St Lucia, Food Prices & Spending $: Help?

Old Mar 7th, 2000, 12:49 PM
  #1  
Dustin
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St Lucia, Food Prices & Spending $: Help?

I am about to book 7 nights at Jalousie for my honeymoon. Having read countless good reviews, and advice from my agent, I think I will be happy with Jalousie. My concern now is food $. I am not considering an all-inclusive, its 160pp per day! I figure we can do the breakfast buffet($16), and a small lunch, but dinners look expensive. What are the restaurants like near Jalousie? Can we get by with 50-75 a night, give or take? My agent is telling me its expensive for anything good? A little vague to say the least. We are 27, and dont like stuffy, $50+ a plate places. Any shared experience, places to go and prices would make me really relax. Thanks in advance,
Dustin T. Atlanta GA
 
Old Mar 7th, 2000, 02:01 PM
  #2  
lisa
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Dustin: Fear not -- there are no stuffy restaurants on St. Lucia! Even the nicest and best places have a very laid-back atmosphere. We stayed at Ladera but went to the beach at Jalousie Hilton several times. Lunches at the beachside restaurant at Jalousie were very reasonable, and at the beachside restaurant at Anse Chastanet as well (make sure you go snorkeling at Anse Chastanet one day -- it's a short water taxi ride from Jalousie). My boyfriend and I used to split a roti for lunch -- they are delicious and pretty large -- you can get a side order or salad if you need a little more to fill you up. Seems like we generally spent around $18-25 total for the two of us on lunch each day, including drinks. Piton beer is good and very inexpensive. The fruity frozen drinks are more like $5 apiece but they are delicious.

I think you are making the right decision not to go all-inclusive. But to eat reasonably you should eat dinners elsewhere than Jalousie Hilton -- we found their dinners generally to be overpriced compared to what you got at other places, although the food was good (but certainly not the best we had).

The best restaurant on the island is Dasheene at Ladera, which is about a 10-minute cab ride from Jalousie (around $6-8 U.S. if I recall, or you can ride in the free late afternoon/early evening shuttle from Ladera that goes to pick up Ladera guests at Jalousie Hilton and bring them back to Ladera at the end of the day). Go to Dasheene one evening for a splurge if you want a nice dinner, or even just for drinks around sunset. The food and service are great and the views are spectacular. I would say we spent around $25 per person for dinner there for an entree and glass of wine apiece. Make a reservation for dinner if you want a table near the edge (get there before dark to appreciate the view).

There is a good, casual, inexpensive (on most nights, unless it's one of their nights when they have a "floor show") restaurant called Bang between the Pitons, which is very close to Jalousie Hilton. They have excellent grilled fish and it's pretty cheap!

There is a good upscale restaurant in Soufriere called the Hummingbird -- not inexpensive, but reasonable for the quality. Of course it depends on what you order. Their food was good. I think we spent around $20 per person there for entree and wine.

A couple of other places that locals recommended to us in Soufriere: Camilla's and Captain Hook. These places should be less expensive than the Hummingbird.

$16 sounds high to me for breakfast.

One thing you might want to think about if you are wine drinkers is to bring some with you. My boyfriend and I each brought a special bottle with us in our suitcase, and were glad we did. Wine on St. Lucia is fairly expensive because it has to be imported. We liked having it in our rooms so we could have a glass or two before or after dinner and not pay an arm and a leg for it.

Have a great time. You'll love St. Lucia!
 
Old Mar 7th, 2000, 03:48 PM
  #3  
Dustin
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Thanks for the reply Lisa, Ladera looks great as well. I strongly considered it. But a private plunge pool sounds too fun to pass up. I feel better from your input...I started to actually consider bringing cans of tuna fish. Pretty Scary
 
Old Mar 7th, 2000, 04:26 PM
  #4  
X
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Lisa - did you bring travelers checks and if so, were you able to cash them easily at Ladera or elsewhere?

Are there ATM's available?

Thanks!
 
Old Mar 8th, 2000, 08:36 AM
  #5  
lisa
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X: Yes, we brought traveler's checks in dollars and they changed them for us at the front desk at Ladera, no problem. There were one or two banks in Soufriere where you could also change currency, and I believe there was even an ATM there if I remember correctly -- seems like I used it once (it produces EC currency). I try not to rely on ATMs in foreign countries though because you can't always count on them. Better to bring enough traveler's checks instead just in case.
P.S. Dustin -- fyi, the rooms at Ladera have private plunge pools too!
 
Old Mar 8th, 2000, 09:56 AM
  #6  
Kay
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Lisa

I will be spending my honeymoon at Ladera in June and was wondering waht time we should reserve a table by the edge for Sunset? I notice from your e-mail address that you work for an educational institution. Which one do you work for? I am a librarian at the University of Texas at Dallas
 
Old Mar 8th, 2000, 11:51 AM
  #7  
Greg
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Librarians for Ladera!

Kay, I'm a coporate librarian up in Boston. I'll be visiting the Ladera the first week of May and can't wait. Let's see...53 days and counting. I'll post a response when I get back.
 
Old Mar 8th, 2000, 12:36 PM
  #8  
lisa
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Kay -- Actually, the "edu" in my e-mail address above is not for real -- I use an e-mail "pseudonym" due to problems with spamming (as I learned the hard way, individuals/companies surf the messages posted on these sites and then target people by sending them unsolicited ads for all manner of things, some of them not suitable for general audiences -- ugh). But in answer to your question, since St. Lucia is so close to the equator, the time of the sunset does not vary too much with the time of year -- it's generally around 6 pm, give or take 20 minutes or so if I remember correctly. We were there in November and I think the sun went down around 5:45ish. If you're going in June it would be a little later -- I'm guessing around 6:15? (Don't hold me to that.) I would try to get there by 5:30 for drinks before sunset, although to be honest I don't know if they even take reservations for that early (you can always make a reservation for later -- say 6:30 -- but get there earlier and go up to the bar and order a couple of drinks and take them down to the pool deck immediately beneath the restaurant, which has a few chaise lounge chairs you can relax in while you enjoy the fantastic view -- then go up for dinner after the sun goes down). Give it a shot. It is not a large restaurant and they always had availability, but there are only a few "prime" tables in the restaurant and those were inevitably taken at breakfast, lunch, & dinner. They seemed to give priority to their guests to a certain extent, which is as it should be.

Of course, if you're staying at Ladera you can always enjoy the sunset from your room, which we loved to do! Then we would enjoy a later dinner. Made for a nice, long, relaxing evening.

I am very envious of those of you planning trips to St. Lucia in the near future & hope to go back someday! By the way, we went to Costa Rica last fall and that was equally beautiful and wonderful and I recommend it highly.

P.S. I live in Washington DC.
 
Old Mar 9th, 2000, 04:58 PM
  #9  
Lonya
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Lisa,

I truly have to thank you for all of your informative posts. It is because of you that I learned of Ladera (no Canadian tour company offers it). It is wonderful to get information from individuals first hand on the activities, restaurants and cost. I have printed your numerous postings to keep my fiance and I informed of 'what to do when we are there'. We are staying in St. Lucia for our honeymoon for two weeks. The first week in the North at Odyssey and the second week at Ladera June 6-12. I just couldn't pass up those romantic rooms and plunge pools.

Thank you for all your help and shared experiences...P.S. I think that Ladera should offer you a free stay just for all of the publicity you've given them.

I'll continue to moniter the postings until we go. I promise to post when we return. I'm sure I'll have wonderful experiences to share with others.

Thanks again.
 
Old Mar 10th, 2000, 07:22 AM
  #10  
lisa
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Lonya: Well, if they offered me a free stay, I'd definitely take it! I won't hold my breath though.

I hope you have a wonderful time & look forward to reading your trip report when you get back.
 
Old Mar 11th, 2000, 07:43 PM
  #11  
Sheila
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Do you recall approximate prices for tours/activities such as the Diamond Waterfall, Mourne Coubaril, rainforest hikes, etc...? Which ones would you recommend?
 
Old Mar 12th, 2000, 07:01 PM
  #12  
Lorraine
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I am considering booking a 7 day trip in June to Anse. Has anyone been here and can you give me any recommendations? I am torn between this, Hyatt Regency at Grand Cayman, and Antigua's Pineapple Resort. We are looking for a beautiful island, pretty beaches, good food, site seeing, and relaxation. Any feedback from Lisa or anyone else is appreciated!
 
Old Mar 13th, 2000, 04:23 AM
  #13  
Kay
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Hi Greg and Lisa:

Greg - it is nice to hear from another librarain

Lisa - so far no weird e-mails.

I can't wait to get to St. Lucia. I will post a trip report when I get back. I will make sure to catch the sunset from the room or from the pool deck As a bonus I made usre to book my outdoor sunset wedding during the full moon. So I will have a full moon for part of the honeymoon )
 
Old Mar 13th, 2000, 12:18 PM
  #14  
lisa
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Sheila: The Diamond Waterfall/Botanical Gardens was not expensive at all. Can't remember the price but they can tell you at the hotel. We took a taxi there from Ladera. It only takes about an hour to see the whole place but we took lots of photos because the gardens were so beautiful, so it took longer.

The rainforest hike was included in our package which we got through our travel agent which also included airfare and a week at Ladera and a free "gift" (a tote bag with a T-shirt and discount coupons which we never used), so I can't tell you how much that one is either -- again, the hotel front desk can tell you. Seems like it might have regularly been $40 per person including transportation and guide, but I'm not sure about that. It was supposed to be a half-day trip but it ended up going more from like 9 am to 3 pm. It was a great hike, we learned a lot from the guide about the plants and animals in the rainforest, and it was wonderful swimming in the waterfalls in the middle of the rainforest when we were so hot and sweaty!

We didn't go to Mourne Coubaril so I can't tell you about that one.

Lorraine: The three islands and three resorts you mentioned are VERY different so I think you need to do a little more reading up and decide what is most important for you in this vacation. Just prioritize what it is that you're looking for. For example, Grand Cayman is flat and drier, unlike St. Lucia which is volcanic, green, and rugged. Grand Cayman is probably better for scuba and snorkeling if you're into that, although obviously Anse Chastanet has that too, but there just aren't as many options for scuba and snorkeling on St. Lucia as there are on Grand Cayman. I have heard/read some negative things about Pineapple on Antigua so you may want to do a search and read old posts if you haven't already. The Hyatt Regency is a large chain resort so if that's what you're looking for then it's going to be very different from a smaller, intimate resort like Anse Chastanet. And of course the advantage of a place like Anse Chastanet is that it is a more private place. In other words, you need to decide whether you want creature comforts like TVs and air conditioning or whether you want solitude and a more "back-to-nature" experience. It just depends on what you want. Neither is better or worse, they're just totally different!
 
Old Mar 13th, 2000, 01:40 PM
  #15  
Matt
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Lisa or whoever, I was wondering about moutainbiking and horsebake riding. I have read that both of these activities have become very popular. Does anyone have any suggestions or leads. My fiance and I definitely want to hike the rainforest and go to the botancial gardens and possibly the volcano.
 
Old Mar 14th, 2000, 05:33 AM
  #16  
Greg
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The last issue of Caribbean Travel & Life had an article about mountain biking on St. Lucia.

http://www.caribbeantravelmag.com/ar...3,9495,00.html

 
Old Mar 14th, 2000, 11:02 AM
  #17  
lisa
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There are several places around the island where you can go horseback riding. We met other guests at Ladera who had done it and really enjoyed it -- they said it was a nice ride along a relatively remote beach, and cantering in the surf was a highlight. They just arranged it through the front desk -- can't remember cost or the name of the place.

As for mountain biking, when we were there it wasn't available yet as far as I know, but I understand that has changed. I heard it's available at/through Anse Chastanet -- I'm not sure where else.
 

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