Peggy

I'm researching small beach resorts in St. Lucia and am on a restricted budget. Has anyone stayed at the Hummingbird Resort? Any info would be greatly appreciated.

Shari

Hi Peggy, <BR>I don't know anything about Hummingbird...but have a suggestion for another option. We spent a week at Rainbow Hotel on Reduit Beach in January 2000. Very reasonably priced hotel, nothing glamorous, but nice, clean and comfortable (and 200 yards from the beach!). It's one of the few non all-inclusive hotels in the Rodney Bay area, which is what we wanted. Whatever you decide, Enjoy St. Lucia!

Lizzie

Peggy - <BR> <BR>I spent ten days in St. Lucia in February and stayed at the Jalousie Hilton near Soufriere, which we loved. We looked at this board a lot while researching our trip and what struck us the most was that nobody ever seemed to say much about the less expensive hotels in the area. We did have lunch at the Hummingbird, and greatly enjoyed it. But we didn't see any of the rooms, so I can't tell you much about staying there. The staff who waited on us were very nice and helpful, and it seemed clean although there were two cats in the dining room! The pool was also a lot smaller than it seemed in the press materials we'd seen about the hotel. <BR> <BR>I think it really depends what you are looking for in a hotel/resort. My first thought is that if you are interested in the Hummingbird, you're looking to stay in Soufriere (which I would recommend - very old-school Caribbean, not touristy at all) so stay away from the places in the north: Castries, Reduit, Marigot Bay, etc. <BR> <BR>There's not a very nice beach at the Hummingbird, so you'd be relying on taxis and water taxis, most likely, to take you to the beach - probably either the Hilton or Anse Chastanet beach. That was the major decision maker for us, because my boyfriend went scuba diving every morning. Once we saw the place, I was happy we stayed where we did because I would not have wanted to be alone on the Hummingbird beach for that long. <BR> <BR>Some other resorts you might check out are Stonefield and Mago Estate. Neither is on the beach, but the Stonefield has a shuttle to the Hilton beach, and Mago Estate just looked incredibly charming and beautiful. <BR> <BR>Have you looked into renting a villa? That might be a good way to go. Also, keep your eyes open for package deals especially at Liberty Travel. We splurged on our trip, but they found us the deal we used, which was great and much less than the rack rate. <BR> <BR>Good luck! <BR>L

phillybob

That last post (Lizzie's) was right on. We stayed at Mago and yep, it was charming (!). We'd walk down the hill and decide which direction to take a ten minute water taxi (South for Jalousie, North for Anse). <BR> <BR>Word of caution, though, Mago was loud at night with roosters and dogs from the village. I'd imagine Hummingbird would be the same. It depends how light you sleep. <BR> <BR>Next time I go, I'm likely going to stay at Stonefield, but it is much more secluded than Mago and Hummingbird. It was quiet and had beautiful views (Mago does not). <BR> <BR>We split our stay with Mago and Ladera and I found Ladera to be over-rated. The restaurant, Dasheen, however is very nice and expensive. <BR> <BR>La Haute was another small place to stay (near Mago), as I recall. <BR> <BR>I think La Haute and Hummingbird are the cheapest. You might be able to negotiate with Monica at Mago, depending upon the season; I had no luck with Stonefield.

joan

Peggy: Lizzie and phillybob are giving great advice. We rented a villa in the same area, wanted to stay at Stonefield but they were completely booked with a wedding. Ate at Hummingbird twice. Food was delicious, the languid service reminded us of the old Jimmy Buffett song "I Wish Lunch Could Last Forever". Stonefield, if you can afford it, gets my vote! (But I don't know or recall Mago...new??)

phillybob

Sorry, Mago does have views, just not as wide open and broad as Stonefield. Mago is almost like a tree fort (in a good way) and I felt myself looking through the branches to get a view. The ocean is not really the best view. You do see a Piton though. I'm gonna post my review of Mago (which I did on wheretostay.com after our trip on the Mago thread here).

phillybob

As I was re-living our wonderful time, I visited the wheretostay.com site again, and it reminded me of a budget place: Stillfield Plantation (I'm not sure if this is the same as La Haut, but both, if they are different, are inexpensive). Here's the link for Stonefield, etc. (you're on your own with La Haut): http://www.wheretostay.com/caribbean...cia/index.html

Beth

Hi Peggy, <BR> <BR>We just returned from St. Lucia and had a glimpse of all the aforementioned hotels in the Soufriere area - including rooms. We were delighted with our accommodations at La Haut which sets about 1,000 feet above Soufriere - great food and lovely airy rooms. Continental breakfast with cereals, fruit and fancy breads is included and they have just put in a beautiful little pool with a drop dead gorgeous panoramic view of the Pitons. We had a car so we could go take the short drive down into the town or drive to the nearby beaches of Anse Chastenet (horrible road, but passable by car) and the Jalousie Hilton. If you are planning to have a car, you will be happiest at La Haut. Next choice would be Still Plantation Beach Hotel which sits right next to the Hummingbird or perhaps Still Plantation. These places are really underadvertised but then again they are small. Please feel free to e-mail me for details. We also stayed at the Oasis in Marigot Bay for three days and it was also great!

Peggy

Thank you all for your excellent and candid reports. This board is so informative and it's great to hear word of mouth. OK I'm going to copy this and read every word of it and then make my decision. Thanks again!