Need Advice
Mar 27th, 2004, 05:44 AM
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Need Advice
Looking to book an awesome honeymoon the first week in June. St. Lucia looks awesome. The only thing I'm concerned about is the water not being a perfect blue. Everything else on the island seems to make up for it though. I'm debating between two hotels Royal St. Lucian and Windjammer. Can anyone give me advice on which one to pick? Thanks.
Mar 29th, 2004, 06:00 AM
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First of all, congrats on the honeymoon. St. Lucia is a very romantic place to begin married life. I for one think the water is beautiful, but since the island is of volcanic rather than coral origin, the water there is a deeper shade of blue. The sand is darker and the water deepens quickly rather than gradually, which also contribute to the darker water look. I've never stayed at either Windjammer or Royal St. Lucian, so I can't offer up advice in that department. However, if you don't mind being in a more remote section of the island, I have to say that the southern part near the Pitons is far more romantic and beautiful a setting than the northern part of the island. There are three hotels near the Pitons that would be perfect for a honeymoon. A previous poster already mentioned Anse Chastenet and Ladera, and Jalousie Hilton is the third. I would strongly suggest that you look into all three of these for an unparalleled romantic escape IF you do not mind being in a remote section of the island. Ladera and Jalousie both offer private plunge pools with their rooms, for example. And Jalousie and Anse Chastenet have probably the best snorkeling off the beach in the whole island. All three offer rooms up the side of the hill or mountatin, so they have fabulous views. And Jalousie has a really good spa for pampering. Anse Chastenet and Ladera both have open air rooms for a complete escape into nature. Jalousie offers more traditional luxuries like large, individual cottages for roooms, with A/C, huge bathrooms, sitting area, and outdoor bar by the plunge pools. Depending on your vacation style, I don't doubt that one of these places would be perfect for you.
Mar 29th, 2004, 07:32 AM
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Ejcrowe is right, the southern part is remote, there really aren't any places to go to outside of the resorts in that part of the island. I've visited Ladera this past February - the place is stunning. Be aware that they use Jalousie Hilton's beach (there is a shuttle that takes you down), so if you want to be right on the beach, perhaps Anse Chastnet would be the place for you - I've heard nothing but great reviews on this place. We stayed at the Windjammer (in the northern part of the island) in February during President's week and there were a lot of children. I've heard from other people that during the off-season there aren't as many children then. There are many places to visit outside Windjammer. Rodney Bay (where all the restaurants are located) is a 10 minute taxi ride, as well as Casties, which is about 15 minutes away. Windjammer is beautiful - very lush. The water does not suddenly drop off on the northern part of the island, as opposed to the resorts located between or near the Pitons. Wherever you choose to stay you will be pleased as the island and its people are just beautiful.
Mar 29th, 2004, 08:15 AM
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I am not sure what you consider a "perfect" blue. The water is definitely blue. But if you want an awesome honeymoon, I agree with the others about considering Ladera, Anse Chastenet or Jalousie Hilton. Believe me, there is NOTHING like staring at those Pitons framing the sea.
Mar 29th, 2004, 10:00 AM
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Hi Ross4,
St.Lucia is a wonderful island to honeymoon!
Either the Royal or the Windjammer could be great places for you, it all depends on what type of honeymoon your looking for.
Royal St.Lucian is located on the North western part of island. It is located on Reduit Beach. This is the Rodney Bay/Gros Inlet area. This is what I would call a more traditional in Beach areas as you have the longer stretch of beach, lined with a few other resorts also, walk to area restaurants and bars, etc. There will be more action going on in this area, including on the beach. The beaches in St.Lucia are public and this is one of the most populated of beaches.
A little farther south will be the Windjammer Landing. They are located on there own small cove beach. You do have the darker golden brown sand here. The water here did not appear as pretty as some other parts of the island. Property looked to be lush and beautiful. I wouldn't mind staying there myself. You will need to taxi off property here as it is not a walk to location. But as Squiggy mentioned the taxi times to Rodney Bay and Castries isn't to bad.
Now for our favorite part of the island and our first choice, for the different, the romantic, and the exotic. I have to second ejcrowe's post!!!
Sorry to throw the suggestions out there for you if you had narrowed down to the two resorts you mentioned. But Ladera, and the Jalousie Hilton, and also Anse Chastenet, are just to darn incredible to go unmentioned!!!
The beach at the Jalousie Hilton is just stunning, in its location between the Pitons. The water is just beautiful against the white imported sand. Yes, the water does get deep quickly, but it is a great swimming beach and wonderful for water sports, from snorkeling(ok) to great diving from shore.
As far as Squiggy posted that "there really aren't anyplaces to go outside the resorts in that part of the island."
I guess that depends on what you are looking to do outside the resort?
Yes, this is a remote area, but it is right on the edge of the rain forest for hiking and biking and horse back riding. Most of the scuba diving hot spots are right there. There are waterfalls and mineral baths. There is even a wonderful thermal/waterfall/mineral bath right outside the entrance to the Jalousie Hilton that you can hike to.
And believe it or not there are restaurants also! Yes, you will need to taxi to these also just like from the Windjammer. But there are some great places to get around to in the area. To name a few, Dasheene at Ladera, Bang, the Hummingbird, Mango at Stonefield, Mago Estates, the Old Courthouse in Soufriere, and others.
Side note...Believe me when I say that with staying at Ladera, you will NOT mind the short shuttle to the beach at the Jalousie Hilton or Anse Chastenet. There incredible rooms with plunge pools more then make up for it. But, we did and will do again, split our stay between Ladera and the Jalousie. Anse Chastenet, is also a must do for us, but, will not be looking forward to the stairs to the beach, and it will be hard to give up the private plunge pools.
Where ever you choose, your surely to enjoy this beautiful island and her people!
Donna
St.Lucia is a wonderful island to honeymoon!
Either the Royal or the Windjammer could be great places for you, it all depends on what type of honeymoon your looking for.
Royal St.Lucian is located on the North western part of island. It is located on Reduit Beach. This is the Rodney Bay/Gros Inlet area. This is what I would call a more traditional in Beach areas as you have the longer stretch of beach, lined with a few other resorts also, walk to area restaurants and bars, etc. There will be more action going on in this area, including on the beach. The beaches in St.Lucia are public and this is one of the most populated of beaches.
A little farther south will be the Windjammer Landing. They are located on there own small cove beach. You do have the darker golden brown sand here. The water here did not appear as pretty as some other parts of the island. Property looked to be lush and beautiful. I wouldn't mind staying there myself. You will need to taxi off property here as it is not a walk to location. But as Squiggy mentioned the taxi times to Rodney Bay and Castries isn't to bad.
Now for our favorite part of the island and our first choice, for the different, the romantic, and the exotic. I have to second ejcrowe's post!!!
Sorry to throw the suggestions out there for you if you had narrowed down to the two resorts you mentioned. But Ladera, and the Jalousie Hilton, and also Anse Chastenet, are just to darn incredible to go unmentioned!!!
The beach at the Jalousie Hilton is just stunning, in its location between the Pitons. The water is just beautiful against the white imported sand. Yes, the water does get deep quickly, but it is a great swimming beach and wonderful for water sports, from snorkeling(ok) to great diving from shore.
As far as Squiggy posted that "there really aren't anyplaces to go outside the resorts in that part of the island."
I guess that depends on what you are looking to do outside the resort?
Yes, this is a remote area, but it is right on the edge of the rain forest for hiking and biking and horse back riding. Most of the scuba diving hot spots are right there. There are waterfalls and mineral baths. There is even a wonderful thermal/waterfall/mineral bath right outside the entrance to the Jalousie Hilton that you can hike to.
And believe it or not there are restaurants also! Yes, you will need to taxi to these also just like from the Windjammer. But there are some great places to get around to in the area. To name a few, Dasheene at Ladera, Bang, the Hummingbird, Mango at Stonefield, Mago Estates, the Old Courthouse in Soufriere, and others.
Side note...Believe me when I say that with staying at Ladera, you will NOT mind the short shuttle to the beach at the Jalousie Hilton or Anse Chastenet. There incredible rooms with plunge pools more then make up for it. But, we did and will do again, split our stay between Ladera and the Jalousie. Anse Chastenet, is also a must do for us, but, will not be looking forward to the stairs to the beach, and it will be hard to give up the private plunge pools.
Where ever you choose, your surely to enjoy this beautiful island and her people!
Donna
Mar 29th, 2004, 10:11 AM
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I had forgot to mention that you may want to check out this web. site for virtual tours of the beaches at these resorts in St.Lucia.
I do think they are pretty true to the looks, but in all, they do appear larger then in real life.
Go to St.Lucia and then to each resort, then click on the virual tours at the bottom right hand corner
www.tradewindtours.com
Donna
I do think they are pretty true to the looks, but in all, they do appear larger then in real life.
Go to St.Lucia and then to each resort, then click on the virual tours at the bottom right hand corner
www.tradewindtours.com
Donna
Apr 2nd, 2004, 10:37 AM
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Thank you all for your informative replies. From all my research it looks as though expedia has the cheapest packages to St Lucia. Please post if any of you knows a better site to book on and thanks again!
Apr 6th, 2004, 08:59 AM
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Ross, I got married in SL last year. We stayed one week at Anse and the second week at the Royal (we were married in early May). Totally different and each excellent.
The Royal is probably the closest to a five star the island has. Really nice beach and lots of restaurants nearby. Plus Castries is a close (on a recommendation we took the bus and it was fun) so there's shopping nearby. If you stay there be sure to do the beach barbecue on Wednesday (I think).
At the Royal the water is crystal clear but no reefs so no fish. And that's the down side, not a lot of sightseeing/water activity. Most of that is down by Anse/ La Dera/ Hilton Jal. Great snorkeling and diving and lots to do from climbing the Pitons to rainforest walks. We sailed and were driven to a rainforest waterfall. It was an awesome week. Be sure to do Bang! if you stay down south.
We Expedia'd most of our package but did Anse separately. That way we could take advantage of the free day offer.
Feel free to email me if you have questions.
The Royal is probably the closest to a five star the island has. Really nice beach and lots of restaurants nearby. Plus Castries is a close (on a recommendation we took the bus and it was fun) so there's shopping nearby. If you stay there be sure to do the beach barbecue on Wednesday (I think).
At the Royal the water is crystal clear but no reefs so no fish. And that's the down side, not a lot of sightseeing/water activity. Most of that is down by Anse/ La Dera/ Hilton Jal. Great snorkeling and diving and lots to do from climbing the Pitons to rainforest walks. We sailed and were driven to a rainforest waterfall. It was an awesome week. Be sure to do Bang! if you stay down south.
We Expedia'd most of our package but did Anse separately. That way we could take advantage of the free day offer.
Feel free to email me if you have questions.
