About a week before our stay I had discovered that a friend of mine had stayed there 3 years ago. She made me feel so much better about my first Airbnb Anxieties, so I was back to being excited.

Mike & Mindy                    June 13- 17 2019 (Michigan USA)
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We booked our stay here over a year ago. At the time I felt it must be good because it was booked pretty solid for almost a full year. Leading up to the trip though. I felt like it was too good to be true especially since the price was uneatable. About a week before our stay I had discovered that a friend of mine had stayed there 3 years ago. She made me feel so much better about my first Airbnb Anxieties, so I was back to being excited.

Day 1- flew in from Atlanta which was a 5 hour flight. The landing was a little rough but we made it. We got our rental car and we realized that even with google map navigating in St. Lucia can be confusing. Somehow we totally missed the suggest grocery store but we knew we could survive without going there. Mike seemed to enjoy the challenge of driving in St. Lucia. I on the other hand was a nervous passenger! I think the thing that freaked me out the most was those darn Frenches on the side of the road. We finally made it to the villa and were greeted right away by Janus. He was so kind, he even had one of his drivers take us to the grocery store.

​He told us of a local restaurant to go to that evening where we could watch The Basket Ball championship game. The restaurant was okay but similar to any sports bar in the U.S. We believe this bar was formally Ruby’s. By the way, directions SAY ‘’turn @ Ruby’s’’ – there is No Ruby’s! We were a little shocked that evening as to how early the sun sets. Early Sunset. Long day of travel = early bed time 😊 

Day 2- So relaxing to wake up and enjoy my coffee in paradise. We read the journal and did our research to determine our plans for the day. On our agenda: The Tet Paul Nature trail. The Sulphur Springs and dinner at Dasheene. 

Tet Paul Nature Trail: Perfect trail for non-hikers! The view was amazing over and over along with beautiful plant life. Perfect amount of time and surprisingly not as hot as we expected. Lots of rainforest shade and always a nice breeze. 

Sulphur Springs- easy to find, not far off the main road. We expected it to stink but the smell was intense. Way beyond the smell of rotten eggs. We had the guided tour of the springs which was very informative. Totally explained the whole ‘’drive through volcano’’ thing which really made us watch the landscape around the villa in a different light. Nice to know the vendors were the least pushy that weve experienced compared to Mexico & Jamaica. We had plenty of time to visit other places but we decided to chill in the pool before our 6:00pm dinner reservation. By the way the smell of the Sulphur Srping really cling to our skin and hair and was very difficult to get rid of!

Dinner @ Dasheene- the view wa stunning. It was cloudy and rainy so we didn’t see the sunset but that’s ok. We had drinks in the bar area then moved to the dining area for dinner. Honestly I felt the view where we had drinks was better than where we had dinner. So if you don’t have reservations you can eat from the full menu in the bar area. Dinner and drinks were roughly US$150. My husband felt like hotel guests were treated better than us (but honestly for what they pay they should)

Day 3- Today, we decided to make the adventurous trek to Anse Chastanet. Take the trip. Don’t get scared of the road conditions. We were able to take some spectacular pictures of Soufriere from this trip. Some of most Breathtaking by far.

Things to know- 1. The staff never made us feel like intruders. 2. The beach was far smaller than I expected even though I saw pictures and videos on Youtube of the area. 3. The snorkeling far exceeded our expectations. Mike had a great time with his go pro. Was excited to see a cattle fish that was changing colors. Lots of fish. We were hoping to see more coral but not the case here.
Anse Mamin- Yes the burgers were amazing. Drinks were great – strong. Get the drink in the coconut- delicious. Walk on the beach behind the rocks as it is totally secluded. Beach wise I liked Anse Chastanet Better (felt more tropical) but both had very few people. Ess than 15 people on either Beaches.

Also good to know it rained far less at the beach than at the villa. We were still full from the burgers well into the evening. We ended up not going out and just snacked back here. Very low key and relaxing until… I had a bat fly really low,  (like almost touched my head low!) while we were in the pool. Then we were in the house with the doors open. Guess who took a detour through the house? THE BAT!!! OMG!!! Thank goodness he quickly found his way  out!

Day 4- Its Sunday and it appears that most of the city is closed on Sundays. So having said that we decided to go back to the beach today. This time we asked at the dive shop where to snorkel. Go to the left of the dive shop up the stairs and down the side walk. There is a ladder to get into the water. This is a great spot to see lots of fish. We hired the private chef for dinner. We order the d=grilled seafood in garlic lime butter sauce. Chef Ramsey, former chef at Anse Chastanet. The food was amazing. The portions were extremely filling. I only ate half of my dinner. This was the best meal we’ve had in a very long time.

Day 5- getting ready to return to our reality. Life here has been great. We hope to return with our family 😊 

Thanks Janus, this has been our best Vacation to date! 
Mike & Mindy

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