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| Sugar Beach, A Viceroy Resort |
Style Theory: St Lucia is the only sovereign nation to be named after a woman and she welcomed us with warmth, showing us her beauty from the moment we stepped off the plane. St Lucia is situated in the Caribbean, on the eastern Caribbean sea (on the boundary of the Atlantic ocean) and is a heady mix of rainforest, mountains, picturesque bays and the most stunning white sand beaches and crystal clears seas.
For our first 3 nights we stayed the East Winds, St Lucia which is a secluded, laid back but beautiful 4 star hotel on the North West coast of St Lucia (about an 1hr 40 mins drive from the airport). It has 30 cottage suites and an ocean front beach house all set in an expanse of beautiful tropical gardens, complete with winding paths and small bridges leading you around the low key resort. It prides itself on being a secluded, boutique hideaway resort, not in the least brash or shouty instead it has a warm welcoming relaxed atmosphere that immediately put us at ease.
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| East Winds, St Lucia |
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| East Winds - beach |
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| East Winds, St Lucia |
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| Dress - Honey Rocks London |
Our ocean front suite overlooked the beautiful quiet beach, we were the only ones on the beach the majority of the time as it was out of season and fairly quiet (although even the height of the season as there are not loads of cottages it remains quiet and relaxed) Our suite was beautiful, spotlessly clean, airy with a sitting area and a huge bathroom and wardrobe area, within 5 steps we were on the white sandy beach and the pool and restaurant was a 2 min walk away.
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| East Winds, St Lucia - Ocean Front Suite |
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| East Winds - beach |
The vibe in East Winds is easy, dip in and dip out of what you like. They had watersports, catamarrans, paddleboarding, canoes, snorkling gear that were manned all day by East Winds watersports staff who were super friendly and happy to get us set up in a boat any time of day. There was also daytrips, a sunset cruise (one of my highlights, it was incredible watching the sunset as we sailed through the sea with champagne) yoga, pilates outside in the secluded pavillion.
If relaxing is your thing, you can just as happily lie on the sunloungers reading and dipping in and out of the crystal clear sea watching the palm trees sway in the breeze as the minutes gently pass you by in idyllic peacefulness.
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| East Winds, St Lucia |
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| Fresh towels for the beach - East Winds |
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| East Winds, St Lucia - Beach |
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| Bikini - Boden Sarong - Forage Somerset Flip Flops - Havianas |
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| Sunset Cruise - East Winds St Lucia |
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| Sunset Cruise - East Winds St Lucia |
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| Sunset Cruise - East Winds St Lucia |
The food at East Winds is amazing, all served in the cool, open oceanfront restaurant where you eat breakfast, lunch and dinner. The staff are all incredibly attentive and friendly but in a laid back way so the vibe is calm. Fresh fish, delicious meats, out of this world fruit and a barbecue on Friday nights, I could not fault it, Russ and I loved it all.
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| Breakfast at East Winds |
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| Dress - Zara Bag - Estee Rose London Sandals - Espadrille.co.uk |
The people staying at the hotel were a mix of ages, all couples there were no kids (our two may have struggled for things to do there I think) but mainly older couples. It is the kind of place people go to once and return year after year as it is beautiful, low key, the staff are friendly but not pushy and the food is fabulous. The fact it has 987 almost all 5 star reviews on Trip Advisor really speaks for itself.
After three relaxing, idyllic days we drove to the south west of St Lucia, past the banana plantations, the fishing villages, the bustling town of Soufriere with its brightly coloured houses and busy fishing port. The scenery driving through St Lucia is breathtaking, the roads are incredibly windy, hairpin bend after hairpin bend but around every corner is a spectacular view, densely covered green mountains juxtaposing the clear Caribbean sea.
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| The Pitons - St Lucia |
We stayed for the next two nights at the ultra luxurious Sugar Beach, a Viceroy Resort set in more than 100 acres of rainforest nestled in between the Pitons, two large volcanic hills that dominate the landscape. It's truly the dream location, the views are jaw dropping and the resort, a chic village of white Plantation style villas each with its own plunge pool, is the possibly the most elegant resort I have every been.
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| SugarBeach, A Viceroy Hotel |
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| The Walk to Our Villa - Sugar Beach, A Viceroy Hotel |
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| Each Guestroom has its own plunge pool at Sugar Beach, St Lucia Swimsuit - Beach Cafe |
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| The View from our villa - we watched the sunset every evening Sugar Beach, St Lucia |
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| Dress Batsheva Espadrilles - Castaner |
The one bedroom villa we stayed in was stunning inside and out, everything pristine white, four poster beds, double showers, with the most glorious view overlooking the sea framed by the Pitons. The staff could not have possibly done anymore for us, they were amazing and we shuttled from the villa to the resort bars and restaurants on the white sandy beach (2 minute car ride) although it was a lovely walk down to them when we weren't being lazy.
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Bedroom Luxury at Sugar Beach, St Lucia
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| Sugar Beach, A Viceroy Resort |
The main house at Sugar Beach was the home of the upmarket Great Room restaurant where we ate the first night, the decor is impeccable, the food utterly delicious, Caribbean influenced dishes with a twist. We ate at the Bayside restaurant the second night, it sits on Sugar Beach's white sandy beach and has a more laid back vibe, the food again was delicious, I ate my Caribbean obsession vegetable Roti, if you ever go try it its delicious.
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| Sugar Beach, A Viceroy Resort |
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| Dress - Innika Choo Bag - Piel de Mar |
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| The Pool at Sugar Beach, A Viceroy Resort |
Using Sugar Beach as a base we were taken to a few of the island's tourist attractions by the St Lucia Tourist Association who were hosting us, we visited the Sulphur Springs, the islands 'drive in' volcano where a guide told us the history of the dormant volcano, as we watched the bubbling mud pools and steam shooting from the rocks (it is all very safe and hasn't erupted since the late 18th century)
On the way out we had a dip in the skin rejunvenating mud baths, meant to detoxify your body and is believed to help eczema, arthritis and sore joints...it definitely made our skin feel amazing.
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| Sulphur Springs, St Lucia |
Then onto Toraille Waterfalls, again so beautiful..although I failed to get a beautiful shot, more 44 mother of two doing an impression of a drowned rat. It was so lovely to get into the waterfall, left me feeling super refreshed after the warmth of the mud baths (although on reflection it may be better to do it the other way around so your don't immediately wash all the goodness of the mud baths off)
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| Toreille Waterfalls |
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| Ha!! |
We visited Hotel Chocolat for lunch - I had vegetable roti again, infused with cocoa and then chocolate melting middle pudding...delicious.
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| Hotel Chocolat |
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| Hotel Chocolat |
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| Hotel Chocolat |
We spent out final evening at Sugar Beach, watching the sunset over the Caribbean Sea, peaceful, tranquil, a much needed break in paradise away from the madness and business of everyday life....it was pure heaven....
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| Sugar Beach, A Viceroy Resort |
We were hosted by the St Lucian Tourist Association, if you are thinking of visiting St Lucia check out their website here, it is amazing, jam packed with information about the island, places to visit where to stay.
We flew British Airways, flights were approx £600 return, we went 22nd May returned 27th May and did not see one drop of rain, the temperature was a perfect 28 degrees. The sunsets early at 6pm but the evenings remained comfortably warm.
We are definitely going to go back, it was the holiday of a lifetime but hopefully we will get to do it more than once in our lifetime. We loved both hotels, EastWinds is low key, relaxed, with a really chilled, positive vibe, the team are great and the food amazing. Sugar Beach, St Lucia is glamorous, chic with jaw dropping views, great food and a great team. The vibe in St Lucia is warm, relaxed and friendly, with breathtaking scenery certainly making it a little taste of heaven on earth.
Hotel Info:
Room rates at East Winds http://eastwinds.com/ start from US$756 per night for a Superior Cottage inclusive of breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea, 4 course dinner, all drinks, stocked mini bar, complimentary yoga and pilates classes use of water sports equipment and fitness centre.
Rates at Sugar Beach, A Viceory Resort from $455 (approx £348) per night. Room only. Excluding 10% VAT https://www.viceroyhotelsandresorts.com/sugar-beach
Room rates at East Winds http://eastwinds.com/ start from US$756 per night for a Superior Cottage inclusive of breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea, 4 course dinner, all drinks, stocked mini bar, complimentary yoga and pilates classes use of water sports equipment and fitness centre.
Rates at Sugar Beach, A Viceory Resort from $455 (approx £348) per night. Room only. Excluding 10% VAT https://www.viceroyhotelsandresorts.com/sugar-beach
This was written in association with St Lucia Tourist Association, the trip was a discounted press trip (partly paid for by us) all opinions, thoughts and photography are my own.
