My husband and I just got back this week from Jalousie. The resort is absolutly gorgeous and the staff are extrememly welconing. We thought the food was very good, fresh and enough variety to choose from. We did venture out a few times to some local restaurants- Dasheen, which was amazing and had tthe most beautiful view and a new restuarant which I would highly recommend, called L'Auberge. Our villa was wonderful, and so private and altough very far from the beach, we didnt mind the little shuttle at all. I really cant say enough about this resort and the island. The island is VERY poor, but the people are so nice, and you should not be afraid to venture out of the hotel. If anyone has any questions about the resort, I'd be gald to help.

Great review -- how was the trip from airport to resort -have heard it is a grinding ride. Also, how was the beach?? Thanks!!!!!!!

Chris, <BR><BR>the ride from the airport in the north in Castries was pretty rough. After traveling about 6 hours, it wasnt fun, but we did get to see the countryside which was great. It will take you about an hour and a half to get there. A lot of people took the cab there and the helicopter on the way home. The helicopter looked great but is very expensive, so we stuck with the cab. If you have a very weak stomach I would not recommend it, but otherwise it wasnt bad. <BR><BR>As for the beach, we thought it was great. They have little tiki huts and plenty of places to stay cool in the shade. The water is great and very calm, and the beach is so quiet and relaxing, you feel like you are the only ones there. Hope thatr helps! have a wonderful time!

I am going to the Jalousie in October for my honeymoon and have a couple of questions.<BR><BR>did you do the All Inclusive plan and if so was it worth it?<BR><BR>About how much do meals and drinks cost if not on the AI plan?

Gifford, <BR><BR>you will love Jalousie. We are really hoping to go back next year. It is truly a paradise there. We did not do the AI plan and thought it was very high priced. If you do a search on this site for the hotel you'll see others said the same thing. I would suggest going to a grocery store in Soufriere the first day and getting some snacks for lunch or breakfast. We tried to do only one or the other each day to cut back on costs, but breakfast is about $16 pp, and is very good, and lunch can run about $15-$20 pp. Dinner will run you $50-$75 pp depending if you drink. We were not big drinkers, but maybe had one or two with each meal. I hope that helps. If you have other questions, please let me know.

Gifford<BR><BR>We were at Jalouise on AI. We pre-paid for it when booking the holiday via our travel agent. We were charged only $88.00 each. At the resort to upgrade to AI, the quoted price was $160.00 ! <BR><BR>I think it was well worth it. <BR><BR>We would spend(you have to sign for your food if you are AI or not) $32 for breakfast, around $50 for lunch, then about &pound;120 for dinner. Add on to that drinks throughout the day, I thought it was worth it.<BR><BR>

don't do all-inclusive. we were there for our honeymoon and had the most wonderful time. with all-inclusive you are locked in to eating only at the hilton--wonderful meals but you have to have dinner at least once up at ladera resort (they have a seafood buffet one night a week that is incredible). also, we would usually each get the breakfast buffet in the morning, take a bagel and fruit from there for a snack, split a lunch then eat a nice dinner. that was plenty of food--people we met on all inclusive couldn't drink/eat enough to make ai worth it. enjoy...and please do take the helicopter--very very very worth the $!

We absolutely adored the Jalousie. Little cottages dotted on a tropical mountainside with private patio and plunge pools. We just got back from 3 islands in Hawaii and the Jalousie is still our favorite.<BR>I liked the way they did the mini-bar. It was empty upon arrival and you indicated what you wanted put in there so we had the sodas, brand of beer, etc. we wanted at our fingertips. (The Four Seasons on Hawaii, Big Island did this too and the rates were moderate for room service/ mini-bar).<BR>We ventured out for meals some at dinner, but enjoyed room service on our patio or in our room at night most of the time. The restaurant at the beach was great for lunch. We ate the big breakfast only once. We saw that some others had taken a cab to the grocery store and stocked up on their own. That's an option too.<BR>DO take a cab ride/ tour - the Hilton will take care of the details. DO take one of the boats at the beach to Anse Chastanet. We went with Mango and his son and bought a wood carving from Sunshine Biscuit on "credit". He sent it back with us, and we paid Mango when we got a checked cashed at the Hilton. Everyone was so friendly. <BR>There's a restaurant/bar just outside the Jalousie that we didn't go to (can't remember the name right now) and we got home we saw in a magazine (Conde Nast?) that it was one of the top places in the Caribbean.<BR>Just love, love, love the Jalousie. Couldn't get away from the Hyatt on other end of the island fast enough!

We love the Jalouise! We went there for our anniversary last November. It was very slow due to 9/11 they said, but we enjoyed the entire resort practically to ourselves (only 62 guests on one day)! The people are wonderful and we ventured out of the hotel quite a bit. In Soufrie, they have a local fish fry every Friday night (starts about 8pm). We took a water taxi (the only way to move about and very negotiable) during sunset (about 5:30pm in Nov.) and then just wondered the streets and hung out with the locals until the festival! So much fun! <BR><BR>The villas are wonderful - so private. As far as food goes, my husband and I don't like being tied to the all inclusive. We actually packed a small cardboard box full of snacks and drinks and checked it as luggage. We brought crackers, granola bars, bottle of wine, cookies, etc. We were very satisfied eating one good meal per day. <BR><BR>We also scuba dive and the Jalouise has a wonderful facility. The boat is right at the beach and they took care of us the entire week. Always set up our equipment, cleaned it for us at the end of the day and stored it for the next time until we were ready to leave. The diving was incredible!!<BR><BR>If you are into hiking, we hiked one of the Piton mountains. Make reservations (a guide will take you) and it was definitely a strenuous workout - 2 hours pretty much straight up and 2 hours down - but the view was worth it!

I agree that Jalouise was an incredible vacation! I loved it. But about the all-inclusive. I didn't do it and I was glad. A few couples I met there had gone AI and were suprised to find that there were a lot of things that weren't included..certain drinks, meals, etc...and had to spend more money.<BR><BR>As for the car ride from Castries...Oh my! When I wasn't feeling car sick from the curves in the road I was praying that we would stay ON the road. (They are very narrow and wind around the mountains) But the views are incredible. What a beatuiful island.

Strange what Mol says about others on the AI plan finding things not included. <BR><BR>We have just got back and were on the AI plan and were very happy to be. Just takes the worry about spending too much on food and drink as the resort is a little expensive, but then we expected that.<BR><BR>Not sure about everyone else, but we were told that if you stay for 7 nights, then you get a $250 room credit toward food and drink, in addition to the AI plan we were already on. <BR><BR>We were told that reception may not remember to apply this to our bill at the end of our stay, and just to remind them of this. <BR><BR>When we came to check out, reception had forgooten that we were on the AI plan, and forgotten about the $250 credit.<BR><BR>We just pointed this out, and all food and drinks charges were removed. <BR><BR>

I am considering the Hilton for my Honeymoon in January. Can you tell me about the villas? Should I pay more for a villa with a plunge pool? How is the pool there? Can I get a villa by the beach? Thanks for the help. All of your posts have been so helpful thus far!

What is the best way to get to the Jalousie from the airport in the south (UVF)? We got a great deal flying into that airport rather than the other. I believe the helicopter only serves the northern airport. How should I get to the Jalousie and about how much will it cost?<BR><BR>Thanks for any help!

To Ktrebecca: It is definitely worth the extra cost to get a villa (they are actually individual private cottages built up the hillside that overlook the beautiful ocean and white sand beach). I believe just about all of the villas have plunge pools. The one category of rooms that do not have plunge pools are called the Sugar Mill rooms. The Sugar Mill rooms are close to the beach (but they are not actually on the beach), but I think the cottage villas are a much better accommodation because they are like your own private residence where you do not share an adjoining wall with anybody. The villas (especially the villa suites) are quite roomy with a master room with french doors that leads to the patio where you look out on your own private plunge pool and a view of the ocean (the higher up you are on the mountainside, the better the view; ask for a room in the 700's, 800's or 900's groupings). The baths are quite elegant with seperate showers, tubs, roomy counter space, very nice marble and even a bidet (if you care about such things). Then you also have an attached sitting room which includes its own seperate phone, television, closet. I almost didn't go with the Jalousie because the accommodations weren't right on the beach. Am I glad I didn't change my mind! It is hard to put into words just how peaceful and beauiful your surroundings are when you stay at the Jalousie villa suites and yet somehow, amidst all this natural beauty, the Jalousie has managed to build these accommodations that have such a high level of comfort and luxury. It is truly amazing. As for the beach, it is very nice. The jalousie beach is probably the best beach in St. Lucia, although St. Lucia is not known for the most breathtaking beaches in the Carribean (this is because St. Lucia is a volcanic island; it has a much greater variety of scenic delights such as mountains, rain forests as compared to other Carribean islands that may offer a great beach but are otherwise flat and uninteresting). Anyway, the beach at Jalousie is very nice and the shuttle vans that Jalousie uses to transport guests around the property (you will need to use them to get around, the Jalousie property is steep and very spread out)will arrive in a flash at your rrom to take you wherever you need to go. My wife and I honeymooned here last month. She is a very high stress person and she was just so relaxed and de-stressed for our entire stay. I canot say enough great things about this property. I have heard stories of others who went to other places in St. Lucia and were disappointed. You will be very glad if you choose the Jalousie Hilton.