James

For our honeymoon in August, my fiance and I are trying to decide between La Luna in Grenada and Ladera in St. Lucia. Each resort has received quite good reviews (though the feedback on La Luna is not as comprehensive). <BR><BR>I would appreciate thoughts on the comparative merits of the resorts and/or islands (especially from folks who may be familiar with both). Thanks in advance.

beach lover

I have been trying to get responses on Laluna as well, but no luck yet. But we reserved a cottage there from 4/26 - will post a report when I return 5/6!<BR><BR>

xxx

I saw that USAirways had an excellent package to Ladera the other day. It was greatly discounted and there was even an option to fly first class at a reasonable rate.

Carole

Hi James .. my boyfriend and I spent 8 days in St Lucia Nov 2000 and it was a wonderful vacation. We stayed in Villa C, which overlooked the Caribbean Sea & Piton Mountains. The resort is small w/lush tropical gardens, warm and exceptionally friendly staff and a great restaurant -- Dasheen. Their is a tv, board games and movies in the common room for everyones pleasure ... Ladera is perched into a mountainside and the open-air structure is unlike anything we have ever visited. We never left the resort, but instead skinny-dipped in our private pool, lots of reading, bird watching; eating & drinking, strolling about the grounds and really enjoying the beauty around us. Take some wine or your favorite drinks (we did) and stop in town for snacks, cheese, bread, fruit for daily lunches. Full breakfast is complimentary & tasty and dinner is pretty good as well. If you value quality time w/loved one, seclusion, unspoiled nature, and don't mind a few gecos which are harmless, then don't miss an opportunity to go. Enjoy!<BR>

Venecia

Laluna is a beautiful, rustically elegant hotel. I highly recommend it at the off-season rate. If you visit the website at laluna.com you get an excellent idea of what the hotel really looks like.<BR><BR><BR>FOOD:<BR>The food at Laluna is exceptional. The food was so good that we signed up for the meal plan for the last 3 days of our stay. The meal plan is $55 US per person per day and includes a la carte breakfast and dinner. The standard fare is available for breakfast and for dinner you have a wonderful array of dishes to choose from. You can order anything from the enormous fresh lobster (we saw the fresh catch coming in one day and our mouths watered), to pasta to standards like filet mignon and chicken breast prepared with wonderful sauces – and all dishes are presented beautifully. It is no wonder that Conde Nast named the restaurant one of the Hot 100 Tables in the world in 2001.<BR><BR>ROOMS:<BR>We stayed in a cottage deluxe - the deluxe part means that you have your own cottage that is unattached to any other cottage. Definitely pay the extra few bucks for this option so you can have the added privacy. We had number 6. All the cottages with the exception of #1 require a hike up stairs or steep ramp. Even though cottage #1 is a deluxe and is the only one close to the beach I would not recommend it because it is at the same level as the bar and only a few hundred feet from the bar which equals less privacy if you want to hang out on the veranda or plunge pool and possible noise if there are folks hanging at the bar while you try to sleep. However, if you can’t walk up stairs or if a fully unobstructed view is your top priority then cottage #1 is your only option.<BR>The room itself is exactly as seen on the Laluna website. EXACTLY. Great d&eacute;cor and soft clean bedding. Be aware that the bathroom is an open air bathroom but it does have a roof and walls…what is open air about it is that the walls have large cut-outs with slats or bamboo shades for privacy.<BR><BR>SERVICE:<BR>I can’t say that the service was poor. It was just slow but no one was ever rude and our meals were never screwed up. Do you expect better when you’re paying $290 plus 18% tax per night plus meals? Yes, but I could live with it the way that it was.<BR><BR>POOL / BEACH:<BR>You have to stake claim to your chairs early in the morning (by 9:30am) so that you are not left without one. The pool itself is kind of small – it’s certainly not a swimming pool unless you’re in there by yourself. The beach however is perfect…calm, warm, clear…and generally free from beach vendors.<BR>