JR

I'm traveling to this resort in early July and was hoping someone could answer a few questions. The property seems to be spread out and is organized in sections. Does anyone have any recommendations for the best sections for proximity to the beach/pool and for the views? Is the snorkeling good right off the beach or do you need to go to Anse Chasternet? Is it comparable to the BVI? Can you rent Boston Whaler type boats as you can in the USVI or do you have to rely on water taxis. Can you rent out a water taxi for long periods of time and how expensive are they? Any help would be appreciated.

Kathy

The property is spread out, but they have a very efficient method of transportation vans. We stayed in cottage #104, and were right on the ocean, steps from the beach, and an easy walk to the Plantation House, where most meals are served. The Pier Restaurant was two minutes away. Ask for cottage 101 through 108, for this location. We snorkled there, but we are veteran snorklers, and were disappointed. Took a water taxi to Anse Chastenet, and didn't find that anything to wrtie home about, either, and I've read that is supposed to be a premier spot, so maybe we were there at a bad time. We did experience Hurricane Lenny, but our snorkling was actually before the hurricane hit. We sisn't see any Whalers available, just water taxis. I don't remember the fee, but I expect you can barteeeer for a good price, as you will be there very off-season. Enjoy! It's a wonderful spot. If you can, go up to Ladera for lunch. We went for dinner, which was excellant, but you miss the incredible view at night.

L

jr - i just returned from nine days at the jalousie hilton, so i can try to answer some of your questions. i found this forum very helpful prior to our trip! the property is quite spread out, but the shuttle buses will be there within minutes - sometimes seconds! - from when you call. we'd always call early, thinking it would take a while, then end up having to grab our stuff and run out the door. we were way up the hill but NEVER felt far from the rest of the resort, and the views were stunning. even the beachfront villas are a bit of a hike to the beach and the pool, and i don't think they get as much of a nice breeze as the ones farther up the hill. if you're really concerned with the proximity, you could ask for a room in the sugar mill (?) suites - which are right by the pool, the main house, and the beach - but haven't got their own plunge pools. <BR> <BR>i don't think it's possible to rent your own boston whaler type boat but you can certainly hire water taxis for extended periods of time - the guy we hired to take us into soufriere (ice cream is his name; his boat is IMAGINE) waited for us for two or three hours at the dock; that's common practice, especially if they're taking you someplace farther away. or, you can ask them to drop you off somewhere and then schedule a pickup time. very easy. <BR> <BR>there's a marine reserve right at the beach for snorkeling, and the snorkeling was okay. we didn't go to anse chastanet, but heard that the snorkeling there was amazing. <BR> <BR>it's a wonderful place and you'll have a great time no matter where your villa is. make sure to have dinner at dasheene - the food is excellent and the views are absolutely breathtaking. go in time for sunset. <BR> <BR>hope this helps!

Jackie

We were at the Jalousie Hilton last year. I did feel that our cottage was a little too far away from the beach. I wish I could remember the number now, but unfortunately, I can't, although I do remember that there were other cottages that were even farther away. Although the resort shuttle comes around pretty regularly, and you can call it to come if you need it right away, sometimes you just want to walk back to your room quickly to get something, and that was not really possible. Walking was a ten or fifteen minute commitment each way. I would definitely try to be as close as possible to the beach/pool area. <BR> <BR>The cottages are situated on a hill, and the view is better the higher up you go, obviously, but the higher up you go, the farther away from the beach, pool, and daytime food you are. Also, the way that the cottages are landscaped, which is designed to maximize your privacy, sort of precludes views from inside most of the cottages. We had half a view from our pool area, but no view from our cottage. The window that might have had an oblique view of one of the pitons faced the road, and we kept the shade drawn. In reality, during the day, you can go to the places where there is a view, and at night there's not a lot to view. You can always stroll along the ocean after dark if you like to see the moonlight on the water (sigh). <BR> <BR>Something to watch out for at Jalousie is hidden costs. We stayed at Ladera for a few days before Jalousie and we took a half-day tour of the island, two people for around $25 with a local cab driver and another couple who were staying at Ladera. We ran into the Jalousie tour a couple of times, the itinerary of which was identical to ours. I think that Jalousie was charging around $120 per person. We could not figure out how they were getting away with that. A small tube of suntan lotion was $15, a standard Good Humor ice cream pop was $5. Just be careful.

l

i just wanted to add my two cents about the costs of tours, etc: before we left, i read from a couple of postings that tours and hikes arranged through the hilton were much more expensive than comparable tours, so made a point of checking that out to make sure we got a good deal. maybe they've readjusted their prices or something, but the rainforest trek we took was the same price as the one ladera would have sponsored, and all the prices were the same as tours we saw posted at the hummingbird. at $50 a person, i thought it was a great deal - the guide was super (tony) and there were only eight people on the tour, all of us from the hotel. he drove us in an open-top jeep through soufriere and up to the rainforest, pretty much talking the whole way with great descriptions of the people, the buildings, the plants, animals, history. everything. <BR> <BR>as for distances, the villas closer to the beach are still a hike if you want to run back and grab a book or sunblock or whatever. as i said, if you don't want to bring everything with you when you go down in the a.m., you might request a room in the sugar mill area. but they're not as nice, in my opinion! the only time we ever had to wait for a shuttle was in the evening, for dinner. also, if you do need to run up during the day, most of the drivers will wait for you while you go into your room, which is helpful... <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR>

Claire

Hi - I'm abit confused about the room categories. In my brochure (Air Canada Vacations) it offers a villa room, mountain view villa room, and sugar mill room (which is about $300 more a night than the basic villa room). A previous poster suggested that the sugar mill rooms are not as nice - yet seem to be considerably more expensive. Is this because they are closest to the beach, restaurants, etc.? Would the basic villa room be the furthest away and not have any view at all? <BR> <BR>Also, would you take a 9-year old to this resort? I see they do offer a kids program yet it does seem to appeal to alot of honeymooners. If so, are the fancier restaurants appropriate for children? What about Dasheene at Ladera? <BR>Any other info about the kids club would be appreciated. Thanks alot. <BR> <BR> <BR>

L

Claire - We were a little confused about the differences between the different villas and the Sugar Mill rooms, also. I only recommend the villas because they seem to have more privacy, but I'm sure the reason the Sugar Mill rooms are more expensive is because they are so much closer to the beach, pool, breakfast, and restaurants. The villas all have their own plunge pools, and we actually ended up using ours a lot so it was a nice perk. After that, I think the only difference in price is the size of the villa and the view (water or mountains - they all have a view of one or the other, or both). Our villa was basically a large hotel room in its own cottage, but I think there were villas with living rooms... Our villa also had a sofa that pulled out into a bed, FYI. We liked being up the hill because it was fairly cool, even during the day - seemed a lot hotter farther down the hill. But it was never oppressively hot at this resort. <BR> <BR>As for kids, not having any of my own, I can't give you a first hand account, but there were plenty of families there and I am under the impression that they provide a roster of activities. Also, the staff is really good with kids - I always saw hotel workers horsing around with kids on the beach. And we saw children ranging from babies to older teens. <BR> <BR>You might ask someone at the hotel to go over the rooms with you on the phone. We didn't have any privacy problems because our villa was set back from the shuttle road, and also up some stairs from the path that led to it. I wouldn't have wanted one of the villas right on the road, however. <BR> <BR>Hope this helps! <BR> <BR>

penny

We stayed at Jalousie in 1995, before it was a Hilton. It was our anniversay so I booked the best room, I think 704 or 904. It was at the very top of the hill and a hike to the beach. At that time the Sugarmill rooms were the least expensive!! They were priced lower because they did not have a plunge pool.! They have one of the best locations, so Hilton knows that. Our room was lovely and had a view of the pitons and water, but I would have liked to be nearer the beach. It is a very long hike up to the room, so we had to depend on the pick up service. L you said it all very well.

JR

Thanks to all for some great info. Claire- I'm not sure when your going, but $300 more/night is a bit much. We are going in the off-season but chose this resort because of the great rates they where offering on their web site. $115/night mtn villa w/plunge. We went with ocean view villa w/plunge for $182/night. Just check their web site periodically. questions: Is it worth going to Castries? Is there good shopping there? From reading other posts it seems like it may be a waste of time. How about Marigot Bay? Finally, how casual is the dress in the evening? What tours would you reccomend/stay away from. Again, thanks to all for previous info. <BR>

Claire

JR: Oops! I guess that was $300/week/per person more - package deal including airfare. We are looking at peak season though, with 2 adults and 1 child - not to mention Canadian dollars. Ouch!!

Laurie

My Husband and I were married at JH, June '99. We stayed in villa #502. It was about half way down the hillside, right between the Pitons, and you could see the ocean. This villa was very spacious and of course had a plunge pool.

Andrea

We stayed at Jalousie Hilton in March of '99. we had a wonderful time. Though I cannot remember the villa number our villa was an oceanview, very private and was right between the Pitons. We had our own plunge pool and <BR>though we we a distance from the pool and beach the viwe and privacy were worth it and the van shuttle was very convenient if we did not feel like walking. At the time we went, the Sugar Mill rooms were the least expensive and they were not their own individual private villa. I would rather, in my opinion have stayed where we stayed in our private villa with great views as opposed to right near the pool. It was beautiful.

Heather

Just to add my two cents worth ... We stayed at the Jalousie Hilton for a week in November and had a phenomenal time. A couple of comments/suggestions: <BR> <BR>1) Tours were really expensive -- we were there in the off season and found you can negotiate GREAT deals ... just NOT with any suppliers on the property. We walked into Soufriere the first morning (its a 25 minute walk, all downhill) and set up a water taxi day to take us up to Castries/Marigot Bay/Snorkelling and a mini van to take us to the rainforest. As I recall, we ended up paying about $15 US per person for each trip (we invited another couple to join us). <BR> <BR>2) It's a bit remote <BR>Again, get directions and walk into Soufriere. Just remember, you can't walk back as its all uphill and extremely steep. Again, you can negotiate a minivan back to the hilton. We then planned a couple of meals in town and booked a cab to pick us up. <BR> <BR>3) Food is outrageously expensive - see #2. Also, for that first night when you're totally burned out and end up usually having a crappy meal, there is a small restaurant adjacent to the Hilton property ... it's not owned by the Hilton, it's owned by a British bigwig who developed the island of St. Bart's. I think it's called "jump" (or maybe I'm thinking of that because they have a "jump-up" every Wed. Night). It's casual and very reasonable. for us, that was our fallback restaurant and we ate there several times. You sit on a big patio overlooking the water. Very nice ambiance. <BR> <BR>4) The snorkelling at Anse Chastenet seemed vastly overrated to us. Didn't think that it was any better than at our hotel. We also snorkelled at Anse Cochon which was well worth it (if you take a watertaxi to Castries they'll take you there). <BR> <BR> <BR>Have fun!! It really is the most beautiful place in the Caribbean.

penny

I think the restaurant you mentioned as Jump is Bangs, by the Lord ? who developed Jalousie and Mustique.

Heather

Yup! It was Bang ... and it was Mustique not St. Bart's. (I knew it was one of the chi-chi Islands!!). <BR> <BR>We also ate at The Courthouse and "Talk to me cool spot" in Soufriere. The latter had a great view and was the best food I'd say.

Beth

Reading through this thread just brought back memories of my honeymoon last May. What a great time we had. <BR> <BR>We were in one of the Oceanfront villas 10x (can't remember exactly either) but it was great - very private wtih a plunge pool and steps to the beach. <BR> <BR>The staff is so friendly and helpful. Yes, the tours were expensive, but it was our Honeymoon so we splurged. Tony the tour guide for the rainforest tour was amazing. I highly recommend this - probably the best tour we took. <BR> <BR>We did spend one day up in Castries -- took a taxi in and out - and went shopping, had lunch at a place called the Green Parrot. Food was good - shopping not worth it in my opinion. The southern part of the Island is so much nicer - I wouldn't bother next time. <BR> <BR>Dinners at the Plantation House --"You are most welcome!" -- were wonderful -- both in ambiance, service and food! We did spend one evening at Dasheene and went for the sunset -- beautiful view and great dinner. We had lunch at the Hummingbird and that was great -- there were a few cats hanging around -- and the waitress fed the cats our scraps --which was interesting but also kind of endearing. <BR> <BR>One thing I'd say - as with many Islands -- it's poor. And the kids will see you in the streets of the towns and think - ah, rich tourists... Where are you staying? They'll ask -- to get a sense of what you may be worth... We had one kid pretty much block our path until we let him give us directions back to the water taxi - which we didn't need -- just so he could stick his hand out and get a tip. We obliged - but I could do without that when I'm trying to be on a vacation... The difference between the resorts and the villages is huge - and was very tough to take at times. <BR> <BR>But it's a lovely island, the people are wonderful and I'd go back in a heartbeat!!

phillybob

We snorkeled both Jalousie and Anse Chastinet and the difference was night and day. Anse was amazing (though I'm not a veteran snorkeler, I'd say the individual above's experience was due to some quirk of timing). <BR> <BR>The beach at Jalousie is white sand, especially brought in for American-type preferences. It is beautiful. Anse is natural and beautiful as well. More of a Gilligan's Island feel. <BR> <BR>A water taxi to Anse is very easy and inexpensive. (If you have kids, have the water taxi swing by the bat cave by Souffriere). <BR> <BR>I agree with the tour costs brought up by the other person above (but maybe they have lowered them since 3/00?). We were at Ladera and arranged for our own tour of the rain forest. Our taxi driver (who I think is based at Jalousie?) was Heavy D. He also has a cousin (they are all "related," I think) named Elvis who actually took us to the rain forest. Get Heavy D to take you up to Ladera for a dinner (go early to catch the view and the sunset) at Dasheen. He's got the nicest taxi! <BR> <BR>Also, if you go to town, we ate at, I think it was the Old Courthouse (?), at sunset and enjoyed that greatly, too. <BR> <BR>If you are inclined, Anse Chastinet has (at least had) Jungle (mountain) Biking on its premises (old estate grounds) with a watering hole and all. <BR> <BR>Kids will love Jalousie. Saw the most kids there than anywhere else, and they were all seemingly very happy. <BR> <BR>We visited Marigot Bay on our way back to the airport via water taxi. The roads are quite up and down, so we did this option to get back to the airport (assuming you are flying in to Castries). It was not much more expensive than a taxi ride (we were at Ladera and they'd pay for an auto taxi back to the airport, so they just charged us the difference). Marigot is nice, but definitely, in my opinion, not worthy of anything more than what we had done. <BR> <BR>Enjoy your trip!