St. Lucia in October with a baby!
 

My husband and 10 month old and I are looking into staying at Anse Chastanet in St. Lucia in the beginning of October. Does anyone have any thoughts on this resort? It is supposed to be beautiful, but will it be a good place to bring a very well behaved baby? Is St. Lucia a good place to be with a baby? We live in New York so we can get a good deal to many islands. I have had my heart set on relaxing on an lovely island with culture! We normally avoid touristy areas, but with a baby we will be more comfortable with a baby. Any thoughts?<BR>

Hi Jolie,<BR><BR>Me again. My husband and I stayed at Anse Chastent years ago before we had kids, so things will have probably changed. It is very beautiful, but we had to climb up and down the mountain from our room to the beach. This might bea little tough with a baby plus gear. Also, it was a dark sand beach which got very hot! <BR><BR>We have also stayed at La Toc but I don't know what it is called now, I think it changed hands. That has a nice pool area and easier access to the beach.<BR><BR>What about Anguilla? Have a look at www.news.ai to see if it appeals to you.

St. Lucia is very hilly and mountainous...so be prepared for narrow, winding curves & roads. Very scenic & I loved it! Don't know if I'd bring baby there; it's kind of far.

i've heard mixed reviews on anse chastanet. apparently some rooms are beautiful; others are terrible. maybe check out the jalousie hilton instead - which i've heard is very nice also, if your heart is set on st. lucia.<BR><BR>i was in grenada at laluna earlier this year & there was a couple w/ a baby having a nice time. there's a large covered seating area by the pool w/ a balinese day bed that they staked out every morning which worked well w/ the baby. also grenada is out of the hurricane belt and the airport is super close to the hotel area. there are some direct flights from ny, once or twice a week. www.laluna.com<BR><BR>jamaica has lots of culture & is an easy 4 hour direct flight away. ritz carlton in montego bay is supposed to be great.<BR><BR>good luck!

If you do decide on St. Lucia, the Club St. Lucia is great for families. All inclusive, beautiful resort, nice pools, great coves and beaches, great variety of food, water sports included. The rooms are not "elegant," but more on the simple side. But I loved it! Great island!

I don't think I'd go to St. Lucia in October with a baby. I'm in the NYC metro area, too. St. Lucia's travel includes a change in San Juan or Montego Bay (or even Barbados, depending on airline) and I'M Whiny after this long trip. October is still hurricane season, so if you REALLY want to avoid hurricane season completely, consider Aruba. The Marriott in Aruba is more family oriented, and has a casino also. My friend liked it there very much. With a family, if you haven't already, consider becoming a Marriott Rewards Member, where you get points for each stay at their many US/worldwide properties. Hurricane season for most of the Carribbean is thru November. Air Aruba from JFK is about 4-1/2 hours. Hope this helps.

We go to Windjammer Landing every year with my 7 yr. old, but when he was a baby we went to Beaches at Negril, Jamica. They have a great nursery set up for babies with cribs and toys, etc. It was a very relaxing vacation and gave us a nice break to have him watched during nap time and it gave us time to have some nice dinners to ourselves.

Please don't bring your baby on vacation. We had a crying baby next door to us and the freakin' thing kept us up and woke us up at the crack of dawn every morning -- on our vacation!!! Be considerate to people who are ON VACATION and who don't want a wailing brat in the next room. You might think your child is adorable, but most strangers just want to relax and will really be annoyed, trust me.

Why do people on this forum continue to give unsolicited advice about not bringing children on vacation????? Jolie didn't ask whether she should or shouldn't bring the baby, just about an appropriate destination. This forum is wonderful for giving suggestions to people who do travel with children and there are resorts out there geared towards vacationing with family of all ages. It's a good thing for Brat that we're researching these spots! I'm sure he'll choose to vacation at a resort that caters to adults-only on his next trip.<BR><BR>Jolie, you may want to check a thread that I started last week &quot;luxury vacation with young children?&quot; - I rec'd some great suggestions from other travelers about many Caribbean destinations.

Jolie: I definitely would not recommend Anse Chastenet with a baby!! I don't think St. Lucia is a good place to bring a baby. There are a number of reasons: the long drives from the airport, twisty, windy roads. However, that being said, there were quite a few young children and babies at the Jalousie Hilton and I think the Hilton would be much better geared to a baby than Anse Chastenet. Others have made some very good suggestions in the north.