Honeymoon destination help...St. Lucia???

Has anyone been to st. lucia?
The travel suggested this location, but I don't know anyone who has been.
She says Sandals is the way to go but I don't like the idea of all inclusive. We like gourmet food and I have heard all inclusive food is the pits.
Has anyone been to or heard about Jalousie (Hilton)?? Looks nice.
This is so hard!!!!
Please help.

Hi there,
I haven't been to St. Lucia, but found some great resources on the internet while planning our honeymoon. Check out www.caribbean-on-line.com. You can get lots of information on any Carib island there. There's a section where people give hotel reviews, and there's a travel forum where you can ask questions.
I've heard that St. Lucia is beautiful...it was one of the islands we were considering.
Hope this helps! Have fun planning!!

Thanks ss2002!
I any help is appreciated!
I will check out that web sight right away!

I went to Samdals, St. Lucia, and it was AWESOME!!! I feel that all in clusive is the way to go. Sorry to say, but you are in the Carribbean, and you are not going to get food like you get here. The food was pretty good in the resorts. With all inclusive, you have no worries about holding on to $$. and you drink all you want But that is just my opinion. In fact, we cant wait to go back.

We went to Sandals St Lucia Golf Resort last June (actually got engaged there!!)
We thought it was great. Regarding the food, I thought everything was very good. There are different types of restaurants that you can go there, ranging from the more casual to the upper scale. The French and Japanese restaurants were very good. There is an Italian restaurant that is supposed to be very good, but we never made it there. The other more casual restaurants are kind of what you would expect from a casual place.
Thats jmo, you may be a harsher critic of restaurants than I am. Overall we thought the place was fantastic.

Thanks jpsgirl, diane &jennk!
All opinions help us make our choice.
Going someplace new is stressful, I don't want to make a mistake on the honeymoon.
I wish it wasn't hurricane season in October! I have been to Atlantis and Puerto Rico, I'd just go there.
Thanks for postitve info.
P.S. Are the drinks watered down at Sandals St. Lucia? I heard they might be.
Thanks for letting me ask all these stupid questions!

Its funny you asked about the drinks, that was probably the one thing I didnt love down there (although I had one in my hand constantly!!)
They specialized in fruity types of drinks, and for me, after one, they are just too sweet. I ended up switching to vodka and tonic and they were a little watered down.
Let me know if you decide to book there, or where you decide to go for that matter.

I agree Sandals St. Lucia is great!!! All-Inclusive is
the best way to go and all the places to eat inside Sandals St Lucia were great!! I myself don't really care for Aruba. Aruba is much more desertty looking and St Lucia is very Lush and green. I have been to both a few times I use to be in the Travel Business.

Does anyone have info about Jalousie?
What about the Hyatt, I hear it was bought by Sandals, any info?
Thanks for all your help everybody!
Maybe we should just go to Hawaii (got engaged there in Feb.) We just wanted to avoid a long plane ride.

Debbus-

My fiance and I are thinking of going to St. Lucia as well (see post-Sandals Grande St. Lucian). My fiance saw a TV show on St. Lucia and now he is obsessed with going there. We have heard that it looks like a mini Hawaii and is absolutely beautiful! The only problem is...We aren't sure which Sandals to go to! There are three Sandals and here is what I've heard/know about each...
-Sandals St. Lucia Golf & Spa Resort. This is the big resort. Someone told us that it needs a 'coat of paint.' But, I also heard that it is beautiful! My fiance and I don't play golf, so this resort isn't all that appealing to us.
-Sandals Halcyon St. Lucia-This resort is smaller than the one above, but much more intimate as well. I've heard that it is very romantic. We really like it.
-Sandals Grande St. Lucian-This is the old Hyatt. We saw some pictures of it on the website, but haven't seen a brochure of it yet. From what I've heard, the Hyatt that it replaced was amazing so I'm hoping that this will be as well! We are definitely leaning towards this resort.

I'd love it if you could share what you have heard as well!
Jessica

Debbus - I am at work right now - shhhh - but I went to a travel agent who gave us a TON of stuf for St. Lucia. I don't have her name on me - she's up on Vets Hwy - I can get it for you if you want.

The travel agent we saw recommended low-key, fun, honeymoon establishments there. They were the kind of places that had tons of stuff to do, but if you felt like doing didly-squat, you didn't feel any pressure about it. Some of them included: Rendezvous, Windjammer Landing (all inclusive), Jalousie and LeSport. All seemed awesome, but I don't remember which ones were all inclusive.

A couple we know stayed at Windjammer and LOVED it. Hopes this helps. For hotels, look at: http://www.stluciatravel.com/accommodations.asp

willow

Thanks Willow and J&A!

J&A,
I heard the same things you heard about Sandals. My travel agent says the Sandals golf resort is the best one. She stayed there in March, and saw them both. She had trouble booking us a room because all the suites we would want were booked. I'm afraid about the food though. We like to eat at gourmet rest. and I have a feeling we will be dissapointed with any all inclusive resort. That's why we are thinking about Jalousie too.
I agree, St. Lucia looks like a mini Hawaii in the books I was given, that's why we were considering going.
The more my FI and I talk about it, the more confused I get.
When are you planning on going?
The prices we were quoted make it the same price as going to Hawaii. I had no Idea it was so expensive!
Good luck! Thanks again

Debbus...

I just booked my honeymoon to St. Lucia yesterday!

I know exactly how you feel because I was confused as well! Luckily, I am using an awesome (through a recommendation) travel agent and she really put my mind at ease. She has been everywhere and travels all the time so she can keep up with what is going on.

I went to the travel agent with the idea that I maybe do not want to go all inclusive. Well, after she showed me prices of non-all inclusive resorts I almost died! They were MORE expensive than any of the Sandals and it does not include one single thing! She priced out Jalousie, Wind Jammer Landing, and one otheresort. Also, many of the activivies that I want to do aren't that expensive, and Sandals coordinates transportationand a package for you.

We booked the Sandals Grande St. Lucian (the new resort, itusd to be the Hyatt Regency). We have the Premier Oceanview room for 8 days, 7 nights, we are also flying first class all for under $5000! I think that's pretty good consering that it includes everything (taxes, insurance, shuttles, etc.) They are having a special now for 35% off Sandals Grande St. Lucian, probably because it hasn't opened yet.

To answer your other questions...

I agree with you about the food. I am going there under the assumption that it is not going to be five star restaurant caliber food but then again, if we weren't going with all inclusive we wouldn't be able to eat out every night anyway!

We are going from April 15th-April 22, 2003


If you have any more specific questions, you can e-mail me directly at [email protected].

Jessica