Going to Sandals in St. Lucia..Anyone ever been?

Richard_T · 04-19-2003, 11:29 PM

My girlfriend and I are going to the Sandals Grande St. Lucia in St. Lucia. We've been planning this trip since Christmas and now we're finally booked. We will be leaving on May18th and retuning on the 25th. Has anyone ever been to a Sandals resort or to St. Lucia? What should we see while we're there? Any help would be great!

Shane Martin · 04-20-2003, 07:55 PM

I went to St Lucia on a cruise and the island suprised me a bit. It's pretty but has alot of poverty and when you arrive you will be bombarded with people asking you to buy stuff. They swarm you like you have the word sucker stamped on your head. Its like buying a car almost.

We took a tour there riding in a jeep and that was quite nice. If you have the means to do that go ahead otherwise with all the stuff you can do at Sandals you may not want to leave your resort.

Weather wise you are going during a good time and it won't be THAT hot. SHould be mid 80's or low 90's. Bring a light waterproof jacket in case you get some storms rolling over which we did. The time of the year you are going is good because you are avoiding the hurricane season.

Richard_T · 04-20-2003, 09:54 PM

HURRICANE SEASON?? Yikes! I HOPE we miss that kind of weather. After what we paid for this trip, I wouldn't want the weather to ruin things. It's our first trip to the islands. I kind of thought they'd be all over us to buy stuff but I hear the locals are kept off the resort. We both are looking forward to a nice relaxing time away from our busy lives here at home. Thanks for the info Shane!

Shane Martin · 04-20-2003, 10:08 PM

To My knowledge this is correct. The shopping there wasn't all that great either IMHO.

Hurricane season is usually August thru Early November so you are safe. The only thing you will worry about is a little rain here and there but honestly not enough to fret about. It should be quite sunny.

DaveBB · 04-21-2003, 09:56 AM

You might want to go to fodors.com and check out their Trip Talk area. Pretty good travel forum if you want to ask the same question or look up previous threads.

I've been to the Sandals in Negril, Jamaica but considered Sandals St. Lucia. We picked Negril because the price was a little lower and there was a more off-property activities to pick from. We enjoyed our stay at Sandals and would recommend it to most people.

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Paul_Fisher · 04-21-2003, 10:23 AM

My fiancee and I tried to book a flight to St. Lucia for our honeymoon the week of June 14th, but there were no available flights that week, so we had to settle for St. Thomas instead.

I've nothing but good things about St. Lucia. Try to go snorkeling if you have time.

Randy_Sh · 04-21-2003, 10:35 AM

My wife and I went to Sandals St. Lucia Halcyon in May 2001. Halcyon is the smaller of the (2) resorts on the island.

We had a wonderful time. Service was awesome. Went to the Grande resort for dinner a few nights. Biggest difference is the Grande resort is really much much larger, but they both offer similar services, etc.

We took advantage of the free stuff that resorts offered, that is the snorkeling, catamarans, etc.

We also took a day sail around the island. Booked it through the resort. Very enjoyable. We also took a cab into one the towns, walked around a Market, checked out local stuff, went to the duty free shops where the cruise ships come in. Nothing spectacular.

People did try to get you to buy stuff, but if you said,
"No thanks", they went on to their way. Their were some local folks on the beach at Halcyon selling but they really weren't that aggressive in my opinion.

Definitely go to google and do a search. Very easy to find a discussion forum specifically on the resorts.

Have fun!

Shane Martin · 04-21-2003, 04:37 PM

Quote:

My fiancee and I tried to book a flight to St. Lucia for our honeymoon the week of June 14th, but there were no available flights that week, so we had to settle for St. Thomas instead

I liked ST Thomas myself more but thats a personal choice. June is one of the most popular marriage months so Its no suprise that it was booked. I booked travel for a living for a year or so .. so I'm a little experienced on that

Sandals is expensive but sooooooooo worth it. I have yet to hear any complaints about them. You do indeed get what you pay for.

Micah Cohen · 04-22-2003, 12:04 PM

Try to take the helicopter from the airport to your resort (http://www.stluciahelicopters.com/). This is VERY COOL, inexpensive, and beats a 2 hour non-shock-absorber-equiped bus ride with the locals and their animals.

Movies filmed on St Lucia include WHITE SQUALL (the helicopter flies right over the ridge the boys run up in the movie), ROMANCING THE STONE (see the waterfall in the rainforest) and SUPERMAN II.

Tiny chirping frogs everywhere! YEH!

MC

Richard_T · 04-22-2003, 09:35 PM

Wow that sounds cool Micah! Any idea how much this ride costs? The one thing I'm not looking forward to is the long ride to the resort. That would really be a blast! What about good buys in St. Lucia? Any ideas on where to shop while I'm there? I'm sure the resort will take us some place but it may be better to try some place different. What about booze? Is St. Lucia a rum island or something different?