What happens when a woman who has spent years achieving, leading, and showing up for everyone else decides to slow down and make space for herself?

For Kimberly King-Lestrade, the answer became Doux.Life.Well, a Caribbean wellness experience inspired by the realization that restoration is not a luxury, but part of living well. Rooted in the beauty, culture, and natural healing traditions of the Caribbean, the brand is her invitation to pause, reconnect, and rediscover the sweetness in everyday life.

We sat down with Kimberly to talk about the personal experiences that changed her relationship with rest and achievement, what it really means to live well, and why she believes the Caribbean already has many of the tools we need to care for ourselves. She also shares her vision for Doux.Life.Well, and the growing opportunities for Caribbean women to shape the region’s wellness economy.

Who are you at this stage of your life beyond the professional titles and accomplishments?

Grounded Caribbean Woman (I am self-aware, resilient, in love with my Caribbean roots and traditions, I know who my Source is, I am ever evolving, I allow integrity to be one of my guiding principles, I remain open to learning; joy and peace are my non-negotiables).  

 

Was there a particular season or moment that made you realize that achievement without restoration wasn’t sustainable?

Might have been over a decade ago, but if I am being honest, being constantly doing felt right. I think a defining moment was when I lost a work colleague who I was close to, and that’s when it signaled to me that, just like nature, there was a need to be renewed. Especially knowing that with a highly demanding work life, you end up feeling depleted.

 

Have you ever struggled with giving yourself permission to slow down, and what did that teach you?

Many times, I have. However, over the years, with understanding myself better, life stages, and wisdom, I was able to introduce small habits that helped me along the way. Another personal experience taught me about slowing down and holding space for the people that matter; my mother had a medical emergency during the workday, and she didn’t call because she felt that she would have interrupted my busy schedule. That sat with me for many years and prompted a shift in my perspective.

 

 

Take us back to the beginning of Doux.Life.Well. What was happening in your own life when the idea began to take shape, and when did you realize it could become something bigger than your personal journey?

The idea of curating transformative experiences has always been there, but I overlooked/ignored it when an associate and friends asked me to tap into it. When I restarted my entrepreneurial journey and began actively practicing more mindfulness and participating in wellness activities and restoration, that’s when I felt that I was ready to take a leap and stop ignoring the gnawing curiosity of bringing this to life.

 

What does “the sweetness of life” mean to you, and how does that idea shape the Doux.Life.Well experience?

It’s my personal version of the ‘soft life,’ but for me, ‘the sweetness of life’ is so attainable in the Caribbean– our ability to enjoy a sunset, hear the ocean, feel the love of our family, exist in a region that has been known for many years as peaceful, eat ‘bellyful’ great-tasting wholesome food, and use joy as a form of creative resistance, almost like our ancestors.
It’s simple pleasures that make us human.

 

How has your background in tourism, hospitality and marketing influenced the way you have approached building a wellness brand?

I’ve approached it through the lens of a sustainable tourism framework, one that prioritizes equity, community building and empowerment, while seeking to minimize negative impacts. Having spent a significant part of my career in tourism and destination marketing, I have a deep understanding of consumer behaviour and what it takes to make people feel welcomed, connected, and emotionally invested in a place.

From my strategic marketing lens, I’ve also focused on understanding the customer profile, mapping their specific journey and ensuring that the right messages are delivered in the spaces and channels where they actively consume information.

Moreover, for me, Doux.Life.Well is not about following a traditional retreat model centred primarily around yoga, vegan nutrition or commercial spa experiences. It is also an ode to celebrating our Caribbean-ness, creating a wellness experience in a Caribbean space that is inherently therapeutic through its natural assets, while embracing our food, culture, people and way of life.

I wanted to create something that feels authentically Caribbean, intentionally curated and genuinely restorative, while still giving guests practical tools and experiences they can carry with them beyond the retreat.

 

What does a truly Caribbean approach to wellness look like to you, and what might the Caribbean already understand about well-being that the wider wellness industry is only beginning to rediscover?

Building on my previous response, the representation and ownership behind Doux.Life.Well are equally important to me. The fact that this wellness brand is created by a Caribbean woman, delivered and supported predominantly by local people, and designed primarily for Caribbean people and our diaspora is a meaningful part of the brand’s identity.

 

The Caribbean already holds the resources to improve wellbeing – sunlight (Vitamin D), bush medicine (for disease prevention, rehabilitation or cures), hot pools/thermal spas  (for blood circulation and easing of stress), ocean waves (help lull our brain from high alert mode), and nutritional food that we grow (high fiber and antioxidants to fuel our body and protect us from diseases). In other words, we have an understanding that healing and wellbeing is indigenous to who we are. The tools and resources are already there; we just need to know about it and utilize it.

 

Why Dominica?

I believe there is so much untapped potential for wellness and its downstream branches in the Nature Island. My selection came from my lived experience on the island, and knowing for certain that its natural assets and the warmth of the people align with our brand values of Doux.Life.Well.

 

What can a guest expect from the three-night, four-day experience, and what do you hope she/he carries home long after it ends?

1. Caribbean warmth and authenticity
2. Expert led wellness sessions
3. A feeling of calm, intentional pause and restoration
4. Practical tools to return home with for personal development
5. Meaningful connection
6. A rediscovery of joy through movement, play and cultural immersions
7. Wholesome Chef inspired local cuisine
8. Quality eco-luxury accommodation
9. Fresh air and lush nature

 

Guests leave with practical tools to prevent burnout, regulate stress through breathwork and mindfulness, better understand themselves and their legacy, reconnect with joy, strengthen everyday wellbeing, and continue making intentional investments in themselves and the relationships that matter.

 

Do you think Caribbean women have sometimes been conditioned to associate strength with how much we can carry? How do we begin changing that narrative?

Absolutely. For millennials like myself, we’ve seen our mothers take care of a home, children and hold down a job and probably a side hustle all at the same time like clockwork.  And if things were difficult or overwhelming, there was that – ‘God will see this through’ and no other complaint or sign of being weary or weak. It was a constant sprint. As for corporate, there was the expectation that if she was really good- she would figure it out, carry the load, and even take on more to ensure a successful outcome and prove that she was twice as good.

Nowadays what I love, and I speak about in my own circle is that we have questioned those models and lessons from our childhood and young adulthood.  An in an era of social media, shared stories and therapy, women are better invested in not becoming their former role models. Information, shared stories and authentic spaces through experiences like Doux.Life.Well help us better understand a version of ourselves that is sustainable.    

 

How have you personally redefined success, and what does living well mean to you today?

For me, success ultimately means living in alignment with what God has purposed me to do. I’ve also come to understand that the journey itself has to be enjoyed—the highs, but also the lulls and the seasons that challenge you.

Today, living well means having the opportunity to do meaningful work that positively impacts national development and people’s lives, while also being present for my family as best as I can, being a good friend, maintaining my health and peace of mind, and allowing myself the freedom to experience new things and enjoy life.

I think there is also a greater appreciation now for presence over constant achievement. I don’t want to be so focused on reaching the next milestone that I miss the life I’m actually living along the way. For me, purpose, meaningful work, relationships, health, peace, and joy is what living well looks like today.

 

What would you say to the woman reading Caribbean POSH who knows she needs more space for herself but keeps thinking, “I simply don’t have the time”?

Start small. You really become the habits that you do repeatedly. For example, try getting up 20 minutes earlier than your family to walk, read, meditate, pray, or sip your cup of tea on your porch. That’s time reserved for you. Or try for 10 minutes when you get home to sit in your parked car and just breathe, decompress from the day, or make a dinner plan with yourself. And as you make the small changes, speak to yourself with love and grace. It may mean simply saying that right now, ‘I am present’ and ‘I am enough.’ Over time, you will experience a shift from the small investments, and you’ll want to be able to make a bigger investment because you have seen how restoration and pouring into yourself have improved the way that you show up to your family, how you lead at work, how you live, and how you continue to love.   

 

What are you ultimately building, and where would you like to see the brand five years from now?

The vision is to become one of the Caribbean’s leading wellness lifestyle brands—known for intimate, transformational retreats and curated experiences rooted in community, nature, culture, joy, and intentional living.

For me that vision translates into a community built over the years that is invested in self-care, restoration, joy, and meaningful connection. And a brand that prides itself in quality for investment and quality, curated experiences that remain true to its identity.

 

What opportunities do you see for more Caribbean women to participate in—and lead— the region’s growing wellness economy?

In 2021, McKinsey Research stated that this is a 1.5 trillion-dollar industry with a projected growth rate of 5-10% annually. So, there is opportunity from an ownership perspective, and as I have previously mentioned, the region already has the resources for further development of the wellness economy – wellness spas, healing oils, herbal tea manufacturing, therapeutic rubs, natural thermal bathhouses, indigenous healing practices, and so many more. I think, and I stand to be corrected, that we don’t fully understand the raw, indigenous assets that we possess and the possibilities that we can birth.   

Life became sweeter when I learned to stop always focusing on the next accomplishment and to be present.

 

POSH Quick Five

1. My definition of luxury today is: freedom
2. My favorite place in Dominica to simply breathe is: at a hot sulphur pool
3. A Caribbean ritual that brings me back to myself is: Carnival Tuesday in Trinidad.
4. I’m learning to say no to: situations and spaces that I have outgrown or no longer fit.
5. I’m making more room in my life for: mindfulness, a different pace, and the unknown.

 

Connect with Kimberly King-Lestrade