April

I just got back from a week at Anse Chastanet. It was fabulous. If you have any questions, fire away.

steve

Hi April, I'm glad you had a great time. My girlfriend and I will be arriving there Wednesday for 6 nights. We are booked in a standard hillside. did you see any of those from the inside? Did you get upgraded? How was the beach? Where there any jellyfish? we are scubaing at least friday and saturday and I am mountain bike riding sunday. Did you do any of these? Did you bring any alcohol with you? Can you buy it at any stores on St. Lucia? Can you get any snacks off property or did you do anything special to keep the cost down while there? Did you go on the 1 day sail from there? How was the temperature and how were the rooms at night? <BR>I guess I have a few questions. Thanks in advance for your help. We can't wait to get there and are counting the hours until we arrive.

Steve

Also, where did you eat? how hard was it to get around? Did you do the buffet dinners at AC and how were they? What nights did you go if any? <BR>Thanks again.

April

Steve, <BR> <BR>Let's see, we were in a deluxe hillside room (14B) and it was perfect. We booked a deluxe hillside, so we weren't upgraded, but I talked to a few who were. It seems they upgrade when it's available. I only saw the standard hillside from the outside, but they looked very nice. We spoke with one couple who were in a standard hillside and they loved it. They were even having serious doubts about leaving for Sandals where they second half of their honeymoon was to take place. It appeared that all the rooms were wonderful in their own special way. (corny, but true). Our room was high on the hill overlooking the jungle and the water. We were awakened each morning with the birds flying in to greet us. We had lots of visitors in our room (gekos, frogs, birds and other unknown creatures). Nothing that would hurt you. It's very cool. We slept under a mosquito net at night. We were never hot because of the breeze, but I spoke with some folks who were hot. Ironically they were in one of the 7 rooms, which are supposed to be the nicest, but the breeze didn't hit them good. The standard hillside rooms did not appear to be as open as our room. We had an entire wall and half missing. It looked like they had nice balconies. <BR> <BR>The beach was awesome. That's where we spent most of our time. It's a black sand beach, so take some flip flops because it gets hot. They have bamboo, palm huts with beach chairs to lay under. You can get out of the sun by laying underneath, or pull your chair out and get some sun. There are also beach waiters that will bring you drinks all day long. <BR> <BR>The jelly fish were abundant while we were there. Not the serious man o war jellies, just the little stinging ones. We got in the water a lot and I only got stung once. Not bad at all. Felt like a bee sting, lasted about 1 minute and didn't leave a mark. My husband, who I like to call "Aquaboy" got stung about 50 times because he stayed in the water so much, but like I said, not real painful. It didn't detour him at all. When your snorkeling, or diving you can see them and just swim away. Most of the stinging happened when we'd just go in for a quick swim. <BR> <BR>The scuba center is great, the people are very helpful and friendly. We took the introductory scuba class (took about an hour) and went for a couple a beach dives. The reef around the resort is awesome! Lots of underwater things to see. We also took a snorkeling trip to another reef a few miles down the beach (by boat). This was great too! <BR> <BR>We went on the mountain biking excursion. We mountain bike regularly and found the trails to be fun and challenging. We did miss our own personal bikes and gear though. There's a great watering hole to swim in and the scenery is beautiful. The rocks are slippery, so be careful. To be honest, we probably should of skipped the biking because we were really just in the mood to be beach bums and not exercise. Do this: On one of your first days, hit the beach and take the kayak over to Anse Mamin Beach. The kayaks are free and the beach guys can tell you where the Anse Mamin beach is. Basically it's the next beach over. Will take you about 5 minutes to kayak to it. Park it at that beach and walk through the large gate. This is where the mountain bike facilities are.(There is a security guard there that can direct you.) You can check it out before you sign up. <BR> <BR>We had an all inclusive package (Total Romance). It included absolutely everything, so we just got what we wanted when we wanted it at the resort. Without the package things seemed very expensive. It did seem though that you could get anything you wanted in Soufriere, the town adjacent to the resort. The resort has a water taxi called "Another Peach on Earth" with a captain named Aubert, nickname "Jungle". This guy is so nice. You'll love him. I'd get Jungle to take you over to Soufriere (complimentary if you are staying at Anse Chastanet) and buy some snacks and refreshments. <BR> <BR>The buffet is Tuesday night and Friday night at the Beachside Restaurant. It's wonderful! Every other night dinner is served in the Treehouse Restaurant. We ate every meal at the Resort because were had the package. We never even left the resort, but that's the way we wanted it. There was a couple there that went somewhere every night and they were having a ball. They hooked up with one of the water taxi drivers (who are usually hanging around the beach) and he would pick them up at the beach every night around sunset and take them to different restaurants and bars. I've read some other comments here that mention it being hard to get around, but it's not at all. These water taxi drivers will take you anywhere, anytime and you can work out a price with them. They will even make suggestions of fun places to go. <BR> <BR>We went with total relaxation in mind. We just wanted to hang around the beach and take it easy. That's why we went with the package. We weren't even interested in sightseeing. It was perfect. Unlike any place I've ever been and I'd return tomorrow if I could. St. Lucians are very friendly,helpful and educated. They have a nice life. You'll enjoy it. <BR>Let me know if you have any more questions. <BR>

cheryl

April~wow sounds like you had a great time! I'm glad to hear that, because I will be spending my honeymoon there in November (can't wait). We won't be staying at A/C, but we will be close by, we're renting a villa in Soufriere. Can you tell me if the mountain bike excursion you took is open to the public or just A/C guests? Thank you in advance...

April

Cheryl, <BR>Yes, biking is open to everyone. Check out www.bikestlucia.com It will give you some good info. <BR> <BR>Soufriere is a great town. Very caribbean. It's what you think of when you think of the caribbean.

steve

April, thanks for all the info in your previous reply. I would like to know what you thought about the food. Any recommendations on dishes you thought were really great or ones to stay away from? <BR>What did your husband do about the jellyfish stings? put anything special on it?

lin gitterman

April - great trip report. We returned from Anse C. in April and had pretty much exactly the same experience but NO jellyfish. As you said, I also would pretty much recommend the all inclusive package because it is expensive (particularly with Canadian dollars) and the package just takes the worry out of it. The best thing for jellyfish stings is white vinegar - just pour it on and the actual "sting" dies.

April

Right about the vinegar, but seriously the stings did not hurt that bad. By the time you'd get to some vinegar the stinging would be gone. I used to live on the coast and my experience with jellyfish there was that sometimes they would be abundant and other times there were none. It's according to tides I think. I'm certainly no expert, but there's always the possibility that they will be gone when you get there. Like Lin said, she didn't have any when she was there, and the beach boys said we were lucky because they had the nasty man-o-war jellies the week before we got there. That's when you'll need vinegar. <BR> <BR>We thought the food was great. For dinner in the Treehouse Restaurant there is a different menu each night. It has approximately 3 appetizers, 3 soups or salads, 5 entrees and several desserts to choose from. There's usually a fresh fish, pasta, pork or chicken to choose from. I think I heard someone in the restaurant say that they have 6 weeks worth of menus that they switch out each night. I couldn't tell you what we had each night, but everything we had was excellent. Mark usually had the fish, and I usually had pasta. Everything was displayed beautifully and the flavor was great. Each meal was a fine dining experience. Very upscale. I tried to pour my own water one night and the waitress got bothered (in a nice way). <BR> <BR>At lunch we got hooked on the "Roti's". Try them. Lunch is at the beach restaurant. You can choose from a buffet or a huge menu. <BR> <BR>By the way, be sure to walk up to the top of the hill (from your room), follow the path from the restaurant, vear to the right, past room 14 B (to your right) and rooms 7 ( in front of you) and you'll see a little hiking path to your left. Walk down it just a tad and there's a fabulous view of the Pitons. Great picture spot, not to mention breathtaking. <BR> <BR>You're going to love it. Can we go with you?? <BR> <BR>Be safe and enjoy!! Let me know if you have any more questions.

steve

April, I'll post my trip report when I get back. Thanks for all the info. If we get upgraded it seems to be to a beachside room. I think that would be great in a way to be right next to the beach and to be serenaded by live music from the beach restaurant every night. I'm concerned though that it may be too warm down there. What would you say were the pros and cons of a beachside room?

April

Steve, <BR>That's a tough one. I liked the hill because of the scenery and the breeze, but hanging at the beach would be nice too. The steps and the hill climb are work. You'd get to avoid that. <BR> <BR>Both will be nice, I'm sure

valerie

April, <BR>"Jungle" is the best! He really made our trip wonderful!

Sandra

April- <BR>Did you find the rooms to be private? I'm excited about going but have been nervous lately about the rooms not being as private as i would like.

April

Sandra, <BR> <BR>The rooms are very unique. They're very open, atleast ours was, it had one and half walls completely open, but I never heard anyone else in their rooms. Whether they heard us or not, I'm not sure. Our room did overlook the path from the restaurant, so occassionally we did hear someone walking on the path, or the employees sweeping. It's hard to explain, it's like they're open, yet made private at the same time. I had the same concern and I was pleasantly surprised. I really liked the design, I believe you will too.

Sandra

April- <BR>Thanks for the info. I was a little concerned but now I feel much better. I can't wait to go, I'm counting down only 3 1/2 weeks to go. I'll definitely post a trip report when I get back!

April

Sandra, <BR>Let me know if you would like me to email you a couple of digital pictures I took of the inside of our room.

Teri

April, Hey buddy...great trip report. Im glad you had such an awesome time and were able to share your experiances with everyone. You didnt tell me about the jelly fish...We didnt have any at all when we were there. Just wanted to say good job on the trip report. I would love to see a couple of your pictures....Bye for now...Teri P.S. E-mail me if you get a chance.