Help! We are planning to make St. Lucia our honeymoon get away mid March of 2000 and at first planned on going to one of the Sandals Resorts. However, I have since read so much in this forum about how great Ladera Resort is and need help deciding. My fiance wants to be sure there are plenty of activities and is afraid that while Ladera is obviously quite beautiful, it is too remote and there won't be enough to do. We are both frequent travelers and want to have a great experience, both very relaxing AND very active. Advice? Thanks! <BR>

My wife and I just got back from our 15th anniversary to St. Lucia without the kids. We stayed at Ladera for 5 nights. We loved Ladera so much, we plan to go back sometime and stay there. I can only comment on the area near Soufriere, not the north where Sandals is. As Ladera is up on a hill overlooking the most gorgeous view, we did get to go visit the Hilton below us as well as Anse Chastenet. Ladera stood out in comparison. Each room at Ladera has the "open wall" facing the ocean bordered by the Pitons. Day and night it is superior. One night I got up at 4am and it was a full moon faced us. It was so wonderful, I had to take pictures. <BR> <BR>The food is exquisite at Ladera. We also ventured into town a couple of nights and ate lunch at both the Hilton and Anse Chastenet. Note: a person I spoke with at A.C. said the food was better at Ladera as well as the accomodations (too many bugs at A.C.) <BR> <BR>The people at Ladera are very helpful and will help arrange anything you might want to do. You can stay there all day or take their shuttles down to the 2 main beaches (Hilton or Anse Chastenet). <BR> <BR>Ladera tries to reinforce the St. Lucian culture as they try to have everything made locally. This goes for the wood and stone to build their resort down to the tilework and pottery throughout the place. You don't need to worry too much about bugs....as there is a gentle breeze, not so at the other 2 resorts. <BR> <BR>We ate at the Court House restaurant and Captain Hooks in Soufriere. The food was all local and wonderful.....more food than we could eat. <BR> <BR>If you have any questions, you can email me!

Even though I haven't been to St. Lucia yet, my fiance and I are getting married there in April 2000 and we've been doing lots of research. My sense is that Sandals and similar all-inclusive places have lots & lots to do on the grounds of the resort--parties, group activities, sports, etc, and lots of opportunities to meet other couples. Ladera seems like just a beautiful and peaceful place to relax. If you want activities you leave the grounds of the hotel to take a hike in the rain forest, or take the shuttle to Anse Chastanet for snorkeling. I think the hotel can arrange tours for you. <BR> <BR>We've already decided on Ladera so I'm probably somewhat prejudiced, but I prefer the latter of these two options. I want to spend our "activities time" getting out and seeing the island. I think I'd feel cheated if I spend my whole honeymoon on the grounds of the resort, no matter how nice it might be. I also don't care much about meeting up with other couples, but that's just me. I suppose it all depends on what you're looking for. <BR> <BR>Hope this helps! Again, I haven't been to the island yet so if I'm off base someone please let me know.

Hi, <BR>I am getting married this december and we are going to St. Lucia. What we did <BR>was book Sandals St. Lucia for 6 nights <BR>and then Ladera for 3 nights, that way <BR>we get the best of both worlds. We want <BR>the glitzy resort with huge pools and <BR>lots of activities and a big variety of <BR>food. But also want the beauty and relaxation of Ladera... with our own <BR>pool in the room! We will be back from <BR>our honeymoon mid december, so will write more then! Good Luck!

If you are a frequent traveler and very active, you will not be happy at Sandals. <BR> <BR>Since you travel a lot, you will find the service and dining sub-par--even by Caribbean standards. <BR> <BR>The clientele is largely inactive with the primary activity lounging around the pool and drinking. <BR>

Thanks for all your replies. <BR> <BR>Does any one have any comments about the level of "activities" available at Ladera as compared to Sandals? <BR>

Ladera is fantastic, gorgeous, glorious. And there are PLENTY of activities on the island of St. Lucia -- we were not bored for one second, and we were there for an entire week. But you can't spend that entire week without ever leaving the grounds of Ladera -- it's just not that big a place! And you wouldn't want to. Most of the "activities" are elsewhere on the island of St. Lucia, most of them very close by, but not on the grounds of Ladera's resort. Ladera has incredible rooms, and a pool and a bar/restaurant and gardens, all wonderful. To get to the "activities" elsewhere, you take one of the five free shuttles they offer daily down to the beach or into town (Soufriere), or you can walk or drive a very short distance from Ladera to the volcano, or you take a taxi or rent a car and drive to the botanical gardens, or you can arrange for guided hikes in the rainforest where you drive in a minivan to a starting point and then hike down to a gorgeous waterfall, or make reservations to go horseback riding on the beach, or get a water taxi to take you to another part of the island, or whatever you want -- it's up to you! The office at Ladera is great about making suggestions if you tell them what you're looking for, calling taxis for you, etc. The snorkeling at nearby Anse Chastanet is fantastic (we went three times while we were there), the beach at the Hilton is excellent, and I definitely recommend the botanical gardens and a hike in the rainforest. But if you are looking for one of those big, all-inclsive places where you never have to leave the grounds of your hotel, then Ladera is not for you. We did not find Ladera "too remote" at all. I guarantee there is plenty to do, but it's up to you to seek it and find it. <BR> <BR>Make sure you go to the "manager's barbeque" which is held one night each week at Ladera -- they hire a reggae/calypso band and it's a lot of fun. Also, for restaurants, "Bang" between the Pitons near the Hilton, and the Hummingbird in Soufriere were both very good. The Hilton also had a beach barbeque one night with limbo dancers, etc. that we liked a lot. We had great lunches and drinks at both the Hilton and Anse Chastanet. The bartender at Ladera is terrific. <BR> <BR>Comparing Ladera to Sandals is apples and oranges. One is small and intimate and secluded and romantic (albeit with lots to do nearby) and every room looks out over the Pitons with the lush rainforest and the Caribbean. The other is a big all-inclusive resort. They're just totally different experiences. I'm not saying that Ladera is necessarily better for everyone, it's just much better to me!

I agree with lisa. As i mentioned earlier, Ladera was fabulous. We met many other couples whom were there as either a honeymoon or anniversary. It's the most romantic spot I've ever seen. <BR> <BR>As Lisa said, the activites outside of your own plunge pool or the main pool, are all very nearby and there is so much to see. It's part of the charm. <BR> <BR>I wonder why go to a marvelous island and not leave your resort. It is very intimate at Ladera. You have 2 spectacular beaches which you can get to by their free shuttle or you can take a taxi at your convenience. The front office is great and will help you out in arranging anything you need. <BR> <BR>The last thing I will say is we spent 5 nights at Ladera and would have liked to spend more. You won't get anything like this in the north. You can always take a taxi, rent a car, or take a water shuttle to the north to go see it. <BR> <BR>Best wishes, <BR>Craig

I agree with lisa. As i mentioned earlier, Ladera was fabulous. We met many other couples whom were there as either a honeymoon or anniversary. It's the most romantic spot I've ever seen. <BR> <BR>As Lisa said, the activites outside of your own plunge pool or the main pool, are all very nearby and there is so much to see. It's part of the charm. <BR> <BR>I wonder why go to a marvelous island and not leave your resort. It is very intimate at Ladera. You have 2 spectacular beaches which you can get to by their free shuttle or you can take a taxi at your convenience. The front office is great and will help you out in arranging anything you need. <BR> <BR>The last thing I will say is we spent 5 nights at Ladera and would have liked to spend more. You won't get anything like this in the north. You can always take a taxi, rent a car, or take a water shuttle to the north to go see it. <BR> <BR>Best wishes, <BR>Craig