Alex

Hi,

Want to stay at Ladera resort, Halcyon or the one next to it, Golf resort. Which has better rooms, beach?
Also want to spend some time at Ladera or Jalouise Hilton Spa. which is better, beach and rooms? Which area of the island should I visit first (close to airport on way home?)White beach or gold/black? Thanks

lisa

Alex -- if you want to end up at the place closest to the airport, you need to know which airport you're leaving from. Hewonnara airport is in the south closer to Ladera/Jalousie and Vigie Airport is in the north closer to the two Sandals resorts.

If it were me, I would go to the northern part of St. Lucia first -- the southern part is much prettier and more scenic in my opinion, so I would save that for last because if you go to the south first, the northern part of the island is going to pale by comparison.

Tara

I totally agree with Lisa. North first and south last. We were so glad we stayed on the south end of the island on the day we visited Castries. Too much "city". We would have been disappointed. We thought seven days at Ladera was perfect. Wouldn't have changed a thing!!!

Alex

Ok, thank you. Now that we have which area to go to first out of the way...which place is cheaper/better? Ladera or Jalousie Hilton? I don't want bugs, only a/c and satellite tv, if you get my meaning. I would like a plunge pool too, can I get both at the Hilton? Is the beach right there? Is it nice? White sand?? Have you heard anything good or bad about Sandals Halcyon or the Sandals Golf resort, which has the better rooms/beach?

Thank you!

lisa

Hi Alex. If you want air conditioning and TV then Jalousie Hilton is probably for you -- Ladera has neither. Since the rooms at Ladera are open-air there are some bugs -- mostly just moths at night -- but we experienced no mosquitoes or flies or anything that bites (since it's located up on a hill Ladera gets a pretty strong breeze, unlike the beach-level accommodations elsewhere). I believe some of the rooms at Jalousie do have personal plunge pools -- you'll have to call and ask. Jalousie seemed to be significantly more expensive than Ladera when I was planning my trip but I don't know how much it is now. The beach at Jalousie is very nice -- imported white sand, in a cove between two beautiful peaks. We enjoyed it a great deal, and it had a nice little beach restaurant, although the snorkeling was not as good as that at Anse Chastanet (just take a water taxi over to Anse Chastanet for a day and check it out -- the sand at Anse Chastanet is the natural volcanic sand indigenous to St. Lucia which is darker than the imported white sand at Jalousie). Make sure you go to Ladera at sunset once for drinks/dinner though because the view is gorgeous and the restaurant there is very nice.

Can't help you with the Sandals resorts, but there have been lots of trip reports here on those if you do a search. From what I've read here it sounds like Halcyon is a little smaller than the other one. I've heard both positive and negative about both.

There is a great resource called the Caribbean Travel Newsletter that has tons of trip reports on places all over the Caribbean, including St. Lucia -- I have seen numerous trip reports there for Jalousie Hilton, Sandals Halcyon, etc. It is at
http://caribtravelnews.com/ctr_7.htm