Honeymoon- St. Lucia
St. Lucia
This place has it all. Beautiful beaches with crystal clear water, tropical rainforrests and mountains. I was blown away by both the natural beauty and the modern luxury. What a fantastic place. It really was the perfect vacation/honeymoon spot. There were days where we woke up and went ziplining through the rain forrest in the morning, then watched the sun set over the beautiful ocean. Truly the best of both worlds. A beach bum's heaven with a little something for the adrenaline junkie. Perfection.
The locals were fabulous. This is the very first place I have been outside of the US where the locals were friendly to Americans. And I'm not talking an "I want your US dollars" kind of friendly. If you ask someone for a recommendation for a place to eat, they will take you to their family's favorite place. They were very sweet. Everyone we met from the staff at the resort, to tour guides, cab drivers, locals at the mall... we did not encounter one rude person (rude Americans are another story)... but seriously... I was really very taken aback with how genuinely friendly the locals were.
We are anxiously looking forward to our next trip and are quite certain that we have found our favorite vacation destination!
The locals were fabulous. This is the very first place I have been outside of the US where the locals were friendly to Americans. And I'm not talking an "I want your US dollars" kind of friendly. If you ask someone for a recommendation for a place to eat, they will take you to their family's favorite place. They were very sweet. Everyone we met from the staff at the resort, to tour guides, cab drivers, locals at the mall... we did not encounter one rude person (rude Americans are another story)... but seriously... I was really very taken aback with how genuinely friendly the locals were.
We are anxiously looking forward to our next trip and are quite certain that we have found our favorite vacation destination!
Sandals Regency La Toc Golf and Spa Resort
A
This was our first all inclusive vacation. What an amazing experience!!! Sandals definitely has the whole honeymoon thing down and I don't have enough good things to say about them. I will try to break this down into different categories...
Room: Originally we booked an "Oceanfront Walkout Suite" which was anything but. It was your typical hotel room, Sandals style (so nicer bed, linens, etc)... it was nothing luxorious, but we would hhave been content with it... then I opened the patio sliding door to the pool (busiest place on the resort) and some hairy guy sunbathing about 10 feet away. Not romantic. I went straight to the front desk and explained that we were under the impression our room would be a little more private. They apologized for the misunderstanding (in my opinion, our travel agent's lack of knowledge) and offered to upgrade us. The only room available for the full week was a conceierge suite with a private pool (damn the luck... lol!). We did have to pay the difference, but I think it was well worth it. Our new room was gorgeous. It had a living room, walk in cloet, private pool and patio. We also received conceierge service (they basically just schedule things for you) and a top shelf bar in our suite. Awesome!!
Food & Drinks: Sooooo good! You would think since you don't pay per drink. they would go a little easy on the booze... but very much the oppposite. They seriously load up your drinks. I recommend the Miami Vice at the main pool... or the "Tasha Special" available only from Tasha. She won't tell anyone what exactly it is... but it's delicious. They will pour top shelf at night and during the day by request... you can really get your money's worth.
As for the food, it was really first class! We tried out every single restaurant on property as well as "Barefoot by the Sea" at the Sandals Grande. Our favorites were: Pitons (local Caribbean food), Armandos (Italian) and Kimonos (Japanese hibachi style). La Toc, we thought, was over rated, but the ambiance of dining in a fine French restaurant with white glove service was nice.
Kevin also booked a candlelight dinner on the beach for us and selected the menu. This was amazing... what a beautiful evening. Champagne, our own personal butler/server, lots of champagne... so great!! The candlelight dinner does carry an extra charge ($170), but it was the perfect way to spend our last evening. Highly recommended.
Nightlife: Sadly, we could barely keep ourselves awake past 9:00 so we really didn't experience much. On Friday, our resort hosted a street carnival to simulate the carnivals out in town. We did manage to make it to this and it was a ton of fun. I finally got to enjoy a drink out of a coconut... so yummy! Every night (and day) Sandals had tons of activities going on... karaoke, beach volleyball, pool games.. you name it. I think the greatest part about Sandals was that if you wanted to lay on the beach for the entire week and drink fruity drinks, you can do that..... and if you want to jam pack your vacation with activities and games, you can do that too. We tried to keep a nice balance.
Room: Originally we booked an "Oceanfront Walkout Suite" which was anything but. It was your typical hotel room, Sandals style (so nicer bed, linens, etc)... it was nothing luxorious, but we would hhave been content with it... then I opened the patio sliding door to the pool (busiest place on the resort) and some hairy guy sunbathing about 10 feet away. Not romantic. I went straight to the front desk and explained that we were under the impression our room would be a little more private. They apologized for the misunderstanding (in my opinion, our travel agent's lack of knowledge) and offered to upgrade us. The only room available for the full week was a conceierge suite with a private pool (damn the luck... lol!). We did have to pay the difference, but I think it was well worth it. Our new room was gorgeous. It had a living room, walk in cloet, private pool and patio. We also received conceierge service (they basically just schedule things for you) and a top shelf bar in our suite. Awesome!!
Food & Drinks: Sooooo good! You would think since you don't pay per drink. they would go a little easy on the booze... but very much the oppposite. They seriously load up your drinks. I recommend the Miami Vice at the main pool... or the "Tasha Special" available only from Tasha. She won't tell anyone what exactly it is... but it's delicious. They will pour top shelf at night and during the day by request... you can really get your money's worth.
As for the food, it was really first class! We tried out every single restaurant on property as well as "Barefoot by the Sea" at the Sandals Grande. Our favorites were: Pitons (local Caribbean food), Armandos (Italian) and Kimonos (Japanese hibachi style). La Toc, we thought, was over rated, but the ambiance of dining in a fine French restaurant with white glove service was nice.
Kevin also booked a candlelight dinner on the beach for us and selected the menu. This was amazing... what a beautiful evening. Champagne, our own personal butler/server, lots of champagne... so great!! The candlelight dinner does carry an extra charge ($170), but it was the perfect way to spend our last evening. Highly recommended.
Nightlife: Sadly, we could barely keep ourselves awake past 9:00 so we really didn't experience much. On Friday, our resort hosted a street carnival to simulate the carnivals out in town. We did manage to make it to this and it was a ton of fun. I finally got to enjoy a drink out of a coconut... so yummy! Every night (and day) Sandals had tons of activities going on... karaoke, beach volleyball, pool games.. you name it. I think the greatest part about Sandals was that if you wanted to lay on the beach for the entire week and drink fruity drinks, you can do that..... and if you want to jam pack your vacation with activities and games, you can do that too. We tried to keep a nice balance.
Excursions and things to do in St. Lucia
One thing we learned (waaay too late, no thanks to AAA) was that you can book your excursions directly from the vendor, online, prior to your trip... for like half the price. Definitely wish I learned this ahead of time.
Tree Top Canopy Zip Line: This was our first and favorite excursion. It was a short bus ride from the resort up into the rain forrest. Our guide on the bus (Greg) was very kinowledgeable and taught us a ton of stuff about the island, the resort and vacations (learned the tip about booking online from him). The zipline instructions are friendly and patient... and happy to do some crazy stunts of their own. We did 12 lines ranging from 200-800 feet... it was such a blast!! I would absolutely recommend this to anyone and would love to do it again myself! On the way back to the resort, Greg passed around some fresh coconut and mango that he had gathered for us while we were ziplining, then made a pit stop at a local roadside bar for a quick Piton (beer) and some photos. He was a great guide and we all had a ton of fun!
Deep Sea Fishing: I booked this one for Kevin. We had to be up at some terrible hour (7am... vacation... yuck) and went straight to the port about 30 minutes away. 2 other couples joined us on our boat (a very small group compared to the 40 or so people from ziplining). Our captain and guide were very friendly, but we didn't catch a single thing... scratch that... Kevin caught a great buzz from the case of Pitons on board. We did get to see a whole bunch of whales and dolphins... which was really cool... but didn't catch anything. I guess I kind of have mixed feelings about this one. It was $150 per person, so $300 total (then of course you have to tip).... and while it was awesome to spend smoe time out on the water, I think our money could have been better spent... like on say... shopping. Overall a good time, met some good people, but spending all that money and not catching anything... mehhh....
Joe Knows Land and Sea Tour: So... our first day we are lounging on the beach and we see 2 boats pull up loaded with people dancing and singing and drinking rum punch and having a great time. "We have to do that".... so we booked it. This was a really great way to experience a lot of St. Lucia in a little bit of time. We started off by going to Marigot Bay (fancy rich area where a lot of celebrities have houses). Since it was Sunday, pretty much everything was closed, so no shopping. Kind of a bummer, but such is life on a mostly Catholic island. Next was snorkeling... this was incredible! Then off to a caldera (old volcano that had imploded) for a sulphur mud bath. What an experience! Next up was a waterfall where we swam for a while then off to a local restaurant for lunch. Back to the boat and back to our resort. All along the way our tour guides were pointing out different things for pictures, sight seeing, dancing and lots of rum punch. A really fun tour!
Golf at La Toc: They tell you this is free... and by free they mean only the greens fee. You must pay for club rental and a caddy. Now, you can always bring clubs with you, but I think the fee to check them at the airport would be even more than renting them. They did run a special for couples that was $99 for clubs, caddy and cart... but when you think something is free and it's not... ya know. I am really not awesome at golf, but I had a lot of fun anyway. The hubby was, of course, in heaven. Our caddy was really knowledgable and helped me with almost all of my shots. Overall it was fun... but would have been even more fun if it was free.
Red Lane Spa at La Toc: We booked a "Scents of Love" couples massage for our last full day. The perfect way to end our amazing honeymoon. The spa is very luxorious and the staff takes good care to make you feel like a queen. Their treatments are pricey ($240 for the couples massage)... but definitely worth indulging in at least one on your honeymoon. I wish we would have opened a Sandals registry instead of the one through AAA... several couples we spoke with received massages as gifts. That would have made it even more awesome!
Tree Top Canopy Zip Line: This was our first and favorite excursion. It was a short bus ride from the resort up into the rain forrest. Our guide on the bus (Greg) was very kinowledgeable and taught us a ton of stuff about the island, the resort and vacations (learned the tip about booking online from him). The zipline instructions are friendly and patient... and happy to do some crazy stunts of their own. We did 12 lines ranging from 200-800 feet... it was such a blast!! I would absolutely recommend this to anyone and would love to do it again myself! On the way back to the resort, Greg passed around some fresh coconut and mango that he had gathered for us while we were ziplining, then made a pit stop at a local roadside bar for a quick Piton (beer) and some photos. He was a great guide and we all had a ton of fun!
Deep Sea Fishing: I booked this one for Kevin. We had to be up at some terrible hour (7am... vacation... yuck) and went straight to the port about 30 minutes away. 2 other couples joined us on our boat (a very small group compared to the 40 or so people from ziplining). Our captain and guide were very friendly, but we didn't catch a single thing... scratch that... Kevin caught a great buzz from the case of Pitons on board. We did get to see a whole bunch of whales and dolphins... which was really cool... but didn't catch anything. I guess I kind of have mixed feelings about this one. It was $150 per person, so $300 total (then of course you have to tip).... and while it was awesome to spend smoe time out on the water, I think our money could have been better spent... like on say... shopping. Overall a good time, met some good people, but spending all that money and not catching anything... mehhh....
Joe Knows Land and Sea Tour: So... our first day we are lounging on the beach and we see 2 boats pull up loaded with people dancing and singing and drinking rum punch and having a great time. "We have to do that".... so we booked it. This was a really great way to experience a lot of St. Lucia in a little bit of time. We started off by going to Marigot Bay (fancy rich area where a lot of celebrities have houses). Since it was Sunday, pretty much everything was closed, so no shopping. Kind of a bummer, but such is life on a mostly Catholic island. Next was snorkeling... this was incredible! Then off to a caldera (old volcano that had imploded) for a sulphur mud bath. What an experience! Next up was a waterfall where we swam for a while then off to a local restaurant for lunch. Back to the boat and back to our resort. All along the way our tour guides were pointing out different things for pictures, sight seeing, dancing and lots of rum punch. A really fun tour!
Golf at La Toc: They tell you this is free... and by free they mean only the greens fee. You must pay for club rental and a caddy. Now, you can always bring clubs with you, but I think the fee to check them at the airport would be even more than renting them. They did run a special for couples that was $99 for clubs, caddy and cart... but when you think something is free and it's not... ya know. I am really not awesome at golf, but I had a lot of fun anyway. The hubby was, of course, in heaven. Our caddy was really knowledgable and helped me with almost all of my shots. Overall it was fun... but would have been even more fun if it was free.
Red Lane Spa at La Toc: We booked a "Scents of Love" couples massage for our last full day. The perfect way to end our amazing honeymoon. The spa is very luxorious and the staff takes good care to make you feel like a queen. Their treatments are pricey ($240 for the couples massage)... but definitely worth indulging in at least one on your honeymoon. I wish we would have opened a Sandals registry instead of the one through AAA... several couples we spoke with received massages as gifts. That would have made it even more awesome!
Things we learned about Sandals and St. Lucia
Us w/ street performer @ La Toc street party
Fridays... are a huge party on the island. Do not book anything for Friday night (dinner reservations, excursions, etc).... thiss party sounds like a ton of fun and full of local food. We had dinner reservations and could not go... I was super bummed.
Fridays at La Toc... the resort hosts their own street party, which we went to both before and after our dinner reservations. It was a ton of fun with amazing food, coconut drinks and street performers. It was a pretty decent substitute for the local one.
Sundays on the island... everything is closed. Except churches. The locals are very religious and Sundays are for church and family. Some of the excursions will still go (we did Joe Knows on Sunday)... but you don't really get the full effect. No shopping, very few restaurants, etc. Make Sunday your lazy beach day.
Excursions... book everything online ahead of time. Read reviews, check out sites for travel tips and book ahead. Once you get to the resort, you are at their mercy and the prices are sky high. An alternative would be to create a Sandals registry... see below...
Register... We did a honeymoon registry (I know lots of people say tacky... but really... who needs another gravy boat... come on...). The registry ended so far before our wedding day that hardly anyone contributed. I will review AAA in a bit, so let me just tell you to stick with the Sandals registry. Your guests can contribute to your overall trip or purchase awesome excursions and spa treatments for you. I really wish we would have done this instead.
Fridays at La Toc... the resort hosts their own street party, which we went to both before and after our dinner reservations. It was a ton of fun with amazing food, coconut drinks and street performers. It was a pretty decent substitute for the local one.
Sundays on the island... everything is closed. Except churches. The locals are very religious and Sundays are for church and family. Some of the excursions will still go (we did Joe Knows on Sunday)... but you don't really get the full effect. No shopping, very few restaurants, etc. Make Sunday your lazy beach day.
Excursions... book everything online ahead of time. Read reviews, check out sites for travel tips and book ahead. Once you get to the resort, you are at their mercy and the prices are sky high. An alternative would be to create a Sandals registry... see below...
Register... We did a honeymoon registry (I know lots of people say tacky... but really... who needs another gravy boat... come on...). The registry ended so far before our wedding day that hardly anyone contributed. I will review AAA in a bit, so let me just tell you to stick with the Sandals registry. Your guests can contribute to your overall trip or purchase awesome excursions and spa treatments for you. I really wish we would have done this instead.