Stunning St Lucia
We caught the train up to Manchester airport the night before as we were flying with Thomas Cook. Manchester is their main base for long haul flights. The flight itself seemed to go very quick and the crew were friendly. The legroom was very good, and the food onboard was very good too. Apart from paying for drinks in the economy cabin they were comparable with British Airways and Virgin.
On landing at St Lucia airport, we were met by St Lucia reps and transferred to our first hotel - Viceroy Sugar Beach. It is a very pretty hotel built into the hillside and from the beach a lot of the buildings cannot be seen. The hotel is built in the bay with the Pitons either side of it. I shared a beautiful little villa with its own private plunge pool and terrace overlooking the sea and one of the Pitons and it was truly idyllic. As it's built into the hill, free shuttle buses service the whole resort and we were provided with free mobile phones to call if we wanted a shuttle brought to the room or needed anything from our butler. Our room consisted of a bedroom with a huge canopied double bed which looked like something out of the Princess and the Pea fairy-tale, a lounge area with a double sofa bed and kitchen area with free drinks in the fridge and snacks. We also had two bathrooms and a huge walk-in wardrobe.
On our first night we ate Sushi in the Cane Bar with a DJ playing in the background while we ate. This set us up ready for our climb up Gros Piton the following morning. It was an arduous climb uphill with large rocks to climb up. I managed a quarter of the way and was rewarded with fantastic views over the island. We were given a tour of the hotel in the afternoon and then went down to the beach to watch the sunset - and what an amazing sunset it was too! That evening we ate in the Great room and had a 7-course taster menu. The food was of a very high standard and was coupled with different wines to try. The following morning, before setting off to our next hotel I had a massage in the beautiful spa, which is built into the trees like small tree-houses. All that could be heard whilst having the massage was the music in the background and the sound of the waterfall. Truly idyllic!
On arrival at our next hotel, Rendezvous - an adult only hotel, we were welcomed and ate lunch. We were given a tour of the hotel. It was very different to Sugar Beach. The lazy river area was beautiful and had private sunbathing areas which were a great idea. We were treated to a cheese and wine tasting experience, which was very interesting, and we learnt some of the clues about the quality of red and white wines. This is one of the activities which couples can book at the hotel and is called Stolen moments. That evening we had dinner with the manager of the hotel, Yhasmine and again the food was amazing. The following morning, some of the party went on a boat trip and me and another Travel Counsellor, Louise, went into Castries and had a wander around the craft market and bought some local craft goods to take home with us, before meeting the others back at the hotel.
We were then treated to a Reggae dancing lesson, which was such fun and the music was great, before going for dinner at their beachside restaurant - Malabar Beach club. I really loved Rendezvous, because it's staff we so friendly and they are an asset to the hotel. The food was great and the situation so close to Castries is also a major benefit.
The following morning, we checked out and headed for The Body Holiday. On arrival, we met Damien who runs "Ital" their Vegan restaurant. Firstly, we picked our own food in the large garden area, along with his lovely wife. The aim of the hotel is to be able to produce 50% of its own food by next year if possible. She talked us through some of the produce which they grow and explained how some crops work much better in their soil than others. We then took the vegetables and herbs which we’d picked up to Ital where his chefs were cooking a meal for us. The produce which we’d picked was made into a starter, which was delicious. It was amazing to discover tastes that I’d never had before. This was followed by a soup dish, main meal and finally a delicious ice-cream made using coconut milk.
After a tour or of the resort we were given the spa treatments which had been booked for our three night stay there. At the Body Holiday you have 1 treatment per day, so for a 14 night stay you get 12 free spa treatments and the only time you don’t get one is on the day you arrive and the day you leave. I was lucky enough to experience a facial, a hot stones massage and a wonderful treatment which involved a scrub for the legs and feet to leave them soft and a hand and shoulder massage.
On the first evening we ate in Tao, which was amazing – one of the nicest Oriental meals I’ve ever tasted. The following day was the highlight of my trip – the Segway trip. We had a 20 minute practice, before heading out to take a trip to the top of the mountain overlooking Rodney Bay. When we got to the top, the view was outstanding! I can’t wait to do another Segway trip – something I never thought I would ever say.
The rest of our trip was spent simply sampling The Body Holiday. The main things I found there was that it didn’t matter how fit you were as there was something for everyone. I took part in a stretch class and also an Aquaerobics class and all of them were of a very high standard. The food was the best out of all of the 3 hotels I stayed and they take pains to put vital nutritional information on all food in the buffet restaurant. We were also lucky enough to eat in the A la Carte restaurant Cariblue Windows whilst there. The spa is the most impressive I’ve ever seen. They have 36 treatment rooms and offer dozens of treatments extra to the included ones as well as its own Ayurvedic temple, state of the art Body science treatment and a beauty centre. There really is something for everyone.
I found St Lucia to be an extremely beautiful island with some of the friendliest people I’ve ever met. I can’t wait to go back!