Disclosure: If you use some of the links provided in this article, I may receive a small commission.
St. Lucia has long been on my radar and I finally went with my husband to celebrate our 25th anniversary! St. Lucia is mountainous, lush and green, due to volcanic activity and formation. Other islands like this in the region are Grenada, St. Kitts, Dominica and St. Martin, just to name a few. Most people seem to think all Caribbean islands are the same. However, Aruba, Anguilla and the Cayman Islands, are relatively flat. Regardless of what you expect, St. Lucia should definitely be a must-see! It is beautiful. Let me tell you about it.
For months I researched where we would stay. Jade Mountain https://www.jademountain.com and Ladera https://www.ladera.com were frontrunners, but my eye was always being drawn back to Sugar Beach. Repeatedly. I think it was a combination of having its own beach and the idyllic villas nestled along the hillside that used to be a plantation. Who doesn’t want their own villa?! Most of the accommodations here are stand-alone cottages or villas. There are a variety of sizes and 1-2 bedroom villas all with their own plunge pool tucked away privately. If you want to be front and center, they have the Beach Bungalows. Closer to the restaurants are their Sugar Mill rooms which give you a view of the pristine grounds and the beach. For those traveling with larger families and extended stays, book one of their Residences, some of which have up to 4 bedrooms.
Butler service is available to everyone staying at Sugar Beach. They welcome you upon arrival, will even unpack your belongings if desired, and are available by phone or the app. Some of the amenities included in the resort fee: shuttle transportation around the grounds, fitness center, water bottles, in-room coffee and tea and non-motorized water sports. This is a 5-star resort and it lived up to its name. The attention and care we received everyday from staff members was like no other I have experienced.
If you never wanted to leave this resort, you certainly wouldn’t have to. Besides the pool & beach, tennis courts & variety of games, Rainforest Spa, children’s activities (and babysitting!), fitness center, they also have 5 restaurants on site. Saltwood is their upscale, signature restaurant. Cane Bar has a South-East Asian menu that is to die for. Bonte has wonderful food as well and here is where you will enjoy their Latin Fiesta and Beach BBQ. Experience a more casual atmosphere and menu at Jalousie Grill. Every morning at The Terrace you will enjoy breakfast with spectacular views of the water, blooming plants and the birds (hoping to taste the morsels that fall from your plate). To say they have quite the spread each day, is a gross understatement. The staff at the entire resort are so kind, learn your name, and look like they enjoy coming to work!
One of the best things about this place is the beach. Not all resorts on the island, although many of them are stunning as well, have beach access. You may even strike up conversations with others while floating in the sea, like we did, to find out they came from other resorts to enjoy the sun and sand. The wonderful part of being a SB customer is you have first dibs on all the umbrellas and chairs. Anyone not staying here has to lie on their towel, while we just enjoyed the shade on our chaise lounges and didn’t have to lift a finger if we wanted something to eat or drink. All we had to do is flip our blue flag sideways and someone was at our service! Even if I got up to use the restroom, someone ALWAYS asked if I needed anything. The service was impeccable. I have to say, it felt a little foreign at first, but I got used to it quickly.
For the most part, we relaxed on the beach while in St. Lucia. We were going to do the Gros Piton hike, which is 2-3 hours, but it was quite humid as we were there during hurricane season. We changed our minds and set up a half day boat tour with Captain Jungle and Kid. This was something our butler had helped us organize since we decided within 24 hours to change our plans. This was not a cheap excursion, but I’m so glad we did it. I love having the perspective of a new place from the water. It gave us stunning views, especially of the Pitons and nearby towns. Check out Viator https://viator.tp.st/33IL2Unn for other ideas like the sulphur springs & mud baths, waterfalls, ziplining along with other land and sea options. Tiqets is also another great option, while on vacation, that has real-time admissions to tours, museums, etc https://tiqets.tp.st/325aSJno.
This was by far, the most relaxing vacation my husband and I had ever had. I think it was a combination of not cramming our time with a lot of activities and we had no one else with us. We are now empty-nesters and quite enjoying our time together! I booked Sugar Beach just before I became a travel agent on Hotels.com since we had rewards and gift cards to use. The great news is nearly 2 years ago, Expedia, Hotels and VRBO joined together as One Key. You no longer have to wait till you have a reward night or a certain amount of points to use towards a trip. Whether you have $46 or $500 in OneKey cash, you can use it towards your balance. Expedia has a myriad of choices of hotels and vacation rentals to fit anyone’s budget https://expedia.tp.st/sBfJE1Yx.
Our arrival and departure in the airport were fairly seamless. It didn’t take long to go through customs as it was well organized (our experience was the opposite on another island). A week or so before we left for St. Lucia, I was researching transfers to and from the airport and found this site: https://airportstaxitransfers.com. The convenient aspect was charging for the round trip ahead of time and not having to worry about this while we were there. We made sure, of course, that we had cash to tip the driver. We had great success and a wonderful driver, Andel. He gave us his business card and we made sure to use him for our one dinner off-site one evening. He stayed in the car for the couple hours while we had dinner! We offered to buy him a meal but he didn’t think the restaurant would give us a “doggy bag”. We tried. He was so sweet, punctual and gave us some history about this beautiful island he calls home. Andel was easy to communicate through WhatsApp. We made sure to lock him in for our return trip to the airport on our last day. I told him anyone I recommend St. Lucia as a destination, he would also be at the top of my list, along with Sugar Beach of course! This island has a special place in my heart. And only one other country (Italy) has done that. It really is a remarkable place and I can’t say enough about it. This is not just for honeymooners, it caters to you no matter what phase of life you’re in. Let this be at the top of your list. You won’t be disappointed.
