As promised
We got back this past sunday and had a great time, we both loved every minute we spent in St. Lucia.
The Airport:
The airport is very small...when you go through emigration, you go and find your bags, you'll walk through customs and there will be guys there with St. Lucia shirts on, do not let them take your bags for you to the sandals shuttles. The shuttles are about 5 feet away, you'll tip them for bringing your bag 5 feet and then feel like an idiot
Learned my lesson and didn't do it on the return back!
Ride from the airport:
Its long, windy, and hilly. If you are prone to car sickness take a dramamine....otherwise, enjoy the view!
The Room:
We stayed in the Honeymoon La Toc Premium...basic but beautiful. King size bed, fridge stocked with everything and centrally located at the resort. We had a view of the golf course, gardens and ocean. The rooms were clean, the maid service came 2x a day once to clean and once for turndown.
The Pools:
The main pool is the most lively. There are playmakers that try and get things going...but are not obnoxious at all. The main pool is where we spent most of our time, get there early, put a towel out and reserve a chair, the chairs will all be taken by 10am. We didnt mind this as we were early risers! The pools are clean and everyone is respectful. Miguel, John and Tasha were the bartenders while we were there, great. The BBC is the best drink ever created. There are two other smaller pools that we went to at night a few times, but we mainly stuck to the main pool.
The restaurants: I would say the meals were great, was it the best food I have ever eaten in my life? No....but I thorougly enjoyed every breakfast and dinner I had there...
Breakfast is served at the Pavilion and Armandos daily. We ate breakfast at the Pavilion everyday, buffet style and omlets made to order. Breakfast was great!
Lunch varies...we mainly ate at the Pavilion or Neptunes. Pavilion is buffet style for lunch and Neptunes is sit down. Depends on what you are in the mood for. I was only not impressed with one meal the entire time at the resort...which was lunch at the pavilion, it was the only day they did not have a large variety of food and what they did have I did not like at all. my husband on the other hand loved it, go figure.
Dinner:
Pitons: This was my favorite restaurant, "caribbean style". The view of the ocean and bluffs is beautiful, the food is great...I had the surf and turf 2x, well worth it
Armandos: Italian/Seafood...the food was good, we had an outside table overlooking the ocean, it was gorgeous. the food was good here as well. You have to take a shuttle there if you are located down the hill, you can walk, but its a steep hill!
LaToc: the food was amazing. Make sure you make your reservations asap as it fills up quickly. We made ours as soon as we checked in and almost didnt get one. Dessert here was great. I wasn't impressed with most desserts, but this one was good.
Kimonos: Good food and Fun. Make your reservations for this one asap as well. The chefs are all fun, entertaining and cook you up a great meal.
Cricketer's Pub: We ate there our first night, we were starving, it was the only thing open at the time. The food was pretty good. English style cooking...the chicken wings are good...
Tours:
We did the zipline tour through Sandals. It was great. I'm not too fond of heights and they made me feel really safe and secure. I had a blast, the views were amazing....our guide was hysterical. Definitely glad I overcame my fear and forced myself to do it.
Every friday night in St. Lucia there is a fish-fry and party in Anse LaRay and Gros Isle. We decided to join a group we met and leave the resort to see some the culture. We went with Son of Man Tours(not through Sandals). They took us to Castries market at Sunset to have a drink at a local watering hole(it was more like a shack), which was fun to see how they live and socialize. We went to Anse LaRay and had dinner at a local restaurant, Mama Whomas. This was real St. Lucian cooking. The food was amazing, there were little kids running around, people dancing, tourists like us as well. From there we went to Gros Isle. This was crazy, its the entire island, dancing and drinking. There was not a single second I did not feel safe, our tour guide kept asking us if we felt safe, and did not leave our sides the entire time. Everyone was dancing, drinking and the music was blasting. There were a few drug dealers here and there, they asked, you said no and they left you alone...no big deal at all.
The people in St. Lucia are friendly and always seem happy. They are always singing and dancing, its very refreshing.
We cant' wait to go back, and just booked our next vacation to Sandals Grande Ochos Rios in Jamaica...
Hope I covered it all....