Jade Mountain

Linda Buckingham on 23 June 2018
I’ve worked in the travel industry for a very long time…. and every time I’ve heard the words ‘Jade Mountain’ it’s made me smile. Usually it’s mentioned as a honeymoon or anniversary treat and then as time went on it also became a repeat visit for some of the same people. It’s one of those unique hotels that has charm and personality and is impossible to copy.

Rising majestically above the 600 acre beach front resort of Anse Chastanet, Jade Mountain Resort on St. Lucia’s south-western Caribbean coastline is surrounded by rainforest and the sound of birds. Our driver took a stone track off one of the local roads and I was a bit concerned that we wouldn’t make it up the incline and we’d gone wrong. There was no grand sign announcing that we were on the way to such a wonderful iconic property. Glimpses of the beautiful blue of the sea dropped further below us as we climbed higher and higher until we found ourselves in the clearing and then under the canopy outside the reception lounge. We were greeted with a glass of champagne and a cold towel and just sat relaxing and admiring the view of the Pitons whilst we waited for our butler to take us to our accommodation.

Unbeknown to us, Allain was also waiting for our luggage to be delivered so it would be instantly available to us when we arrived for our in-suite check in. This stunning hotel is nestled into the rainforest and is set on several levels. The five lowest grade suites are on the lower level and the higher up you are, the closer you are to the bar and restaurant and the better your view will be. The accommodation grows from having a lovely air-conditioned suite on the ground floor to being an amazing ‘Sanctuary’ with its own infinity pool on the other four. We were amazed to find ourselves walking just along the outer walkway to a stone bridge leading to an enormous 10ft door to one of the three ‘Galaxy’ Sanctuaries. At this point I was grinning like a Cheshire Cat and my husband thought I had completely lost the plot! Reading that you’d think I didn’t know what I’d booked, but my husband still had no idea and as this was part of a prize, I just knew we had a couple of nights accommodation but that was it! Nick and Karolin did us proud and the resort was just as stunning as I'd hoped it would be.

There are only 24 Sanctuaries and the Galaxy is the top category. These are 2000 square feet of open plan luxury and have just two walls - which gives you the most amazing uninterrupted views of the Pitons, the rainforest, the ocean and the yachts in the bay. A few steps away from your table and chairs is the beautiful 900 square foot infinity pool. The ceilings are around 15 feet high so you get an incredible feeling of freedom with the birds sitting just a few feet away, a warm breeze and the gentle lapping of the water.

After being shown around, we were left to our own devices with a mobile phone hotline to Allain – our very own Major-Domo. The team are all graduates of the Guild of Professional English Butlers and although you can tell them that you’d rather not use their services, we soon got used to it!

The whole resort is geared towards you chilling out and relaxing and if you’ve ever wondered – this is just a selection of what a butler can do for you…

Unpack & pack your suitcases Organise you breakfast in bed Arrange you a local tour guide or off site activity such as zip lining Press your clothes Organise you a candlelit dinner by your pool Collect things from your Sanctuary if you’ve left something behind Organise your ‘Sundowner’ cocktail to be served by your pool Make reservations for the speciality restaurants or the spa Organise the golf carts to collect you and take you to the beach Organise the golf carts to collect you from the beach and take you to a restaurant or to your sanctuary Arrange to have a relaxing bath drawn for your arrival from a day out

This is definitely the place to connect or reconnect with a loved one. Spoiler alert - there’s no TV in your Sanctuary and no door to your bathroom! There’s also no radio or direct dial phone but Wi-Fi is available if you’re desperate to start posting photos the minute you arrive – although you’re requested to switch your phones to silent and not take or make calls in the presence of other guests. There are two beaches and the pace of life by the sea is different. There’s live music at night and the three dive boats are coming and going throughout the day taking people to snorkel and dive. The beach is shared with the sister property Anse Chastanet but Jade Mountain guests are welcome to use all of their facilities including the restaurants. The two crystal-clear bays are part of a designated marine reserve full of colourful coral reefs teeming with fish. Behind the second beach guests will have the opportunity to see the 18th century French colonial ruins of a sugar mill, and old church and a 3 million gallon freshwater reservoir. This is natural rainforest where you can take guided walks to see wild orchids or mountain bike the 12 miles of jungle trails. There is also a good variety of birds to be found and the mango trees were laden with fruit as it was just coming up to ‘Mango Madness’ week. As we had such a short stay we took a couple of snorkelling trips, had a day out on a bird watching tour, did a fun rum mixology class and visited the Chocolate Lab for a lessonwith Peter in ‘bean to bar’ chocolate making. To be fair it was a challenge to drag ourselves away from the privacy of our sanctuary and wonderful service at Jade Mountain and Anse Chastanet, but we left feeling wonderfully relaxed and looking forward to our next stop.