Honestly what sold us on St. Lucia is this Villa!. I cannot believe our time at Serrana Villa is over already.

After planning this trip for almost 2 years, I cannot believe our time at Serrana Villa is over already. Honestly what sold us on St. Lucia is this Villa! We wanted to go somewhere with great beaches, tropical jungle + plenty adventure. St. Lucia perfectly has all of that + Serrana was the perfect place to call home while we explored this incredible island.


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• Day 1: We landed around 2:30pm + picked up our rental car. Best decision we made! Having a rental car lets you explore the island on your own time. My husband had a blast driving our little 4 x 4 Suzuki. It takes a day or two to get used to driving on the left side of the road + navigating the tight, winding roads, but once you get a hang of it you’ll feel like a Rockstar. We stopped at the Massy Supermarket + food to stock the villa. The villa is well stocked with pots, pans, plates, silver wear and cups. We enjoyed breakfast every morning out on the Patio. After a detour through Soufriere (we miss a turn) we arrived at Serrana Villa around 5:00pm. Janus greeted us and made us feel at home right away. We were tired after a long day of traveling so we grabbed dinner at Ruby’s. The pizza was delicious and the rum punch set the mood for the trip. The owner was so friendly and ensured we enjoyed our meal.

 

• Day 2: We were greeted in the morning with fresh bread which was perfect with breakfast. We packed up our beach stuff and set off to Anse Chastanet. The snorkeling here was wonderful but we spent most of our day at smaller more private beach Anse Mamin. We paid $22 USD for 2 beach chairs and enjoyed our time relaxing in the sun. We ate lunch right here at the beach bar. Coconut Ceviche and the burgers were very good! Try the banana Ketchup it was delicious! For dinner we ate at Boucan by Hotel Chocolat. We made a reservation for 6:00pm and practically had the place to ourselves! The food was amazing but kind of pricey. We shared an entrée and dessert. We had a cocktail for about 41.00 USD. The view was worth it though. Plus, we were surprised with snacks and bread! It was overall a fantastic experience.

 

• Day 3: I woke up nice and early to hike Gros Piton. But my husband wanted to sleep inn. So, I enjoyed the view on the patio until he was ready. We paid $50 USD per person and were assigned to a guide right after we parked. Thankfully he was so kind and patient because the hike up kicked my butt! It’s no joke. We both are 25 and in good shape but I’m telling you this hike was hard! It took us just under 2 hours to get to the top and about 1.5 hours to get back down. We started at 11am but thankfully it was a cooler day! Since we started so late everyone was heading down while we hiked up. We enjoyed the view at the top all to ourselves! The view was nice but nothing spectacular. Our guide said the trail was too slippery to take us to the north (where we could view Petit Piton) because of the rain earlier so we were disappointed. It’s cool to say, “we did it” but I’ll never do it again. On the way back to the villa we got stopped in Soufriere by the carnival celebration that was going on. We enjoyed the music and watched the local dance in the streets.  It was a blast. We ate dinner at Mango Tree. We did not have reservation but they seated us right away. The view of Petit Piton was amazing. On Sundays they have a tapas menu so we enjoyed a few apps, desserts and drinks for $65 USD. Great food, live music and the service was top notch!

 

• Day 4: My favorite day! We started our day at Sugar Beach. We had an appointment at 2:00pm at the spa so we had no problem taking the shuttle. We parked in the guest parking Lott and took the shuttle. The shuttle took us to the beach free off charge! If you get there early enough you can get free beach chairs on the visitor's side of the beach or you can pay the $50 USD to use a resort chair + umbrella. This beach is right between the pitons so the view Is to die for! The snorkeling here is amazing. We had a blast swimming with the fishes and loved the corals and structure. Our couples massage and facial at the rainforest spa was heavenly Our private tree hut had a pool that we enjoyed after our treatment. We were served champagne and chocolate! We felt like royalty. Well worth the money! After a quick shower back at the villa, we went to Jade Mountain for dinner. This place was incredible! I’ve never seen anything like it. The view, the food, the service, the atmosphere, the architecture was all breath taking! Spent the money, make the reservation and enjoy it! It’s a once in a lifetime experience! My husband enjoyed a cigar on the roof top after dinner. It was such an amazing day.

 

• Day 5: Slept in! woke up to more bread at the front door. Today we went to Tet Paul Nature Trail. Paid $10 USD per person and spent about 45 minutes walking about the beautiful trail. They let us go without a guide. The view here was a 100x better than the view at the top of Gros Piton + the hike was way easier. This is a must do! On the way back to the Villa we stopped at Diamonds Botanical Gardens. We paid $14 USD for both of us to get in. We spent about an hour taking in the beauty of all the plants and the waterfall. We enjoyed sunset on the patio at the villa, the we ended up at Ruby’s again for dinner. We tried to go to Orlando’s but it was closed…

 

• Day 6: Today we pack up and leave this amazing villa. We are headed to Marigot Bay for the last half of our trip. We are excited to explore more of St. Lucia, but we are also sad to be leaving Serrana Villa.

Janus is an incredible host! We feel like we’ve known him forever. He was so welcoming and friendly plus his Villa is a little slice of heaven! 

Our Tips: 

- Rent a car from Janus. He gives you a cooler plus a cellphone with your rental. We rented from another company and wished we had a cooler.

- If hiking Gros Piton, make sure you have 1.5L of water per person. The guides will check to make sure you have enough before they bring you up + you will want it! Plus, we also recommend freezing a bottle of water the night before and leaving it in the car while you hike, that way you’ll have cool water waiting for you when done! 

- Try Piton Beer, it’s worth it.

Thank you, Janus, for making our time in Soufriere so amazing. We cannot wait to come back someday!

                              Corbin + Alyssa Mattson
                               Minnesota 

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The Park’s Honeymoon – Tiffany & Andy Park                     
12.07. 10

Prelude: I researched resorts and Sandals to commit to our destination but after thought- this villa seemed the way to go! So glad we decided to book this villa with our amazing host@

Host: Janus. He probably is the most personable, sincere and caking person. He treats you like you’re his only guests and makes himself available at al times to cater to whatever you need

Transportation: We rented a car since we got this villa which i'm glad we did. After meeting people at different excursion sites. They all regret paying for shuttle/taxi (so expensive). However, the roads are not the most pleasant and driving without directions/wifi/road signs can be quite tricky. For our first night we got a personal driver from Janus who showed us the ropes on how to drive in town and showed us to a local restaurant “Hummingbird” Great vibes and service. If you are going to get a personal driver book through here, personalize and catering to your day.

Day 1: drove from the airport (got a lil lost acclimating to the local roads) but janus waited for us and met us up to make sure we were okay and taken care of. He recommended to take us personally and went to Hummingbird a local restaurant with romantic vibes.

Day 2: we made breakfast and enjoyed the amazing views. Headed to Tet Paul Nature Trail (if you don’t want a strenuous hike but straight to the point with a view, this is your hike) This was the best views (even with the Gros Piton Hike, we went the next day) after we went to the volcano and sulphur springs mud baths ($5 more for an added tour) After we went to the hidden waterfall and hot pool spot. After we headed back to town to enjoy local food/drinks and watch the sun set

Day 3: After another breakfast with a view, we went to Hike Gros Piton Mountain. Challenging but doable. Pack light but with enough water. Running shoes are fine but I recommend hiking shoes/ shoes you can get dirty but with grip. In the rain it can get slippery. After, we headed to sugar beach to cool out and relax our muscles. Important” instead of going through the main gain, continue driving to the pitons and sugar beach will be at the end (avoid $50 entrance fee) Once you pack at the top, walk down the hill and around to the right towards the resort beach (they are public but you cant use the chairs/umbrella unless you pay $100) try the pizza and burgers at the restaurant and save the receipt  if you want a ride back up. Snorkeling was great (saw all sorts of fish, sea snakes, sea worms, eels Beautiful and harmless.

Day 4: after breakfast , we visited Castries (fit=rst for me). Flea or food market. Great to get souvenirs  and see the local produce. After we headed to Rodney Bay where they had the splash Island waterpark, local food/drinks and jetskies the our person chef Ramsey cooked us an amazing meal (best meal this trip) so nice as well (Janus Dad)

Tips-Buy repellent at all times

Try local foods

Rent own car to experience all of St. Lucia on your own time

Carry enough cash

Locals will come to you and go out of their way to help you (this is how they get money )

There’s a local market in town

Recommend booking Chef Ramsey at least once!

E.C $2.67=-U.S $1.00

SEE ALSO

PRIVATE CHEF SERVICE  MENU OPTIONS

ENBAS SAUT RAINFOREST TOUR - ​Our Featured St. Lucia Rainforest Tour

Our Premier Restaurant Picks - Experience The Best of Saint. Lucia