In September 2019 my family and I were fortunate to return to the beautiful Caribbean island of St Lucia for a relaxing holiday. We stayed at the wonderful Anse Chastanet resort on the west side of the island, where we spent 8 nights.
Anse Chastanet beach
One of the most remarkable and distinguishing features of this hotel is the lack of glass – there are no windows! Our rooms had a living space open to the lush rainforest, almost like a sheltered balcony, and the bedrooms had shutters enabling them to be closed off. We frequently saw small birds flying in and out of the rooms and we were constantly in awe of the stunning panoramic views of the Pitons and the beautiful Caribbean sea.
View of the Pitons from our room
Several of the rooms are scattered up the hillside, including ours, and it was a short stroll part-way down the hill to one of the best locations for breakfast I’ve ever come across – once again, no windows in sight. The French influence on the island meant the pastries were divine, and the exotic fresh fruit and fresh smoothies included passion fruit and guava. There were hot options that could be cooked to order too, my parents both enjoyed the omelettes whereas my sister and I favoured the pancakes and French Toast!
Continuing further down the hill takes you to the main beach at Anse Chastanet, a tropical haven with dark volcanic sand, elegant palm trees and sun-bleached palm fronds sheltering the loungers. The water is the most beautiful rich blue-green. All the beaches in St Lucia are public (up to the high tide line) but as we visited out of the main season the beaches remained really quiet. A couple of times a day hotel staff wandered among the loungers bringing fresh fruit sticks or homemade ice lollies.
We spent most days simply relaxing on the beach reading, or swimming and snorkelling among colourful fish and reefs. There’s a scuba centre and watersports available too, and the calm waters were ideal for paddle boarding. You can also walk round to a quieter second beach, Anse Mamin, or get a lift on one of the resort’s boats. The jungle burgers are renowned and are served with plantain chips and banana ketchup! When we visited the island two years ago we also did a really good day excursion off the grounds, which included the Botanical Gardens, Sulphur Springs, Thermal Baths and a tour of the farm that grows the food for the hotel.
The unique combination of Caribbean, African, English, and French cultures influence the food, with plenty of fresh fish and locally grown produce dominating the menus. St Lucia is also known for its cocoa growing (it’s where Hotel Chocolat grow theirs!), as well as its Caribbean rum. When we arrived our hotel rooms had miniature bottles of Chairman’s Reserve along with a lime & honey syrup in the fridge ready for mixing together to create a delicious cocktail, as well as homemade banana bread too.
Anse Mamin
As I mentioned we visited out of peak season, and September actually falls within hurricane season. We were fortunate to have nearly every day full of sunshine and blue skies, with maybe one or two cloudier days and some rain. And as with any tropical country there were the mosquitos to contend with, but we were well prepared with plenty of mosquito spray plus there are nets over the beds.
Sunset at Anse Chastanet
The flight time from London is about 8 and a half hours if you fly direct. We flew into Hewanorra International Airport (UVF) on the south of the island. There’s also a second smaller airport towards the north of the island near Castries, the capital. The nearest town to Anse Chastanet is Soufriere. St Lucia is one of the windward islands in the Caribbean and is one of only two countries in the world named after a woman, Saint Lucy of Syracuse (the other being Ireland, named after the Celtic goddess Eire). The national flag features the iconic Pitons (which you can hike up if you’re feeling ambitious!).
Palm trees in St Lucia
It’s safe to say there is no shortage of beauty in the tropical paradise of St Lucia and I would recommend visiting to anyone.
I’d love to hear about anyone else’s Caribbean adventures!
Alexa
ALEXA ELIZABETH 