sailor

Ladera Resort and the Jalousie Hilton will remain tops on my list, for the romantic in St.Lucia. Just can't get over there stunning location smack dab between the Pitons.

But...couldn't wait to someday also stay at Anse Chastanet, as it had an exotic, charm to me. The only thing that just wasn't sitting well to me was to give up any time in the Plunge Pool Suites at Ladera or the Jalousie.

Low and behold, Anse Chastanet has taken care of that issue.

http://www.stluciastar.com/midweek/w...ews3.htm#news1

Donna

faithie

Hi Donna , My hubby and I are still hooked on St.Lucia for our 10 yr anniversary in early Nov. Nothing seems to compare to its exotic appeal and dramatic landscape , even after researching other beautiful islands we end up back here . Do you know anything about Stonefield Estate , would love to stay at Jalhousie or Ladera but they are slightly out of our range . We are also looking at La Haute Plantation ? Any insight on either ? Thank You ! Faith !

sailor

Hi Faith, other then knowing the location of Stonefield and reading many good reports, couldn't help to much about the resort itself.

I would say, for myself and husband, we wouldn't hesitate for one minute in booking Stonefield if this was more in our budget at the time.

Stonefield is located on the other side of the Petit Piton from Ladera, with a dramatic view of the Petit Piton, that you see in the pictures.

With the complimentary shuttle to the Jalousie Hiltons beach, is a plus. This is truly, an outstanding spot (beach) on the island. Do be aware though that the guests from Stonefield do (or did pay a fee for lounge chair use) at Jalousie. It was listed on the Stonefield site as $15 a chair so take this into consideration? Also non guests of the Jalousie cannot use the shade huts or their padded canopy lounge chairs. My favorite spot was under the almonds trees on the beach anyway, so this would not be a big deal.

La Haunte Plantation would probably go a bit farther down on our list, as the location wouldn't be quite so dramatic. You would really need to read as many reports as you can on this resort. That really goes for Stonefield also, as you really don't know just what some are expecting.

Have fun planning, St.Lucia anywhere near the Pitons does not disappoint the romantic!

Donna

faithie

I hope this does not sound too dumb !!! But is the 15.00 per lounge actually an entry fee for non guests ? Or can you choose to do the towel thing which is usually our choice no matter if they are available to us or not ? lol , Faith , Thanx !!!

sailor

Faith, unfortunately the $15 p/p is for the chairs only. As you will see, basically the only benefit that you would be getting from Stonefield would be the shuttle from Stonefield to the Jalousie, and as with Ladera, they will drive you all the way down to the beach. This is a great savings in the price of a taxi to get there. Ladera guests do get the chairs complimentary, and you bring the beach towels from the (Ladera) resort. I would imagine you would also bring the beach towels from Stonefield, as I think this is one of the ways they can tell who has come from where. Like if you have a blue and white stripped towel you are a Ladera guest.

For the sake of time I have copied and pasted part of a post I did a while back about non-guests using the Jalousie Hilton beach.
Also if you scroll down to the information section on this page, from the Stonefield web site, it will explain some also.


http://www.stonefieldvillas.com/activities.html#

here is part of my post...about (Jalousie's beach)
The beaches in St.Lucia are all public. This means that anyone can use the beach itself. This one does not get used by outside guests very often because it is secluded and more difficult to get to. Outside guests have to enter thru the Jalousie Hilton entrance or by water taxi. People entering with their own (rented car) park at a midway point parking lot and then use the Hilton Shuttle to get down to the beach.
You have different options when you get there. If you want to bring your own snorkel stuff and a towel to sit on, there would only be the standard fee charged to snorkel in St.Lucia's marine reserves,(this is a charge that St.Lucia charges that is collected at the sports hut) it is a marine reserve at the Jalousie so you may have to pay this.(only if you intend on snorkeling) It is about $6.00us P/P. This is not charged for swimming.

Outside guests are also welcome to use the restuarants/bars at the resort. You can also pay as you go if you want to rent any of their equipment, sailboards, chairs, snorkel equipment, take a dive class, etc.

Or,

You can pay a guest fee to the Jalousie Hilton if you want full use of property and amenities. Beach chairs, huts, pool, towels, snorkel equipment, sail boards, catamarans, tennis, golf (very small) spa facilities (treatments extra), etc. No food or drinks are included in the resort guest fee rate, or scuba diving.

Faith, in October 2003 I gave my nephew and his new bride a day trip to the Jalousie from their cruise ship. I paid $75 p/p for these guest passes. Now I really, really don't think it is necessary for anyone to get the guest passes, unless you are really considering using many of the amenities, like the pool.

The staff treats everyone equally as well, whether you come from Stonefield, Ladera or the Jalousie.

Boy, that got a bit complicated didn't it! LOL Hope you can make some sence out of anything I've said?

Donna

faithie

Thanx , It made perfect sense , and operates as I thought . The info was great ! To me it is sounding better all the time . It looks terribly beautiful , i can just imagine sipping a pina colada !! ahhh.... Faith

croix

Faithie----I toured Ladera---LOVED it. In the two weeks we were at Jalousie we at at Dasheen's @ 4 or 5 times----food is real good and more gourmet, but not outrageously expensive. Views are phenomenal. Good local 3 person band and a Reggae on different night.

sailor

Faith, gees, now you have me looking at Stonefields site again and dreaming of another place to stay! LOL


It really is a terribly beautiful place! With some really neat, and unique places to stay!

Donna

sailor

Faith, I forgot to mention...have you looked into the auction for Stonefield on luxurylink.com? Not sure just how your aniversary dates would work out with the auction, but might be worth looking into. for the price comparison. Ladera also has an auction on luxurylink, but, Nov. might be blacked out there.

Donna

croix

Sailor--how does luxury link work----do you bid and win which is binding like Priceline. Would you need plane tickets/reservations first before bidding?
Thanks.
Croix

faithie

I took a look at luxury link , WOW , the places , drool !!! The problem with our trip early Nov. is that we won 2 tickets anywhere american airlines flies ..... only standby . It is still considered off season , so flights and hotels are usually not filled . We have always flown air only and usually only book our first and last days in a hotel .we pack light and to us it is an adventure , I compile a list of hotels I like , check availability often before we leave and have had success this way . Stonefield is within our budget , but a 2-3 day splurge at Ladera is possible !! I have spoken to a few places and they will keep a room for us without charge until someone else wants it !!! Sounds complicated , but for us it has been fun . with our children we definetly book in advance !! Love the St. Lucia info . guys , Thank - You !! Faith

sailor

croix, I have not used luxurylink myself as of yet. If you put in a search here for luxurylink there are some very good posts on how it works and others that have used luxurylink.

I think you really need to know your prices and the extras that come with the packages or not. Some offer the airport transfers and such, like taxes and the service charges included.

I just noticed that Stonefield offers two different kinds of packages on Luxurylink one a Buy Now and the other is one you put a bid on.

I've had my eye on the Ladera package.

I am one that would have to call the resort first and see what their availability was at the time I was considering. As far as the airline booking, I would love to hear more on what others do about this. Seems you can pay a premium for the airline tickets when you don't buy a package. We have frequent flyer miles that I will be using soon and thought this could work well for this type of thing.


Faith, good for you! My husband and I traveled like that for years we still do when I find a great airline rate last minute. Love the adventure and can say it has always worked out soooo well for us.

If you go to St.Lucia I do hope you can stay at Stonefield and maybe a night or two at Ladera.

Keep the Hummingbird resort in mind for a neat little place with reasonable rates.

Donna

faithie

Hi ! Donna , I will , Hummingbird is on my list ! I find St.Lucia has lots of what I consider small boutique hotels , especially in the area we are drawn to near the pitons . And do you know what , researching , gathering info. , trading advice in preparation is half the fun of a trip ! This site helped me tremendously on our trip to Port Antonio in March , and I am reaping the benefits once again . I will toast you guys with my pina !! Faith .