As a fellow islander it was important to me that our visit to St. Lucia incorporated the local experience versus the tourist/resort experience.  Thank you Janus! Our stay at Serrana Villa truly accomplished that. You have a beautiful property and am looking forward to your future developments!

Here are some suggestions based on our experience. 

• Tet Paul Nature Trail – Beautiful views overlooking the Piton mountains. Took us 25 minutes (including taking pictures). We did not use a guide. Lots of steps so recommend tennis shoes versus flip flops. 

 

• Diamond Waterfall + Botanical Gardens – Quick, easy hike through the gardens great photo of waterfall but you can’t swim below it. For an extra charge you can swim in the mineral baths. 

 

• Sulphur Springs – Go at 6am – The website says they don’t open till 9am but the reception told me it was 6. We got there at 9:30am and it was already packed. 

 

• Mango Tree Restaurant at Stonefield – Fantastic Lunch!! Beaufiul views. Excellent service. Janis and Sheriann were extremely friendly and helpful. 

 

• Petit Peak – Good local food. I preferred the Roti (Chicken) here versus Fedo’s. The chicken is shredded so you don’t get any bones and they give you slaw with it. 

 

• Fedos – Decent lunch. My boyfriend enjoyed the beef roti, but again I preferred mine from Petit Peak. 

 

• Hummingbird – TERRIBLE SERVICE! Food ok. Would not recommend. I live on St. Thomas so I “get” slow service but what a waste for a $70.00 meal. Plus, we both got bitten up around our angles from mosquitos because there is no breeze. 

 

• Drive-in Volcano – We actually did this a different day when at the Sulpher mud baths even though they are at the same location. This was better for us because the day we were at the springs one of the “Vendors” Steven wouldn’t take no for an answer so we said enough and decided to come back another day. Overall we had a good experience. It’s a quick 15-30-minute tour depending on how much you talk with your guide. 

 

• Ruby’s Pizza – The owner Terrance is a great guy. He instantly welcomes you and is glad you are patronizing his businesses. Kinnion is a knowledgeable bartender (he and my boyfriend loved talking liquor since that’s his living as a liquor distributor). 

 

• Sugar Beach – unfortunately not my place to go. The USVI and BVI beaches are hand down much better than this beach without the hassles the resort gives you to patron there. $50pp to rent a chair and “public” section is full of vendors right on top of you. Not peaceful or relaxing at all. 

 

• Ladera – as with everyone else, we had a fabulous meal with spectacular views. Just a note if you want to go take pictures or have a drink they charge you a $25.00 cover charge. 

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• Orlando’s – we were very fortunate. Our first hour there we were the only patrons. About a 2 hrs. dinner. Food was delicious. I particularly enjoyed the cucumber, mango, apple salad. Very refreshing. Comparable prices to the other fine dining places (expensive with small portions) but Orlando is a very nice man. We are going to meet up with him in Chicago. 

Overall a very relaxing vacation. What we enjoyed the most was the opportunity to do activities at our own leisure. We only used a guide once (because the volcano maks you). Other than that it was great to get around with a car or walk on our own. Thank you Janus


Sheri & Kevin 

Our honeymoon began with 3 days at St. James Club Resort, and then we spent 4 days here at Serrana Villa. Hands down, the villa beats the resort. 

First, Janus is so accommodating and friendly! He personally found us in town because our car rental company gave us a different car than they told us, so Janus was on the lookout for a car that we didn’t get. We followed him up to the villa and were immediately in love with the place! We stayed in and relaxed the entire first evening. 

During our stay we went to Sulphur springs and did the mud baths, then walked through Diamond Botanical Gardens and saw the waterfall (can’t go in that waterfall, though!) so we explored New Jerusalem falls where you experience the three levels of warm baths from the falls. If we’d have known sooner, we would have continued up the road past New Jerusalem a bit and would have come across a waterfall you can actually go into! 

After, we headed to Ruby’s Pizzeria on the corner and got a pepperoni and a Hawaiian Pizza and the teriyaki wings. Delicious! (We went back another day for more pizza) definitely worth checking out. 

We also would recommend skippers in town, and there’s a BBQ stand across the street that serves delicious wings and ribs! 

We hiked the Gross Piton and it is intense! For two people in pretty good shape, we still thought it was challenging (although we moved very quickly) but so worth it! An experience you should definitely try! After, we cleaned up and rewarded ourselves with dinner at Hotel Chocolat. The view is amazing and the food!! Cocoa incorporated into all items, how can you go wrong?  

Our last full day we spent some more time in town before heading to Sugar Beach. The beach is incredible – could have stayed all day! We wanted to try Martha’s Tables, but it was closed  either due to off season, or b/c Martha is not doing well. But I’ve heard all good things about it! 

Overall, we’d recommend just going out to town and seeing what the locals have to offer. They’re all so nice and helpful!

​A few quick tops: call places before you go! Many restaurants are not open when they’re advertised to be (probably an off-season thing) but it can change your plans a lot. Also, don’t be afraid to ask questions/make conversation with locals they’re friend and great company! 

Night life isn’t much here, so have some drinks here and some food and enjoy a relaxing evening!  
P.S The mangoes Janus brought us are unbelievable! Delicious and so different than the states. And the bread too!!
Enjoy! 

Nick and Amy

​Omg! How beautiful is St. Lucia? Waking up to the breath taking views every morning is amazing. 

We would like to thank Janus for all his hospitality. Me and my husband would truly be lost without him. He arranged taxis for us as well as the wonderful private tour of Soufriere, which we very much enjoyed. 

We started the tour at 8:30am. First place we visited was Tet Paul Nature Trail. The hike/walk is about 45 minutes but definitely worth it. You can take some great pictures of the Pitons and the overall views of Soufriere. 

Next, Mud Bath and Volcano Tour. We were looking forward to this and oh boy we were not disappointed. It was great fun. Like many people recommended, go early! Apparently it opens at 8am, we go there at 10 and it was busy. Got busier as we were leaving. I enjoyed it so much I didn’t want to come out of the pool of volcanic water. Our tour guide, Shane that Janus organised was lovely. He took many pictures of us as well as selfies. 

After we went to Toraille waterfalls, which was nice too. 

Diamond Botanical Gardens, me and my husband didn’t get a tour guide. We just explored at our own pace. Beautiful plants, quiet and peaceful. 

We stopped over for lunch at a local place nearby. Recommended by Shane. The food was authentic and just what we wanted to try. It was delicious and so fresh. At $15 dollars per head you can’t go wrong. 

Lastly we stopped over at Sugar Beach. By this time we were tired, so we didn’t snorkel. Instead we enjoyed the views and at a selection of fruits St. Lucia has to 0offer. The drinks at Sugar Beach are a little pricey and the beach was a little crowded for my liking. 

We enjoyed our stay at Janus’ Villa and the kind of person he is anybody would as he is so welcoming. 

We had an amazing stay here at the Villa! Janus was the perfect host, and made us feel right at home from the second we got here. Just as others wrote, he kept us stocked at all time with delicious, fresh fruit, along with his mother’s homemade bread. Even let us borrow a cooler to take to the beach at Anse Chastanet. 

Couldn’t imagine not renting a car, we were out and about in ours at least 2-3 time/day. The roads are all in rough shape, but it sure makes for an adventure and you’ll get used to the driving pretty quick. 

Restaurants

Ruby’s Pizzeria – Only place we ate twice, we loved it! Very reasonably priced, and the pizza was phenomenal. We got to know the owner, Terrance, who learned his craft from Italian chefs at a resort in Antigua. We also love the sweet sour wings and cheap beer here. Highly recommend giving this place a try. 

Boucan (Hotel Chocolat) - Very expensive and service was not the best (Especially long waits for drinks from bar), but the food was excellent. As expected dessert was the highlight. Chocolate everything! 


Dasheene (Ladera Rsort) – We went for lunch and got a delicious burger and enjoyed the great views of the pitons. 

Petit Peak – Had our first dinner here, and it was very good and was the cheapest night out. The creole sauce pasta dish was really tasty and great salad. Definitely miss this nice little place by the water in. 

​Things we did

Beaches

Sugar Beach – Nice fine, beach right between pitons which makes for great atmosphere. Drinks food are super expensive, probably best to bring your own. 

Anse Chastanet - $11/chair rental was worth it, and $11/snorkel equipment was best $ spent anywhere. Amazing snorkeling experience with all kinds of colorful and exotic sea life to sea. 

Tet Paul Nature Trail – Quick little hike, very cool overlooks, and viewpoints. We didn’t get a tour guide and sped through in ½ and hour. Nice little time killer. 

Sulphur Springs – We got there late, around noon. Big mistake, was totally packed. We decided to skip on mud bath due to the crowds. Probably should have went right when it opens, as others recommended. 

Diamond waterfalls – We skipped on the tour guide here also, but cool to see the waterfall and many colorful and different plants growing around the trails. 
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If the nightly rains awaken you, don’t fret. Wait for it to stop then step out to the balcony. Once the clouds clear, you will be rewarded with a spectacular sky FILLED with shimmering stars of all sorts of colors. Carefully turn off all ambient lights and the milky way will come through.

​While all this is happening, your ears will be filled with the nocturnal symphony of the jungle. (Pay attention and you might realize it’s the same bugs in the same places!) 

Eventually, just as it started, the rains will come back and retake its treasures. 

Pat and Phil 

Janus, thank you so, so very much for your hospitality, the great conversations and the delicious fruit and bread that we looked forward to every morning!

It goes without saying but your place is absolutely stunning and the view is simply unbeatable. We know you’re going to do amazing things in the future and can’t wait to come back to St. Lucia in a couple years and see how many empires you’ve started!

As for recommendations, we basically followed this book and relaxed the rest of the time! We arrived with dreams of hiking the Piton and becoming adventure warriors but we’re here on honeymoon and found that after stressing about a wedding there was nothing we wanted to do more than relax and recharge.

• Beaches – we checked out Sugar Beach, Anse Chastanet and Anse Mamine and found all were absolutely beautiful. Sugar Beach was my personal favorite because of the stunning view and snorkeling (If you do go snorkeling check out the area to the right of the pier. I saw so many cool fish out there by the rocks, I could have stayed all day!). Ryan liked Anse Chastanet because of the beach palm trees (good to lay under if you don’t want to buy a chair!) and the crystal water.

Adventuring 

• The Sulphur Springs is a must do – definitely a unique experience and felt amazing!
• Tet Paul Nature Trail – easy, short hike but very informative and beautiful views all around. So if you’re into seeing the island but don’t want to drive the few hour journey, talk to Janus, he can hook you up with one of his drivers! Long story short we got roped in by a tour guide who works with an actual company but tried to take us on a round island trip on his day off to make some extra money. The trip itself was great. We got to relax and see the whole island while someone else drove, went snorkeling near Pigeon Island, go to try a few local treats, had a great lunch up north…. but we charged us $375.00USD and used our car for the trip. If you have any questions at all use us as an example, please ask Janus about tours or pricing! (Especially for any tour, if forget the name but ask him about his touring company, they’re incredibly reputable and will be much more cost effective.

Food

• Food – So we spent an embarrassing amount of money on our meals this trip but we didn’t really purchase much else so we justified our spending!
• Pier 28 -  simple burger and fries but surprisingly delicious (Beats the burgers and fries I get in the states!). if you like blended drinks try the one with “Orgasm” in the name – it doesn’t lie!
• Piton Peak – Very good fish and local vegies, slightly pricey.
• Ruby’s Pizzeria and Grill – New place but delicious pizza and much more affordable than most of the places we went. The Ruby’s Pizza was by far the best and the owner, Terrance, and his girlfriend are both a delight to talk to.

If you’re looking for a more expensive, nicer nigh out;

we recommend Orlando’s in Soufriere or Boucan at Hotel Chocolat. We splurged with drinks and desserts at both places but worth every penny spent. These two places had the most attentive and courteous staff, the atmosphere was perfect in each place.

Unfortunately, a huge chunk of change went to the restaurants at the beaches (they’re all apart of resorts so you pay for it). As most other said, you can split a pizza or burger to keep it cheaper or in retrospect we could have packed our own booze and lunch and save a hell money.
Of all the things we did on our trip, I think our favorite times were leisurely waking up, making breakfast and drinking our coffee on the patio and enjoying the view! And if cooking’s your thing, the kitchen is well stocked up. Great for anything you’d want to cook, it makes for a very enjoyable night in.

Overall, we couldn’t have asked for a single thing more from our trip or from Janus, he has been a very gracious host and don’t hesitate to call him for ideas or questions!

Thank you Janus for everything!

Ashley and Ryan

Wow, we had an absolutely amazing 12 days her in the villa and exploring this beautiful island. We tried to fit in every possible experience that St. Lucia has to offer, and the island and its people did not disappoint!

For us, we cooked in the villa a lot! The only times we went out were to Petit Peak the first night and two splurges; Jade Mountain and Dasheene at Ladera. Of the two, Jade Mountain was a far superior experience with the best view, food and service we have ever had in our lives! Not cheap ($300.00 after all fees and tip), but the meal is so top notch that we were very glad we went.

We hiked a lot too! We did the big three hikes, Gros Piton, Petit Piton, and Mount Gimie. Our favorite was Petit Piton, very steep and some rope/rock climbing but the view was so worth it! We used the same guide for all 3 hikes, his name was Cameron and he was very nice and gave us good rates for all three climbs. His full name is Cameron Vaudrogue and his number is 286 9371, he is very nice and fun to talk to.

Beaches, these were one of our favorite parts. We brought our own floaties and Janus’s chairs everywhere and we saved a fortune in rental fees!
Here is a list of beaches;
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• Anse Jaubon (walk along rocks north of Anse Mamin)
• Anse Malgretoute (secluded, view of Petit Piton)
• Anse Chastanet(very relaxed, resort infrastructure, scuba diving)
• Anse Livrogne(east of Gros Piton, west of laborie, secluded)
• Anse Mamine(walk north of Anse Chastanet, much less people)
• Sugar Beach(resort staff a bit uptight, beautiful views)

Also if you have the time, take a drive around the island and see Pigeon island and the rugged wind swept east coast for a change of pace.  You’ll realize as we did that Soufrier is the best part of the island! We enjoyed Zip Lining at Treetop Adventure Park and Dennery and explored a peninsula off the east coast somewhere that had some large brightly colored houses with no one there.

If you plan to scuba dive, we recommend scuba St. Lucia at Anse Chastanet. We did 6 dives and enjoyed them all. Our favorites were Superman’s Flight and Pinnacles.

Our advice would be to rent a car to save money on drivers, but be warned that some roads are very steep, rocky and sketchy. We got a flat tire, but it was only $5 to have it patched. Also, bring your own lunch to each beach, even resorts. We saved a fortune on lunch and breakfast and dinners that we cooked ourselves. Invest your money in experiences like diving, hiking, and dinner at Jade Mountain!