First, thanks to all the great advice posted on this board! Since I learned so much here, I had to post a trip report to help anyone else considering St. Lucia. Background info: my husband and I have been married for 12 years, are in our mid-thirties, and have been to several other islands including Jamaica, Aruba, Bahamas, Caymans, Turks, Cancun, etc. We have also been to other all-inclusives, but this was our first Sandals. <BR> <BR>We flew from upstate NY on US Air to San Juan, and then American to St. Lucia, into Vigie Field. Although it is a prop plane, it is a larger one, and the flight was fine. It was great to have only a short ride to Sandals (10 minutes) after a long day of flying. We stayed at Sandals St. Lucia Golf & Spa the first 6 nites, and Ladera for 5 nites. <BR> <BR>Tips if you are going: You will not need a lot of cash. Everything at Sandals and Ladera can be charged to your room. The tours we paid by credit card. We used cash to pay for the taxi between Sandals and Ladera, we bought some drinks, snacks, at the supermarket on the way to Ladera, and tip money. I brought almost all my traveler's checks home. Although Sandals will bring you an iron, I would bring my own - many nites there was a shortage and they come back for it in 30 minutes. They will give you one at Ladera and you can keep it your whole stay. I brought a converter but never needed it - Sandals has 110 to the rooms and Ladera has converters in the rooms. Bring bug stuff for Ladera - a good rule of thumb is if you get bit at home (I do, my husband does not), you will get some bites there. Nothing bad or that would keep me from going back, just annoying. The mosquito netting is really just for looks. Also, I would bring a small radio to Ladera next time. It would be nice to have some music at night when you go back to your room. Thanks to the advice on this board, I brought candles, which were great at night. Many people talk about the ride between the two airports and resorts as terrible. It really isn't that bad - a little over an hour on a winding road. Sandals arranged for a taxi for us the morning we left for Ladera ($80US plus tip), and Ladera arranged for (and paid for since we stayed 5 nites)a taxi (5:45AM) for the drive back up to the North end to fly home. I wouldn't recommend renting a car - besides the left hand driving, there are many hairpin turns and lots of traffic on the roads. Weather - as someone else said on this site - it rains a lot! However, except for 1 day out of 12, it just rains for 5 minutes and then the sun comes out. Not even worth getting out of your chair. There are usually some clouds, but it would be really hot without them (and I'm a sun lover!). The one day it rained all day we went on a snorkeling trip and sat outside in the hot tub - we were wet anyway!

Trip Report Continued - Sandals: <BR>We loved Sandals! We stayed in a Luxury Oceanview Room (3 up from the bottom category). It was in the main block, but on the 4th floor, with a huge balcony w/ocean view, 4 poster bed, sitting area, desk, and decent size bathroom. The staff was all very friendly and helpful. The main pool area and swim up bar is where we spent most of our time. Drinks - anything you want, including brand names. You can order bottles of wine and champagne at dinner - I recommend the champagne - it's a very good French selection. Food - great! It was the best of any all-inclusive we have been at. The only restaurant that requires reservations now is Kimono's - we went there one nite and had a blast. Went to La Toc twice and the new Italian restaurant twice - both were excellent. I used the fitness center in the mornings - no air conditioning, so go early in the day. The new fitness center up on the cliff is air conditioned, but has limited equipment. We did breakfast at both the Pavilion (buffet) and the Pitons (sit down). We really didn't eat lunch, but a late afternoon (or 2AM!) cheeseburger from the grill was always great. Activities: we went on the Sandals boat snorkeling one day - saw a lot of fish and the water is not cold at all, so you don't need a wetsuit, but they supply them if you want them. We have our own snorkeling gear, but they supply that too. We got a couples massage at the spa ($155) which was very nice. Make your spa appointments early - it seemed like they only have one or two people working there each day. We went on the Soufriere Day Sail ($80pp) which I highly recommend. The catamaran sails to Soufriere (drinks on board), you take a bus trip to the botanical gardens, sulphur springs and volcano. They also take you for a buffet lunch with a view of the Pitons. You sail back and they stop to snorkel and swim for an hour and you get back to Sandals around 4PM. A lot of fun and worth the money. <BR> <BR>One of the reasons we picked this resort is so my husband could golf - which he never did! There are so many things to do that you can't do at home, and it gets hot pretty early in the day, we just ran out of time. <BR> <BR>Nightlife - they had live music many nights and shows on different nights, most which we missed. We spend a lot of time at the piano bar (say hi to Ovid) which was fun! They also have a sports bar which my husband discovered had free Sega, so we usually had to make a stop there. Other nights, we just got a bottle of wine and sat on our balcony after dinner.

Trip Report Continued - Ladera: <BR>Where do I begin! Paradise! We reserved (and got) a Deluxe one-bedroom with plunge pool - Unit U. It was amazing, with a waterfall and pool right on the edge of the mountain, sitting area with fridge (stocked with beers, sodas, water and rum!), four poster bed, double doors which opened to a small balcony on the opposite side of the room, and bathroom with rock-walled shower, open above to the sky. Being able to open the doors opposite to the open wall side was great at night - we had a great breeze coming thru and were never really hot. The staff were wonderful (say hi to Innocent and Barney). They arranged for cabs into town, who would then come back and pick you up after dinner (both ways charged to your room - $10 each way). Breakfast is included with your room and is buffet style with made to order eggs and omelets. Lots of fresh juices, homemade muffins and breads, cereal, potatoes, bacon, sausage, and different local dishes each day. We only ate in town twice - the Old Courthouse for dinner both times (about $80US). Excellent food - lots of fresh seafood, try the thai curry shrimp if you like hot! We ate a Dasheene the rest of the nights. Great food with a lot of specials every nite so you won't get bored eating there more than once. Dinner cost runs about $100 - $120, depending on if you get appetizers and/or a bottle of wine. This is also charged to your room, as are drinks from the bar. We were also there on Monday nite for the managers party which was a buffet and lots of fun talking with the other guests. Free drinks (beer, wine, champagne) and hors d'voeures during cocktail hour. The buffet was $45 pp, with more hors d'voeures, salads, soups, grilled meat and seafood, etc., all you wanted. We would sit at the bar and watch the sunset most nites before dinner - the drinks are about what you would expect to pay at a resort bar ($8 for a martini or frozen drink $6 for wine and beer), and they had hors d'voeures out every nite at the bar around 6PM. The pool at Ladara is beautiful, clean and just the right temp on a hot day. They also come around to see if you need drinks, water, etc. We met a lot of people sitting around the pool, including some of our fellow forum readers (hi Jennifer!). <BR> <BR>We took the free shuttles to both the Hilton and Anse Chastenet. The Hilton beach is nice and Ladera gives you a voucher to use their chairs, which have the pull up cabana on them. You cannot use the pool at the Hilton. I walked thru the Hilton, which was nice, but very much a "Hilton" if you know what I mean - not very exotic, and lots of kids, and many people waiting around for the Hilton shuttle to take them down to the main hotel and beach! At Anse Chastenet, the beach is beautiful!!! The Ladera shuttle takes you into town, and then you take a water taxi to and from the AC beach, which was fun (bring your camera - the water taxi guy stopped and took our picture with the Pitons behind us). Black sand (hot to walk on), with palm trees right on the beach. Ladera supplies you with beach chairs and we parked them under a palm tree. The staff took drink orders and we never felt like intruders. We had lunch at the beach grill at AC which was excellent - we charged lunch and the bar tab on our credit card. Didn't feel like taking the hike up all those stairs to check the rest of the place out or go to the pool. We snorkeled at both AC and the Hilton - both were good, but AC was better. No jellies the day we went, but a couple of people at Ladera went the next day and both got stung. It just depends on the tides. The Hilton shuttle leaves at 9AM and Noon and you get picked up at either 12:15 or 3:30. The AC shuttle leaves at 9:30AM and you get picked up at 3:30PM.

Trip Report Continued - Final Thoughts! <BR>(I had to post in sections due to how long this was!!!) <BR>At both resorts there were a lot of honeymooners, but just as many people of all ages. I have read some people concerned about being too old for Sandals - no such thing! There are quiet pools, if you don't want to sit at the main pool, and if you don't want to participate in the activities, you just don't! <BR> <BR>I would go back in a minute and not change anything. The only advice I have regarding Ladera is that if you like activities, three to four days is plenty at Ladera. You can always do more tours, etc., but it's pretty remote and not really any nightlife unless you want to go into town. The combination of Sandals and Ladera is perfect, plus you get to see both sides of the island, which is beautiful. <BR> <BR>Post ANY additional questions you might have and I hope this has been helpful to others thinking of St. Lucia!

Great trip report Karen!! I'm so glad you had a good time. <BR> <BR>Just curious about how you thought St. Lucia compared to some of the other destinations that you mentioned at the beginning of your post (Jamaica, Aruba, Bahamas, Caymans, Turks, Cancun, etc.).

Hi Karen, <BR>Great trip report. Can't wait to go. We leave in about 3 months and are staying at sandals st. lucia 6 nights and then Ladera 3 nights. Our flight leaves the last day at 6:20AM out of Vergie airport, what time do you think will have to leave Ladera to get there? <BR>Sounds like pretty early. <BR>Lynn

Hi Karen <BR>Great trip report. How does St. Lucia compare to Aruba. We just went there in March 2000 and had a great time. <BR>We are planning a trip to St. Lucia March 2001, haven't decided on a hotel yet though. There will be four couples going. Ladera sounds great - however I am not sure how a group would work there since all of the rooms seem remote - once you get in your room - it might be hard to leave. We will be only going for eight days seven nights so I don't think splitting up my trip between two spots would work either - too much packing and unpacking in too short of time. Any sugestions would be great. <BR>Thanks

St. Lucia is very different than Aruba. Where Aruba is very much like a desert (no rain!), St. Lucia is very tropical and gets a lot of rain. Also, we were very comfortable renting a Jeep and driving around Aruba, but would not have driven in St. Lucia, due to the roads. There also seemed to be much more poverty in St. Lucia. If you have been to Jamaica, St. Lucia is similar in climate and the poverty that you see. <BR> <BR>Lynn - we left at 5:45AM for an 8AM flight from Vigie. You'll probably need to leave by 4:15AM. It's a little over an hour. Ladera will arrange the cab and security will help you with luggage. They will also come and knock on your door to wake you, but you might also want to bring an alarm clock, since there are no clocks in the room. <BR> <BR>Ron - I agree that with the number of days you are going that you probably just want to stay in one place. With 4 couples, I probably wouldn't recommend Ladera, but I would recommend Sandals very much! This way everyone can go off and do their own thing (spa, scuba, snorkel, day trips, etc.) and hook back up at the pool or for dinner. I'm sure you are traveling with people who are on different schedules and want to do different things. This way you don't have to rely on your own transportation, etc. or coordinating who wants to do what. That's not what vacations are for! Also, there really isn't any nightlife at Ladera vs. Sandals which has dancing, sports bar, Sega, sing along piano bar and nightly shows. I also heard that Rendevous was nice from a couple of people we talked to at Ladera. Have a great trip!