Serrana Villa: Reviews From Those Who’ve Lived, Shopped, Explored & Dined in St. Lucia

We have had an absolutely amazing vacation! So many things to see and do without even leaving Soufriere. Venturing into town can be a little intimidating at first but well worth it!  Everyone has been friendly + we have never felt unsafe at all. There’s nothing better than buying fresh and bread from the street vendors, it is delicious! We went to Zaka’s a few times amazing coffee and they also have fruit smoothies. They sell hand painted wooden masks, it’s a neat place. Purity bakery is also good, just up the street from Erolines market. We were very glad to have rented a car, the driving can be scary at first but not bad at all and you get the hang of it quickly. Its well worth it to be able to get around on your own schedule.

Sugar beach is beautiful and had the best snorkeling but is a little busier. We had a couple’s massage at the rain forest spa (which I highly recommend!) so we were able to use their shuttle to get down to the beach. I recommend using the website: crew-center.com to check the cruise ship schedules and avoid days when the big chips are in port, because they drop off large groups of people at a time.

We preferred Anse Chastenet Beach because it was less crowded. We recommended taking the short walk over to Anse Mamin beach from there even less crowded. You can rent chairs, but we just used our towels. The second day there we ate lunch at the Jungle Beach grill at Anse Mamin a little pricey ($100USD for 2 burgers and 2 cocktails) but so delicious! 

Definitely recommend the Tet Paul Nature Trail, beautiful views and some amazing photos! Morne Coubaril Estate was neat we did the tour of grounds where they process cocoa beans, coconuts + sugar canes. We also went Zip Lining which was very fun! But the best part was the amazing homemade coconut candy they sell, it is to die for! We bought 9 bags!!! Highly recommend going to buy that, even if you don’t do anything else! The Botanical Garden and waterfall was also nice. The rum punch was delicious.

Now, on to restaurants 😊

Boucan at Hotel Chocolat was amazing!! Highly recommend. We went for dinner and ended up going back for lunch because another day because we liked it so much. Since the sun sets so early here you have to eat dinner at 6pm (when most of the restaurants open) if you want to enjoy the view at all, and even the it doesn’t last long. We also ate dinner at Mango Tree, which was very good. One night we stayed nearby and ate at Ruby’s at the bottom of the hill, it was also good better than I expected actually. If you highly recommend having the private chef come cook for you at the villa! Chef Ramsey was awesome! We had the grilled pork pineapple + it was delicious! On our last night we went to Jade Mountain. The food was a little pricey but very good. It was cloudy when we were there, and the views were still spectacular, so I can only imagine how beautiful it must be on a clear day. Overall Boucan was definitely our favorite!!

We also went to the mud baths + Sulphur spring on our last day, interesting experience! I recommend going late in the afternoon when it’s not as busy. It wasn’t my favorite thing we did, but worth it for only $11 US for 2 people. 

It has been such an amazing week and we are so sad to go! Janus, thank you for everything, we really enjoyed the fresh fruit and bread! Serrana is a beautiful place and I really hope we will be back again one day. 

Heather + Tim

Georgia,USA

HONEY MOONERS 

My husband and I were BEYOND ecstatic to find Serrana available for a few days during our honeymoon! This place is too good to be true BUT IT IS TRUE! The stunning views, secluded tree house feel and the sweet/ amazing view, I don’t want to sound repetitive so I’ll just list what we did ( staring the ones we loved) with some tips.

TO DO:

• Horseback ride (try to book a tour along with beach ride, 3-4 hrs.-$70 person) 

• Helicopter ride (splurge and do the trip, it’s worth it 30mins-$225/person)

• Some sort of boat tour (we did one that went from Northern part of Soufriere, doing Sulphur springs, mud baths, waterfall, lunch and snorkeling, 6 hrs.- $100 per person) 

• See Sugar Beach, Anse Chastenet, Anse Mamin (beautiful beaches with amazing snorkeling and beach bar at Anse Mamin, $11/chair, $11/ snorkeling gear.

• Hike Gros Piton (first half is moderate, second half a lot difficult. We froze a huge water bottle so we could have cold H20 on the way down! The view breeze + Piton Beers you can buy at the top make the climb worth it! Start early and bring a sweat rag! 4-5 hrs.- $45/ person.

• Mud Baths & Sulphur Springs/ Waterfall (hey are all so close to each other so you could knock them out quick. Go later in the day to avoid crowd)

Tips:

1) Try to pull as much money you think you’ll need once. We kept having to go back and most times they were out of service, had no money to give (ATM) two in Soufriere one by water and one by Pharmacy or wouldn’t take our cards, , Long lines etc.
2) RENT A CAR! It’s not that expensive and it’s not that hard to drive! trust me you get the hang of it quickly and doing everything on your own time is so CONFIDENT! 
3) If you need help with directions, ask a local! They are so friendly and happy to help!
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Janus thank you so much again for your hospitality. This Villa was the perfect way to end our honey moon. Whenever we come back to St. Lucia you will be seeing us again! And if you ever want to come to Virginia, we open our doors to you. 

                                                          THANK YOU AGAIN!!
                                   With love from Richmond Virginia…...    Lindsey & Neil

• Day 1: Picked up the rental car and got to the villa in the evening. We arrived on a Sunday, so the grocery store was closed but thankfully Janus had a few items stocked for us to get through breakfast the next day until we could get to the store. We laid low and had dinner at Ruby’s. Ruby’s is a good fall back if you don’t have anything else planned.

• Day 2:  Drove to Sugar Beach. We parked at the top before the main gate. Paid $5.00 and walked down. We used the receipt of our own drinks & food to grab the shuttle back up since it’s a long steep walk. Beautiful beach, can get crowed but we were told cruises usually drop people off there Wed &Thurs, so it wasn’t bad when we were there on a Mon. Grabbed lunch at the Mango Tree- delicious and amazing view. Stopped by Eroline and went down the waterfront for sunset and a drink.

• Date 3: Hiked the Tet Paul Nature Trail. Very short and easy walk but has good views. Drove the Anse Chastenet Beach which was much more welcoming than Sugar Beach. We loved Anse Mamin the best. A short 7 min walk from Anse Chastenet quiet and the best burgers! Drove to the mud bath/ Sulphur Springs after. We got there around 4:00pm and it was perfect. Hardly anyone there and the air temperature cooled down a bit. Would recommend going later to miss the tourist bus/ crowds. Grabbed a pizza from Ruby’s on the way in. 

• Day 4:  Went back to Sugar Beach but this time we paid the $50.00/per person to use the shuttle down back. You use the money for drinks/ food at the resort. They will not let you use the chairs unless you pay another $50.00/ chair, so we used our towels and mainly stayed in the water. Lunch at the Tapa’s area was great and beautiful view. Grabbed an early dinner (Roti’s) at Fedo’s   since its closed at 5:00. Great fish of the day and Roti! Then went to a local cricket match at the stadium in Soufriere. Fun night with the locals. 

We enjoyed exploring and loved how close we were to all the sites. A wonderful vacation! 
Leslie Ann& Andrew

(Charlotte, NC USA) 

Jackie & Ken Scott
Canada Ontario


Started our visit by getting used to the town. Very safe all the local people are awesome! Had lunch at Petit Peeks.
 
*Picked up coffee across the street at ZAKA’s, 20 US for ½ LB awesome.
*Go down on waterfront ask for Shaba great spice rum (Baron Street)
Went for a drive up to behind Vills towards Castries to (look out) AWESOME VIEW!
Back to town, lunch at (Sea View) local food great service.

Today we enjoyed the villa in the AM, then went to the botanical gardens (very nice) then down to Sugar beach, cost $50 US per person but you can use to buy lunch + drinks, this was ok but I would not go back. The beach at Anse Mamin, at Jade Resort is the best, great service, great water. We stayed at Jade two nights before coming to the villa, very nice lots of steps very $$$.

Today it’s raining we have friends coming in for the weekend, going to the airport to pick them up+ grab more food + drinks. Stopped for a food by the airport, grocery store in Soufriere us just as good. Saturday, we went to the market in town, had breakfast at ZAKA’s (omelet) very good.
Went to Toraille falls, nice time.

We went for dinner at Orlando’s very expensive, cost $450 US, nice but not worth the money.

Sunday, had Janus hook us up with a boat tour, met at 10am went to Marigot, learned a lot from our guide, we ate at Chateau Mygo very goof. Boat ride back to Sugar Beach for snorkeling, we recommend taking a boat tour you get a better feel and a different look at the island. (Boat called Justis) $125 per person. Monday got up early went to Tet Paul Nature Trail, we had a great time totally recommend going. Then we went to piton falls, water is warm right out of the ground bring your swim suit! Went to Fedo’s for lunch (best lunch ever). Spent afternoon at villa.

Going home today thank you Janus for your kindness, we really enjoyed this piece of paradise, perfect anniversary vacation.

Ken + Jackie Scott
Ontario Canada
Thanks for the great time.