We are heading to Sandals Halcyon in St.Lucia for the first week of August. Any advice/suggestions/warnings re which room to book, which tours to see, which restaurant to attend. etc.? Tks.

Danielle, <BR>We were at Sandal's Halcyon at the beginning of March for a week and had a wonderful time. We booked a deluxe room, which is their lowest. All of the rooms at the Halcyon were basically the same except for location, so I would book the cheapest one. We didn't have a view, but it didn't really matter. We were close to the Sunset Pool, if you have a map of the resort (or go to sandals.com), we were in the Ciceron blocks. We would book the same room category again if we returned. <BR> <BR>We took the day sail to Soufriere which cost about $85 each, I would highly recommend it. Everyone who went on it really enjoyed it. You sail on a huge catamaran down to Soufriere near the Pitons, then go to the volcano and a botanical garden. You have lunch at a restaurant, then on the way back you stop for snorkeling. We also went deep sea fishing, the cost was about $100 per person. My husband got quite sick as they take you several miles out, I didn't feel well either and couldn't wait until it was over! The crew was very nice though. <BR> <BR>Our favorite restaurants were Mario's (Italian), Kimono's (Japanese), La Toc (French), and the Pier (Seafood/island cooking). The service was kind of slow at La Toc and the Pier, but we were on vacation so it really didn't matter. Be sure to book the restaurants that need reserving either the day you arrive or the next morning. When we were there, only Mario's and Kimono's required reservations. We also liked the Grill for lunch or a snack, Estelle who works the grill gets to know everyones name (amazing!).

We spent our honeymoon here and it was terrific... wish we were there right now! We also booked Deluxe room and received a complimentary up-grade when we arrived. I also didn't see much difference between rooms (unless ocean view is extremely important?)& would book deluxe or premium (room we were upgraded to) again. <BR>The food and service at Halcyon is terrific. We absolutely loved Estelle (works at the Grill and should be voted 'best employee' for sure: very freindly and yep=she knew our name the 1st day we arrived!) and staff like her made the trip extra special. Our favorite restaurant was THE PIER (awesome Beef Wellington and jumbo shrimps, etc.), but we liked every one we tried. Be sure to try this restaurant + La Toc (dress up a bit); Kimonos (lots of fun and great stirfry's); and Mario's. All terrific... we enjoyed the Bayside buffet for breakfast and then ate at the grill everyday (great burgers, nachos, etc.) for a late lunch. BAyside (buffet) sometimes featured a la carte dining and it was good, but not as good as the 'specialty' restaurants. <BR>Anyhow, i've taken up enough room here... I will send you a copy of my trip report that outlines our stay and things to do in ST. Lucia, etc..... <BR> <BR>Leslie.

lookup www.sandalsbeaches.com for info on room categories at Sandals Halcyon. we stayed there last year and loved it.

We just returned from our honeymoon at Sandals Halcyon three days ago. We had a fabulous time. The food was excellent everywhere we went. We especially loved the Pier and the Pitons (at the other Sandals)restaurants. The only restaurants requiring reservations when we were there were Mario's and La Toc. Be sure your husband takes plenty of collared shirts, since that is the preferred dress for dinner at any of the restaurants. (Dress shorts are ok for all except Mario's and La Toc, which require long pants.) <BR>The rooms appear to be identical except for location. You can hear street traffic from the ones at the back of the resort, but it's not loud or intrusive. The grounds of the resort are lush and beautiful. The water was calm and lovely. The watersports were plentiful. DEFINITELY take every opportunity to go snorkeling. It was my favorite thing. I heard people complain about the 1.5 hour bus ride from the airport, but our ride was perfectly fine, taking into account that the roads are winding and narrow. The driver was careful and even stopped for picture-taking on the way back to the airport. <BR>The staff at Halcyon was quite friendly, but don't expect to be absolutely pampered. It's more of a comfortable make-yourself-at-home kind of atmosphere, which I thought was great. <BR>Take plenty of bug repellant. I was eaten up by mosquitoes, who managed to get into our room despite our best efforts. <BR>We took the daysail, which was great, but the attractions were more crowded than I expected, since lots of cruise-ship people were also touring the sites. We took a one-hour horseback ride that took us along a beach. It was fun. We also took a shopping shuttle into Castries, and had a good time at the markets. <BR>All in all, we had a great time. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

We just got back from the larger sandals, april 10th, liked it much better <BR>than the smaller one. The halcyon <BR>was beautiful back the night time <BR>entertainment seemed a bit boring <BR>we dined at Marios and the Pier and Had to look at all the faces of people <BR>bored watching what ever was on the stage. If you want to have fun AND relax. Stay at the larger one <BR>If you want the fun its there, if not relax. They had great bartenders and gracious poeple waiting on you <BR>Look up icobob, sylvestor, or Jimmy <BR>these guys will make your trip fun <BR>E Mail me if you have questions.. <BR> <BR>