Summary
I visited St. Lucia (3 nights) in May 2015 with my wife one of our close couple friends (no kids). We love going to the Caribbean in April or May because the crowds tend to be less yet the weather is still great. St. Lucia has two fairly distinct sides – the North side is more bustling with activity, while the South side is more tranquil and scenic (we chose to be on the South side). Traversing to either side would likely consist of a day trip via car or boat. We enjoyed the South side’s high-end accommodations, nice local restaurants with great views, pristine beaches and clear waters – making this a rejuvenating and relaxing trip.
Accommodations
We stayed at Sugar Beach, A Viceroy Resort on the south side of St. Lucia. Everything about this resort was great – from the spacious guest rooms to large pool area to the private beach with activities (and fantastic snorkeling). The resort is spaced out along a hill eventually ending at the beach so transportation is readily available to take you wherever you need to go on the property. The staff and service were warm, welcoming, responsive and helpful and made the stay even better. NOTE: Some popular resorts in St. Lucia (not the Viceroy) offer rooms with no 4th wall – giving a connected feel to the outdoors. Part of why we chose the Viceroy was that we did not want that experience.
Select Favorites
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- Activities: With the Viceroy located on Sugar Beach, our favorite activities included kayaking and snorkeling right off the beach. Tour boats come from the North of the island to snorkel here. Similar to other trips, we also enjoyed using the Fitness Facilities daily on-site (including outdoor yoga and tennis). A Sunset Cruise directly from the hotel beachfront with wine and local snacks was a perfect way to cap our first evening. With a volcano on the island, we were able to experience a Sulfur Mud Bath straight from the volcano and wash off at the Piton Waterfalls. (Next time we may even consider hiking the famous Piton mountain peaks!)
- Dining: On most days, the spent the daytime at the hotel and ventured off property for a few meals in the evening. For lunch, the Bayside restaurant at the Viceroy was our favorite – simple sandwich and pizza options – and we even enjoyed dinner there one evening. For dinner, we also enjoyed going to Dasheene at the Ladera resort for local Caribbean fare and the Chef was kindly accommodative to our vegetarian travelers. The bar is a fun scene and offers great views of the famous Pitons. Finally, we enjoyed dinner at Boucan by Hotel Chocolat for their Cacao-based local menu and fabulous chocolate desserts. The Cane Bar at the Viceroy has rum experts and a great selection of local favorites (it also turns into a dance party on Thursday nights)
Recommendation
I would definitely recommend St. Lucia as a nice (albeit a bit pricey for accommodations) getaway destination in the Caribbean for a restful, relaxing and active retreat. The resort did matter more here for us since much of the day was spent at the Viceroy enjoying the many onsite activities, great beach access and plenty of dining options. Try to make sure wherever you stay has a lot of activities that you might be interested in. Next time we will bring our kids since the Viceroy family programs look great as well. Happy planning!
