parkcitygal

We'll be staying in St Lucia for 10 days. We'll be at the Royal St. Lucian for the first 5 and then plan on moving to the Piton area. We like deluxe accomodations as close to the beach as possible, which is why we are thinking about the Jalousie over the other two hotels by the Pitons. Has anyone stayed there that could give us information on which type of room to stay in to get us closest to the beach?

Also, our reservations are not yet finalized. If you'd recommend another hotel over the Jalousie, please let me know. Thanks!!!

Kimberly

The Jalousie Hilton is a beautiful resort and a super location, the only thing we experienced was it was a little expensive (food and drink wise).

DerekD

No rooms are really near the beach. The closest rooms to the beach are the Sugar Mill rooms but they are not as private or spacious as the villa suites. I would try to book an "ocean view" villa suite. Although you won't see much of the ocean, these villas are closest to the beach. The mountain view villa suites will have stunning views but it is a steep long walk to the main building and beach. The vans do come around frequently so you won't need to wait long but it is a consideration.

For location, the Jalousie Hilton can't be beat -- right smack between the Pitons. There is also good snorkelling off the beach.

parkcitygal

What do you mean "not as private"??? Is the balcony private?

ejcrowe

Well, the Sugar Mill rooms are not as private because they're not freestanding cottages like the other rooms. You'll have noise from neighbors through the walls, etc. They're more like a regular hotel room.

In my opinion it doesn't make sense to stay at the Jalousie and not stay in one of the villas. They're spacious, private, and each has its own plunge pool. Since you're already coming from a resort on the beach, I truly recommend that you skip staying as close to the beach as possible at Jalousie. The lower down on the mountainside you are, the closer you'll be to the helipad, which can get quite noisy depending on how busy the resort is at the time you're there. We were lower down on the hillside and only heard the helicopter about twice a day, so it was not an issue for us, but others have complained about it.

Another option would be the deluxe beachfront rooms at Anse Chastenet, but they are farther from the Pitons than Jalousie is. Ladera and Stonefield Villas are on the mountainside and thus have no beachfront rooms.

My first stay in the Caribbean was at the Jalousie, and while I regret that the hotel is part of a large corporate chain, it was a wonderful vacation and is hands down the most amazing location I've ever seen for a hotel. The food is outclassed by the setting, to put it kindly, but it is certainly tolerable. Their best successes in my opinion were the simpler fares--the beach BBQ, the sandwiches & salads at lunch. The "gourmet" dining room tried to reproduce too many heavy European dishes that were entirely inappropriate for the climate and overall they failed to take advantage of the fresh produce and seafood available in the area.