Hotel help: My boyfriend & I are going in Mid June. We will be staying in the south-Soufriere-maybe for about 2/3 nights to relax & sightsee. Where do you recommend staying; Hilton, Stonefield, Inn on the Bay-we don't need luxury accom. just romance and good restraunts. We know we have to drive most places in the South. Or another area? The next 5 nights will be in the north-Castries or Gros Islet where all the action, shopping, nightlife & water sports are. Where do you recommend, the Royal or Rex St.Lucian, Windjammer, Bay Gardens Hotel--we want to be able to walk to most places. Would prefer both hotels to have on beach access, but definately one place. Just want a place not so "americanized". We want culture, but nice & safe. Thanks!

Hilton Jalousie - definetly....we went on our honeymoon to st.Lucia and our driver snuck us on to the property to take a look - WOW we just sort of hung out for a while and oogled....wow.

For you other days anthing on REduit Beach - only really good beach in St.Lucia...don't don't stay in CAstries - just my opinion.

Royal St. Lucian and Rex St. Lucian are in more touristy areas, right on the beach and you can walk to restaurants and other hotels, watersports etc. The Royal St. Lucian is fancier but I really didn't like Reduit Bay. It was busy and not very pretty. Windjammer would be a nicer place but more isolated. You are going to have to trade romance for accessibility in St. Lucia, in my opinion.

We loved the Jalousie Hilton. It's situated right between the Pitons, which loom --literally-- on either side of the beach. Food was excellent, and guests are a mix of Americans and Europians.

Windjammer, Windjammer, Windjammer! Yes, it is a little isolated, you can take a taxi into Rodney Bay for dinner/night life its about $10 to Rodney Bay and $16 to Castries (had no problem sharing cab/fare with others going into either town). The beach at Windjammer is very pretty and the resort itself is extremely lush and beautiful. We went in February with our 8 year-old (during school break) and there were lots of children. I'm told that during low-season there aren't as many children, however there is a pool amongst the villas (located by Papa Don's restaurant) that was, during our 9 day stay, nearly deserted so we came up here for some quiet time. There were also tons of honeymooners/couples here and none seemed to be bothered by the children, everyone here was having a BLAST. The 4 restaurants (as well as the beach grill) were very good. Dragonfly (their upscale restaurant) was okay, but not worth the price. We did not do all inclusive because we like to try different restaurants in town. Both Rodney Bay and Castries have some very good restaurants (The Coal Pot in Castries was FABULOUS!!). I would highly recommend Windjammer. We did a day trip to Soufriere, had lunch at Ladera (another place to consider - sorry!) and saw the Jalousie Hilton (both are breathtaking resorts). The Hilton is right on the beach between the Pitons, Ladera is up the hill and uses Hilton's beach (Ladera is adults only). Hope this helps! Good luck and have fun on your trip!