Dear Reader, as I write, this girl is in a fog. I can’t remember the last time I attempted this type of
back-to-back rocking, and the recovery has been brutal. I am struggling with a bit of peri-menopausal insomnia, which certainly isn’t helping the cause, but that is an article for another time.

My baby cousin got married last week and, bless her, rolled in with her American husband and a whole entourage of family and friends from the overs. She had a military precision itinerary for the group on an Excel spreadsheet with five columns and many, many rows. I don’t know where she got the stamina from as I only dipped into two activities, not including her wonderful traditional wedding, and as I said, I am still dizzy.

To be fair, she has reported that she has landed back in the overs with a well-earned shenanigans-related calf injury, so my sensibilities are a bit mollified. One of the activities I caught was Saturday
at the beach. I was sweating tequila from the night before and had no idea how I would make it on time to catch the boat, but it was all well worth the frenzied trip to the Boat Club. We headed out to 12 Palms, a relatively new beach villa on the Ilashe archipelago.

If I had to give it a rating, it would get five stars! It’s a stunning four-bedroom luxury villa with
all associated mod cons. My usual complaint when I go to any Lagos beach resort is you get the lovely views. Still, something invariably spoils the “luxury” aesthetic. The usual culprit? Bathrooms. Let’s not get into those. The kitchens are next on the list, usually nothing to write home about, and you try not to think about it too hard.

After all, your food is coming out of there, and a girl’s gotta eat. I am super pleased to announce that that was not the case at 12 Palms. The owner, Catherine Ashenuga-Farrer, had made all my Pinterest dreams come true. Soothing, beachy neutrals with the obligatory pop of colour in the
bedrooms, gorgeous bathroom tiles, sexy power showers, and if you book your rooms right, there is a whole double shower situation for you and your boo. If you haven’t watched 365 Days on Netflix, I suggest you give it a gander for inspiration.

The rooms are lovely, with floor-to-ceiling windows letting the beach practically pour into the bedroom. Breakfast and the sunrise can be enjoyed on the observation deck, and sundowners by the pool in the evening. 12 Palms really is luxury and relaxation at its finest. The pièce de résistance for me was the delightful open-plan kitchen. Not crammed into the corner at the back, as usual, it was instead the centre of the “home” and melded effortlessly into the patio leading to the pool.

You can enjoy all the views from the kitchen, and the process of creating and providing food can be part of the “getting away from it all” mission whether you decide to cook yourself or bring along staff for the job. Honourable mention of the solar power situation here; we applaud anyone making an effort to keep their business as green as possible. It was just what the doctor ordered, great food, good people, a little bit of the hair of the dog that bit me, piccolo swim, nap and shower. All that fresh air and waves crashing as white noise… priceless.

Odun Ogunbiyi
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Odunayo Ogunbiyi is an ex pharmacist with a passion for food and pampering. Writing about her exploits wherever in the world she may find herself is just her way of staying sane in this zany world.