In a word ... WOW!! Of course, it was my wedding and honeymoon, so I might be a tad biased. But aside from that, a great trip ... one that we look forward to repeating some day. A few random thoughts ...<BR><BR>RESORTS: We spent 8 days at the Windjammer Landing (which included our wedding), and 3 days at Ladera. The Windjammer was awesome ... I had reserved a 1 bedroom deluxe suite ... what we ended up with was a 3-story, 2-bedroom, 2-bath villa with 5 (count em) decks, a full kitchen, and our own pool! Maybe it was the romance package (complete with 2 meals a day, bottle of champagne, sunset cruise, & polo shirts), or the low occupancy rate due to Sept.11. It was definitely a treat. We were in Villa 2, which was about a quarter mile from the lobby. They have shuttles that will pick you up (only a phone call away), but we decided to walk 90% of the time. There were some substantial hills involved, so be prepared! After all the great food, a couple round trips to the restaurants & lobby made us feel less guilty. Speaking of restaurants ... 4 of them. Our favorite was Papa Don's (Italian) at the top of the hill. The others were very good as well, with lots of local delicacies. (The crab-stuffed flying fish was to die for!) The staff was very cordial and the service rivaled any 5-star resort I've ever stayed. The wedding went off without a hitch ... thanks to Glennifer, the wedding coordinator. Just the two of us ... and a 6-piece steel band. We plan on going back and renting one of the bigger villas with some friends in a year or two.<BR><BR>THINGS TO DO: Don't miss the Brig Unicorn day sail. All day from Rodney Bay to Souffiere and back, with lunch, swimming, and a couple tours thrown in. Go easy on the rum punch ... it sneaks up on you Pigeon Island was interesting ... a steep (but short) hike to Fort Rodney, but the great views are definitely worth it.<BR><BR>THINGS NOT TO DO: Driving ... unless you're a better man (or woman) than I. They drive on the left, all the cars are all right-hand drives, the roads are narrow with a 2-foot drop off instead of a curb. I rented a jeep from Cool Breeze for a week, but had them pick it up after only 1 day and took taxis the rest of the trip. The drivers were all friendly, charged you the same price for the same distance (government controlled), and will even arrange to pick you up at a certain time and place if you want to wander around sight-seeing or shopping. If you're used to driving in the UK, you probably won't have a problem ... but it WAS a vacation and I was stressing out way too much behind the wheel to enjoy myself.<BR><BR>LADERA: We spent the last 3 days here after the wedding at the Windjammer. The pictures on their website don't do the place justice. Perched on a ridge between the two Pitons 100 ft above the beach at the Jalouse Hilton, all of the rooms have breathtaking views ... open air on on side and jungle on the other. The food at the restaurant there (Dashene's) was incredible, and the sunset views from the bar ... well, I guess you have to be there <BR><BR>Anyway ... I only took about 400 pictures, which I've bee busily editing and touching up. I'll eventually post them to a website.<BR>Feel free to e-mail me with specific questions.<BR><BR> -- Jeff

Did you go down to the Jalousie Hilton while at Ladera? Any impressions on that resort? We are going there in March with our 2 kids.

Congratulations on your weeding and such a wonderful honeymoon..Just wondering what the beaches were like on the island..

We are looking at Ti Kaye, could you have spent the whole week in the Soufriere area?? Is it easy to go out for dinner at other resorts/restaurants?

Yes ... we did manage a couple trips to the Jalouse Hilton while we were at Ladera. The beach was very nice (not surprising, since I understand it was trucked in!). The Ladera has a deal with the Hilton, where the Hilton will allow Ladera customers to use their beach facilities on a first come/first serve basis. Due to the relatively low occupancy rate while we were there, it wasn't a problem. The snorkeling at the base of the Petite Piton was great ... lots of coral and fish to look at. The restaurant on the beach where we had lunch was so-so ... but at least the beer was cold While we were at Ladera, we only had dinner at Dashene's ... believe me, you won't want to go anywhere else. Because Ladera is somewhat off the beaten path, I would imagine taxi rides to and from there might be pricey ... but hey, if you're staying at Ladera you can probably afford it <BR><BR> -- Jeff