children are encouraged to look after our planet and natural resources by gardening activities, opening the beautiful world of nature.
At Rosewood Bermuda, kids can participate in guided eco-nature walks, on-property cave explorations and beach excursions which introduce them to Bermuda’s flora, fauna and native species and teach them how the resort takes part in preserving the island’s natural habitat.
Children can also engage in traditional Bermudian games and pastimes, including crafting traditional Bermudian kites, creating authentic Gombey hand-painted masks and painting an interactive map of Bermuda.
What does luxury mean to families with children?
As previously mentioned, “luxury” for families is quality time together. For both parents and children, “luxury” not only means going away together, but to take part in purpose-led activities together and enjoy authentic experiences that tap into a destination, as a team.
Post-lockdown families are looking for the luxury of trying something new, after having spent plenty of time indoors together.
We believe that parents choose holiday destinations predominantly based on their children’s entertainment and what activities are available for them. Another luxury for parents is to reunite with their own, on the same holiday and rebuild the connection between all generations.
Rosewood Residences are ideal for multi-generational reunions: they feature a distinctive collection of residential villas, estate homes and apartments situated both in dynamic cities and secluded vacation destinations.
A luxury is the opportunity for parents to relax and enjoy some rest and recuperation, alongside further wellness options such as Sense, A Rosewood Spa – Rosewood Little Dix Bay offers just that. The spa embodies the rejuvenating essence of its cliffside environment, allowing parents to unwind whilst the children are attended to by our friendly personnel.
The main “luxury” for young children is primarily the access to the outdoors and the freedom of running around outside of the house. Learning through engaging and fun activities, seperate from school, is another great luxury for children.