We’re terribly last minute at writing in the book, literally writing this on our way out the door as we’ve just been having too much fun and forgot to write it all down to be honest, though, we can’t tell you much that has not already been written.

If you are reading this at the start of your holiday, let me first tell you. You’re going to have a fabulous time. Unbelievably fabulous, that’s a given forget Jade Mountain, you’re at the BEST accommodation on supplies in St. Lucia.

First thing to do? Stock up on supplies. Head to Eroline Grocery store (walk or drive but beware that parking in the town center can be a bit overwhelming). (Recommend basics like kraft Mac & Cheese and plenty of Piton Beers). We also made an amazing Rum Punch all with ingredients bought at erolines.

Rum Punch:

• 1 bottle of Chairmans Reserve Dark Rum
• 1 bottle of Kokocaribe Coconut Rum
• 1 carton of fruita Fruit Punch Juice
• Fresh Lime
• Nutmeg

Slash it all in a glass and enjoy

Where to eat:

1. Ruby’s: it comes highly recommended for a reason. It’s easy to walk to and from the apartment. The food is delicious and well priced and the drinks selection is unreal. We recommend Botanist Gin & Tonic (but we’re biased since we’re Scottish). It can feel intimidating to walk but go for it. Everyone is really friendly. We ate there 3 out of 7 nights.
2. Jade Mountain: if you feel like a treat then this is the place. Its pricey but worth it! We went to celebrate out engagement which happened right here in Serrana (The villa’s First engagement) and it was very special. The views are second only to Serrana Villa.

What to do: 

1. Anse Mamin Beach: cheapest sun beds, quietest beach and best burgers for lunch.

2. Hotel Chocolat bean to bar tour. A must!

3. Chairman’s Reserve Distillary tour

4. Sulphur Springs & Mud Bath- go around Sunset it’ll be much quieter.

That’s all we have time for now as Janus is here to say Good- Bye.

We’ve had an unreal time. We got engaged right here on the Balcony at Sun-set, so this place will always be special in our hearts. We couldn’t have asked for a more perfect proposal spot. Janus, you are the best. We feel like we’ve made a friend for life and we’ll be in touch soon about our return trip!!!!
Thank you for everything.

To all future guests- enjoy your stay, I know you will have the best time ever. Sorry we don’t have time for more advise but like I said, everyone has already said it. Treat this book like your bible.

We have Photos and videos of our time here on our blogs: 

www.almostchic.co.uk 

www.calmctravels.com

And would love it if you get in touch to tell is if you tried our rum punch!!!
All the best!!!!

Calum & Jess
Scottland

• Friday Nov. 10th – Spent most of the day traveling there was some confusion where Janus thought we rented a car- I did not see the message in time but was able to connect to Wifi and message Janus through trip advisor and was able to set up airport transportation. When we go to the Villa, Janus greeted us with open arms and gave us the tour of Serrana. Because it was later in the evening we cooked dinner with groceries from the market we stopped at in Castries. We took a dip in the pool at night and enjoyed the Beautiful night sky!

• Saturday Nov.11 – Today we woke up early and walked to Eroline Grocery Store (walk down the road from the Villa, make a left, turn right to Ruby’s Pizza take Sir Arthur Lewis Street, make a right onto Church Street) Bring Backpacks! Walking back up to the villa gets HOT!! *Download Google Maps app and you can pindrop the villa and save a copy of the map, so you can use it outside Serrana * We were exhausted, so we spent the rest of the day in the pool and lounging on the porch. We called Janus on the Blackberry provided and asked if we could go ziplining the following day. (We didn’t rent a car so needed rides everywhere)

• Sunday Nov.12th – We were picked up promptly at 10am to be driven to ‘’Mourne Couaril Historical Adventure Park’’ Zip Line tour was U.S $66 per person Plus Tax and accepts cash or card. Pinky and the other tour guides were awesome- there were 8 zips total and they provided info about what we saw on each platform. The zipline lasted about an hour and although it wasn’t the longest excursion we felt like we spend our money well. When we got back to Serrana, we started cooking lunch, but the propane ran out, we called Janus and he brought a new tank right over to us. We used the blender and made some frozen pina coladas to enjoy with our lunch! (1 can cream of coconut, fill empty cream of coconut can 2 times with pineapple juice, rum to taste, blend with ice- makes about 2 drinks each). We called Janus for a ride to Sugar Beach where we spent the rest of our day and enjoyed the sunset. The water was Beautiful, and the sand was incredibly soft. Make sure you buy at least a bottle of water and SAVE THE RECEIPT, otherwise you cannot use the free shuttle and will have a long walk back. When we got back to the villa we were too tired to cook so we walked down to Ruby’s and had dinner (they only have Pizza Tuesday-Friday) we had an order of fried calamari (absolutely to die for) I had Rasta Pasta Alfredo and Ant had the Pork Chop. His came with a salted cod fish fritter- neither of us cared for it (if you don’t eat seafood, don’t start with this- it was not mild)

• Monday Nov. 13th – Today we went to Anse Mamin Beach, about 5-10 minutes walk past Anse Chastanet. It is definitely less crowded than the resort beach and you can get a nice burger here. I personally liked the water here as there were less fish visible. 😊

• Tuesday Nov. 14th – *5 year Anniversary* We had a nice breakfast that we enjoyed outside. We set up reservation to go to the sunset cruise out of Soufriere, U.S $60.00 per person- include drinks and finger foods – was incredibly fun and felt we didn’t waste our money, unfortunately we did not see the green flash as there were clouds lasted about 3 hours. When we got back to the dock, we called Janus to get picked back up and also called Ruby’s to order food to go. We got a Margerhita Pizza and a pie with Mushrooms. The Pizza Pies are smaller than a normal Pizza back in New York, but absolutely delicious.

• Wednesday Nov. 15th -Today we took 2 excursions first was the Tet Paul Nature Trail – the weather was not so great, we got poured on and soaked by the time we got to the top, the view was completely obstructed by fog. The guide walked down with us and said we can return another day with our tickets and go back up. We rounded up waiting 30 minutes. Walked back up and took beautiful pictured. Wear sneakers! We got back in the taxi, changes into our sandals and proceeded to go to Soufriere Drive in Volcano/mud bath. U.S $25.00 for 2 of us *cash only* We learned a lot about the volcano then proceeded to go to the mud baths, smells gross but skin feels awesome. Make sure to bring towels. We forgot!

• Thursday Nov. 16th – Walked to the Botanical Gardens. U.S $7.00 per person. Beautiful Garden with plants and flowers you will never see at home. After we walked through we went left and found Marie’s Local Cuisine previously known as Rafters. U.S $15.00 per person including water Juice, buffet and dessert. Absolutely delicious. Don’t skip it. Vanilla Ice-cream at the end was a nice treat. Called Janus to get picked up there and went straight to Anse Chastanet (only beach with restrooms) Ant walked up to go pick it up and ate back at the villa.

• Friday Nov. 17th – Last full day here, spent mostly at villa, cleaning, laundry, packing and pool. Janus took us to view Sargas Villa- WOW… I think we’re going to start planning our trip back here when we get home. Got up at 2 am (Sat. morning) to view the Leonid Meteor Shower. The night Skies here are breathtaking and crystal clear. Make sure you spend at least one evening to view the stars. Night seems to get kinda chilly, but the view is absolutely worth it. Make sure you tune off all the lights, so your eyes can adjust.

General Tips & Tucks

1. There is a hose and water underneath the house- bring it up to the deck to spray down in the morning to clean off the bat poop.
2. Bring some cash and card wherever you go just in case- we paid driver after the dropped us home so we left the money in the master.
3. Charge the blackberry every night, it died on us right after we called for a pick-up.
4. Skip the drinks at Anse Mamin or while eating out for that matter, you’ll save money and we found the drinks at Mamin to be weak.
5. Cook as much as you can, you’ll save money which you can use to see the Island.
6. The locals are friendly, there’s a man who will try to sell somethings if you keep ‘BAD HABITS’ just politely say no and he should leave you alone.
7. Taxi rides with Janus are about 12-15 USD each way- plan accordingly

To Janus: Thank you for the incredible week. We couldn’t imagine spending it any other way. You are so hospitable and accommodating. You answer all of our questions and your staff are amazing. All of the driver’s we had had so much knowledge and were always on time to the minute. Everyone was so respectful. We hope to see you again Sargas!!!
Best Regards,

Grace & Anthony

Long Island, New York.
​
P.S – We ate at Mango Tree, not too many reviews on it! If you are here on a budget but wanted one nicer ‘’resort-y’’ dinner, come here. The view was stunning! Dinner doesn’t start until 6:30pm but we arrived for sunset for 5:30pm. We both enjoyed a RUM PUNCH drink. When we finally sat down for dinner, we asked the waitress if they had fried Calamari, since it was not on Menu. They were able to make it for us and it was delicious. We ordered our entrees (chicken parm with potatoes, gratin, seasonal vegetables – the chicken had a creole sauce – different from NY!) And (stripsteak with mashed potatoes & seasonal vegetables). Both Meals were delicious and we both ordered the coconut cheese cake. WOW- just get it if you go. It’s a nice resort dinner for a fraction of what most resorts charge. (our total came to U.S $130 after all was said and done) However, if you come here it is not a fast meal, we got there at 5:30 and got picked up at 8:30. But food and views were 100% worth it!!!

Our Honeymoon
Oct. 30th – Nov. 6th 

Monday- we were picked up at the airport to start our arrival tour. Jamal was amazing and told us all about the Island. We first stopped at the Tet Paul Nature trail, which we highly recommend. The hike is short with amazing views, our guide was very knowledgeable and took lots of pictures for us. We then enjoyed the Sulphur Springs, followed by Piton Falls. We couldn’t have asked for a better first day. We were greeted by Janus at the Villa and enjoyed a relaxing evening.

Tuesday – We chose to relax and explore the town this day. We enjoyed Pitit Peak for lunch and Ruby’s for dinner although the oven was broken so we couldn’t get Pizza.

Wednesday- We hiked the Gros Piton, It was well with the beautiful views and to say we’ve hiked a mountain. Listen to the guide though and do bring 1.5L water per person or more. We run out on the way back down, make sure you go early and be prepared to be very sore. We stopped by fedos on the way back and picked up food to go. Highly recommended them!!!!

Thursday- We went to Sugar Beach for the Hot store indulgence. It was incredible. The massage and facials were wonderful and the private pool. Beautiful. We planned on staying for lunch and dinner to enjoy the beach as well but found the food not worth the $$$$ at lunch and staff rude. View was beautiful but we chose to go home and enjoy the private pool.

Friday-Went to Martha’s Tables for an incredible lunch then tree bean bar at Hotel Chocolat. Amazing experience with a lot to learn. We followed with dinner at Dasheene across the street and back to Hotel Chocolat for dessert. Dinner was amazing and the view Incredible!!!

Saturday-  Spent the day at the villa and went for lunch at Orlandos as lunch is much less expensive thsn dinner.

Sunday- we had a rainy day at the Villa and enjoyed a late lunch/early dinner at Ruby’s again. Oven for pizza was broken all week through.

Monday- departure tour day. Sad to be leaving this beautiful place, Janus and his crew.

Recommendation:- 

Things to do:

1. Tet Paul Nature Trail - $10pp
2. Sulphur Springs -$6pp
3. Piton Falls - $3pp
4. Gros Piton (clear day) -$33pp
5. Tree-bean Bar Tour at Hotel Chocolat - $88pp
Places to Eat:-
1. Ruby’s- Delicious and normal restaurant
2. Fedos – Best Value and Quality
3. Martha’s Tables – delicious
4. Orlando’s Lunch
5. Pitit Peak- not as worth it
6. Dasheene – incredible food and view a bit more pricey

Take advantage of the wonderful drivers. The will take you wherever and fill you with knowledge!!!
Hope you enjoy it here as much as we did!!!

Thanks Janus

Married – 10.08