Where in St. Lucia for Honeymoon

Old Feb 18th, 2010, 08:41 AM
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Where in St. Lucia for Honeymoon

After posting an earier topic, my fiance and I have decided that St. Lucia is where we'd like to honeymoon. I've been researching all of the resorts on the island and I really don't know which one to pick.
We would like either AI or an AI plan because we don't want to worry about what we're spending on every meal. We're very interested in having our own cottage/bungalow but are having trouble finding one with an AI option. Can you suggest any?
How do you all feel about the larger AI resorts like Sandals? Can you still get that intimate, honeymoon feel? Or are they crowded with kids running everywhere? (are their adults only ones?)
We plan to spend a lot of time lounging but we'd also like to do SOME activities (hiking, zip line, etc).
And as of right now, we are unsure of a budget. We're planning on registering for our honeymoon to offset some of the expenses.

I hope this information helps to give you an idea of what we're looking for. Feel free to give any and all suggestions.

Thanks!
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Old Feb 18th, 2010, 08:49 AM
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P.S. We're going this August and, yes, we realize this is hurricane season. We plan to get travel insurance.
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Old Feb 18th, 2010, 08:51 AM
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My business partner had a very pleasant experience at the Ladera resort. Very laid back compared to some resorts. Of course, honeymoon couples usually want more time to themselves.
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Old Feb 18th, 2010, 09:34 AM
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There are 3 Sandals resorts and they are all adult only. We stayed at the Grande and did a day trip to the Regency. Of 14 AI trips, I have to rate the Grande as the second worst AI we've been to. For that much money, the service and the food could have been much better. We did like the location of the Grande though. Only a short ride from the airport, activites and within walking distance to Pidgeon Point (a National Park)

There are several adult only hotels in St. Lucia. I like the look of Ladera, but know that the rooms only have 3 walls. The other is open to the elements and a plunge pool. The bed has mesquito netting over it. They also offer an on-line gift registary for honeymoons. I think it would be a neat place, but the open wall tends to scare some people off.

Also look at Rendezvous and The Body Holiday - Le Sport

We did the land and sea tour of the Island and then a seperate jeep tour. Both were great and I highly recommend. We also went to the craft market and then the duty free mall. We enjoyed shopping and talking to the people at the craft market. It's cost .50 cents to use the restroom there, so keep a few quarters in your pocket.

If you can budget it, a flight over to St. Vincent and the Grenadines or a boat trip to Martinque would be fun. Check www.sunlinktours.com for addtional info on activities.
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Old Feb 18th, 2010, 10:50 AM
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If you could be convinced to lean away from an AI, Ladera is amazing. Stonefield Estate Villas would also be excellent, as would Anse Chastenet, even take a peek at Ti Kaye or East Winds Inn. Although...if going to St Lucia I think it's nearly a crime "not" to stay someplace with a view of the pitons.

Here in Canada we can get Anse Chastenet with an AI package on www.selloffvacations.com
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Old Feb 18th, 2010, 11:44 AM
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I always hear that Sandals Grande is the better of the three resorts. You should also think about if you want to be around lot's of people or less people. North of the island such as Rodney Bay tends to have lot's tourist. The South of the island is more remote and secluded. Not much nightlife if that's a concern. If your looking for a savings and a adventure consider getting a cottage or guesthouse not affiliated with a resort. It will be like staying in your own place. Prepare your own meals daily, go out to dinner becasue you want to, not becasue you have to. If you shop right you maybe ablet to find some between $60 to $120 per day.
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Old Feb 18th, 2010, 02:31 PM
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People I know who have been to Ladera say it is stunning, but I think it's pretty quiet, and somewhat expensive.

I can speak from direct knowledge on the Sandals places, though, since we've been to all of them. The Grande used to be a Hilton. In the last couple of years they've put more of the Sandals stamp on it (rondoval style huts like in Antigua, etc), but to me it still fees like more of a big hotel than a Sandals.

The Regency is beautiful. Surf tends to be a bit high a lot of the time, and there's a lot of walking, often up and down long hills, to get from one end to the other, though they have shuttles zooming all over the place. My daughter's favorite Sandals (age 33 when she and her husband went for their honeymoon - they've also stayed at the Grande).

Halcyon is the smallest and by far the most "romantic", and is located between the other two - fifteen minutes each way to the Grande or Regency on the frequent shuttles. It's older and not particularly glitzy, but on the other hand, the vines that grow around your second floor deck cannot be bought - it takes years for those things to look like they do. It is just a beautiful place.

For your own bungalow or otherwise, it would have to be the Grande (in the Sandals chain anyhow). I don't know how high-end the Halcyon rooms get... the Regency has those insane Millionaire suites where the whole freaking wall glides out of the way.

We've stayed at the private pool rooms, and find that we never use them... who wants to stick around the room when you've got the whole resort or resorts to play at? I'm convinced these are not worth the money, or my money anyhow, for that reason.

It was a riot sailing the Hobie cats at Halcyon - you can go all the way out to the point by the Windjammer resort and peek around the corner into Rodney Bay... you could damn near sail right over to the Grande if they didn't catch you! Great wind, beautiful clear water under you.

There are a lot of choices on St. Lucia, so I doubt you can go too far wrong. Wonderful destination.
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Old Feb 19th, 2010, 06:18 AM
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we were in st lucia in April we got married there.we stayed for 3 nights in ladera i would reccomed this to anyone and the 3 walls are great the view amazing.it is very quite 3 nights was enough for us as we like to be able to walk around and go out of where we were staying.

We then stayed in the royal by rex in ronney bay for 6 ngiths we go married on pigion island it was wonderful and what i like there were so many diffrent place to eat and ronney bay was so safe to walk up around
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Old Feb 21st, 2010, 04:21 PM
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Regarding the beach at the Regency -- the surf tends to get rough during the winter. In August when you are planning to go, the water is almost always pretty calm there. In my opinion, the Regency is the nicest of the three Sandals resorts on St. Lucia, but the Grande has the nicest beach.
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Old Feb 24th, 2010, 09:25 AM
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There are several AI resorts up in the Rodney Bay area of St. Lucia, and Jalousie Plantation has been offering a $200 PER DAY meal credit, which means basically that breakfast and dinner are included (you'd still have to budget about $20 per person per day for lunch). And Coconut Bay is the only AI resort in the south. But there are several options besides Sandals if you want a different kind of atmosphere.

I truly don't understand why people think it's a burden to pay for meals and drinks as they go, but that's your choice.
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Old Feb 24th, 2010, 09:48 AM
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We just got back from St. Lucia and we stayed at La Haut for a couple of nights. It's an older property with lovely views of the Pitons.
You have the option of bed and breakfast or AI or B&B plus dinner. It's small and has a distinct Caribbean feel.

We only ate breakfast here and the food was OK, the fruit was excellent but the cooked food unspectacular apart from the freshly baked creole bread.


the cons..
It boasts an infinity pool but this is at the owners house on the site and has limited times for guest use (not at weekends or after 4pm ... or if the owners decide they don't want you there!).
There is another pool on site for guest use though!

http://www.lahaut.com/

I'd recommend splitting your stay if you choose La Haut as it's not on the beach. We had lunch at Ti Kaye village a couple of times and we really liked this resort but it does entail 'hiking' 165 steps down to the beach.

I've just started a trip report; here's the link.

http://www.fodors.com/community/cari...a-295173-2.cfm
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Old Feb 24th, 2010, 05:07 PM
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Thank you all for your replies. I'm still so unsure where to stay. I love love LOVE the photos of Ladera and Ti Kaye (my friends honeymooned there). Places like these 2 are luxurious and intimate (exactly what we want)... but I like the ease of the AI resort like Sandals and Coconut Bay. No worries about expenses. We can eat, drink and play to our heart's content!

I guess my fiance and I will just have to go through every resort and say "yes", "no" and "can we afford this?"

Sassy, we live in MA too. Did you rent a car during your stay? If not, how did you get around to see and do everything?

Please, if you have any other suggestions, keep them coming. I'll be sure to post any more questions we come up with and our final destination decision... once its decided.
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Old Feb 25th, 2010, 02:34 AM
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FYI. We can get AI plans out of Canada for Anse Chastenet(in the south). www.selloffvacations.com
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Old Feb 25th, 2010, 02:35 AM
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But I agree with you Doug, AI is not as fun as going around, trying diff restaurants, etc.
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Old Feb 25th, 2010, 04:41 AM
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JenR, we did rent a car and we're glad we did. We got a good deal through Hotwire and we're comfortable driving on the left as we're British.

We talked to a few people that were taking taxis and they complained how expensive it was but car hire is not cheap on St. Lucia either. A car gives you more flexibility though and we did make the most of it.
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Old Feb 26th, 2010, 06:53 AM
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We spent our honeymoon in Lucia many years ago - stayed in Rodney Bay because we at the time we couldn't afford Anse Chastenet or Ladera. We had a good time, but the days that we day tripped down to the south side were the absolute best - that is where the most beautiful scenery is. We took a dive trip that went to Anse Chastenet - it is now my goal in life to spend a week there. One day we decided to go to Ladera for lunch because we really wanted to see the property and it was incredible. Rodney Bay is great for what it is, but when I think Lucia, I think of the Pitons, and if I had it to do again I would stay somewhere where I could see them.
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Old Mar 1st, 2010, 08:29 AM
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I'm a huge fan of Jade Mountain http://www.jademountain.com The views are to die for. You stay in a private "Sanctuary" -- totally romantic. Stayed there last year.
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Old Mar 14th, 2010, 04:25 PM
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Thanks again everyone for your tips. We have finally made a decision to stay at the Sandals Regency. We realize that this resort is not the most beautiful place on the island, but right now it is closest to what we want with what we can afford. Though we'd love to stay some place like Ladera, Ti Kaye or Jade, we really can't afford to stay there AND eat.

We haven't booked our room yet, so if anyone has stayed at the Regency and can suggest which room we should request (its so hard to tell the difference) then please do so.

Or if anyone has suggestions as to MUST DOs on the island, we'd love the tips!

Thanks again!
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Old Mar 15th, 2010, 03:10 AM
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Did u check out Stonefield Estate Villas? Awesome place, very, very romantic & beautiful, private villas with pools, and if u call the hotel directly u get MUCH better rates than on their site. (piton view) It really, really is worth staying in the south.
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Old Mar 15th, 2010, 06:31 AM
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There are not many Sandals fans on this board. I suggest you try this one:

http://www.tropictravelonline.com/ub...s.php/ubb/cfrm

Everything you ever wanted to know about any Sandals property.

Good luck with your choice. After "been there, done that" we realized it was a huge wasteful mistake. Hope you have better luck than we did.
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