I have been eyeing Laluna for almost a year now..Very difficult to get any info on though since it is so new..I have friends that were there in July 01 and they loved it. The rooms are beautiful, nice beach, great island.They thought the food could have been better but there were great restaurants close by. It is a really small resort and the service was excellent. They both have very high standards and these were met at Laluna. I hope to go next year..this year it's St Barths...Congratualations on your upcoming nuptials...

Betsy & Doug,

Grenada is off the beaten path and does not fit the tourist mold of the bulk of the islands in the Carib. But with your travel experience it might fit the bill for you. It is probably not the best choice for yuppies or Cap Hags (blue hairs who favor Cap Jaluca).

Thanks to Kate & Dave! Kate, I have read just a few more things about La Luna...all very positive. If we go (and its 99.9% sure we will, I will post our experiences) In the meantime, please keep the insights coming re: La Luna. THANK YOU

I don't know LaLuna since we were last in Grenada 3 yrs. ago but Grenada is a great, laid-back island with extremely friendly people. It is also, typically, out of the hurricane path which is important in Sept. It is surprising how little is posted on La Luna--almost nothing. Same thing with Carenage Resort in the Grenadines (the pictures look fantastic). Perhaps they are more popular with Europeans who don't frequent this site.

Hello - we too are honeymooning in Sept 2002. We in fact have booked our honeymoon at Laluna. I noticed the other day that they have added some new photos to their website - not many - but a few. I am interested in hearing from someone who has been there. There really isn't much out there about this place. We reserved the cottage on the beach - how much privacy do we have? I mean are we right on the beach that everyone at the resort goes to - or is it somewhat private?

I am booked to go to Laluna in 2 weeks! It has been difficult finding info on it but I know people who've been there recently & said it was fantastic. I will surely post a report when I get back on 5/5.

For Dana & James: When are you going in Sept 2002? Have you heard many good things as we have?
For Beachlover/Topaz...Please email us and tell us ALL about you stay at La Luna. Have a wonderful time!!
B and D

Betsy & Doug - We are going to Grenada on 9/16. I have read so many wonderful things about this place - I always want more though - so when "Beach lover" gets back - I look forward to their review. When are you going?

B&D and D&J:

i will definitely will post a report when i get back.
in the latest issue of caribbean travel & life there's a spotlight on grenada (how it's one of the last islands not to have been developed by tourism yet) and a follow-up report on laluna (which they covered last fall). it appears it's in a class of its own, at least on that island...
i hope it's as good as we hope!

Msg to Dana & James: We arrive on the
16th too!!! Wedding day is the 14th,
we fly to NY on the 15th, arrive after midnight, then catch the Air Jamaica
to Grenada, for arrival Monday 9/16.
I'm sure we will all enjoy honeymooning
at LaLuna.
Msg to Beachlover - Have an awesome time ... I would love to see that issue of Carib. Life...WHERE WOULD I FIND THAT---??? AT A BORDERS BOOKSTORE OR SOMETHING SIMILAR? FYI - I had Charles from La Luna FAX
me their menus for breakfast, lunch &
dinner. I freaked at first until I realized the $$$ was in EC dollars!! Anyway, their menus are yummy looking- If you want, I will fax them to you or to D & J if they are interested. Just send me an email. Looking forward to your report...I am already counting down the days on the calendar. Ciao.

hi betsy/doug!

thank you and i hope for the best too. thanks for the info on the menu - i just asked charles to fax it to me too.

i have found it hard to locate places that sell caribbean travel & life - but borders is probably not a bad place to start! if you don't find it there, go to their website - you can order back issues. the issue that featured laluna/grenada was the April/May 2001 issue - featuring Jamaica's Romantic Escapes.

http://www.caribbeantravelmag.com/CTL_Main/1,3690,2-1-25-0-0-0,00.html

good luck!

hi everyone, i'm back from grenada...!
laluna was great, we really like it. we stayed in a deluxe cottage and it was v. pretty. the cottages are all sponge-painted in either green, blue/purple or red/orange and are scattered along the hill just behind the beach. let me start by saying that the beach, morne rouge, is gorgeous. there is nothing else on the beach besides laluna and another restaurant about 50 ft away so it's basically a private beach. the setting is as it is on the website.
we are a bit more adventurous than the average traveler so we ventured out for dinners, but didn't have too much luck. so you might want to consider the MAP, because laluna's restaurant was hands down the best food we found. brown sugar was absolutely awful, heavy and smacked of instant/tv dinner. we heard from other guests who went to the calabash hotel (celeste's) that the food was excellent but we didn't make it there. for the more adventurous, try a local place called patrick's. it is basically patrick's house, and you sit on his porch and get about 15 different taster dishes and killer rum punch. it was v. good tho a bit salty, but we really wanted a taste of the local food - which laluna doesn't offer. however the food at laluna is delicious. the chef is sicilian and his pastas are great. i highly recommend the seafood gnocchi as an appetizer, and the shrimp linguini was delish.
we took a day trip to carriacou and took a boat to sandy island, which was the highlight of the trip. the ferry is about 1 1/2 hour but not too bad and the boat to the island from the harbor is only 5 minutes. we found a local guy called snagg who packed us up a yummy roti lunch (chicken/beef or lamb curry w/ potato & chick peas wrapped in a tortilla) and gave us a cooler full of beer/water and dropped us off for a few hours to sunbathe & snorkle. sand was powder white and lots of pretty fish!

i'll continue with more later!

Can you please give more details about Laluna,such as the service,the rooms,etc?

Beach lover, I'm sure you recovering from being back in reality, but we need more details! We leave next week and have been anxiously awaiting your return. Where else did you eat (we are not getting map)? Is it an easy trip to town? Any more details on La Luna? Where else did you go on the island?

As you can certainly appreciate, it's so hard to communicate with people that have actually been there. When you have the time, I'm sure everyone would appreciate reading your detailed comments.

Thanks for your help, Cami

sorry, ok more details.
laluna is about a 20 minute drive from the airport, believe it or not. the drive to st. george's from the hotel is about 10 minutes. there are taxis everywhere on the island so no worries about finding one if you aren't renting a car (we didn't).
on saturdays there is an open air market in st. george's which is worth checking out for no more than 1/2 hour but go in the morning as it gets hot very quickly. be prepared for cramped conditions but lots of spices (packed up in cute baskets, good gifts) and fruits, etc.
the cottages are apparently all the same size. the deluxe cottages are on the hill just above the beach and all have king size beds, ceiling fans, air conditioning, tv and phone. it's rustic but clean and stylish. the bathrooms are partially open-air and they provide you with nice italian shampoo & shower gel, robes. mosquito coils are also provided but we didn't get bitten once.
the regular cottages are further up on the hill and can be a bit of a hike from the main house. the only concern i would have staying in the one cottage that is on the beach is that you are literally less than 50 feet away from the bar and lounge area, so if you want total privacy i wouldn't recommend it.
other restaurants nearby are aquarium (the people weren't too impressed with it though) there's also a restaurant next door on the beach call beach house or something like that and everyone who went there said it was terrible, so best to avoid. we also snacked at the grenada grand resort on grand anse which was adequate but deserted - there are very few tourists about right now.
sorry not to have more info on the restaurant situation but we got spoiled by the food at laluna. fyi they have a great wine list, we loved the pinot grigio and had it every night.

oh and another thing about the regular cottages, they are not separate but are two in one. so less privacy again there.
the service was great. there are 3 bartenders: princess, ryan and patrick and they are all super nice and friendly. charles is the manager, he's british and very friendly and knowledgable, bernardo is the owner and his wife is wendy, but i think that they are away for the next 2 weeks on vacation. the chef is benedetto. there is also "gold", who handles the water sports. he can give you a ride to grand anse on his rubber dinghy which takes about 5 minutes or he can help you with the kayaks/windsurfing too. he is really nice. they call him gold because his hair is blond.
i found the service to be great. everyone is very helpful and nice. there were only a couple of vendors who came up to the beach and they were so polite and only would come up to you if you told them it was ok. every now and then guys ride by on wave runners so you can do that too if you like.
we never took the tour of the island because we didn't have time but it is apparently worthwhile. again though i highly recommend going out to sandy island. since i've been been back i've also been told about white island, also off the coast of carriacou. and i noticed while reading conde nast traveler on the plane ride back that there is a place called roger's beach bar on the other southwest side near the aquarium that looks like another fun local place to check out for a drink/lunch/dinner.

hope that's helpful. let me know if you have more specific questions!

I would like to know more about the cottage itself. Was it romantic? The pool secluded? Did you have a view at all? Do they have room service? Were the cottages secluded frome each other or lined up in a row? Pictures can be deceiving so would love to have your first hand advice! Thanks!

the cottages all have patios in front with balinese couches w/ cushions, a plunge pool (v. small).
inside you have king size canopy beds, built-in seating w/ cushions, side tables with lamps, tv & vcr (the front desk has a collection of classic/popular movies), air conditioning w/ temperature control remote controls, closet w/ hangers, shelves & private digital safe.
the bathrooms have wooden shutters, standing shower, separate toilet. the fixtures (ie doorknobs, faucet etc) are modern and cool.
the staff will serve you your food anywhere you want, be it at the bar, by the beach, or in your room. as charles says, there are no rules.
the menu is the same every day except for the daily fish and pasta specials.
the pool connects the restaurant with the bar/lounge area and is not much of a pool, it's quite small and shallow and is best to use to rinse off in. that's the only thing that i thought was misrepresented in the website. it is a very small pool.
the setting is very very romantic. the beach is lined with trees so there are plenty of areas to be in the partial shade. the view is to die for and the sunsets are gorgeous. the roof over the lounge area and restaurant are from vietnam, bamboo & thatched and all the furniture is balinese. there are several areas where you can lounge and have a drink/rest, and lots of magazines left behind from other visitors as well as a few coffee books to browse through. one of the couches is a day bed.
all the cottages have views of the ocean as far as i could tell. we stayed in the first cottage, number 204 and we had a view of the back of the kitchen area too which wasn't so nice but it didn't bother us too much as we didn't spend too much time at the room.
the cottages are lined up but staggered so you're not right next to another unless you're in the regular cottages further up the hill in which case there are two rooms adjacent to each other separated by a wall. don't worry you're not plainly visible from anyone.

Thank you so much for the detailed reply! We are always looking for new upscale small properties but that are relaxed & not pretentious. Also room service breakfast is a priority to me! Plus do they have the usual water toys; kayaks, Hobie Cats, for my husband to be entertained with. Are they included in the price or extra?When I read on their website "shoes are discouraged" it sounded better & better! Now just the hassle of getting there from the US west coast! Thanks again.

peggy:
yes they have kayaks and hobie cats and they are at no additional charge. and like i said before, there are guys riding past every now & then w/ wave runners.
glad to be of help!
i got photos back so if anyone wants to see them, please email me.

Hi Beach Lover,
Sounds like you had a wonderful time-
How was the weather? I have been checking weather.com and it looked like it rained every day?! We would like to travel to Grenada next May and the weather is are only concern-we are from Oregon so we want to see the sun =)

Hurray for beachlover....Welcome back
and thanks so much for the excellent
trip report (P.S.--I sent you an email,
looking forward to hearing from you soon!) Would you go back???
Message to Peggy:
You mentioned you must depart from the West Coast. I was wondering ...from where, if you don't mind. We made our reservations for this Sept, and we are departing from Las Vegas. We found a pretty darn good route, if you are interested in hearing, let me know. --Betsy

peggy: the weather was basically clear although we had a few partly cloudy days. it did rain twice, but only for a few minutes, and the clouds were never around for too long. actually it was nice that there were some clouds; the sun is so strong down in grenada! also it gives you an excuse to do the island tour, but we are such sun worshippers we couldn't quite give up our beachtime! fyi the "wet" season is supposedly from june though...
hi betsy! got your email, i will get back to you later today after i've scanned my photos. i would definitely go back, more on that later!

Betsy, We leave from LAX. Didn't think to check from other airports. Most routes would be to NY & then Grenada. Not sure if I want 2 days of travel! Any info you have I would appreciate. I've just started to look at LaLuna or Spice Island as possible destinations for us. South Pacific is actually easier & non stop for us but I'd like to go back to the Caribb if the place was worth it. Thanks! And thank you beachlover for all the good info. I'll e-mail you for those photos!

betsy i emailed you back. let me know if you didn't get the photos!

Msg: Beachlover: Got the amazing email
and I WAS able to view pictures.
They are great..I wish it was sept. already. I emailed you back, but forgot to say: Prices are still inexpensv (290 per nite for deluxe cottage) as Sept is still not considered "the" time to go. I just pray for nice weather. I forgot to ask about the machineel trees...did you encounter any on the property? Also, in the pix, the cottages look like there is a tiny little attachment, is that the bathroom part that I see from the outside view? I'll email you again anyway. You details and trip reports are to be commended>>!!! Betsy