We came to Serrana Villa from Scotland to celebrate my husband’s 50th birthday. We loved the stunning views from this ‘’James Bond House’’ and Janus was the perfect host, even bringing us Mangoes, pineapples and fresh bread. He was friendly and welcoming and also provided our hired car for the week which we also recommend.

After spending a night at Laborie Beach, we enjoyed Serrana and many of the other attractions the area has to offer.

What we did:

• Catered a boat from ‘’Mystic Man Tours’’ and snorkeled the beautiful reef of Sugar Beach and Anse Chastanet Beaches.
• Enjoyed a rainforest drive to Marigot Bay.
• Sulphur Springs Drive-in Volcano and Mud Baths.
• Diamond Falls and Botanical Gardens.
• Sugar Beach
• Morn Coubaril Historical Estate Tour, Creole Lunch and Zip lining (great fun!)
• Had dinner at Orlando’s (great staff but over-pricey) and Ruby’s (great fish and shrimp and good chat with owner Terrance)
• Tet Paul Nature Trail & Views!

Thanks for a wonderful home for our time in Soufriere Janus. We will never forget it!

Laura and Ewan 
Roslin Scotland

Janus, thank you for a wonderful stay at Serrana Villa! We appreciate all your hospitality, advice and surprises like mangoes & Coconuts! Our first day here we felt out of our comfort zone. We didn’t know where to get groceries, where the roads were, how to go to different places. Janus assured us by the end of our stay we would know the area and feel like locals. He was definitely right! Serrana Villa is a beautiful home with gorgeous views and has everything you need to settle down and make this place your home. We had an amazing week! We rented a car which we would definitely suggest doing. It allowed us to make out own schedule.

Some places we really enjoyed:

• New Jerusalem Falls: warm natural mineral baths. 10EC a person. Beautiful walk to fall/mineral baths.
• Sugar Beach: Free to park and you may be able to catch a ride on the way down so you don’t have to walk down-hill. Beautiful beach, you can rent snorkeling gears (10 EC per hour per person or 20 EC for the day) Snorkeling was really fantastic!
• Piton Falls: On the way to Sugar Beach. 3 US a person. Pretty scenic area, baths warm, mineral baths, natural area
• Sulphur Springs Mud & Mineral Baths: 14 EC a person if you only do the mud/mineral baths. Skin felt really soft afterwards. Fun experience!
• Torille Waterfall: 3 US a person. Cold waterfall. Very refreshing.
• Tet Paul Nature Trail: 10 US a person. Guided tour. Pretty views of the Pitons and surrounding area. Hike about 1 hour.
• Gros Piton: Must do if you like hiking! Incredible hike up the Piton, scenic views and very beautiful hike through the forest. Guided hike about 4 hours of hiking, 5hours including breaks. Challenging but doable. 2,000 feet elevation gain. $35 US a person.
• Anse Mamin: Free beach, parked Anse Chastanet and walked ½ mile to Anse Mamin Beach. Beautiful beach. There’s a bar and lunch grill right on the beach.  Mahi-Mahi Sandwich and Beef Burger were delicious. You can rent chairs or bring a sheet as a blanket and sit for free.
• Fond Doux Estate: Plantation tour. Tour was really great learning about different nature fruits and how chocolate is made. Clinton was our tour guide. He was Great! The tour said it include, fruit snacks but we were out of season so we didn’t really have any snacks other than cocoa seeds.

Places we enjoyed Eating: (in no order)

• Captain Hooks: Great local food. We got the creole Chicken and creole fish. Delicious, came with a platter of veggies, rice, salad and pumpkin soup. Affordable meal, nice friendly service. Park new Orlando’s and walk up the hill keeping Hammingbird Resort sign to your left. (cash only)
• Fedo’s: Another good local place, affordable and within walking distance (10 minute walk) from Serrana Villa (we drove). Chicken roti was so good (cash only)
• Martha Tables: on the road to Sugar Beach. Delicious food, good service. We got chicken breast platter. They are lunch only.
• Pounty’s Pizza: Located in uprising Bar on same street as Orlando’s. This Pizza was sooo good! Only open Friday’s and Saturdays. Can eat in or take out. Bread sticks were cheesy bread and had a  really good marinara sauce. We got a large Pizza with Pepperoni, caramelized onions and sliced green peppers. Lester was super nice. (cash only).
• Anse Mamin Bar and Grill: Very good burger and fish sandwiches and beautiful scenery.
• Jade Mountain Resort: Unbelievable view of the Pitons and Soufriere, Best Views. More expensive, very good food. Ceviche, burger and seared fish all good!!! Went for Lunch. Made reservation
• Mango Tree Restaurant: Had dinner there. Got there around 6 before sunset. Very good service and a tummy shrimp risotto and jerk chicken sandwich. Pretty views of the Ocean.

Places we didn’t enjoy:

• Ruby’s Pizza & Grill: Didn’t have Pizza and prices were very high!  Example $20 EC for pumpkin soup. 50 EC for caesar salad with chicken.
• Orlando’s: Overpriced small dishes, we had a $25 US mushroom risotto that was the size of the remote here. Service was very friendly though.
• Pitit Peak: Food was okay. We felt it was over priced for what it was. Nothing special.

Extra Information:

Janus gave us a cell phone which allowed us to make local cellphone calls. Very helpful! Also keep all food in the refrigerator to avoid ants. They are very small and hard to see, but they will find your food.
We had a wonderful Honeymoon here! Perfect combination of relaxation and adventure. Thank you Janus!

Laura & Alex
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania USA 😊 

St. Lucia has been wonderful – especially Soufriere! Thank you for your hospitality and the gorgeous Views at Serrana Villa.

Day 1: We landed, drove in from UVF. It was a national holiday so not much was open but Janus had the villa stocked for us!!

Day 2: Breakfast at Sugar Beach, followed the Sulphur Spring & Waterfall with Volcano Tour. Then we had a couple’s massage at Spa at Sugar beach (5/5). Lunch at Martha’s Tables which was excellent & affordable local food (4/5). At night, we took a boat (eco dive) to Marigot Bay and had a very nice dinner with Lionfish and mushrooms (5/5).

Day 3: All day at Sugar Beach. The views are beautiful and the floating lounge/rafts are great. However, their rental is very pricey ($50USD/PERSON). Therefore, we stayed in for dinner. Enjoyed the view at Serrana.

Day 4: Chocolate tour and bar making at Hotel Chocolat. The experience was a highlight. The guides are knowledgeable and engaging. We highly recommend. We ate lunch there as well and really enjoyed it (4/5). Afterwards we hiked Tet Paul Nature Trail, which has gorgeous views, well worth the time (1.5 hours).

Day 5: We hiked and recommitted Gros Piton. The trail entrance can sneak up on you, no go slow. The Cost is $35USD/person. Be sure to pack at least 1L of water per person with snacks. The guides are great and the view is breathtaking. The total time it took us was 3.5-4 hours including tie at the peak. Go early as the heat can become oppressive. We returned home to nap and clean up before driving to Cap Maison for dinner in Rodney Bay/Gros Islet (driver time 2 hours). The view and food are worth the drive (5/5).

Day 6: Much needed rest & chill after hike and drive.

Day 7: Brief visit to Anse Chastanet & Anse Mamin before returning to Rodney Bay for a private said with JUS’ SAIL. JUS’ SAIL is Awesome!!! A great crew and ship to enjoy time on the water. We strongly recommend.

Day 8: All day at Anse Chastanet & Anse Mamin. The chairs were either for resort guest or near the dive shops are free. Snorkeling was from $11USD/person/hour. It was very relaxing. The burger at the beach bar were good (3.4/5). We returned, cleaned out before dining at Jade Mountain. This dinner was truly exceptional, ambiance, view, food and staff were all tops!!!! (6/5).

Day 9: Return Home… :( 

​Our stay in St. Lucia was wonderful!!
Tips:
1.    Rent a car. Get a 4x4 because some of the roads are winding, steep, rocky and full of pot holes! It is super nice to be able to get around on your own and make your own schedule.

2.    If you go to the bank to exchange money, the require 2 forms of ID. They specifically wanted to see my Passport and would not let me use 2 driver’s license.

3.    Buy a couple of liters of water and keep in the fridge. You can always refill water bottles easier that way.

4.    Don’t leave any food on counters or you’ll get ants!!
​
Janus and staff were incredible and very hospitable and we loved our stay at Serrana Villa!!!

Sarah & James 
Gainesville, FL.

St. Lucia, what a beautiful island! Serrana Villa provided an amazing stay, way better than any resort could have. Our 9 days on the Island were a true getaway from the busy life of home.

Some of the things we loved about the Island are as follows;
Beaches:

1. Sugar Beach – Best view, between the Pitons, Absolutely Stunning!
-Bay side bar had the beast eats, but on your way, there see if Martha's Kitchen is open… Home cooking to die for!

-Next to the public side of the beach, hit up the local making smoothies, they are delicious and run about $20EC.

-When you enter, and are finding a place to sit, open your towels down in the shade, right in from of the bar. Chairs are $50US/person.

-Janus taxi driver took us to and from both times we visited

2. Anse Chastanet/Mamin Beach
                -Best Snorkeling of all the beaches, hands down.

-Can get a little crowded on the small beach, but just head north of the road for 10 minutes to Anse Mamin.

-If you are hungry, stop by the beach grill and grab a creole burger and wings. Amazing to say the least!

-Took a taxi ride there by road and a water taxi back to Soufriere.
Attractions

Tet Paul Nature Trail - Must do!

-Amazing Views of Both Piton Mountains without too much effort – 40 mins -1hr to go through, guides are informative and answer any question.

-Took a taxi to get there

Botanical Gardens / Diamond Water Fall

                -Close to Serrana Villa
                -You do not need a guide and can walk at your own pace.
                -We did not do the Bath
                -Waterfall is beautiful and perfectly worth the entry fee!

Mystic Man Tour (ALL DAY)
                -Must Do! 
                -Best Day and Money Spent – U.S $110/person
                -Pick up on Pier in Soufriere in the morning, snorkeling and lunch in Marigot Bay all included.

Docked at 4 back in Soufriere. Rum Punch + Piton Beer on ice, never tasted so good out on the water.

-Gros Piton Climb - Fun Hike up the Mountain, we wanted to do early in the morning (7:30am). Great Guide, Chad made the climb a fun experience with laughs sweats and heavy breathing. Views at the top are amazing.

Eats

We did most of our eating at the villa and made see of the nice Kitchen. We made a lot of Pit stops at the grocery store, bakery and coffee shop. It was nice to ware up, make some coffee and have breakfast out on the deck looking down on Soufriere and up the Pitons

-Martha's Kitchen (on the way to Sugar Beach)- Must DO! Open on Weekdays

-Bay Side Bar - Sugar Beach Finger Foods.

-Pitit Peak - on the water in Soufriere , great Pasta

-Pounty's Pizza - Sweet Sauce, so good. Better than Ruby's. Open Friday plus Saturdays, 6pm. Order at the Window.

-Ruby;s Pizza & Grill - Quiet and close, can get spendy for what you get. Order the Booze instead of the soda water, its cheaper.

-Beach Grill-Crave Burger, the BEST! Order the BBQ wings too. We loved the Sauce.

-Fedos- very close walk from the Villa, very reasonable and very filling. Local all goes here! And they were right.

Head there, fix lunch early so you have the whole menu to choose from.

-ZAKA's Coffee and smoothies and extruts, very good coffee and we bought a half pound for in the morning at the Villa.

Stopped for smoothies on a hot afternoon, for the walk back up to the Villa.

Overall

Soufriere in St. Lucia in the place to be when traveling to St. Lucia. Do not be afraid or hesitant to travel into town @ any hour of the day. Residents are very welcoming and friendly. On the last night, we even go to take in some Soccer @ the Stadium. Everyone was having Fun! You do not get the experience of the Island on the resorts. We had a lovely time here at Serrana Villa, enjoying the pool view and all the comforts of home.

Janus was a tremendous host who is available at any time of the Day. He has a great group of employees that are punctual.
Thank you Janus!

George & Amanda.