Saint Lucia is an island in the Caribbean and a part of the West Indies also known as Helen of the West! Oh yea, a lot of you can relate it to the Cricket! Fun fact- Darren Sammy, former West Indies criciet captain is from St lucia and has an international stadium by his name on the island!
You can fly from the US or the UK and there is visa on arrival for Indians paying 50$ cash or no visa required for the US citizens.
Covid restrictions are extremely strict on the island, you cannot leave your hotel without a COVID certified taxi or guide. Self-drive is currently not allowed on the island.
Below were the Entry requirements when we went in May 2021. However, please see eased out requirements on this link for fully vaccinated travellers. https://www.stlucia.org/en/covid-19/
- Fill up the health screening form and arrival form where you will get an approval before entering the country
- Negative PCR test to be taken at least 5 days before your arrival and uploaded on the arrival form
- Book COVID certified properties, transfers and excursions only!
Recommend @curiocityholidays_ to book your trip, partnering with the best COVID certified tour guides.
Some most popular must do’s on the island are:
- The Gros and the Petit Pitons
- Exploring the island on an ATV
- Sunset cruising
- Snorkeling and Scuba Diving (A must do!)
- Mud bath and waterfall hike
- Catching beautiful sunset on the gorgeous beaches
- Kayaking with a view of the Pitons
- Watching amazing greenery on the island enjoying some fresh tropical fruits straight from the trees( specially mangoes)
We did a short 5 night trip flying off from Seattle and it took us about 12 hours to get to Saint Lucia as there are no direct flights from the West Coast. Our stay was divided in to 2 hotels- Ladera Resort– known as the most Romantic Resort and the majestic Jade Mountain – A resort within a resort!
Our stay at Ladera was extremely beautiful. It is a part of the Rabot estate which is one of the oldest & most famous cocoa plantations in Soufriere. Ladera Resort stands today as St. Lucia’s most unique and luxurious resort and the only resort situated on a UNESCO World Heritage site. The setting is breath-taking and unlike any other, on a volcano ridgeline 1,000 feet above the deep, blue Caribbean Sea, with stunning views of the Pitons.
The resort has only 37 rooms and suites each facing the view of the Pitons and having it’s own private pool. The rooms are a perfect blend of beauty and romance with its open wall leading you to the most gorgeous wake up views! The sound of the rain or the birds chirping, it all felt so peaceful and close to nature. We stayed in the Rainbow Suite which by far we felt was the best one to pick. If you get an option, choose the suite #A1 and we guarantee you will not disappointed. We also saw the other rooms and another favourite was the Hilltop Suite which has a swing over the pool.
The food at the resort is nice but would say that they have very limited options for vegetarians and to repeat the same meal everyday can get difficult. However, the chef would try his best to prepare something with the available resources. Because of COVID, they won’t let you go far away for dining. They have a list of 4-5 restaurants nearby which are located other properties. This was a bit bummer for us as our food choices were not great. The cool part though was the vegetation in the resort as we could eat mangoes, pineapples, apples, pears straight from the sea and the mangoes were just yummy!
They offer a complimentary beach shuttle to Malgretoute Beach, however you have to pay for the drinks and beach chairs which are on an average 15$ per person and not included in your stay. They have a very rich plantation and birdlife and if it rains you can catch the best rainbow from your room with the Pitons in the background. And this view made our stay worthwhile and even more memorable!
Our next stay was at the beautiful Jade Mountain resort. They say it’s a resort within a resort because the Anse Chastanet’s architect owner built this property on the same premise as Anse Chastanet.
This resort is ultimate luxury and a unique concept. All rooms in the resort are called Sanctuaries and each one of them has an extravagantly large infinity swimming pool. Each sanctuary is uniquely different in shape and layout and none would look the same. They are huge, openly designed and all of them overlook the gorgeous Pitons.
We stayed the Sun Sanctuary but also checked out the Galaxy Sanctuary and it has 2 open walls. It will simply take your breath away. We had 3 Major Domos, yes that’s what they call their butlers who took care of our requirements during our stay. Since I was to turn 30 in a couple of days they also arranged a photoshoot for us with some balloons. We absolutely loved the photoshoot session with Berndt who is the in house photographer of the resort.
The resort has 1 restaurant Jade Club however, all guests staying here can have an access to any restaurants in Anse Chastanet property with prior reservations. We not only tried the Jade Club which served mouth-watering food but also the Emerald Vegan restaurant and the Apsara Indian cuisine.
The resort offers complimentary shuttle with beach chairs and towels. They also have a lot of activities where the non-motorized activities are complementary.
We joined a Kayaking tour and our guide was just amazing, He later also took us to the most amazing snorkelling spots from the Anse Chastanet beach where many other boats would also come for diving. It was the best experience with such great visibility and we could see many corals and colorful fishes. We would have missed something amazing if we did not go snorkelling. After getting tired with all the activities, we went for a spa. It was so good and relaxing. This was followed by a tandoori cooking class where we were taught how to cook tandoori food and we even tried our hands on making some delicacies!
If you are looking for a luxurious and all inclusive option, this is the place for you. And check out @curioctity for the best deals for Jade Mountain.
We had a beautiful stay in Saint Lucia and would love visit her again some time! We hope you enjoyed reading our blog and feel free to reach out to us for any questions you may. We will be happy to answer those for you!
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