Jason

I'm planning a honeymoon to for July 2001 and would like some feed back on the Jalousie Hilton if anyone has been there recently. Is the all-inclusive plan necessary, or is it better to spend as you go?
Thank you for your help, I really appreciate it.

Kay

My best friend got married and stayed there last summer. They loved it. They had a deluxe suite with plunge pool. They did not do the all-incluisve plan as they like to go out to different restaurnts but if you do not I would say do the all-incluisve plan. I will e-mail my friend and have her e-mail you.

Beth

Hi Jason,

My husband and I honeymooned there this past May. It was WONDERFUL. What a gorgeous setting!!

We did not do all inclusive - do a search on Jalousie on this board and you'll see a lot of others' past opinions. We wanted the option to go elsewhere and did! We met a few couples who were on the all inclusive plan and felt it was too much $$ and not worth it. They felt compelled to eat there every night and didn't get to experience things as we did.

Make sure you have dinner one night at Dashene. The view is spectacular. The Plantation Room at the Jalousie is quite good - and very elegant setting - wonderful service. "You are most welcome" is all you will hear there!

In addition, the Jalousie has the Plantation Room, a waterfront, casual restaurant that has a nightly buffet (and regular menu) and a beach side restaurant. That's about it.... so in my opinion - not really enough choices to be happy with all inclusive.

We also went to lunch a few times in town - Hummingbird was great. Also we were told by everyone to go to Bang - but never had a chance.

I'm not sure what else is included in the all inclusive - snorkeling equipment was complementary... and I can't remember about the other water sports.


If you want ideas for other excursions... we loved the tour of the rainforest. We drove up in a jeep tour - our guide was very good - and then hiked down and up the forest. It was an amazing experience. We also went to the botanical gardens and the volcano one day - nice, but not as exciting to us.

Not sure where you are flying into... the roads in St. Lucia are very bad. Windy, NARROW... apparently lots of tourists get sick if the driver isn't going slowly... We were okay, but took the helicopter back to the airport in Castries. It took 7 mins. as opposed to an hour and a half by taxi - and was so worth the money. The views were spectacular from up there!!

If you have any more questions, feel free to ask. We had a wonderful time and wish you the same!

Jason

Thank you both, your information has been very helpful. It has reassured me on our choice of the Jalousie Hilton.

jeff

Jason, my wife and I just got back from Ladera, which is basically straight up the mountains from Jalouise. We spent a lot of time at the beach at Jalouise and ate there one night. You should also consider Ladera. I think they are priced similarly, and Ladera, in my opinion, appeared to be much more interesting and romantic. The only thing the Hilton has over Ladera is that it has a beach. However, Ladera has a free shuttle to the same beach and it appeared that most of the Hilton rooms were up the mountain from the beach, thus necessitating a shuttle ride to your room anyway. Just my opinion, and the Hilton looked wonderful, too.

Kay

Hi Jason:

I replied above. I agree with Jeff. I spent my honeymoon at Ladera this past June and wholeheartedly agree that if air conditiong is not an absolute must(not necessary) then I would choose Ladera. We spent time at the Hilton's beach adn ate one night there and it was very nice but NO comparison to ladera. There web address: www.ladera-resort.com.

Anne

Jalousie is beautiful, you are right on the water, it has a terrfic spa, it has 3 restaurants plus Bangs. The setting at their large pool,near the beach among the palms is a perfect setting. Stick with your choice-it just got rated by Travel and Leisure as one of the top 3. Ladera looked like a tree house-I am sure it is lovely we enjoyed Dasheene but Jalousie has much more to offer.

Harry

This response is a little dated.

My wife and I stayed a week at the Jalouise two years ago. I would say that it is the most relaxing and fun vacation we have ever had. The people are very friendly and accommodating.

The resort has a nice snorkeling area and expansive grounds. However, it is not easy to move around the island since the roads are very narrow and curvy.

I would recommend taking a water taxi for much of your trips away from the resort. Also, check the water sports area or the hotel not the travel desk for any excursions.

We had a delux suite suite with a plunge pool adn would recommend that to anyone. Very private and very rommantic.

Good luck

Tina

Jason
You got some great suggestions from Anne and others. Here is my opinion because we stayed in both places Ladera and Jalousie Hilton. Ladera is ineresting but overpriced and food is disappointing, although staff was great. Hilton has so much more to offer and there is enough place where you can go for walk anytime. Ladera is located right on a main road so you could hear cars and you probably wouldn't want it walk on this very narrow and busy road anyway. Besides, we heard what was going on in suit U when people returned late at night. Someone said on this Forum that a solution is to turn your waterfall on. But at night you really don't feel like getting up and turning this damn thing on every hour. Jason go for Jalousie.

Jason

Thanks again everyone!! Your advice has helped me immensely.

patty sonnenschein

We dod Jalousie and agree that it was great. Do consider helicopter from airport. It was 100 or so but made a great way to begin honeymoon. Be sure and ask for room with plunge pool-preferably one that is private. Service outstanding. Not a ton of nightlife but after a wedding r&R was great. Beach sunsets are great. Try and negotiate your own water taxi deals. the boat owners are docked in the water off beach. It is much cheaper than hotel setting this up for you. Also bring snacks--There is very little in the way of snack shop. we didnt always want to do breakfast at hotel which was expensive. In general food was very expensive. YOu may want to plan your excursion into town early in the trip so you can pick up a few things at the local market. Local market is accessible only by taxi and was $10-20. I agree with comment that Ladera is like a tree house. Neat to see and have dinner but I wouldnt want to stay there. Have a great trip!!!!

Jackie

Last year, we went to St. Lucia for nine days -- six at the Jalousie Hilton and three at Ladera. Ladera is more rustic but has more character, is way less expensive, and is a very unique and unusual place that you are not likely to find often in your life. You have to be able to deal with some nature, though, as the rooms at Ladera are missing a wall and little birds and lizards are regular guests. (Check out their website.) The Jalousie Hilton is more luxurious in that they have things like air- conditioning and tv's. We found the Jalousie Hilton to be quite expensive in certain ways that really pissed us off. For example, while we were at Ladera, we went on a half day tour of some of the natural highlights of the area. I don't remember the exact numbers, but it was something like $30 for two of us. When we got to the hot springs on our tour, which was supposed to be the highlight there were people there on a tour from the Jalousie Hilton, so we know that they were going to the same hot springs we were. During our stay at Jalousie we were offered a half-day island tour consisting of the same itinerary as the one we had taken -- for something like $200 each. What I'm trying to say is be careful, and don't do the all- inclusive. There are other good places to eat besides the Jalousie options, (Dasheene, Hummingbird, Bang), but you have to know that food is not St. Lucia's strong point. The rooms at the Jalousie are lovely, but the property is quite large and everything is very spread out. You mostly take their little shuttle van everywhere, including the beach and the pool. We really enjoyed both places, though. I like rustic, so I really loved Ladera, and my honey loves an easy place with tv, so he loved Jalousie. One note: There are two airports on St. Lucia. I can't remember which one it was that is closer to the Hilton, but make sure you fly into the closer one. The alternative is a 1.5 hour drive on winding roads (although the views are nice if you do it during the day). Good luck.