tana

read a little about both...is it a big inconvenience to shuttle to the beach from ladera? Is there anything to do on that resort? Is Anse Chastanet more fun? Which has more children running around (some thng us honeymooners are trying to avoid!) Also noticed not much in the way of food options at ladera. But the 100 steps up and down to the beach at Anse sounds a little exausting. We both like the beach. Anyone with info???

John

I went th Anse Chastanet a few years ago. It is extremely secluded. The road from town to the resort is an adventure all its own. When we were there I cannot recall seeing any children at the resort at all. If you are going anywhere on St Lucia, you must try scuba diving if you do not already. I have dove all over the caribbean and St. Lucia is some of the best diving you will find, especially at Anse Chastanet. We had a great time just diving and relaxing on the beach, but you can also tour the rain forest and do some hiking. (bring good shoes/boots for it) There really are 100+ steps from the beach to the restaurant/bar and that many again to some of the upper cottages but if I can do that run three times a day for a week anyone can. You just have to take your time and stop at the bar for a rest... Food is in a word, GREAT, service likewise. By the Way, Congratulations!

lisa

My boyfriend and I stayed at Ladera in mid-November and loved it. We went to Anse Chastenet twice during the week during the daytime for the beach and snorkeling there and liked AC a lot but both agreed we liked Ladera better and were glad we were staying there. Ladera is much more intimate and romantic and secluded. There were no children whatsoever at Ladera (the management discourages families with kids under 15 from staying there due to the open-air design -- very wise on their part given the structure of the buildings) -- and we only saw a couple of kids at AC (there were a few more at the nearby Hilton). It is not inconvenient to take the shuttle from Ladera to the beach. They have three free shuttles each day to the beach at the Jalousie Hilton (around 9, noon, and 4 -- the drive takes about 10-15 minutes) and two free shuttles each day to the beach at Anse Chastenet (around 9 and 4 -- the trip takes about 20 minutes). We actually enjoyed the shuttles because the little trip allowed you to see some wonderful views of the area and also allowed you to meet some of the other guests. Ladera provides beach towels, beach chairs, and snorkeling equipment free so you don't have to worry about that. The snorkeling was better at AC than at Jalousie Hilton, but we liked the beach itself better at the Hilton. Both beaches had very good food and drinks and dive shops. In terms of "things to do" -- there is plenty to do and you won't be bored at all, but you will have to leave Ladera for most of it during the daytime (unless you want to lie by the pool all day, which is also a nice option!) -- they can arrange all sorts of guided tours for you, and some of it you can do on your own. For instance, you can hike to the volcano which takes about 20 minutes to walk to and is pretty interesting. Another day we took a wonderful day trip into the rainforest with a local guide and two other couples, where we hiked down to a huge waterfall and went swimming and then hiked back out through the jungle. It was gorgeous. Another day we hired a local driver to take us to the botanical gardens and some local waterfalls and then into the town of Soufriere. You can also hire someone to take you to a "private beach" nearby. All the rest of the days we just went to the beaches either at AC or Jalousie. One fun thing at Ladera: the manager hosts a barbecue dinner once a week which is fun because there is a free cocktail party on the pool deck beforehand and then there is a reggae band during dinner and the food is great. All the food at Ladera was wonderful but pricey so we ate dinner out at other local places a couple of times -- once at Bang between the Pitons and another night at the Hummingbird (both were delicious). I vote for Ladera. Have a great time!

tana

thank you so much for your insight. I think now I'm leaning towards Anse just because we love the idea of being on the beach. Did any of you here if people from Sandals were satifsfied or if they complained about the crowd?? Did they crowd Anse Chastanet with their visits Thanks again!!

skidmore

I was disappointed with Anse Chastenet because the food was terrible and expensive (and it's so isolated that it's difficult to eat anywhere else) and I don't think that the people in Soufrier (sp?) were very friendly. <BR>

lisa

I couldn't disagree more with the previous post about the people in Soufriere. We found everyone we met in St. Lucia to be wonderful. Some of them are more soft-spoken and shy than we are used to here, but we found that charming. We met so many wonderful St. Lucians who were extremely generous in taking the time to tell us about the area -- they are very proud (justifiably) of St. Lucia and love to talk about it if you ask them to! We spent the entire week in the area around Soufriere and never had a bad experience. Regarding the food at AC -- we only had lunch and drinks there twice but we thought it was delicious and in terms of price, it was comparable to or even a little less than what you would pay for food at a good hotel here in the U.S. or almost any other major resort area, for that matter. I would say that lunch items were about $6-9 U.S. at Anse Chastenet. While it's true that you have to take a water taxi to get almost anywhere from A.C., the taxis are cheap and plentiful and fun and easy -- it was not hard to get around at all.