beach lover

the cottages all have patios in front with balinese couches w/ cushions, a plunge pool (v. small).<BR>inside you have king size canopy beds, built-in seating w/ cushions, side tables with lamps, tv & vcr (the front desk has a collection of classic/popular movies), air conditioning w/ temperature control remote controls, closet w/ hangers, shelves & private digital safe.<BR>the bathrooms have wooden shutters, standing shower, separate toilet. the fixtures (ie doorknobs, faucet etc) are modern and cool.<BR>the staff will serve you your food anywhere you want, be it at the bar, by the beach, or in your room. as charles says, there are no rules.<BR>the menu is the same every day except for the daily fish and pasta specials.<BR>the pool connects the restaurant with the bar/lounge area and is not much of a pool, it's quite small and shallow and is best to use to rinse off in. that's the only thing that i thought was misrepresented in the website. it is a very small pool.<BR>the setting is very very romantic. the beach is lined with trees so there are plenty of areas to be in the partial shade. the view is to die for and the sunsets are gorgeous. the roof over the lounge area and restaurant are from vietnam, bamboo & thatched and all the furniture is balinese. there are several areas where you can lounge and have a drink/rest, and lots of magazines left behind from other visitors as well as a few coffee books to browse through. one of the couches is a day bed.<BR>all the cottages have views of the ocean as far as i could tell. we stayed in the first cottage, number 204 and we had a view of the back of the kitchen area too which wasn't so nice but it didn't bother us too much as we didn't spend too much time at the room.<BR>the cottages are lined up but staggered so you're not right next to another unless you're in the regular cottages further up the hill in which case there are two rooms adjacent to each other separated by a wall. don't worry you're not plainly visible from anyone.

Peggy

Thank you so much for the detailed reply! We are always looking for new upscale small properties but that are relaxed & not pretentious. Also room service breakfast is a priority to me! Plus do they have the usual water toys; kayaks, Hobie Cats, for my husband to be entertained with. Are they included in the price or extra?When I read on their website "shoes are discouraged" it sounded better & better! Now just the hassle of getting there from the US west coast! Thanks again.

beach lover

peggy:<BR>yes they have kayaks and hobie cats and they are at no additional charge. and like i said before, there are guys riding past every now & then w/ wave runners.<BR>glad to be of help!<BR>i got photos back so if anyone wants to see them, please email me.

Anne

Hi Beach Lover,<BR>Sounds like you had a wonderful time-<BR>How was the weather? I have been checking weather.com and it looked like it rained every day?! We would like to travel to Grenada next May and the weather is are only concern-we are from Oregon so we want to see the sun =)<BR>

Betsy

Hurray for beachlover....Welcome back<BR>and thanks so much for the excellent <BR>trip report (P.S.--I sent you an email, <BR>looking forward to hearing from you soon!) Would you go back???<BR>Message to Peggy: <BR>You mentioned you must depart from the West Coast. I was wondering ...from where, if you don't mind. We made our reservations for this Sept, and we are departing from Las Vegas. We found a pretty darn good route, if you are interested in hearing, let me know. --Betsy

beach lover

peggy: the weather was basically clear although we had a few partly cloudy days. it did rain twice, but only for a few minutes, and the clouds were never around for too long. actually it was nice that there were some clouds; the sun is so strong down in grenada! also it gives you an excuse to do the island tour, but we are such sun worshippers we couldn't quite give up our beachtime! fyi the "wet" season is supposedly from june though...<BR>hi betsy! got your email, i will get back to you later today after i've scanned my photos. i would definitely go back, more on that later!

Peggy

Betsy, We leave from LAX. Didn't think to check from other airports. Most routes would be to NY & then Grenada. Not sure if I want 2 days of travel! Any info you have I would appreciate. I've just started to look at LaLuna or Spice Island as possible destinations for us. South Pacific is actually easier & non stop for us but I'd like to go back to the Caribb if the place was worth it. Thanks! And thank you beachlover for all the good info. I'll e-mail you for those photos!

beach lover

betsy i emailed you back. let me know if you didn't get the photos!

Betsy

Msg: Beachlover: Got the amazing email <BR>and I WAS able to view pictures.<BR>They are great..I wish it was sept. already. I emailed you back, but forgot to say: Prices are still inexpensv (290 per nite for deluxe cottage) as Sept is still not considered "the" time to go. I just pray for nice weather. I forgot to ask about the machineel trees...did you encounter any on the property? Also, in the pix, the cottages look like there is a tiny little attachment, is that the bathroom part that I see from the outside view? I'll email you again anyway. You details and trip reports are to be commended&gt;&gt;!!! Betsy

Venecia

Laluna is a beautiful, rustically elegant hotel. I highly recommend it at the off-season rate. If you visit the website at laluna.com you get an excellent idea of what the hotel really looks like.<BR><BR><BR>FOOD:<BR>The food at Laluna is exceptional. The food was so good that we signed up for the meal plan for the last 3 days of our stay. The meal plan is $55 US per person per day and includes a la carte breakfast and dinner. The standard fare is available for breakfast and for dinner you have a wonderful array of dishes to choose from. You can order anything from the enormous fresh lobster (we saw the fresh catch coming in one day and our mouths watered), to pasta to standards like filet mignon and chicken breast prepared with wonderful sauces – and all dishes are presented beautifully. It is no wonder that Conde Nast named the restaurant one of the Hot 100 Tables in the world in 2001.<BR><BR>ROOMS:<BR>We stayed in a cottage deluxe - the deluxe part means that you have your own cottage that is unattached to any other cottage. Definitely pay the extra few bucks for this option so you can have the added privacy. We had number 6. All the cottages with the exception of #1 require a hike up stairs or steep ramp. Even though cottage #1 is a deluxe and is the only one close to the beach I would not recommend it because it is at the same level as the bar and only a few hundred feet from the bar which equals less privacy if you want to hang out on the veranda or plunge pool and possible noise if there are folks hanging at the bar while you try to sleep. However, if you can’t walk up stairs or if a fully unobstructed view is your top priority then cottage #1 is your only option.<BR>The room itself is exactly as seen on the Laluna website. EXACTLY. Great d&eacute;cor and soft clean bedding. Be aware that the bathroom is an open air bathroom but it does have a roof and walls…what is open air about it is that the walls have large cut-outs with slats or bamboo shades for privacy.<BR><BR>SERVICE:<BR>I can’t say that the service was poor. It was just slow but no one was ever rude and our meals were never screwed up. Do you expect better when you’re paying $290 plus 18% tax per night plus meals? Yes, but I could live with it the way that it was.<BR><BR>POOL / BEACH:<BR>You have to stake claim to your chairs early in the morning (by 9:30am) so that you are not left without one. The pool itself is kind of small – it’s certainly not a swimming pool unless you’re in there by yourself. The beach however is perfect…calm, warm, clear…and generally free from beach vendors.