Caribbean Heaven

We travelled to St. Lucia at Easter. As a family with two children (11 and 14) we needed a hotel that would cater for everyones needs.

After deliberating for hours I opted for Almond Morgan Bay.

The hotel is situated 25miles from Hewanorra International Airport. The journey from the airport took about an hour and a quarter and provided a scenic introduction to the island. The hotel is 3 miles from the capital Castries and is on the West which faces the Caribbean Sea.

On arrival we were shown into an open spacious reception area and were greeted by the sounds of a Caribbean steel band and a glass of Rum Punch before being given our room key. Our bags were taken from us and we were put on a land train to be shown our room. I am probably being a bit of a grump here but after an 8 hour flight and an hour in a minibus I didn't need music or alcohol! I just wanted to get to my room quickly, this duly happened and the guide showed us to our room and explained the features and told us our bags would be about 15 minutes (at about 4.30). A table had been booked for us at 6 o'clock in one of the restaurants. We then waited for our bags, and waited and waited! I had forgotten that nothing ever happens quickly in the Caribbean. I really wanted a shower and to get dressed for dinner. Two of the three bags eventually arrived at 5.45 and after much searching the porter eventually found the third bag. By this time we were all grumpy and I was regretting my choice of hotel. We had a quick change and went to the restaurant for dinner. We followed our map and found ourselves in a lovely open sided restaurant by the beach, by this time it was almost dark and there was a lovely atmosphere. The service was laid back but polite and the food unusual but delicious.

The hotel is set between two hillsides and covers about 22 acres. This gives it a very private feel and it has its own secluded cove. All beaches in St Lucia are officially public but not many locals frequent this one, it is really only hotel residents and the occasional hawker. The hotel was refurbished in 2005 and we got talking to a couple who had visited prior to that and they said the pool area had been vastly improved.

-----Rooms------

The hotel has 340 rooms, we stayed in the older blocks but there were also some new rooms and suites on the opposite hillside. The older blocks have three floors and no lifts. The blocks are set on a steep slope so people with walking difficulties may find the paths quite hard work.
Our room was a reasonable size and had two double beds but surprisingly when we arrived there was also another single z-bed that had been put in for one of the children. We had expected that the children would have to share (not a popular idea!) but the hotel do this for families which was so helpful. The room had the worlds smallest safe--- we could fit in our passports, iPods etc but is was very dark in that corner and we always struggled to find things in it. There was a small wardrobe and a few drawers. They would have been adequate for a couple but we had trouble storing the clothes for the four of us. The decor was quite plain with white painted wicker furniture. Luckily there was air-conditioning which really is a must in the tropical climate. Each room has a balcony or terrace but these are very small and can just fit a table and two chairs; however it was a pleasant place to sit and watch the world go by. The bathroom was large and light with a shower over the bath, there was always plenty of hot water and the towels were changed daily if you left them in the bath. There were also blue beach towels in the room. All the usual things like a TV and a hairdryer and coffee making facilities were included as was a lovely platter of fresh fruit and a half bottle of Rum!

------Restaurants------

The hotel has four restaurants but you do need to make reservations for your evening meals. This is done in reception and we simply booked several nights in one go and never had trouble getting the times we wanted. Dress code in the day was anything except male bare chests and swimwear, most people just used a beach cover-up or shorts and t-shirt.

Breakfast is served at two of the restaurants; this is a self-service buffet with a huge selection of food. There was always lots of variety. There was a good continental selection, various cooked choices including omelets made to order and lots of cakes and breads and a machine to prepare your toast--a highlight for the children!

Lunch was either a buffet on the beach-you could take it back to your sun lounger or eat at the restaurant tables or a full-service meal at The Palms.
In the evening the four restaurants were open and served different style food. Dress code in the evening is more smart casual and I did see people asked to change when they were dressed inappropriately. All evening meals were waitress service:
The Palms-- continental style menu
Bambou---unusual Caribbean/Asian fusion menu
Morgan’s Pier--- very popular fish restaurant which is situated out over the sea.
There was also a French Restaurant that was adults only.
The food and service was always very good and we had no complaints at all. Some of the flavors were quite exotic but all the restaurants in the evening also had a children’s buffet of chips and hot-dogs etc when my son wouldn't try something new!
If you were hungry in-between times there was a snack bar open which supplied chips, pizza, biscuits and ice-cream all day!

----Facilities----

The hotel has lots of sun beds but like most places you had to be up early to get the best positions as they did get taken. However during our second week the hotel emptied a lot and there were plenty of sun beds then! There is only so long I can spend sitting on a beach, once I have read for several hours I get a bit bored so we had opted for a hotel with some available activities. We were very impressed with what we found.
On the beach there is a water sports hut, here you signed waiver forms for your chosen activity and also book the time slots for anything you wanted to do. You could only book for that day which was great as it meant you knew you would be able to do your activity if you got to the hut in the morning. There was also free tuition available. We had tuition for sailing and found the guy was great and didn't make us feel foolish and we really enjoyed ourselves. There were plenty of lifejackets in various sizes and we never had any trouble getting ones to fit when we were doing an activity. The activities available were:
Kayaks--either single or doubles
Catamaran (hobby cat) sail boats
Windsurfers
Waterskiing--split into beginners and advanced (for children over 8 and adults)
Banana Boat rides
The staff seemed to be very relaxed but we noticed that they did seem very safety conscious and were aware of all the activities going on in the bay.

There were four pools with two being adults only. They were never particularly busy and you could always find spare chairs around them. They were all a nice size and were very clean. The bars are around the pool area and one of the adult pools has a swim up bar.

If water sports aren't your thing there are four tennis courts with equipment available and I believe there is golf available locally as well.

There was a children’s club which seemed to organize various activities but I do not have any experience of how that was run.

In the evenings there was some entertainment laid on in the bar area.

There is also a spa which offered a selection of treatment but they seemed a bit expensive so I didn't try them.

----Conclusion----

This hotel offered everything we wanted. It was TOTALLY all-inclusive. All activities, equipment hire, tuition (except tennis), food, snacks and all drinks were included. The hotel is set in the most beautiful tropical gardens which are a delight to walk around. Our room and all communal areas were kept very clean. The staff were always pleasant and helpful and happy to chat, especially the gardeners who will tell you all about the species they grow. Really a tropical paradise.

St Lucia is not a very large island so to make the most of seeing it we decided to take a day trip on a catamaran and we chose Carnival sailings as that was the one that was easiest to book through our tour operator.

We were collected from our hotel and taken to Castries where we boarded the catamaran. We were all given T-shirts as a souvenir when we arrived. The boat was a lot bigger than I expected and probably had a capacity of about 45 people; there were about 30 of us on our trip. We started at about 9o’clock and we were expected to be back at Castries at about 4.

We sailed south along the coastline heading towards Soufriere. The Caribbean Sea was beautiful and the sailing was very calm at that point. The scenery inland was lovely and you could appreciate the tropical greenery from a distance. We then rounded a bay and saw the Hess Oil storage facility, this was pointed out to us by our guide but to be hones you really couldn’t miss it, it was huge and ugly but obviously serves a purpose!
The rest of the journey was very picturesque. You could sit out on deck and admire the scenery or sit inside in the shade if the Caribbean sun was too strong. You certainly need a high factor sun cream and if you opt for a hat make sure it is a tight-fitting one. My husband’s favourite is now floating around the world somewhere after a gust of wind whipped it from his head!

After about two hours we arrived at Soufriere. The magnificent Pitons could be seen from quite a distance away and were certainly very impressive, previously when I had visited St Lucia I had only seen one as the other had been covered in mist so it was nice to see the pair. We were taken onto minibuses and we went on tours of the volcano and the botanical gardens.

On returning to the boat we were greeted with a delicious home-cooked lunch, buffet-style. There was meat, chicken and lots of fish along with a lovely selection of local vegetables. You were allowed to return to the buffet as often as you wanted and there was certainly plenty to go round. There were also lots to drink whatever you preferred. There was plenty of water and fruit juices and rum punch. I am not usually a drinker of Rum Punch but this was lovely and is certainly worth sampling.

We then set sail north and pulled into a bay by Anse Le raye where we were able to get out and swim. If you have snorkel gear then this is an ideal time to use it as the bay was shallow with lots of fish to see. After about 45 minutes we were on our way again.

The catamaran sailed into Marigot Bay, the famous site of the filming of Dr Doolittle. It is a beautiful spot and it is a shame that we were not able to stop there for a little while to admire the view.

We were then heading back to Castries, the music was on and there were lots of people dancing, obviously loosened by the Rum Punch. My son was strutting his stuff, doing his Michael Jackson dancing and everyone was having a good time. The guides were working really hard to make sure everyone was enjoying themselves but if you just wanted to lie on the deck and enjoy the sunshine then that was ok, no-one harassed you.

Overall this is a great trip and one that I would recommend to anyone. There were not many children on board as they seem to prefer the Pirate Ship tours so our children were treated especially well and loved every minute of it.

As you arrive at Soufriere the impressive volcanic plugs of Gros and Petit Piton dominate the skyline. This is the home to the worlds only "drive-in" volcano. This is possible because the last major eruption blew out the side of the volcano so the area visited is actually within what would have been the crater as the wall is no more.

The first thing that hit us as we arrived at Sulphur Springs in Soufriere was over-powering smell. All the experiments at school with Sulphur smelling like rotten eggs came flooding back. The smell is supposed to be worse at night but it is certainly pretty powerful in the day as well.

I originally visited these springs in 1992 when you were allowed to wander freely between the bubbling pools but now the area is roped off and all visitors stay behind a fence. This was because a guide fell through the crust about 16 years ago and although he was rescued he was obviously badly burnt. As a parent visiting with my children I was much happier that they were not in danger but it does make the visiting experience more sterile.

The sight of all the bubbling rock pools is still very impressive. The rock is mainly grey but every now and again there is a patch where minerals have been deposited and they are a beautiful selection of colours. The guide that we had was very informative and was telling us that the people of Soufriere do not worry about an eruption because they believe that whilst the sulphur smell is in the air the volcano is venting and not building up pressure, I am not sure if that is true or not! The last major venting was in the 1700s and it was steam not lava or ash.

A visit here is quite short as there is really not a lot to see but the initial impression and the aromatic experience still makes it worth a visit. There are toilet facilities but do be prepared to battle your way past lots of sellers whilst trying to make your exit!

Any tour of the island of St Lucia would be incomplete with a visit to the Botanical Gardens and the Diamond Falls.

The gardens began to be planted in 1983 when the potential for tourism was spotted. There are now six acres of beautiful, lush tropical garden planted up with winding paths allowing exploration. The gardens are wonderful and there are some very knowledgeable guides with some great lines in patter. The natural flora and fauna of the island is represented and the plants are stunning and look almost artificial.

The Diamond Falls is actually a small water fall in the gardens, it is named because of the variety of colors of minerals that have been deposited on the rocks behind it, it is quite small but it is still pretty. Tourist used to be able to bathe here but that is no-longer allowed.

It is possible to bathe in the mineral-rich waters elsewhere in the gardens in the official tubs, these are naturally fed from hot springs associated with the volcano. The mineral baths are particularly recommended for people with rheumatism.

These gardens offer a delightful walk through charming surroundings and are certainly worth a visit.

We travelled to Pigeon Island as a free excursion from our Tour Operator. It is situated almost at the northern tip of St Lucia, just past Gros islet.

I was most surprised when we arrived because Pigeon Island is not actually an island at all! It seems that it used to be but in about 1970 Rodney Bay was dredged to provide a Marina suitable for larger yachts and the dredged mud was used to make a causeway between the island and the mainland.

When you arrive you are given a map which lists the main features of the site. This also tells you some of the history of the site. The site has some interesting history. In the 1500s it was the haunt of French pirates who used the caves for hiding their ill-gotten gains. Rodney Bay is named after Admiral Rodney who is said to have used Pigeon Island to keep an eye on Martinique and was able to stop the French invaders from attacking Jamaica because of spotting their actions early.

The current work going on in the area is to recreate the fort as it was in the time of Admiral Rodney (1700s). At the moment it is possible to walk right up to the top of the fort but the final stretch is very steep and then there are ladder like steps to actually get onto the viewing area. The walk is worth it as the views towards St Lucia are glorious and it is possible to see across the Caribbean Sea to Martinique, just as Admiral Rodney would have done. If you are feeling energetic you can carry on walking up Signal hill which also gives stunning views towards the North of the island but take a drink as it is hot work.

Although the island is very small the contrast from one side to the other is staggering. On the Southern side you can swim in the warm, clear waters of the Caribbean Sea. You can then walk across the flat part of the island for about three minutes and you come across the whirling breakers of the Atlantic Ocean. Here we watched the grey sea breaking violently over rocks and then looked over our shoulders to sea the quiet blue sea on the other side, quite a bizarre experience. On the Atlantic side we also came across thousands of hermit crabs, most were absolutely tiny and we didn’t see them at first but once you stopped walking and looked at your feet you realised how many there were so it is worth keeping your eyes open.

There is a restaurant on the island (Jamb de Bois) but we didn’t visit it so I cannot comment on its service. There were public toilets and they were nice and clean.

I would recommend a visit to Pigeon Island to anyone visiting St Lucia. It is very quiet, we didn’t see any guided tours and so it was not at all commercialised but there are beautiful walks and views definitely worth seeing.