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

Thanks so much to our amazing host, janus, for making us feel so welcome to St. Lucia and Serrana Villa. After Janus welcomed us in person to the villa it was apparent that he is the “Superhost” as described in many glowing online reviews. 
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We were given a tour of the villa and all of the amenities and assured that we could contact our host at any time to assist us or answer questions. If you don’t already have the WhatsApp, go ahead and download it. We sued the app to contact Janus for everything we needed – transportation, recommendations, questions etc. 

The blackberry phone is for Serrana Guests – it’s quite handy if you’re out and about and need to contact Janus or one of his drivers, or make local reservations without using your roaming services. The phone has the numbers you need or speed dial! The Wi-Fi is solid – never  had any problems with connectivity. The Smart TV’s with Netflix are a wonderful added touch. This is one of the creature comforts, along with Wi-Fi that made us feel like this was home away from home. 

We did not realize how hot St. Lucia would be. Hope you packed light cotton and linen as you will sweat through clothing if you spend anytime at all walking around town or on a tour. After arriving back “home” from an outing, having a dip in the cooling plunge pool was divine. From the wifi, Netflix, WhatsApp conveniences to the luxury of the plunge pool and rain showers – it’s apparent that Janus has anticipated your every need. Combine with the magnificent views – you’ve definitely mad the right choice in staying at Serrana. 

Advice:

walk around Soufriere and get to know where a few places are, there’s a bank, souvenir shop, many restaurants, a couple grocery stores. There’s a gas station, cool breeze, nearby convenient to pickup snacks, drink (Pitons!). there’s a market each morning down by the waterfront. Friday morning is the best though – more venodrs come and there’s also meat and fish available. GO EARLY. 

Local people are all very friendly. Don’t be shy, say hello! Many will want to chat with you to get you to buy something, use their service (Water Taxi, Tour). Or even beg for money. The advice given us was to make eye contact say NO. Which has worked well for us, and know that everything is negotiable. 

Don’t leave food or dirty dishes out, will attract the ants. 
We picked up groceries on the way from the airport in Vieux For supermarket. Good idea to get supplies to make breakfast the next morning, and to pickup some beverages. We recommend the Piton Beers, and Bounty Rum. 

September is off-season, unfortunately we could not try some of the local restaurants such as Ruby’s and Fedo’s  - as they were closed the week that we were here. Marigot Bay was also fairly quiet  - some shops were closed. It rained torrentially on night, and a couple of morning but overall the rail did not affect our vacation. 

There was a little black bird repeatedly flying into the window. Trying to get in. we named him LIL TAP TAPP because you can hear his beak tap-tapping at the window 😊 

Zaka’s Aart Café – excellent coffee and smoothies. Amazing local vibe. We loved this place. We purchased one of the beautiful hand crafted wooden masks. 

Tet Paul Nature Trail – SERIOUSLY, GO HERE! Probably our top recommendation for thing to do. It’s inexpensive and not very time consuming but the views are magnificent. You will want to see this! 

Sulphur Springs Tour – Tour is short but interesting and the actual bubbling pools are pretty incredible to see in person. The mud baths seem to be very highly rated but just not something we were interested in doing. 

Martha’s Tables – Best Local Spot for Lunch, open weedays 11:30-3. Probably the best local food we had during our stay – wish we could have gone back to try more of the menu. The pumpkin soup and fishcakes were delicious. 

Sugar Beach – this resort is super pricey. If you want to go to this beach on the cheap take a water taxi and get a beach chair on the public side (free). Resort side you need to pay $25 USD per person for a day pass in order for the shuttle to take you back up to the parking lot. I don’t recommend walking up the hill to the parking lot, unless you are fit. Apparently the resort charges US$50 per person to use one of their beach chairs. We though that was a little steep so we sat on the public sided. The beach chairs are definitely not comfortabl though. There’s a great snorkeling site on the public side – this was lot’s of fun; overall this beach was the most picturesque, situated between the Pitons. Great place for photos! 

Anse Chastanet – Snorkeling area right beside Scuba St. Lucia. They rent gear there if you need. $5:50 to rent a life vest for an hour, plus $50 deposit. Snorkeling was so so. Don’t know if we got unlucky but the wasn’t much to see when we snorkeled there. $34 USD for renting 2 chairs. The road to get to Anse Chastanet/Jade Mountain is extremely bumpy. 

Anse Mamin – secluded beach 10 mins walk from Anse Chastanet. Snorkeling area is nor marked but there are some coral fish by turtle rock, honestly enjoyed snorkeling there as I had the whole place to myself. Beach chair rentals offered at different price points; $11 USD for plastic chairs, $17 for regular chairs nu umbrella, or for $54 US 2 chairs, umbrella, towel service, water and juice. The old plantation ruins are located on resort property and only available to visit for resort guests. This beach was so laid back and unbusy – we came here twice (not just for the beach, but for the burgers!). 
Jungle Reef Beach Restaurant – Beach restaurant at Anse Mamin – everyone said get the burger so we did and enjoyed every last bite! The Gourmet burger is $28.00 US – which is pretty pricey but definitely tasty! 

Mango Tree – Stunning views. Be there for sunset. Good food, but for the price, we preferred Hoel Boucan. 

Mystic Man Tours – Full Day Snorkel + Sail. Snorkel at Anse Cochon – it was only okay. Didn’t stay long enough to get a full appreciate of it, and saw the same things as snorkeling at all the other beaches. Lunch at marigot Bay at Chateau Mygo. Great local food. Not all the shops were open though. Marigot Bay is beautiful marina but wasn’t a whole lot to do there possibly due to it being slow season. We got unlucky with some heavy rains and winds during our sail – but it all turned out alright because we came across a huge pod of dolphins. What an incredible experience! My husband filmed one jumping into the air. Wonderful memory. This water tour was a great way to see the island from the water. Very scenic, very fun day. Book ahead, credit card needed to secure reservation. 

Diamond Botanical Gardens – Stunning if you appreciate plants/flowers/nature. Lot’s of great information on the signage. We sort of regret not hiring a guide to answer our questions. Not sure how much that would of cost though. We didn’t’ do the baths – only the tour. The waterfall is beautiful. We walked from the villa – maybe 25 minute walk. 

Jade Mountain – Best view of the Pitons on the island. We normally wouldn’t have such an extravagant dinner. Except it was our 10th anniversary, so why not? It’s a fixed price menu – US$95.00 per person. Menu changes daily. We did cocktails and drinks with dinner so we racked up $350.00 USD. There are lot’s of other gems delivered during the evening – it all lasted about 3 hours and it was an unforgettable experience. The photo ops along…fabulous. Book your reservation ahead of time! we booked one week in advance. Credit card needed to secure reservation. They can sometimes give a tour of the resort if you let them know in advance. 

Hotel Boucan Chocolat – this was our fave for dining restaurant. Food view of Petit Piton, great atmosphere and amazing food with excellent presentation. Dessert was definitely my favorite part. If you love chocolate you might want to give this a try even if you’re not a chocolate lover, I’d still recommend it! 

Petit peak – nice local place on the waterfront. Excellent views at sunset. Tasty local food (Rotis). We read mixed reviews of this place. Glad we decided to try it because we really enjoyed the food and service here. 

We didn’t rent a car, so one of Janus drivers, Fabian, drove us everywhere all week. We are so grateful to Fabian! All we had to do was call him up on the blackberry and he’d be on his way to pick us up. Such excellent service. He also assisted with dinner reservation one night. Thanks so much Fabian! 
And our endless gratitude to Janus! Thanks for bringing us fresh bread and fruit and for making this vacation and anniversary celebration one we will never forget. Wish we could stay forever in this beautiful villa! 

To the next guest reading this – we know you’ll have a phenomenal stay. And to Janus – thank you from the bottom of our hearts. 

Jolene + Will
Toronto, Canada 

Thank you Janus for your amazing accommodations, hospitality and first class service. We couldn’t have asked for a better place to spend our honeymoon! To all future guests, this villa is everything it is advertised to be, you won’t regret booking!  

Activities: 

• Diamond waterfall + Botanical Garden – From the villa, a right at Ruby’s and the entrance is just up the hill to the left. 
• Tet Paul Trail – Amazing views, short easy walk along the trail. From the villa right at Ruby’s, through town, first left at the church then follow the road and you’ll see the entrance signs on the left. 
• Drive-In Volcano + Sulphur Springs and Mud Bath – The water is hot!! Can’t stress this enough. But it was a neat experience. Follow same directions as above you’ll see the entrance on the left. 
• Toraille Waterfall – Take a left at the Ruby’s 5 minutes up the hill on the left. Buy the coconut bread from the woman at the entrance you won’t be sorry! 

- We spent the day driving up the coast to the northern tip of the island, about an hour on a very windy mountain road. Spent half the day at Rodney Bay! 

• Reduit Beach – very pretty water/sand. Lots of vendors + activities. We then drove to Pigeon Island, hiked to the top of each peak views are unreal. There are also two small beaches here. I would recommend leaving before dark. Castries is difficult to navigate at dark mostly because there are NO ROAD SIGNS in St. Lucia! 
• Gros Piton Hike – first of all totally worth it for the views. Pick a clear day to get the max views. It is challenging, especially the second half but its totally doable and worth it. Have some Mango/soursop ice cream at the bottom you deserve it! 
• Superman falls – need to prebook tour online this was our favorite waterfall! 

Half Day Snorkeling with Simon Says – Anse Chastanet, Sugar Beach (Get a smoothie from the fruit man!). stopped along the way at a few other spots like the bat cave. Local lunch at Déjà vu – would recommend! 

• Anse Chastanet – beach is great we took the foot trail around to Anse Mamin very secluded, dark sand rustic beach. 
• Sugar Beach – spend the 50 and rent chairs. Had pizza/drinks delivered to our hut. Beautiful while sand beach between the pitons, our favorite beach! 
• Piton Waterfall – at the entrance of sugar beach. Warm water and warm water pool at the base. 
• Fruit Tour – with shack at Fond Doux – very informative, great plate of fruit + snacks at the end, also samples chocolate along the tour. 

Restaurants 

• Orlando’s  - right here in Soufriere – by far our favorite meal! Went here for dinner, 5 courses all amazing! 
• Maries – buffet style for lunch great mix of local classics. 
• Hotel Chocolat – cool atmosphere, dinner was ok dessert was awesome! 
• Jade Mountain – need to make reservations days before, can’t beat the views or architecture, must do! 
• Martha’s table – great local lunch spot. 
• Mango Tree – great views had both lunch and dinner here. 
• Dasheen @ Ladera – great dinner spot, again can’t beat the views or food! 
• Dinner at Anse Chastanet – sitting righ on the water. Food was great! Little different than the typical creole. 
• Zaka’s coffee shop – downtown, best coffee on the island, neat spot went twice. 

we cooked in for breakfast, we got food at the market in Soufriere and fruit from the street vendors which was awesome! 

Hope your stay is as great as ours! 
The New Mr. and Mrs. Snyder
Married 09-06-18 
Charleston, WV

Day 1 – After spending 5 nights at Sandals La Toc, we took the tour through Son of Man. We arranged for the guides to drop us off after we finished. Out tour was incredible. And our guide, Gabi, was amazing. The snorkeling trip at Sugar Beach was one of our best highlights from the excursion, and we finished at the waterfall and mud baths at the Volcano. 

Definitely worth checking out, however, the Toraille waterfall was very busy. We didn’t know what to expect, but we were absolutely floored when we arrived at Villa Serrana!!! Janus made sure that we had an incredible experience the entire time. download the WhatsApp application. So you can message him whenever you need to arrange a ride if you don’t have a car. He will make sure you pay the best prices wherever you go. 

Day 2 – our second day, we walked to the botanical gardens. Which only take a 10-15 minute walk. We took endless pictures and really enjoyed our time there. After returning, we hung out for most of the day before having dinner at Ruby’s. a little pricey for what it is, but very good nonetheless. Their pizza was all hand made and very delicious, with a very friendly staff. Returned to the villa to enjoy some pool time and Netflix. It goes without saying that having all the luxuries of home make Villa Serrana that much more amazing. 

Day 3 – after a lazy morning around the pool. We had lunch at Fedo’s, which was really cheap and had great food for the price. Only takes a 2-3 minute walk to get there. After, we walked into town for some souvenir shopping. We found that you can pretty much walk anywhere in downtown Soufriere from the villa in 200-25 mins. Everyone is really friendly and very will ing to share their culture with you. Once in downtown, just be careful around the pier, as it’s a tourist trap and local will hound you to sell just about anything they can. Just kindly say no and move on your way. From downtown, we took a taxi to Anse Chastane, although we should have just had Janus arrange a ride, as our taxi ride left a lot to be desired. Once in Anse Chastanet, we had a great time snorkeling. You can buy a beach chair, or you can just set your own towels on the beach. Although it was gorgeous, we thought sugar beach was better and more beautiful. After arranging a ride home with Janus, we had dinner at the Hummingbird which was our best meal of the Trip!! Janus picked us up himself for free, and we also had the opportunity to see his other Rental properties, which are jaw dropping. 

In the end, Janus was the most gracious host we’ve ever had, and our time here at Serrana Villa blew our time at Sandals out of the water. Can’t wait to come back and possibly check out Sargas or Janus’ new property under construction right now. From his properties, you can walk anywhere in town in just minutes. And just try to absorb everything you can. My only regret is that we didn’t have more time here!!! 

Thank you Janus!!! 
Honeymooners
Sam + Renee 2018 

BTW Sam reserarched everything UP and DOWN, LEFT + RIGH so we did it right ! 
Lovejoy from Colorado 
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Cheers!! 

​Shane & Maddy’s Honeymoon ♥

After an incredible wedding, we flew to St. Lucia to unwind and enjoy 8 nights of fun, romance, and relaxation. We could not have picked a better place for all of these aspects. Thank you Janus for your hospitality and kindness Serrana Villa exceeded our expectations.

The Highlights

1. Dinner and drinks at Jade Mountain.

We were hesitant to do this one because the price is pretty steep $95 USD PP, drinks not included and also because of some reviews/opinions in this book but honestly, the views here are the best in St. Lucia. We had to make reservations waaayyy in advance and were able to get in on Sunday at 6:15. We got there at 5:30 for cocktails and to catch the sunset. We were brought to the highest point and seriously, the views were amazing. Just do it!

2. Mystic Man Sunset Cruise   

Another activity we were hesitant about doing because we weren’t sure if it would  be worth it. It obviously was! For $60 USD PP you get a cruise from 4pm until sunset with complimentary rum punch (delicious) and beer, a champagne toast at sunset and a few appetizers (not much). It’s only offered Tuesdays and Fridays. The boat wasn’t crowded at all, maybe because it’s the off season? The rum punch is the best!

3. Tet Paul Nature Trail

Clearly we are all about the views. This trail is an easy short “hike” that  offers some unbelievable views of the Pitons from higher up. We can’t remember the exact price (possibly like $14 USD PP) but we know it was totally worth it. They give you a guide too who’s willing to be your photographer along the way.

4. Spa at Ladera
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Couples  massage were on our list. We wanted them in a beautiful setting. After looking online a lot we decided on Ladera because we figured it would be convenient to eat dinner there afterwards. We were so lucky because it’s the off season. They offered to do our massage in one of the resort rooms with a balcony view looking out at the Pitons. The sounds of the pool/fountain running in the room was so relaxing. It was perfect. Worth the $300 USD total (the standard price for a couples massage around here.)

Other things we did:

• Sulphur Springs Mud bath – cool experience but crowded and smelly (of course).

• Botanical gardens and diamond falls – pretty nice views we decided to walk there (not bad) and we passed on a tour guide(we’re not tour people).

• Rodney Bay mall and casino – the first day there it rained all day so we took our rental car up to Castries/ Rodney Bay area. The malls are nothing special. Shane won $300 USD at the casino so if you want a rainy day activity that’s one we’d recommend.
Tips

• Sugar Beach was expensive so we opted for Anse Mamin. It was much more private. To save $ we brought extra towels to lay on and passed on the chair rentals. We also brought our own beers and food instead of paying $28 for a burger,

• Stock up on food and drinks from the grocery store in town. If you like coronas, try a Piton Beer!
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• Bring umbrellas with you. You never know when it will rain. There are umbrellas here.

Enjoy Serrana Villa! It’s the best place to come home to after a long day. Thank you Janus for an amazing stay!

♥ Maddy and Shane
Portland, Maine