St. Lucia: Sandals Grande (March 2006)

My spouse and I stayed at Sandals Grande for 3 nights in early March 2006. We took the helicopter from Hewanorra Airport to Vigie Airport. (We booked through SunLink Reps, which contracted with St. Lucia Helicopters, and paid $120 per person. The price did not include the taxi ride to Sandals Grande; however, which was another $20.) We highly recommend the helicopter--the scenery is beautiful! On our return to fly back to the US, we took the ground transportation (approximately 90-minute transfer time).

In March of 2006, we stayed at Grande for 3 nights before moving (planned ahead of time) to Regency for 4 nights. The Grande is a relatively compact property, and I didn't feel one guest room area was superior to another. On the contrary, I wasn't at all impressed by the location of the concierge rooms at Grande--they seemed to be at the edge of the property, farther away from everything. The landscaping surrounding those rooms, however, was prettier and more lush than other places. We were returning guests, so I think that we were slightly upgraded to a room on the top floor (I think it was 4 stories high) facing the lagoon pool, which we really appreciated (it may have been building 3, but I would have to check my records). We expected to face the parking lots, since we booked the lowest category of room. The rooms near the lagoon pool are also near the tiny Lover's Pool, which we really liked. We tried to avoid the main pool with all the hoopla, but of course, then you give up the swim-up pool bar, too. Our room was tiled, but the room directly across the hall from ours (which faced the ocean) was a 2-room suite with vaulted ceilings, and it was carpeted. Had I not seen the door open when the maid was cleaning and gone in to investigate, I never would have believed that the room just opposite ours could look so different. So I think what you said is true: with the view comes the carpeting. I did like the 2-room set-up, though, as well as the high ceilings (which you won't get on every floor), so it's a tradeoff having to deal with the carpet. Restaurants include the Old English Pub, Barefoot by the Sea, Josephine’s, Toscaninis, and The Bayside. We also ate at Halcyon one night at The Pier. One day we hiked to Pigeon Island to see Fort Rodney and Signal Point.

I saw two gazebos while we were there. One was larger, somewhat between Armando's Restaurant and the beach, and the other was smaller and located near the activity pool and Barefoot by the Sea Restaurant. I would definitely choose the larger gazebo. It was even set for a small wedding dinner one evening, so it was sizably different, and the location was preferable (except on ?Mondays? when they have the beach barbeque). But I truly would choose the beach over the gazebos. The gazebos weren't any more private than the beach, and while the beaches are public, I really didn't see much foot traffic from anyone other than hotel guests. And the couples that I saw getting married seemed to enjoy basking in the attention that they got from the spectators. There's no such thing as too much admiration when you are the beautiful bride. Enjoy St. Lucia!

Although I haven't been to Hawaii, I feel certain that I can tell you that the volcanos don't compare. The one in St. Lucia is really just a bubbling pit of sulfur gasses. You can "drive in" very close to it, as it claims to be the world's only drive-in volcano. Don't get me wrong, I loved St. Lucia for the mountainous greenery, but the volcano/sulphur springs were very disappointing. We booked a private driver for a tour of the island, which was well worth it, but the volcano visit was NOT the highlight of the trip. We lunched at Ladera, so we were able to get a glimpse of Jalousie below near the beach.