​First and foremost, thank you Janus for being such a gracious host! We couldn’t have asked for a better stay on the island! 

If you’re like me and the very first you did was pickup this book…..Take a deep breath. The journey to get to the villa is an adventure itself. Like someone else has said, take a trip into town ASAP and get acclimated. 
(Hint: the best grocery store is on church street!). Also, google maps app is super handy to get around with (you didn’t need data to use it). 

BE WARNED! – it’s better to follow signs for attractions on the island than to GPS them! We typed in Tet Paul on Google maps and it sure did not take us there! Lesson learned. 

Activities  

• Tet Paul Nature Trail 5/5 - Time set aside 1.5 hrs. Amazing views! inexpensive and an easy climb if you are not feeling climbing the Pitons. Guides are super informative and take great pictures for you! 
• Fond Doux Plantation and Resort - Rank 5/5 – time: set aside about 3 hrs. if you want lunch! Must do! Seriously, this tour is fantastic. Our guide Clinton (he’s the best!) gave us so much fresh fruit straight from the tree to try. We were stuffed by the end, but the lunch buffet is really good! The girls who work there are also so nice. (They even gave us a free rum punch  ) One of the highlights of our trip! 
• Sugar Beach – 4/5, time all day! Lovely beach between Pitons, but they don’t seem too keen to have guests from other resorts/villas. Tell them you are eating to get a shuttle down (its steep!) and keep your receipt to get a shuttle back up! Snorkeling was good, not the best but worth it for something to do. 
• Anse Chastanet and Anse Mamin – Rank 5/5 – Time: All Day and More   - The sand may not be picturesque white but guests feel much more welcome at this amazing beach! Get the “Coco Do” drink – it comes in a coconut cup, make sure to take the trek over to Mamin (5-10 min walk north of Anse Chastanet) we were the only people on the beach there! Our last day we even saw a sea turtle swimming!!! 
• Dinner at Jade Mountain - Rank 9/5 – Time: about 3 hrs (try to get there early! 6:00 . Wow, just wow. Even though we were guests, they made us feel so welcome! We got there around 6 and someone offered to take our pictures on the breathtaking terrace. My favorite view of the entire trip!!Drinks and dinner were pricey (100USD PP for food) but so worth it! They even threw in a free glass of champagne for us because it was our honeymoon  Amazing service and food.  Seriously. If you have the $$ just do it!!
• Sulphur springs and Mud Bath - Rank 5/5 – Time: about 2hrs. The tour is short but very informative! Definitely worth it for the low price. The best part is by far the mud bath! Very relaxing and just a cool experience all around. My only complaint is that the really dark mud we used was REALLY hard to get off. If you get the white/light grey mud you probably won’t have that issue. 

    :)  Martha’s Kitchen was closed while we were here, otherwise I’ve heard really great things about it!

A few other tips and insights.....

1. Hotel Chocolat holds amazing tours where you can make your own chocolate bar BUT they are closed on the weekend so plan accordingly! 
2. USD is taken pretty much everywhere, but if you need cash the International Bank in town has an ATM ($5 fee to withdraw). 
3. Beach Bar/Food at Anse Chastanet and Mamin closes at 4! So if you want a delicious burger plan accordingly! 
4. Orlandos is a great high class restaurant for dinner! $30ish for an entrée, excellent service! 

Day 1  - Arrived after sunset. Took a while to get here from UVF, but were welcomed by Janus upon arrival. We stopped and picked up some groceries (too many), drank some pitons and fell asleep. 

Day 2 – Almost stayed here to enjoy this amazing pool all day (and the view), but decided to go to the beach. 

Asked Janus to set up a ride to sugar beach. Got day passes at reception and took the shuttle down. Other reviewers said they walked down to the beach…we were shocked by this as it’s kind of a hike and super hilly. We’ve been to beaches all over and this was top 3. They won’t let you rent the cabanas (sun shelter) and we wouldn’t recommend getting a lounge chair on the resort side $50.00 US/per chair) because you can put your towel down wherever or use a free chair on the public side. 

We got a bunch of drinks at the beach bar area, then a few hours later wen to sit down on the restaurant side for lunch. Food was mediocre at best and at the end we were told we couldn’t use the voucher if you’re seated at the restaurant…So we had 2 separate (pretty expensive) tabs. Wish we knew this info sooner. 

Also, the resort staff wasn’t very friendly to non resort guests (other than the bartender). But honestly, despite all that, we have no regrets (see day 4). 

Day 3 – We couldn’t decide what sites we wanted to see the most, so we took advantage of the Soufriere Orientation tour that Janus has put together. This was totally worth it. Our tour guide (Jermal) was not only super informative, he was also super flexible in accommodating in what we wanted to do. 

The tour started with a nature walk on the Tet Paul Nature Trail. We did this early in the morning and were happy we did. Although not very strenuous, we imagine it/cool drive been quite uncomfortable in the afternoon heat. The trail itself was beautiful, but honestly, the highlight was the views of the islands – absolutely breathtaking. The trail guide also was an amazing photographer and the photos even met my wife’s high standards. 

After the trail we went to the volcano. We skipped the mudbath because small crowded spaces are not really our thing. we chose to do a walking tour of the volcano basin instead. 

The last stop for us was the waterfall. Although it was busy on arrival, the crowed cleared out quickly. We got some great photos and cooled off under the refreshing falls. 

At this point, we were pretty hungry and skipped the botanical gardens, instead, we got lunch local at Fedos. The food was good and also super inexpensive. 

Hang out at the pool for a few hours before dinner. 

Made a reservation on open table to eat at Dashene’s (ladera) at 5pm so we could catch the sunset. Checked in with the host and they told us it was cocktail hour on the viewing deck. This view. Unbeatable (like a lot of places on this island) After a few drinks we found out dinner isn’t until 6. At 6 we went back to the host stand and they told us they were booked for dinner (after they asked our room# and found out we were non resort guests). They told us we could eat on the viewing deck or get a table at 7:30. We were starving so opted to get dinner on the deck. The service was horrible. We had to ask 4 different people before someone finally took our order. during cocktail hour the deck was completely full, but by this time we were 1 of 2 couples at there. 

There were a ton of empty tables at the restaurant, so we assuming they don’t open those for non resort guests until after sunset. The food was meh, and super prices. If we could do it again we would of only gone for cocktail hour. 

Day 4 – See day 2. Loved it so much we went back to sugar beach! The first time we went these two local dudes asked if we wanted to do a boat tour. We declined as we were still getting a sense of the island. 

They came right up to us this second time at sugar beach and we opted to go on the sunset cruise. They asked for a deposit (which seemed shady at first) but this was to buy the beer and secure our spot. 

They found us right at 4:40 and took us to the bat cave, all around the island, the black sand beach at Jade Mountain + snorkeling. 

After seeing the beach at Jade Mountain (Anse Chastanet) we were stoked we didn’t make the trip there and instead opted for sugar beach again. The sunset was epic. This was the highlight of our trip. It was a private tour – just us and the river and the captain’s little brother (our photographer and bartender) they stopped to get photos of us at the sunset with the pitons twinning. Happy as a clam. 
The name of the company is Ocean Angels. It was $180.00 US for the tour. It costs a bit more to do the private sunset cruise. You can also opt for day trips (private and non) for much cheaper. 

On our way back, we opted to be dropped off at Ruby’s for dinner. It was a mistake not going sooner (despite all the great reviews and recommendations). The food (especially the pizza) was phenomenal and the prices were totally reasonable. We got a pizza, two ***, and about 6 beers – all for less tan $50.00 USD! They also had a live band that was really good. 

Final observations: 

- Janus and his staff are amazing. Friendly, professional, and always punctual. 
- We weren’t brave enough to navigate the roads ourselves, so used the chauffeur service. The cars were great, driver (Jermal) was awesome, and the service was super convenient. 
- The fresh fruit and bread delivered by Janus was great. I used the fruit to make a great rum punch. 

13 year Anniversary 

We spent our first 3 nights at Sapphire and it had an amazing view but we were so excited to check into Serrana and it didn’t disappoint. 

We were also a little ‘Star-Struck” when meeting the famous Janus after having read so many reviews and he truly is incredible! 

We used simon says for some excursion and he was helpful and knowledgeable. 

Ramsey (Ram-C) cooked for us one night and it was AMAZING and he even used organic veggies from his personal garden. 

We love Boucan! We’ve mostly eaten food from Erolines (grocery store). We’ve used juicer from the cabinet to squeeze Janus’ fresh fruit for breakfast and mixers. 

We like to save money, so we’ve spent a lot of time at Chastanet/Mamin beach and packed food and drink. If driving yourself, ask advice first from local! Narrow, soft shoulder and need to use your horn for signal (its not rude here), but worth the drive. 

We are sad to leave you St. Lucia! You are fun, welcoming and stunningly beautiful! 

Julie and Drew
Alabama 

​We are in love with St Lucia. Such beautiful views, beautiful people. Thank you Janus for your hospitality. You are the best!!!

We thoroughly enjoyed our time here and will highly recommend your villa to many. No wonder you’re a super host on TripAdvisor. 

Thanks again Janus 

Richard and Christine

Oakland, Ontario Canada