Amy

We're using hotel points for a free week at the Jalousie Hilton, but we'd like to extend our stay with a second week somewhere further North. Any suggestions on where? We don't want to go all-inclusive. Any nice villas near Castries or Marigot?

Lynn McKamey

How about Ti Kaye Village? Our daughter and son in law loved it! It's about 30 minutes south of Castries.<BR><BR>www.tikaye.com

GM

For a UNIQUE place, I'd say Ladera (here's the website:<BR>http://www.ladera-stlucia.com/accomodations.asp<BR><BR>The resort is known as 'open air' and that is literally true - the rooms have one side open - exposed - to nature. The resort is on a mountain. Most of the rooms have their own plunge pool. The accommodations are 1000 feet up from the beach. It is not recommended for kids. It's near Soufriere. I've heard nothing but raves about it.<BR><BR>I can only recommend LeSport - it's a wonderful private property, spa treatments are included (unlike Jalousie), but it is AI, tho. It's the northern-most of the island.<BR><BR>STAY AWAY FROM RENDEZVOUS.

Amy

Hi, thanks for the advice! We've actually looked at both these resorts and both look fabulous. My concern is that I don't want to be too close to where we're already staying, which is Jalousie. Even though the Jalousie is all-inclusive, we don't plan to spend all our time on the resort. We love to get out and explore. That's why we figured our week at Jalousie could be spent exploring the southern part of the island and our other week could be used to explore the north. Both Ti Kaye and Ladera look like they're pretty far south. Does anyone have a suggestion that's closer to Castries and Rodney Bay?

stephanie

Have you considered Windjammer Landing? We will be there later in October, and they have both standard rooms and villas. You have the option to do a meal plan or not. The property looks great and the villas are extemely spacious!

Mary

While Ti Kaye looks very nice it's not near the north; it's actually more towards the south. You'll spend big bucks traveling back and forth via taxi. I definitely recommend staying somewhere in the north. Lots more to do and see compared to the south. <BR><BR>Marigot is similar to the south in that it's quiet. There's not much to do in Marigot but relax and it's far from most activities. And from here it's still a trek to the north - about a $50 round-trip taxi ride for two.<BR><BR>I've stayed (for 3 or more days) in the south, Marigot, and the north. I muich prefer the north but a day excursion to the south with a stop in Marigot is a worthwhile trip

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

It is not necessarily true that there is more to do in the north part of St. Lucia than the south. It depends on what you want to do. The north is the best place to stay if you want a more commercially developed area with lots of restaurants and nightspots within easy access. However, if you want to be closest to the areas that have the most natural beauty (waterfalls, rain forest, the incomparable Pitons), then it's no contest-- the south part of St. Lucia is by far the prettiest, most romantic and visually awesome place you can go. We were not much intersted in going out on the town when we went to St. Lucia. We went there to unwind and enjoy the natural scenery If that's what you want, go to the south part of St. Lucia and stay in the first class Jalousie. Staying in the north and doing a day trip to the south to see the scenery does not afford you nearly enough time to take in all the scenery there is to see. By the way, the stories about people being harrassed by beggars are overblown. We rarely encountered any and the ones who did try to sell us something were pleasant even if we turned them down.

T

The Royal ST.Lucian is in the Rodney Bay area ,and it is on THE best beach of ST.Lucia (Reduit beach )!If you want something a little less money ,check out the Rex ,it's right next door.I've been there quite a few years ago...

St Lucia fan

If you want to stay for a week in the north I'd recommend the Royal St. Lucian - it's not like the all inclusive resorts - really nice with a friendly staff and very close to lots of restaurants - their restaurant is also good. We also stayed at ladera I agree it was unique but it's in the south close to the hilton and I think it's best to stay some of the time in the north so you can see more of the island!

Mary

xxxxxxxxxxxxx: Either you were lucky not to encounter beggars in the south or we were unlucky. Guess if just depends on when you go.<BR><BR>Amy: On our first trip to St. Lucia we stayed in the north. We did a day trip to Marigot Bay, the pitons, the underground volcano (nothing spectacular), the rainforest, and a waterfall with hot springs. This cost was $60 per person - bargain that included lunch. <BR><BR>We went back to St. Lucia a second time to check in more sites in the south, thinking we missed so much during the first trip. During this trip we visited the botanical gardents - nice but nothing extravagant, and hiked one of the pitons. As it turned out, we saw everything we needed to see during our first trip. <BR><BR>If you want to hang out in these natural areas and be in view of the pitons all the time, then this place is for you. If you want more variety, than I'd suggest staying in the north with a full daytrip to the south. JMO

anon

how about the new sandals grande st lucian? It is up near pigeon island. Formerly the Hyatt. It just re-opened last month.

Anon

Hi Amy,<BR><BR>We split our vacation 18 months ago between Marigot Bay & Soufriere and absolutely loved it. Rodney Bay is OK, but like so many other Caribbean islands. If you are going to St. Lucia, you should enjoy the scenic beauty it has to offer and all it takes is a little extra research. There is a hotel called Oasis consisting of villas & apartments. The web site is www.oasismarigot.com. They have a variety of accommodations most of which are available only by ferry (1 minute).Then there is a large house good for 4 or more located at the top of the bay - also part of the same hotel. You will make reservations in Canada and they can take care of everything for you. They also offer sailing excursions. The exact counterpart to the Jalousie as far as luxury and style would be the former Hyatt as mentioned in the post above. Also, you can go to the various websites for St. Lucia and find additional villas located to the north of Rodney Bay. Some of them look very interesting. Have fun! Two weeks in St. Lucia sounds great!

Joan

Hi, we just came back. We spent one week at Ladera in Soufriere and loved it. Then we stayed a week at La Paloma Villa in Vigie which was incredible. We were spoiled by Roseline (the cook). Private villas are great, works out cheaper and you have the place to yourself.

Rachel

We stayed at a villa in Soufriere and one in the north. We really enjoyed our vacation. Totally independent, use the pool when you want with only our family with us. We had a good cook too. We saved so much by shopping ourselves and having the cook prepare our meals. Instead of paying EC$8 for a beer we paid EC$1.60. I don't think we will stay in hotel while on vacation again...especially not an all-inclusive "summer camp".