Assist with St. Lucia--Anse Chastanet

Old Aug 10th, 1998, 05:54 PM
  #1  
Bill Rustam
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Assist with St. Lucia--Anse Chastanet

I am setting up our Honeymoon for late 2/99 and really like Asne Chastanet. However, there all inclusive package is approximately 2000 more than a package at Sandals. Is it worth the additional cost or have I just lost my objectivity? Can anyone give me a comparison of the two or the pros and cons of their stay at either resort? Or why we should stay somewhere else. Can we find privacy on the beaches of St. Lucia?
 
Old Aug 11th, 1998, 04:53 AM
  #2  
Leslie
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Anse Chastanet is very nice and perfect for a honeymoon especially. You will not get as much privacy or intimate settings at the Sandals properties. Saying that, we did in the end choose Sandals Halcyon for our honeymoon for a few reasons. Sandals Halcyon has more restaurant selections, and that was about the only reason. My fiance prefered to stay at Halcyon...and I liked both. Besides, we like to eat like pigs on holidays, so....Sandals with 8 restaurants between the 2 resorts was the logical choice for us. BUT... I think we are missing out on the gem of St. Lucia and plan on going to Anse Chastanet in the future (we are going to check it out while in St. Lucia). As far as price differences go: I got totally different pricing than you on all-inclusive packages. See a travel agent(s)for pricing ...don't go by the prices they post on their boards. Anse Chastanet priced in at about the same or a bit more than the Larger Sandals La Toc, and was about $1000/total more than Sandals Halcyon. Depending on your priorities,...I feel it is worth the extra.
P.S.:Just so you know, Anse Chastanet doesn't offer Air conditioning although I've read from many that have been that it is fine because room placement and fans in rooms??
 
Old Aug 11th, 1998, 05:03 AM
  #3  
Janine
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Some important criteria for you to consider are:

--Clientele. Completely different clientele between Sandals and AC. Sandals mostly young and drunk. AC more upscale and lots of scuba types.

--Location. Sandals good location in the north with easy access to many local restaurants. AC is near Soufriere with not a lot to do nearby. Although AC is closer to UVF airport and a much shorter drive.

--Activities. What do you want to do most on vacation? You can't beat the scuba and snorkeling at AC, and it is worth the extra money if that is important to you.
 
Old Aug 11th, 1998, 08:20 AM
  #4  
john
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Why do you have to do the all inclusive? You can save $ by doing things like cont. breakfast and spliting a grilled fish sand. for lunch etc....Check out other post on St. Lucia there is lots of info already posted!
 
Old Aug 11th, 1998, 11:46 AM
  #5  
Leslie
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I, personally, would go with all-inclusive package in this area of Soufriere -where restaurants are very limited and will cost you more for sure, when you have to have transportation to and from high priced restaurants. (I would try Ladera restaurant at that resort-heard good things about it). Roads surrounding this area and resort are BAD to say the least and I have read very good things about Anse Chastanets "gourmet"dining -there are various packages available (with big scuba package being much more than basic all-inclusive). I just saw in Sunquest (Canadian tour company) booklet that in off-season, Anse Chastanet is going for as low as $1500/Canadian$$$ per person some weeks in Sept and Oct. This included air w/ all meals,drinks, etc.... This is an extremely good price and is not at all what you will see posted on Anse Chastanets website. If you are Canadian I would recommend checking it out.
 
Old Aug 19th, 1998, 02:15 PM
  #6  
Karen
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Did alot of research on St Lucia. Seems Anse Chastenat is the place. Check out the rates on Villa Cloud9, a beautiful, privately owned villa at Anse Chastenat Resort. Go to http://www.ifb.com/st-lucia/index.htm and don't miss the trip report from the Tarquins at
http://www.erols.com/tarquin/stlucia/ Have a great time and let us know how it goes. Karen ([email protected])
 
Old Aug 20th, 1998, 06:03 PM
  #7  
janet
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We went to Anse Chastanet for our honeymoon and it is very beautiful, although very secluded and a hike from the "activities" on the island. It is a very quiet, peaceful, and romantic resort. You will love it if you are looking for a good place to relax.
 
Old Nov 17th, 1998, 08:56 AM
  #8  
Caryn Langbaum
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Hi Bill,

We just went on our honeymoon in October. We went for a week in Aruba (amazing) and a week in St. Lucia. We were really excited to stay at the Anse Chastanet. It is a very very beautiful and special place. However, there are several things of which you should be aware before planning to go there. First of all, it makes sense to book one of the deluxe or premium rooms. We were in room 14B which was a deluxe room (has a tree in the shower) and asked to see the standard (I think they're called superior) rooms. The standard room was not very nice and I would not have been happy staying there.

 
Old Nov 17th, 1998, 08:56 AM
  #9  
Caryn Langbaum
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Hi Bill,

We just went on our honeymoon in October. We went for a week in Aruba (amazing) and a week in St. Lucia. We were really excited to stay at the Anse Chastanet. It is a very very beautiful and special place. However, there are several things of which you should be aware before planning to go there. First of all, it makes sense to book one of the deluxe or premium rooms. We were in room 14B which was a deluxe room (has a tree in the shower) and asked to see the standard (I think they're called superior) rooms. The standard room was not very nice and I would not have been happy staying there.

 
Old Nov 17th, 1998, 09:04 AM
  #10  
Caryn Langbaum
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Hi Bill,

We just went on our honeymoon in October. We went for a week in Aruba (amazing) and a week in St. Lucia. We were really excited to stay at the Anse Chastanet. It is a very very beautiful and special place,completely different than Sandals in every way (certain people choose Sandals and totally totally different people would choose the A.C. -- there are resorts sort of in the middle of the two in type like the Windjammer and Royal St. Lucian). However, there are several things of which you should be aware before planning to go A.C. First of all, it makes sense to book one of the deluxe or premium rooms. We were in room 14B which was a deluxe room (has a tree in the shower) and asked to see the standard (I think they're called superior) rooms. The standard room was not very nice and I would not have been happy staying there.
Here's the deal. While our room was just beautiful, it was open on 3 sides, completely open to the air. That may seem a romantic concept, except that at least in our particular room, whenever someone walked by, they could see into the room (meaning they could see us pretty much everywhere in the room except for the bed area).
Also, there is no air conditioning and the ceiling fan is so high on the ceiling that you can't feel it. It rained while we were there (the entire time) so mosquitos were a huge problem and only when we were under the mosquito net did we avoid getting bitten. We also had problems with frogs and mice invading our room, most likely to get out of the rain.
These problems may be specific to Room 14B and may not present themselves in other more closed, more private, tree-less rooms. However, you should definitely make sure that these are not issues for you prior to your trip there.
Other than those things (which led us to leave the resort 4 days early), it is a lovely and totally secluded (you literally cannot leave except by boat really) spot. The beach is absolutely beautiful, the common areas are just great, the service is top-notch and the food is excellent. So I am torn as to whether or not to recommend it. Maybe in a better room and without rain, it would have been idyllic. As it was, however, we experienced some problems. Let me know if you have questions.

 
Old Nov 23rd, 1998, 11:32 AM
  #11  
lisa
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I just returned from a week at Ladera Resort in St. Lucia, which is near Anse Chastenet in the Soufriere area. We snorkeled two days at A.C. and really loved it but were very happy we were staying at Ladera, which is truly unique and has the most beautiful views imaginable. Didn't see the rooms at A.C. and have never been to Sandals so can't compare, but we adored St. Lucia. We spent the entire time at Ladera and saw most of the Soufriere area, including A.C. and the Jalousie Hilton, which we also liked. The beaches were not crowded and you can definitely find privacy -- any water taxi will be happy to take you to a nearby "private" beach. If I were you I would check around with other travel agents and compare package prices. We did not do an all-inclusive and were glad we didn't because we enjoyed checking out other dining options in the area. I would definitely recommend having at least one meal at Ladera -- the view is truly spectacular (get there before sunset) and the food and service were both very good.
 
Old Nov 24th, 1998, 09:41 AM
  #12  
Betty
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I agree alot with Caryn's comments. My husband & I were at AC in July and even though it is a beautiful place, we found many drawbacks. Our room was a superior with an incredible view of the Pitons. The room was octogon shaped and a good size but the unit attached to us had no (or very little) view and we had to walk by it every time so they kept their drapes always drawn. (Honeymooners <G>)

Our room had doors and windows with glass shutters AND screens however the bugs were REALLY BAD! My husband got eaten alive so he did not enjoy himself at all. Even while eating (dinner mostly) he was bit quite a lot. Paradise looses something when you have to spray yourself with Deet and remember to set up the bug coil in your room before the sun sets. I also agree with Caryn that the ceiling fan was too high and almost no use. We were told that it didn't need a/c because our room was up on the hill. Ya, right!

The food was okay, but we were disappointed. The presentation was beautiful but the taste was lacking for gourmet. We also were hoping to eat a lot of seafood and that was almost non-existant or if present, over-cooked.

The hotel itself was beautiful. Very lush but I could have done without the 120 steps from my room to the beach. You had to plan out your day. One day I did the stairs 4 times and thought I was going to have a heart-attack.

The snorkeling and diving was superb. The people at Suba St. Lucia are fantastic!

I could go on and on. If you're a CompuServe member, I've posted a full trip report in their library. It's also located in the September issue of the Caribbean Travel Roundup but I can't recall their website address at the moment. If you want more info, I'd be happy to answer your specific questions. Feel free to e-mail me. I know how helpful these forums can be for travellers visiting a new resort or island.

Betty in Toronto
 
Old Nov 24th, 1998, 11:41 AM
  #13  
lisa
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I just had to respond to some of the above comments because I don't want anyone to avoid St. Lucia (especially the southern part of the island) based on those experiences. I was just there (mid-Nov.) and although we stayed at Ladera rather than Anse Chastenet, we did eat several meals at AC and also at Jalousie Hilton and never, at any of the three hotels or any other place we visited while we were there, did we have ANY problem with bugs or with the lack of air conditioning. At Ladera the rooms are open-air with NO ceiling fan and we were cool as could be in the evenings due to the heavy breezes -- in fact, several nights I wore long-sleeves and long pants at dinner because the breeze made it quite cool. Other guests said the same. I don't know if this is due to the time of year or because Ladera is slightly higher up off the beaches than the other hotels or what, but it couldn't have been more comfortable. Our room had "Off" and another bug spray in the bathroom in case we needed it, but we never used it once. The bed did have mosquito netting which we used, mostly because there were a few moths at night if we had the lights on, but other than that there was no problem with bugs. It did get hot in the daytime if you were in the sun, but we just parked ourselves under a coconut palm with a fruity rum drink and cooled right off. The snorkeling at AC was terrific. However, Ladera was truly outstanding and if you don't have to have immediate beach access (Ladera has two free shuttles a day to AC and three free shuttles per day to Jalousie Hilton; each takes about 15-20 minutes tops, or you can pay a taxi to take you any time) I would highly recommend staying at Ladera instead. For one thing, it is smaller and more personal; for another, it is more scenic and picturesque; the rooms are EXTREMELY private and no one can see in even though they're open-air; the food is very good; there were no problems with heat or bugs; the service was warm and friendly; and moreover, it was reasonable in price (which obviously depends on what type of room you select). We had a suite with a private plunge pool and got a great deal on a package that included airfare on American Airlines which our travel agent made through a company called Travel Impressions. You are going in the high season though so it will definitely be more expensive. You can look at ladera-resort.com if you're interested.
 
Old Nov 25th, 1998, 08:46 AM
  #14  
Kelly
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I've previously posted messages about our honeymoon in September to St. Lucia, we stayed at the Jalousie Hilton. It was absolutely spectacular, 5 star and wonderful. We found a great deal of privacy, the resort covers about 400 acres. We had no problem with bugs, and even had a little newt that ate the moths by the porch light. Our cottage had a private plunge pool, two rooms, a huge bathroom with a tub and shower, bidet, and remote controlled/programmable air conditioning. My travel company apparently overcharged us for the room, but we still spent thousands less than at an all inclusive. Well worth every penny.
 

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