Honeymoon Discussions

St. Lucia - NOT Sandals

Has anyone been to St. Lucia?  We are planning on HMing there and don't want to stay in a Sandals resort.  Anyone have any thoughts?

Re: St. Lucia - NOT Sandals

  • We are honeymooning there in late Oct/early November, and splitting our time between a Sandals (beginning) and Ti Kaye Village (http://www.tikaye.com/). FI did all of the research and planning, and obviously we haven't been yet, but it looks amazing. It's rated as one of the most relaxing resorts in the Carribbean. There seems to be a lot of things to do there, as well.

    I also heard Jade Mountain is wonderful, but it was a bit more expensive and out of our budget.
  • Jade Mountain!!  It's super $$$, but from what I hear, it's well worth it if you can swing it.
  • SuMmErKuTiESuMmErKuTiE member
    5 Love Its First Anniversary Combo Breaker First Comment
    edited August 2012

    Jade Mountain is an amazing recommendation, also check out Ladera, the Almond resorts, and Jalouise Plantation.

    http://www.ladera.com/

    http://www.jalousieplantation.com/?cmpid=ppc-goo_jal_brand

    http://www.jademountain.com/

    http://www.almondresorts.com/the-resorts/ 

    Jade Mountain and Ladera are definitely pricey, but you can always break up your trip and spend a few nights at one of those resorts and then the rest of your trip somewhere else that'll be easier on your budget.

    I'm so happy to see that you guys are looking elsewhere than Sandals. You can get so much more for your money elsewhere. Friends of ours spent more than we did to honeymoon at Sandals in St. Lucia than we did to honeymoon in Fiji. That's absolutely ridiculous! :-P

  • We just don't want the typical "cookie-cutter" honeymoon.  Sandals resorts are everywhere.  I wouldn't mind a random vacation there, but not for the honeymoon.
  • We were planning on staying at Jade Mountain and eventually decided against it because we heard from friends it was horrible. Their rooms all have the fourth walls that are open and our friends who stayed there constantly had bugs and birds flying in everywhere. That was def. not how we wanted to spend our HM. So def. keep that in mind if you choose Jade Mountain. For $12,000+ you could do way better.

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  • We spent one week at Morgan Bay Beach Resort and one at Crystals - 2 very different experiences, neither one a Sandals-like place. Rather than try to recap each here, here's my tripadvisor account so you can see my reviews of both of those places, plus other stuff we did there, http://www.tripadvisor.com/members-reviews/SunKissedKate . I think you can email me through there too if you have any other questions!

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  • Ok, I'm realizing I didn't write as many reviews as I thought.

    Crystals - pretty much a rainforest treehouse. Includes huge room, kitchen, private pools at every cottage (seriously) and amazing views. Downside - a few bugs get inside, and it's really off the beaten path so you need a car

    Morgan Bay - all inclusive, a slightly older crowd (and mostly british) than Sandals, mostly 35-45 I'd think. Kids are around, but not in the way. Nice and quiet, but not much nighttime entertainment. Food was awesome, as was the beach.

    Gros Piton - do it! I wanted to die while doing this hike, but it was totally worth it to say I did. You can't look at the pitons and not want to climb them!

    Fond Doux Plantation - we went there for lunch and a tour, I think $35pp. Food was good, tour was nice. I'd consider staying there in the future, it was really pretty

    Tet Paul Nature Trail - nice easy hike with fabulous views. Supports local farmers, as well. We actually walked there from Fond Doux; it was uphill in the sun along a road the whole way. The hike is easier than the walk there, lol.

    Horseback Riding in the Ocean - lots of places offer this. It was fun, I wouldn't have paid a ton of money to do it but hey, where else can you do this?

    Anse Chastenet - this is the (public) beach by Jade Mountain. Best snorkeling we did on the island, and a little art gallery as well.

    Ziplining - Treetop Canopy Adventure. Do the triple adventure, this was just rated the 8th best zipline course in the world. Lots of fun, and you get to swim in a waterfall at the end!
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  • Thanks, Krizzo17! This is super helpful for me, too! Getting SO excited for our honeymoon! :-)
  • Just an FYI update.  We are going to stay at Anse Chastenet.  Its barely within our budget, but the resort and reviews are fabulous.  Thanks everyone for there input.

    Krizzo17, I will definitely look into th excursions you mentioned though - did you rent a car while there or not?
  • krizzo17krizzo17 member
    First Anniversary 5 Love Its Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    edited August 2012
    We didn't, but we wished we had, at least while in the southern part of the island (like when we were near anse chastenet). The only reason we didn't was because we didn't think we were old enough, but later found out we were. We had a great time without one, but definitely agreed that having one would have been nice since we left the cottage a lot, and taxis were typically at least $25 each way no matter where you were going.
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  • In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_honeymoon_st-lucia-not-sandals?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:11Discussion:d2b20063-40d8-4c21-acf0-8694feceebd5Post:48fd5322-6337-4fdc-8f70-52819f41ba7e">Re: St. Lucia - NOT Sandals</a>:
    [QUOTE]We are honeymooning there in late Oct/early November, and splitting our time between a Sandals (beginning) and Ti Kaye Village ( <a href="http://www.tikaye.com/)." rel="nofollow">http://www.tikaye.com/).</a> FI did all of the research and planning, and obviously we haven't been yet, but it looks amazing. It's rated as one of the most relaxing resorts in the Carribbean. There seems to be a lot of things to do there, as well. I also heard Jade Mountain is wonderful, but it was a bit more expensive and out of our budget.
    Posted by tracey525[/QUOTE]

    <div>
    </div><div>Ahh we're staying at Ti Kaye for our HM in April!! It's got suuuch good reviews and looks like the exact low key, romantic, HM we were looking for. And no kids is always a plus :)</div>
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  • In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_honeymoon_st-lucia-not-sandals?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:11Discussion:d2b20063-40d8-4c21-acf0-8694feceebd5Post:c9ab5eac-566e-41d0-a9a9-acbeee040b7b">Re: St. Lucia - NOT Sandals</a>:
    [QUOTE]Just an FYI update.  We are going to stay at Anse Chastenet.  Its barely within our budget, but the resort and reviews are fabulous.  Thanks everyone for there input. Krizzo17, I will definitely look into th excursions you mentioned though - did you rent a car while there or not?
    Posted by Kari1353[/QUOTE]<div>
    </div><div>Anse Chastenet is a GORGEOUS resort....the rooms have inifinty pools and they overlook the Pitons....you will have an awesome time.

    </div>
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