St Lucia Honeymoon

I literally just came back from Sandals St. Lucia (last night) and we stayed at Regency La Toc. It was fabulous! Food was very good (some restaurants were better than others) but there was certainly a lot of choice. Our trip was $7,000 including airfare from NY but we did get the butler suite so I would guess it would be quite a bit less if you don't want that. Pretty much everything is included except spa, excursions, gift shop and if you wanted wine that wasn't the house wine - the house wines were totally fine, they are Robert Mondavi. There were 2 pools there, the smaller one was quiet and the larger one (very large) had a DJ and lots of fun activities during the day. Both pools have swim up bars. Even though there were lots of people there, it never felt over-crowded. The beach is right near the main swimming pool but the beach at La Toc is small and the water is a little rough. The beach at the Grande is much bigger and very calm, and they do a lot more of the water sports there. We chose La Toc since we didn't want to be at the largest place and didn't really care about the water sports (although they did have Kayaks, wind surfing, snorkeling and paddle boards at La Toc). We both had massages there and they were wonderful (I'm a massage therapist so I know a good massage). We went on the "Joe Knows" land and sea tour (not part of the resort although you can book it through Sandals) and I would highly recommend taking it where ever you end up staying in St. Lucia. It was so much fun and the tour guides really make the trip. You go out on a boat to the Pitons and they tell you a lot about the island. They take you to the volcano and you go in a mud bath and put volcanic clay all over your body as it's supposed to be very healing (and lots of fun)! Then they take you to a natural waterfall that you go in. You then have lunch at a lovely local outdoor restaurant (the food was really good) and after lunch you go snorkeling. On the way back, the "booze cruise" portion begins and they keep you very well lubricated - we all danced and drank (and drank and drank) and had a terrific time.

They also have evening entertainment that changes daily so you never get bored. Fridays they do a street party reminiscent of the traditional Friday night street party they do every week in the Castries (the main city) with a big buffet of Caribbean food, bar, stilt walkers/dancers, fire eaters/dancers, etc. The show was awesome! I also know at least 4 other couples who went to Sandals in St. Lucia for their honeymoon and everyone loved it.

I would suggest checking reviews on Travelocity and I would be happy to answer any questions you may have. If you do choose Sandals, I would suggest The Grande or Regency La Toc. Halcyon is fairly quiet and the crowd is much older. We only went there for dinner one night and although the restaurant was recently renovated, the lobby looked like it needed a serious face lift.

We went to St Lucia Sandals Grande. We got an entry level room (lowest category) and stayed 9 nights. To us, compared to other trips we've taken it was VERY overpriced($6100 with airfare).

However my cousin two years before me went to the same resort and stayed 6 nights and spent $5000 with airfare.

To food was generally good. Some stuff was okay while other stuff was delicious. Drinks were good. Room always clean. Always something to do day or night and the beach was the die for. You can relax and do nothing or you can always find something to do. I would say if you stay at the Grande there's no reason to visit the other two unless you want to eat dinner at another place. Everyone generally comes from the other 2 sandals to the Grande for the beach.

The advantage of BodyHoliday over Sandals would be it's a much smaller hotel. Body Holiday is only 155 rooms versus 301 at Sandal Grande. BodyHoliday is pretty secluded at the end of the islands. Sandals Grande is right next to Pigeon island / Fort Rodney. Sandals La Toc is pretty close to Castries.

edit - I stayed in a non-all inclusive resort in St. Lucia. I felt like it was more financially advantageous. There are also some really good restaurants in Gros Islet.

We stayed at Royalton St.Lucia this September for our honeymoon. We spent about $3900 for 7 nights and that included a swim out room with butler service. There was about ten restaurants and they were all delicious. The property is brand new so the rooms, pools, and grounds are immaculate. The service was amazing and everyone was so friendly. The other great thing was that the beach is in a cove so it wasn't as rough as some of the other beaches on the island. The whole resort is not adult-only but we stayed in the adults-only section. I will say even when we ventured out into the non- adult section we only saw about 4 families the entire time we were there. I would definetly recommend it!

@finebyme was that royalton price including flights as well or just hotel all inclusive for 7 nights ?

That included flights as well

Just got back from st Lucia honeymoon . Stayed at serenity at coconut bay resort . Amazing. . We upgraded from the reg part of coconut bay resort . Serenity . Defiantly worth the money . Great resort . Private room with pool in room , plus main pool , butler services , private restaurant 5 min from airport . Access to both sides of resort . Amazing place check it out . Defiantly worth it !!!

Oooooohhhh how awesome glad to know their other great resorts in St. Lucia other than sandals..... Thank you all so much for all your feedback... keep them coming!!! I'm so excited that we finally picked a place now we just gotta get a good deal and find a good hotel !

@firstoneat56 sounds like you had an awesome time at the sandals resort. I was looking at that tour Joe knows and Son of man tours. Not sure what the difference is but def excited that they have that tour.

@therese r how much did it cost you for all inclusive and how many days did you guys stay if you don't mind me asking ? It looks beautiful and I'm glad you had a great time and thanks for the feedback

Following. Considering st Lucia for a honeymoon.

@ Camille our initial trip for st Lucia was $2900 tues - sun at the reg coconut bay resort . That was with a direct flight from NYC to st Lucia .We stayed tue - Thur at the reg coconut bay adult side then upgraded for the remainder of our trip to serenity exclusive part which is on other end of the resort . We upgraded for $150 a night . Both sides were great but if I had to do it again I would stay at the serenity part the whole time . You have access to both parts of resort when you stay at serenity but the reg coconut bay side you only can stay at that side . Reg part of resort has a lazy river 6 pools 8 restaurants which you have access too . Serenity has own private restaurant . One afternoon at serenity the staff came to us in the pool and told us the chef made us a special lunch that was not on the menu . Amazing food . They had a common area pool along with pool in room . Service at serenity was top notch . We had a bubble bath ready for us when we came back to room from dinner one night . Check out their website or Facebook they have a special going on now . Highly recommend this place . It's not as well known as Sandals therefore not as crowded which I loved !!! Being only 5 min from the airport is a added plus most of the other resorts are on the other side of island over a hour drive !!!

@ Theres R wow! I just looked up serenity and it's gorgeous! I wonder what's the diff between them and Sandals since serenity looks wonderful but doesn't sound as expensive and you said it's only 5 min from the airport which is even better... I haven't checked out the coconut bay reg one yet but I'm sure it's nice as well.. great place!!! Hmmmm def great to have options other than sandals....

@Camille serenity just opened this year. But coconut bay resort has been around a long time . I think serenity is cheaper then sandals cause they are brand new and trying to get people to know about them .

@theres r oh well that's even better.... hmmm okiii thanks I'll have to look into that....

So now looks like royalton, serenity or coconut bay , and sandals.....decisions decisions what are the pros and cons for each?

Serenity

Pros

5 min from airport

Brand new resort

Butler service

Phenomenal service and accommodations

Private pool in room with waterfall

2 min walk to restaurant

5 min walk walk coconut bay side

Food was spectacular

NotCrowded only about 40 private rooms at serenity

No cons !!!

@therese r that's sooo hard to beat!!! Now I really have to consider that option... how many restaurants do they have ? Oh and what's included in the all inclusive exactly ? We also wanted to know the joe knows or the son of man tours as well

I don't know about Son of Man tours although we did see their boat come in at the beach. For Joe Knows, you can book it directly with them, which we did. It was $10 less per person to book directly rather than through Sandals. I went on their website and emailed with the manager JR. I called him directly with my credit card number for payment since I didn't want to email it and they were super easy to deal with. He was very responsive and set me a confirmation email.

Probably best to check reviews on the travel sites (Travelocity, Expedia, Trip Advisor) to see which one to take but you will definitely not go wrong with Joe Knows. The tour leaves the hotel at 9am and they return about 3:30.

I booked our trip through Costco. We stayed at the Landings. We had a two patios, one had a jacuzzi. Breakfast was included and we had a daily beverage and food credit. We had a full kitchen. 7 days with flights included for under 5,000.