Saint Lucia Hotels

Gateway Villas, Cap Estate: Ideal retreat for the independant traveller

by rwjstoehr

Situated in a gated community, there are about 10-15 houses of all sizes spread around a hill in the middle of a tropical garden. Villas and appartments are furnished and full kitchen, TV, Internet, washing machine, is provided. 3 times a week maid service cleans the accommodation.
Enjoyed the tranquility of the place, when after some exciting excursion relaxation on the patio (with a high-end barbecue) was on the agenda. Enjoyed the private splash pool and the larger community pool on the estate.

Just a 5 min. drive from Rodney Bay village, with supermarket, restaurant and all other facilities close by.
Very friendly reception on arrival, and great service provided by the facility manager.

Sandals Regency La Toc: A Suite Ocean View Stay

by LadyRVG

My interest to stay at Sandals was peaked many years ago when my cousin Honeymooned at Sandals. She had such a wonderful time that we should try it out. We decided to book an Ocean View two level butler suite for my Birthday week after seeing the pictures online and in the brochures. What I like about these resorts is that it is all inclusive; all Inclusive meaning all your meals, drinks (except for premium wines/champagne) are included. Waters ports are also included in the price: snorkeling, sea kayaking, scuba, Hoby Kats. This was our first experience with a “Couples Only” resort which appealed to us greatly; we are no fan of kids. Tipping is not allowed at the resort except for spa service which of course is not included in the cost.

Our Sandals experience began when we (hubby and I plus two of our friends) arrived at SLU. A Sandals rep met us after we cleared customs and collected our luggage. Our names were checked off of a list and we were loaded into an air conditioned mini van for the short ride (10 minutes) to the resort. When we arrived at the resort we were ushered to the Butler’ Lounge for check in. Since we were staying in a Butler Suite we received a different check in process from guests staying in Concierge or non-Butler rooms. In the Butler’s Lounge we were able to cool off from the heat with cold towels for our hands and faces as well as yummy Rum Punch. A nice platter of warm peanut butter cookies provided a much needed snack; I was starving.

During check in we were given a cell phone in which to contact our two butlers during our stay as well as have them check in on us. Our Butlers were Donovan and Garvey. Donovan was on shift when we arrived so he was the one that drove us to our suite and gave us the orientation to the resort and services. I must say Butler service is the way to go when staying at a Sandals property. Butler service entails so many things: unpacking your luggage, pressing your clothes, dinner reservations, room service, scheduling tours and spa services, reserving beach and pool chairs, delivering drinks to the pool/beach, running baths and what I loved most: Decorating the room for my Birthday and singing me Happy Birthday.

Our suite (Room 45) was an Ocean View two- level located in the center of the property. The Suites here are in bright Aqua colored houses set up into the hills. The suite had a porch with two large lounge chairs a table for two and huge sliding glass doors. We walked though the door into the first floor which was the living area. Here was a coach and two chairs, Flat screen TV, stocked bar and fridge, table and two chairs. Up the staircase was our bedroom with four poster bed, dresser, chair, large walk in closet (room safe in the closet) and the bathroom. The bathroom had a separate sink area from the toilet/bathtub/shower. I loved that we had a large tub for a bath; love those bubble baths. Our room location was perfect in my opinion’ quiet yet well located to all restaurants/facilities.

The resort itself is very beautiful and well maintained. The pools are wonderful and the beach is beautiful. The property itself is quiet hilly in many areas so I wouldn’t suggest people with mobility issues staying ere as it is not handicap friendly in the least. The Red Lane Spa was excellent and we enjoyed some nice couple’s massages during our trip. We didn’t partake in any of the free water sports but there were plenty of people taking advantage of the offering. Lounging by the pool and in the water is what we did best. I wanted a lazy/relaxing vacation and I got exactly what I wanted.

Staff for the most part are friendly save a few we encountered throughout our trip but that didn’t spoil it for me. Service is definitely on island time but for the most part I don’t mind; I’m on vacation. Our Butler Donovan was our favorite. He went above and beyond making us happy during our stay. Our other butler Garvey was good but didn’t dazzle the way Donovan did.

Drinks here were very good with a large selection of mixed and frozen tropical specialties to choose. My husband and our friend Chris spent the first day trying to drink their way through the entire drink menu at the Main Pool. They got half way through before they gave up; I’m sure their livers are thankful they did. I loved the Mango Daiquiris and Rum Punches as well as trying out some new drinks and resort specialties such as the Panty Dropper, Dirty Banana, No Worries and the St Lucian Sunrise. The Rum Punches were incredibly good; some of the best I have had anywhere.

Food is not the strong point at this resort. For the most part for dinner I only liked two of the options: La Toc and Armando’s. Kimonos was crap in my opinion; horrible food and bad service. The Pavilion was good for breakfast but dinner it was just okay. The Pub was good but not great and the atmosphere was a bit Spring Break on some nights. The Pizza place was good but portions were small and service was worse than regular island time on several occasions. Piton was good but nothing special. The Sunset Bar was a good place to hang out and have drinks in the evening but the Piano Bar had bad service. We took several trips to the other Sandals property; the Grande and found incredible food at their London Pub and my husband enjoyed Gordon’s of the Pier (I hated the food at Gordon’s). This is not a resort for foodies.

During our stay we took a local tour of the island: Son of Man Tours. I highly recommend it; it was incredible. The Tour takes you to the Volcano, Sulphur Springs, Mud Baths, waterfalls, snorkeling at Jalousie Beach, Marigot Bay Castries and Soufrie. Along the way there are so many little spot to see especially by water. My favorite was seeing the Pitons from the boat. We also took a sunset catamaran cruise that was provided by the resort complimentary for us since we are Sandals Select members. The cruise was a wonderful experience and we had such fun.

I definitely enjoyed our stay at the resort; it was a great beach get away. The food quality though would have to improve for me to want to return though.

Sandals Grande St. Lucia: All Inclusive Couples Only Resort

by cjg1

Sandals Regency: Sandals Regency, Just Right

by peliason

The Sandals Regency is an All-Inclusive resort, and in my opinion very high-class. We loved our room. The food and drinks were fantastic and the staff was delightful. There is TONS to do (even though I would have been perfectly fine laying on the beach all day or in one of their many beautiful pools). The staff was helpful in choosing fun "excursions" which are like day or half-day trips to a specific activity.

There are 2 other Sandals resorts on the island. You have the ability to travel (FOR FREE!) among all the 3 sandals resorts on the island. There is a shuttle bus that goes to all the resorts on like 15 minute intervals.

We like the Regency the best. It was nicer than the Halcyon, but not as expensive as the Grande. In my mind, the Regency was already super-high class, so I didn't even care that we weren't staying at the Grande.

Sandals Grande St. Lucian: Sandals

by bswanwick

The staff was impeccable! No other hotel that I've visited has perfected the "guest experience". Upon arrival we were greeted with a concierge who sent our bags to our room and checked us in while we sat on a giant sofa and sipped rum punch.

Our room was spacious, clean, and modern. We stayed in the Honeymoon Grand Luxe Oceanfront room. The housekeepers were very attentive and thorough. The bed was also comfortable. One other thing, the AC was perfectly chilly!

The perfection that Sandals portrays in their brochures and on their website is well depcited.

My only complaint: food quality. We didn't get sick or felt like we were eating rotten food. However, it seemed like all the ingredients were cheap and the taste was leaving something to be desired. Presentation was on par with any fancy restaurant. I think this was to mask the taste. I do consider myself to be a foody so please don't let my review stop you from staying at this great resort!

I give the resort 4/5 based solely on my expectations of the food. Do make your way to La Toc Restaurant at the Sandals Regency. The food there was pretty tasty.

The staff stands out above and beyond all other characteristics of this hotel. They were unobtrusive and at no point during our stay did I feel like Sandals had too much staff or too much customer service. If you want to be pampered, they will pamper. If you want to be left alone, they will leave you alone. Bravo to the staff!

Jade Mountain: Beautiful and Unique Jade Mountain

by bridgettetourist

I remember seeing the pictures of Jade Mountain online and talking to a travel agent of how beautiful it was. I did not expect to see something so stunning words could not describe. We had a beautiful suite overlooking mountains and ocean. The structure of the suite was so amazing. Hearing the resort only had three walls in a room and seeing it are two different things. I think the first two days and nights we did not even leave the room. Our butler was always around to keep us happy and really pampered. The only downfall was having to leave. This was my first time doing yoga and scuba diving and I couldn't ask for a better place to learn. Everyone was so friendly all the time. The food was wonderful as well. Luckily there are many steps to the resort to help work off all that good food. By the third day we cheated and used the shuttles to go everywhere.

I definitely recommend Jade Mountain to anyone who wants a really unique and great vacation. If you go I would recommend scuba and yoga.

Jade Mountain has an breathtaking view of St Lucia. I was not an active person but there is always activities happening and the friendliest staff I have met.

Jade Mountain: Best Resort in St Lucia

by drinksforgreg

I stayed in Jade Mountain for a wedding for my best friend. I saw the pics of the resort online but pictures do absolutely nothing for really being there. We stayed in a "moon - sanctuary". The sanctuary had three walls and an infinity pool. I know I was at a resort with the best view because we traveled around a bit and nothing came close. My friend stayed in a "galaxy - sanctuary" which still had the same three walls and infinity pool but it was very different in architecture. My girlfriend loved the in room massages and I was just amazed at the level of service. We had our own butler who was there all the time just to make sure we were happy. The food was the best I have had in the Caribbean and the food for my friends was the best I had ever! Never got bored with tons of activities going on. There was always something happening. At night I slept like a baby. It was so quiet and serene. Seriously I can't possibly paint a good enough picture. This is my definition of paradise and the best resort in St Lucia and possibly the Caribbean.

- 3 wall sanctuaries
- Large infinity pool in the room
- A really attentive butler
- A smaller resort so less people
- Great food

Sandals Regency La Toc: An Incredible Ocean View Butler Suite

by cjg1

My wife and I stayed at Sandals La Toc during our trip October 2011 for my wife’s Birthday. This was our first time trying the Sandals brand; we have always stayed at their family resorts Beaches in the past. We had wanted an all-inclusive resort and thought that an adult only atmosphere is something to try since we are not people who like screaming kids. I decided that I wanted to try the whole “Butler” experience and it was a special occasion; so I booked us a two level oceanfront Butler suite.

When we arrived at SLU we were met by a Sandals representative who checked our names off his list and took our baggage. We were travelling with friends so we waited about five minutes for them to catch up to us before we were off to the resort. The drive to the resort took us through the town of Castries and past the harbor; which made for a nice little tour.

A short ten minute drive and we were pulling into the resort’s main house. We exited the van and were greeted by another Sandals staff member with cold towels; nice touch and much needed for my face. Our names were checked off and our friends were ushered into the main lobby for check in. Since we were Butler Suite guests we were then driven to the Butler’s lounge high in the bluffs of the resort. Butler & Concierge level guests get a different check in from the regular room guests.

We arrived at the butler lounge which is a large house structure. Inside is a grand looking living room with couches, chairs tables, TV and reception desk. Our luggage was handled for us and we were seated at one of the couches. One of the butlers offered us a drink and we gladly ordered some Rum Punch. Wow, they were so good that we each had three each before we left the lounge. There were freshly baked and still warm peanut butter cookies on the table that were amazing (I was starving and this hit the spot). Check in was a breeze and we were given a Nokia cell phone in order to reach or be reached by our Butlers. One of our Butlers; Donovan (Garvey was our other butler) arrived and greeted us. He loaded our luggage and us into a golf cart and whisked us away to our suite. Our suite (Room 45) was an Ocean View two- level located in the center of the property in a series of blue colored houses.

We walked up a flight of stairs and onto our porch. There were two large lounge chairs a table for two and huge sliding glass doors. We walked though the door into the first floor which was the living area. Here was a coach and two chairs, Flat screen TV, stocked bar and fridge, table and two chairs. Up the staircase was our bedroom with four poster bed, dresser, chair, large walk in closet (room safe in the closet) and the bathroom. The bathroom had a separate sink area from the toilet/bathtub/shower. The bathtub was quite large; I was surprised at the size.

We loved this suite. The layout was perfect for our needs and it was located centrally in the resort. It was a quiet section of the property being away from the two popular pools; which provided a nice sleep at night and in the morning when we slept in. The room was very clean and our housekeeper Fedora was meticulous. Just a tip: If you want quieter book the bluffs or the two level suites. If you want to be in the center of the entertainment and music go for the main house.

Our Butler Donovan made sure that we had everything we wanted stocked in the bar and the fridge. The bar had whiskey, rum, vodka, gin, red wine, white wine, champagne and the appropriate mixers, juices and sodas. They even went out of there way to provide me with the Whiskey of my preference; Johnnie Walker. Our fridge was stocked with extra of water, Piton Lager, Sprite and Guava Pineapple Juice (my wife loves this stuff) per our request.

There are many perks to having a butler. They cater to your every request from: unpacking your luggage, pressing your clothes, making your dinner reservations, arranging tours and spa treatments, room service orders, securing pool chairs/beach chairs and supplies a coolers of drinks to the pool/beach. The reservations were great; and much needed at this resort. Our butler went out of his way to make arrangements for our friends as well; even though he wasn’t require doing so. We always had perfect seats reserved at the pool of our choice with plenty of shade, an umbrella and towel animals.

Every day we arrived back at the room to a new towel animal on the bed along with flowers, snacks in the living room and a bottle of champagne. On my wife’s Birthday, Donovan brought us breakfast on the terrace and sang her Happy Birthday. Later that day we came back to Happy 36th Birthday spelled out in flowers and leaves on the bed with a towel animal. After we had her Birthday dinner we returned to the suite to fine chocolate dipped strawberries on a plate with Happy Birthday written in chocolate on the bed along with two champagne flutes and a bucket with chilled champagne…Incredible! Butler service is definitely worth it in my opinion.

As for the resort itself; it is very well kept and a beautiful property. The beach is very nice but the water can be a little rough in the mornings. The pools are very nice especially the Sunset Pool in the bluffs with the incredible views. We loved hanging out at the Main Pool; enjoying the music and activities. When we wanted a more quiet time we went to the Piton pool or the Sunset Pool where there are no activities other than lounging, swimming and drinking at the pool bar.

The food is okay as a whole. Some places were incredible: Armando’s, La Toc, Piton and Cricketer’s; the rest was okay to blah. Dress code for most restaurants are resort casual. You must have closed shoes if you are male for most of the restaurants so don’t wear flips. Staff for the most part are happy and friendly except for a rude bartender at the Sunset Pool Bar (who threw a straw at me and seemed annoyed she had to mix drinks). The Spa is incredible and we loved our couples massage. The Resort shops are a little pricey but you’re a captive audience.

For an all-inclusive resort; I think it is quite good but I still think it’s a tad overpriced (even with unlimited food, alcohol and water sports).

Piton Vista Apartment: Best Vista on Island

by debcox

I did not want my stay in St. Lucia to be expensive, however I expected to get some luxury and tranquility out of my accommodation.

While browsing the net I found the Piton Vista Apartment from a local adventure touring website, the images on there looked reasonable and cozy. So I decided to go ahead with arranging accommodations, I contacted Real St. Lucia Tours, and spoke with Kershama, she's the Property Manager for Piton Vista. She quoted me a very reasonable price, which was definitely less than the other resorts in St. Lucia. This was a catch, my fiance and I booked for 2 weeks.

Piton Vista is mostly a self-service accommodation rental, while we got help most times from the actual villa owners, bringing us breakfast, washing for us, and even giving the us the best entertainment (bar-b-que). Our aim was to spend as little as we could, and that we were able accomplish.

We took the bus to go into town the way the locals did, which only cost EC$2.50 per person, which is about US$2.00 for both of us. That way we were able to do our shopping at the town supermarket, buy what we liked, visit all the near buy attractions in Soufriere (the volcano, Piton Mountains, trek various nature trails, go to the beach, and on few occasions dine at the luxurious restaurants downtown. We preferred the beach to a pool so we were not bothered about that not being included in the apartment.

I would recommend Piton Vista to anyone visiting St. Lucia, it is cost effective, very convenient in its location so disabled people or children are safe there. There is cable TV there, with international channels and free WIFI service. This place is a gem, and is a one of a kind accommodation in St. Lucia.

Great views, very serene, friendly owners, private, fully furnished (kitchen, bedroom (2), master bedroom, living room, bathroom (2), outdoor balcony).

Excellent accommodation for families and kids because there is lots of space to run around and play, great outdoors surrounded by nature.

Sandals Halcyon Beach: Romantic Couples Only Luxury Hotel

by sandysmith

An amazing stay here - first time in the Caribbean and just simply the best choice for a special holiday. Halcyon is the smallest of the Sandals resorts and the most typical Caribbean with its low rise buildings amongst the beautiful gardens. Two pools, one for partying and one for peace - both have swim up bars in them - plus several hot tubs in the gardens.

The rooms are luxurious - fully air conditioned, huge beds and plasma screen TV's. Room equipped with fridge (mini-bar restocked daily) safe, filter coffee maker, iron/ironing board, hairdryer. Good sized bathrooms with large bath with shower over. We were in the paradise pool rooms - recently refurbished and very comfortable and spacious. They do have the road running atg the back but we were never bothered with any noise.

Yes its an expensive trip - we stayed here 12 nights but for luxury and fine dining in an amazing place its was well worth it - indeed exceeded my expectations.

Exceptional staff, customer service and cuisine.
Ability to dine around the other nearby Sandals resorts - The Regency and The Grand via courtesy bus shuttle.
They have a policy of picking staff with the right attitude as skills can always be added to this and it showed, this really is the most friendliest place I have ever been to and it was interesting to note that the Halcyon is a training ground for other Sandals hotels. What a marvelous ethos to export!