st.lucia???

[sleeping beauty]

I know there are a lot of post on this but it didnt really answer my questions.

I was looking at St.Lucia for a honeymoon, mainly because i fell in love with sandals at the beggining b/c it was the only one that i knew offered a plunge pool. Then i came across anse chastanet sp? with its own pool a big pool to swim on

. My question is this. For those of you who stayed there was the all inclusive plan worth it? or would you recomend paying as you go? whats more affordable in your opinion?

Secondly any other places that would compare to anse chastanet.. My main thing is having my own private pool. i like to swimm late and most the resorts close the pools by 8pm and i thought it might be fun to be able to swimm in the night when not feeling up for the night entertainment they have. Any ideas???

 

[brazen_irish_hussy]

Absolyutely consider the ladera. Every room has a plunge pool and it is where my FI and I are planning on going. I know someone one here went and really loved it, I am sure she could tell you more.
http://www.ladera.com/

 

[sumbride]

You should look up Jcrow and Ephemery''s honeymoon reports! They both had a marvelous time in St. Lucia.

My time in St. Lucia was "eh..." We stayed at Sandals Grande, and it wasn''t really worth the money we spent. We''re in our 30s and I guess expected a little more than "spring break!!!" style partying. The food was a bit of a letdown and the service was not the best. We even had a couple of incidents with staff that required me to speak to a manager and I don''t do that lightly. The individual plunge pools at Sandals come with the most expensive rooms and I wouldn''t really say you''re going to get your money''s worth... For the money, I would have rather stayed at one of the places that JCrow or Ephemery stayed at. My DH wanted more activities though. He''s not the type to lounge on the beach for a week. We needed a compromise between luxury and playtime and were very much letdown by Sandals. On the other hand, Robbie stayed at the Regency in St. Lucia and had a blast! Between the 3 resorts, the Regency has the best restaurants. The Grande has the best beach. The Halcyon is the cheapest.

 

[Octavia]

I just got back from a vacation to St. Lucia, and we stayed in a self-catering villa rather than a resort. We stayed in the Rodney Bay area and it was nice because there''s a lot to do in a small area, but the water was really cloudy and the beach was a lot busier. There are some great restaurants and I''m glad we weren''t locked into an all-inclusive because then I would have felt like I had to eat at the resort to get my money''s worth. If you decide to eat out, though, I HIGHLY recommend Jamb de Bois in the Pigeon Island park (if you follow the path to the left near the beaches after the entrance, it will end up there). It looks like a hole-in-the-wall but the rum punch was the best I tasted during the whole trip, and the curried kingfish was to die for. I don''t know if it would have been cheaper one way or another, though, because groceries are very expensive there.

The most beautiful beach we went to was at Jalousie Plantation -- the water was so clear and you''re swimming between the Pitons. I think that Ladera is very close to Jalousie. There''s not much within walking distance from there, though, if I remember correctly. If we go back again, I will definitely rent a car because even though the minibuses (public transit) are cheap and efficient, they don''t go everywhere, taxis are expensive, and things tend to be pretty spread out.

Now, what follows is my own personal opinion but it did really peeve me -- so take it for what it''s worth. By law, all beaches on St. Lucia are open to the public and resorts must allow public access to "thier" beachfront property. Sandals violated this and installed a huge fence along one of thier properties, so you couldn''t walk along the beach there, and then during the night someone came with a backhoe and ripped the fence out. I thought the resort''s actions were horrible and I''m pretty sure I won''t ever be staying at a Sandals because they showed such disrespect to the laws and especially the people of the island, most of whom don''t own beachfront property but IMHO have more rights than anyone to use the beaches there. I wouldn''t have known about this except that I was chatting with a local and he told me. Anyway, like I said, it''s a personal gripe but I did want to mention it.

 

[Blenheim]

My husband and I stayed at Anse Chastenet for our honeymoon and loved it. If my memory serves me right, I think that Ephemery stayed there as well and has a thread about it somewhere on here.

Anse Chastenet is very laid back and relaxing, but with a lot available if you want to do it -- they have a bunch of trips you can go on to sightsee, you can go sailing, kayaking, mountain biking, swimming, etc. There was a band basically every evening. At the same time, if you wanted to take it easy, they had board games and books that you could borrow, and if you wanted, employees would bring lunch and daquiris to you out on the beach. They had an employee walking around on the beach, misting people with cool water and giving them cool washclothes soaked in peppermint water, which felt very pampering. My husband and I took a couples massage class as well -- that was great. We could have had a couples massage in our room, but we both liked learning the techniques and practicing them on each other.

The resort felt fairly small and intimate, which I like. The beach didn't feel crowded or busy at all, but there were always enough people around that I didn't worry about anything happening to me if I wanted to go swimming in the ocean.

It didn't feel too "young" to me, either. In addition to newlyweds in their 20's (like us), there were couples enjoying a trip for their 20th or 30th wedding anniversary, plus a couple of families with very well behaved older kids. (Like Sumbride kind of mentioned, I got a Spring Break vibe from a lot of the couples I met at the airport who stayed at Sandals.)

Also, there aren't many electronics at Anse Chastenet. There are no TVs or phones in the rooms, although there's a phone and a computer with internet access at reception if you need it. Our "wake up call" each morning was one of the employees knocking on our door, at whatever time we asked them to come by to get us up. They do this deliberately to help you unwind and unplug, and I really think that it's great, but know that it's not ideal for some people.

We went with the package that included breakfast and dinner, and I kind of wish that we had gone ahead with the all-inclusive. We anticipated exploring more, but had such a fun time relaxing on the beach and doing other things around the resort that we didn't leave that much.

Not all of the rooms at Anse Chastenet have their own pools though. We started off at one of their beach rooms, which didn't. They transfered us to one of their Jade Mountain rooms midway through our stay, which had an infinity pool and whirl pool in the room. The Jade Mountain rooms are pricier though.

If you'd like, I can boot up my other computer and upload some of our honeymoon pictures. And if you have any Anse Chastenet-specific questions, I'd be happy to try to answer them.

Edited to Add: Here's Ephemery's thread on Anse Chastenet. Amazingly, hubby and I seem to have stayed in the same room as her (each of the infinity pool has its own style and layout, so it is possible to tell) -- crazy!

 

[sleeping beauty]

Date: 1/22/2008 9:53:14 AM
Author: sumbride
You should look up Jcrow and Ephemery''s honeymoon reports! They both had a marvelous time in St. Lucia.

They were my inspiration for switching from sandlas to ladera or anset chastanet.

Blenheim: How was the night life in anse chatanet? was there a place to dance on property if you wanted to? what times do the bars close? and is the beach walking distance from the rooms or do you have to take the shuttle? And if its no trouble id love to see pics. did you get an upgrade or did you requested to be moved too jade mountain, if you dont mind my asking? Just wanted to see what my possibilities are for an upgrade or if i should keep buttering FI up

Same questions goes for Ladera plus how private are you in the rooms. i looked at a few pictures in and it seems that the villas are right next to each other.. kinda like you would be able to see your neighbor. dis i get the wrong impression? You know being the honeymonn and all did you feel your privacy was compromised in any way while you were in your
room?

 

[jcrow]

you can''t see your neighbors at ladera once you are in your room.
yes, have a room that has one open wall. BUT you are 1100 feet up from sea level. it''s not like someone can peek there head around and see you. yes the rooms are close to each other. but we NEVER heard a peep from anyone. you hear nature - the birds. the water from your plunge pool. it is VERY private.

 

[jcrow]

every room at ladera has a plunge pool. and every room has a SPECTACULAR view.
i promise if you go to ladera you will not regret it one bit.

however, if you are looking for clubs and bars this isn''t the place for you. yes there is a bar and there is nightly entertainment. but it''s not the crazy bar scene. it''s the relax, i''m my hmoon bar. chilled.

we never left ladera or tikaye to go to any bars/restaurants/touristy things outside of the resort. i know there are touristy things to do, we just weren''t up for them.

 

[sleeping beauty]

it is so comforting to hear that jcrow. Ladera has that spunk while anset chastanet looks more soothing i just cant decide where to stay. hmmm maybee i should do half and half. but that not going to happen. what was your favorite part in Ladera? anything you would have done differently?

 

[jcrow]

Date: 1/22/2008 1:07:05 PM
Author: Octavia
I just got back from a vacation to St. Lucia, and we stayed in a self-catering villa rather than a resort. We stayed in the Rodney Bay area and it was nice because there''s a lot to do in a small area, but the water was really cloudy and the beach was a lot busier. There are some great restaurants and I''m glad we weren''t locked into an all-inclusive because then I would have felt like I had to eat at the resort to get my money''s worth. If you decide to eat out, though, I HIGHLY recommend Jamb de Bois in the Pigeon Island park (if you follow the path to the left near the beaches after the entrance, it will end up there). It looks like a hole-in-the-wall but the rum punch was the best I tasted during the whole trip, and the curried kingfish was to die for. I don''t know if it would have been cheaper one way or another, though, because groceries are very expensive there.

The most beautiful beach we went to was at Jalousie Plantation -- the water was so clear and you''re swimming between the Pitons. I think that Ladera is very close to Jalousie. There''s not much within walking distance from there, though, if I remember correctly. If we go back again, I will definitely rent a car because even though the minibuses (public transit) are cheap and efficient, they don''t go everywhere, taxis are expensive, and things tend to be pretty spread out.

Now, what follows is my own personal opinion but it did really peeve me -- so take it for what it''s worth. By law, all beaches on St. Lucia are open to the public and resorts must allow public access to ''thier'' beachfront property. Sandals violated this and installed a huge fence along one of thier properties, so you couldn''t walk along the beach there, and then during the night someone came with a backhoe and ripped the fence out. I thought the resort''s actions were horrible and I''m pretty sure I won''t ever be staying at a Sandals because they showed such disrespect to the laws and especially the people of the island, most of whom don''t own beachfront property but IMHO have more rights than anyone to use the beaches there. I wouldn''t have known about this except that I was chatting with a local and he told me. Anyway, like I said, it''s a personal gripe but I did want to mention it.

the jalousie beach is the beach we went to while at ladera. there is a shuttle that runs to take you to the beach and pick you up. i thought it would be a hassle but it wasn''t AT ALL. and again the views/beach is so spectacular you won''t regret going! the shuttle from ladera is free.

the jalousie beach is vastly different than the beach at ti kaye. ti kaye is more crowded. and the "party" boats with tourists come and dock there each day several times a day. jalousie had NONE of that. not once did we see a party boat dock. the locals weren''t as bothersome at jalousie either, and there were fewer locals. like 5. or less.

 

[Blenheim]

Nightlife: I''m usually a night owl, but I was so relaxed in St Lucia that I didn''t really feel like going out that much. We tended to take about two hours at dinner and then wanted to spend the rest of the evening in our room and go to sleep fairly early. I''m not sure what time the bars closed, but it was after we retired each night, haha. The night scene was really pretty relaxed, not at all a clubbing or a going out to the bar type atmosphere. The bar where the bands played was on the hill and three sides didn''t have walls. People sat at tables and drank and played board games and danced some, but slower, couple-type dancing. One night a week, there''s a rum party on the beach with rum punch and appetizers, but it''s before dinner.

It''s a hilly, sloooowwww drive to town, so I didn''t really ask if there were nightlife options there. My feeling is that if you really want nightlife, a lot of the resorts mentioned -- Anse Chastenet and Ladera included -- aren''t going to have enough for you. Sumbride may be able to chime in on Sandals, but i feel that that may be a better bet.

The beach room we had was basically right on the beach -- far enough away that we had privacy, but it was about a minute walk. That room didn''t have a private pool, though. The hill rooms and Jade Mountain rooms aren''t on the beach but it''s an easy walk down. It''s uphill going up, so a bit strenuous but it was a short enough walk that we didn''t mind taking it to get something that we forgot in our room. Plus it made me feel better about eating as much as I did!

We didn''t ask for an upgrade; they just asked us if we wanted it! And after seeing Ephemery''s pictures, there was no way that I was going to say no. Hubby wanted to be on the beach still, and I said "trust me, we want to upgrade" and once he saw our infinity pool he completely agreed with me. Our room before was definitely nice, don''t get me wrong, but how can you say no to a private infinity pool?!

I''ll upload the pictures sometime this evening -- I just need to get out the other laptop and resize them first.

(I really don''t mind though.)

 

[jcrow]

Date: 1/22/2008 4:27:58 PM
Author: sleeping beauty
it is so comforting to hear that jcrow. Ladera has that spunk while anset chastanet looks more soothing i just cant decide where to stay. hmmm maybee i should do half and half. but that not going to happen. what was your favorite part in Ladera? anything you would have done differently?

we chose ladera / tikaye b/c i was worried i wouldn''t like ladera. i''m far from the nature type. bugs = ewwww. (by the way we saw none at ladera) looking back we both wish we would have stayed the whole time at ladera.

i don''t think ladera neccessarily has spunk. i really think it''s PURE relaxation. it''s a beautiful resort with very friendly people. it''s super clean and there is attention to detail. and it''s quiet and more of an ''upscale'' feel to it even though it''s very nature-ie. you feel taken care of there. pampered. it''s wonderful.

 

[sleeping beauty]

not sure if you got the all inclusive plan, but when at the beach, whatever you consumed, is it part of the AI or is it separate??? and about how long it the drive in the shuttle to the beach??

I ment spunk with all the rich colors and the waters flowing in the reception entrace and the cute fixtures at the bathroom representing the carribbean. while AC seems to have more mellow colors. am i right??

 

[jcrow]

Date: 1/22/2008 4:33:18 PM
Author: sleeping beauty
not sure if you got the all inclusive plan, but when at the beach, whatever you consumed, is it part of the AI or is it separate??? and about how long it the drive in the shuttle to the beach??

is this a ques for me?

if so: we did get the AI plan. we didn''t at first but once we got there we decided to go for it. we didn''t have anything at the beach so i don''t know if it would have been included or not. and i don''t really remember how long specifically the shuttle was but i know not long. less than 10 minutes i''m sure. and it was neat because you pass the jalousie plantation (resort) so it''s scenic.

 

[jcrow]

oh, and i actually preferred taking the shuttle to the beach at ladera than walking to the beach at ti kaye. i know you aren''t considering ti kaye, but i wanted to point it out that it wasn''t a bother and it was actually enjoyable.

 

[sleeping beauty]

yes jcrow thanks.. i forgot to press the quote button.. silly me.

Blenheim: im a night owl myself but having my own pool to unwind for the day will do it for me.. but i must admit FI likes the nightlife and dancing.. so i just want to make sure there is a little bit of that for him to do. he might be fine with lets say jazz and drinks and after all the day activities im hoping he will be beat. but just in case...im not really interested in the big resort for our honeymoon i want something more lay back.

 

[Blenheim]

And in case that''s a question for me: Lunch and drinks were served on the beach; so since only we had breakfasts and dinners taken care of, we had to pay for things on the beach. They do put it on your tab though, so you don''t need to carry cash around with you. I think that they would have been included had we gone with the all-inclusive option, but that would be something to ask them to make sure.

The decoration at Anse Chastenet is largely based off of madras plaid and native artwork. At Jade Mountain, there are more neutral tones in the rooms themselves and the color largely comes from the view and from the glass tiles in the pool.

 

[jcrow]

Date: 1/22/2008 4:48:23 PM
Author: sleeping beauty
yes jcrow thanks.. i forgot to press the quote button.. silly me.

Blenheim: im a night owl myself but having my own pool to unwind for the day will do it for me.. but i must admit FI likes the nightlife and dancing.. so i just want to make sure there is a little bit of that for him to do. he might be fine with lets say jazz and drinks and after all the day activities im hoping he will be beat. but just in case...im not really interested in the big resort for our honeymoon i want something more lay back.

what activities are you hoping to take in?

 

[Blenheim]

I''m avoiding pictures that are basically the ones that Ephemery took, plus pictures that are specific to the beach rooms (which don''t have their own pools).

Here''s the beach at Anse Chastenet. The boats are there to ferry you to other parts of the island.

 

[Blenheim]

Looking in the other direction.

 

[Blenheim]

The bar/restaurant on the beach.

 

[Blenheim]

Another beach bar/restaurant picture.

 

[Blenheim]

The yoga hut on the beach, if you're willing to get out of bed early enough.

ETA: On the right hand side, you can kind of see the Sunfish sailboats and the windsurfing things that you can borrow.

 

[Blenheim]

My husband at breakfast.

 

[Blenheim]

Another view from breakfast. You can also have breakfast at the beach bar.

 

[Blenheim]

And another view from breakfast. The bar with the evening activities is immediately underneath this room.

 

[Blenheim]

And a guest at lunch.

They do have water guns that you can use to keep the birds away.

 

[Blenheim]

The view from our infinity pool at Jade Mountain. I was standing in the pool holding the camera.

 

[Blenheim]

The bathroom in our Jade Mountain room. The rest of the bedroom is over that half wall and maybe four feet down. It gives you privacy from each other while letting you enjoy the view.

 

[Blenheim]

The whirlpool. Sorry for the bad lighting.