Diana

We are thinking of going to St Lucia for our Honeymoon next May. We have not decided on which resorts. The following are being considered <BR>1) Jalousie Hilton 2) Windjammer Landing <BR>3) LeSport <BR>There are so many resorts that are hard to choose from. We haven't decided if we should go all inclusive or take a meal plan. Any and all recommendations will be helpful. <BR>Thanks in advance!

Kathryn Talintyre

Hi there. <BR>I stayed at Windjammer Landing last November, and had a thoroughly enjoyable time. The resort covers quite a large area - most of it is the villas scattered over a steep hillside (shuttle transport provided up and down the hills). Most of the "action" is at the beach, with restaurants, pools etc nearby. My next door neighbours went there for their honeymoom and really enjoyed it. I went more for a family holiday - there are plenty of children about, but having your own villa (which are pretty spacious) means you can escape from everyone. <BR>The food was good. I went for a half board plan (breakfast & dinner), but on reflection it would have been better to pay-as-we-went, as I found that 2 weeks of eating that much was just too much. The villas have kitchen areas, so it is possible to stay in and cook yourself. There is also a wonderful service where a cook comes to your villa and produces a good meal you can eat on your terrace. <BR> <BR>Service was not faultless, and there were one or two maintainance problems with the room, but if you are relaxed about facing the odd inconsistency, I would recommend a saty ay Windjammer (if there are any problems, the manager proved to pretty attentive and took action). <BR> <BR>Have fun.

Karen

I did ALOT of research re St Lucia and the place sounds great if you don't mind 3rd world travel. I looked into every accomodation on the web and conversed with alot of people. I could only conclude that the Anse Chastenat Resort was the best place to stay. I think everyone agreed that the beach there was the nicest. Look into the Cloud 9 villa. It's a privately owned villa at Anse Chastenet Resort and seems too good to miss. I think the fellows name is Dave, very nice guy, email [email protected]. I hope we will be able to go there next year. This trip is for our father and we decided on a less vertical geography. Go to the fabulous Tarquin trip report page http://www.erols.com/tarquin/stlucia/ They are very pleasant people and I don't think they will mind telling you more. If you decide on Windjammer, check into Soliel Couche villa, also a beautiful, privately owned villa. The person I "talked" to, Obie, was quite friendly. The email for Obie is [email protected]. Run a search on either Cloud9 Anse Chastenat or Soliel Couche, St Lucia. There are several pages for both. Have fun! Karen ([email protected])

Charles

This message is for Kathryn Talintyre: <BR>Do you have a recommendation for whether to choose a deluxe ocean view room or a villa? I am heading down for a honeymoon and don't want to skimp on $$ but was wondering if the deluxe rooms are nice enough to spend the extra $$ for a villa on other things. Thanks! <BR>

kelly

I am leaving this Sunday to stay at the Jalousie for a week. It looks fantastic, 5 stars. www.airtravel.com has the most information on it, including about 20 pictures. <BR> <BR>So far, in trying to get our reservation straight (travel agencies only send your name 5 days in advance, so we had trouble requesting an ocean view), the hotel has been fantastic. They have bent over backwards to make sure our transfer arrangements, room choices and everything are correct. Plus it was a better value than the all inclusives, will let you know how it goes. <BR>

Cassie

I stayed at LeSport a couple of years ago. It is all-inclusive, both in meals and rooms, but also in the SPA. Your price includes 2-3 spa treatments a day, and there is a couples massage as I recall. The property is fine, and as an all-inclusive, you will waste no time looking for restaurants, making reservations for meals, finding cabs, changing money, etc. This is NOT a weight loss spa, just relaxation, altho there are aerobics class if you just can't live without them. If you decide on LeSport, try to fly directly into Castries. It will be a little more expensive, and you will have to fly a turboprop, but it will save you 2 hours in driving time from Hewanorra airport where the jets land. On a scale of 1-10, I found the spa treatments a 9, the food, drinks and room a 7-8, the beach an 8, and the service a 7. I would go again if I get a chance. <BR>

Lara

To add my $0.02 to Cassie's review, I would give LeSport on a scale of 1-10: <BR> <BR>Spa treatments a 5 (relaxing, and a nice enhancement to the vacation but not the quality you would find at a top spa in the US) <BR> <BR>food, drinks a 3 (monotonous and little variety) <BR> <BR>Room a 7 (due to the view and the fact we were about 15 feet from the ocean--room was OK) <BR> <BR>Beach an 8 (crystal clear water, not crowded) <BR> <BR>Service a 10. <BR>

Leslie

Just returned from St. Lucia on honeymoon and got a quick look at a few of these resorts on snorkeling trips. Spoke to a woman who went to LE SPORT and they enjoyed their stay ,but commented on food not exciting. Windjammer we passed on boat cruise, and consists of very many buildings/villas spread out over a big area up side of big hill. Looked like an extremely far hike to the beach and restaurant area from some of the rooms-maybe they have shuttle but that can be a real pain. The resort did look very nice and clean with a good beach and the villas looked very nice. Jalhousie is in a nice area of Soufreire but is not close to beach (I think they shuttle you to beach). <BR> <BR>We stayed all inclusive at Sandals Halcyon (the smaller of the 2 resorts by Sandals and the better in our opinion). Did not have the same "Sandals" feel, had a more romantic honeymoon atmosphere, but was also lots to do and lots of fun with entertainment and the most freindly staff we've ever experienced (especially Estelle at the Beach Grill). If you want more info on our resort let me know. the food was to die for and our room was very nice. the beach was nice and calm and lots of watersports. But i emphasise the FOOD WAS AMAZING !!! <BR> <BR>Leslie. <BR>

Anna

Leslie, <BR>Thanks for the info. My husband and I are planning to go to St. Lucia at the end of February. We are thinking of staying at one of the Sandal's resorts. We are thinking of just going with the deluxe room (their lowest). What type of room did you have? What type of dress is appropriate for evenings? Did you golf at their course while you were there? If you went back to St. Lucia would you stay at Sandal's again or would you stay somewhere else? Sorry for all of the questions!! Thanks!! Anna

Leslie

Hi Anna; without a doubt-if we returned to visit St. Lucia, we would stay at Sandals Halcyon again, we loved the visit and the whole resort. The staff there are excellent! <BR>We booked deluxe, and were upgraded to Premium complimentary (have your travel agent fax request wk before you go). I really didn't see a big difference in the room catagories at Halcyon (just location and since it is a more compact resort, everyone is close to everything)! We were located in room 809 and really liked our location, just steps from quiet "Paradise Pool" (which we visited for a late dip every night before bed. <BR>Dress at night is casual elegant, meaning sundresses and poloshirts and shorts for guys. Mario's at Halcyon requires collared polo shirts and long pants; and La Toc at other Sandals requires dress shirt and long pants. (Go dressy to this fancy restaurant). Other than that it is very casual, bathingsuits w/coverups, tshirts and shorts,etc... <BR>We didn't golf because it was very hot and we are very lazy on holidays. We did go on day cruise to Soufriere and highly recommend it. You book this thru the front lobby - lots of fun and a good way to see a lot of the island in one day. <BR>

Anna

Leslie, <BR>Thanks so much for the information, we will definitely stay at Sandal's Halcyon! <BR>Anna

kelly

Just returned from our honeymoon! I will say with out a doubt, stay at the Jalousie!!! It was the best place I have ever been, a 5 star and it earned ever one of them! <BR> <BR>First, it is not true that they shuttle you to the beach in Soufriere, they have thier own private beach which is one of the most beautiful on the island. We took a helicopter in from the airport, people we rode with us were agasp at the resort, from the air it looks much better than Sandals. Most everone stays in a private cottage with a plunge pool. Ours had a king size bed,a separate living room, two televisions, vcr, remote ac in both rooms (programable of course) and an enormous marble bathroom with two shower and a bidet. <BR> <BR>They do take you by car to and from your room because the property is on a very hilly 300 some acres. Spa of course, 24 hour room service, huge pool,I cannot say enough about it. Service was fantastic, I ended up taking my picture with one of the waitresses and the hostess (Say hi to Theresa for me) The manager is always around sayin hello, introducing himself. I can't say enough. If you would like any more info, please feel free to email me!! <BR> <BR>