| Very pleased with new hotel on best beach in St. Lucia |
| Hotel Bay Gardens Beach Resort |
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Greg >
1 contribution(s) Canada |
| May, 2010 | Leisure | With Spouse/Partner
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| Bay Gardens Beach Resort (BGBR) consists of eight 3-story buildings with 1- and 2-bedroom suites. Six of the buildings circle the pool with views of the ocean and headlands, while two face the beach directly. The resort is right on the end of Reduit Beach, just beside the entrance to the marina at Rodney Bay. |
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| Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel |
Lots of watersports activities can be arranged directly through the hotel. We went on a Power Boat tour that took us to Marigot Bay, along the west coast of the island, and down into Soufriere, where we packed into a van for the land portion of the tour. We went to the Sulphur Springs volcano and the Mineral Bath before stopping for lunch at LaDera. LaDera is a beautiful open-air hotel situated in the hills between the two Pitons that St. Lucia is famous for--what a view! Finally, we snorkeled in the bay between the Pitons. Well worth the USD$100 each. Book with Andre on the beach at the blue hut.
Another day we drove to the Diamond Estate to see the Diamond Falls and Botanical Gardens. The drive is not for the faint of heart, but having driven along the cliffs and switchbacks in Amalfi, Italy, this was no worse, (it helps that we rented a 4x4). Took about 2 hours each way, depending on stops you may make. Plenty of lookout points, although there is not always a good place to stop. The Diamond Estate admission is just USD$5 each, and well worth it! You can hire a private guide to give you a tour; they will explain the fauna and history of the estate, but it's not totally necessary. |
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| Beach/Pools/Grounds |
Beautifully landscaped grounds, and the Reduit Beach has to be the nicest in St. Lucia. Rodney Bay is well protected, I guess, because the waves were negligible.
The free-form pool has lots of shallow areas to just sit & a cool off in, and there is a hot tub jacuzzi in the centre. The poolside is surrounded by more tables and chairs than deck loungers. Not a problem in late May--the hotel was at less than half occupancy--but it might be a bit of an issue to get a lounger in high season. |
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| Restaurants and Bars |
| "Pebbles" bar services both the beach and the pool. Walk-up service only, though, and service is definitely on "island time", if you know what I mean. Reasonably priced, (USD$2.50 for a Piton lager and USD$5-6 for most other drinks), with 2-for-1 Happy Hour 5:30-6:30pm. "Hi-Tide" restaurant is also right on the beach and is good enough for lunch, but there are better options along the main drag in Rodney Bay for dinner. |
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| Rooms |
Rooms are very spacious, including a nice-sized terrace. Our room, (#611), was on the third floor and faced directly onto the pool and ocean. The nicest views have to be from the third floor, as I think that the view of the ocean from the first floor would be blocked by the beachside bar & restaurant.
Kitchen was well-equipped, (although the solid-core electric elements do take forever to heat up and then to cool down), including both a cooktop and an oven. The bathroom was large and stylish.
Fresh beach towels were provided each day in our room--no towel cards or anything like that required. |
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| Your Arrival |
| Arrived direct from Toronto via Air Canada and rented a car from Avis. (St. Lucia is a former British colony, so driving is on the left and be prepared for roundabouts in towns.) Drove directly to the resort in a little over an hour. Might have stopped for some of the views in Dennery and to check out the rainforest, but left that for another day. |
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| Photos: http://www.worldisround.com/articles/359095/index.html |
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| Coconut Bay excels |
| Hotel Coconut Bay Resort |
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Hlywud >
3 contribution(s) Canada |
| Apr, 2010 | Leisure | With friend
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| Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel |
| St. Lucia Jazz festival was on and each night was a variety of live music on in the lobby, some was excellent and some was a bit too loud for my liking. Overall on a scale of 1 to 10 the entertainment should rate a 6. |
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| Beach/Pools/Grounds |
Splash side had great huge pools, lazy river and water slide which was great for families, very clean pools with a large swim up bar which we never used.
A great hot tub was also available.
Beach is long and extensive but lots of rocks along the shore as they try to save the sand from the constant waves of the trade winds, we went knowing that the beach was not going to be great and would have lots of seaweed each day, but you still could go in and find warm clear waters with a nice sand bottom.
Grounds were quite extensive and would be beautiful if the island were not in the midst of a 12 week drought and all the vegetation was getting very stressed. |
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| Other Comments |
In most cases this resort is advertised as a 3 to 3.5 star resort, it definitely falls into a 4 star category based on its food, cleanliness and great staff. Atually I have been to many advertised 4.5 star resorts in the DR and Mexico that would not come close to this gem on the south shores of St. Lucia.
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| Restaurants and Bars |
Buffet was impressive although not overbearing, having been to many 4.5 and 5 star resorts here everything was piping hot and never luke warm. There was a very decent selection of foods available, it would be your fault if you went hungry.
A la cartes needed to be booked a day in advance and I will say that they rivaled any I have been to at any resort I have been to, well presented, very tasty and definite hot, service was excellent. |
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| Rooms |
4th floor premium cean view Harmony (Adults Only) side.
Clean and comfortable, built in electric converters did not work but not a major problem during our stay.
Some signs of mould from humidity on ceiling outside of bathroom.
Water was always hot for the shower, pressure was also excellent.
Rooms were not lavish but well appointed and very nice size, with lots of closet space and a very large electronic safe also a large scree lcd tv with a very good selection of channels. |
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| Your Arrival |
| Deboarded the plane at 1:08 pm and were in our room by 1:30 pm, very fast and efficient transfer and check in procedures. |
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| It was the worst! |
| Hotel Rex St. Lucian Resort |
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June >
1 contribution(s) Canada |
| Jan, 2010 | Leisure | Family
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| We stayed at the St. Lucian Rex last week and it was the worst hotel we have ever stayed at. It was run down, dirty, the food was disgusting (although on all inclusive we ate at local restaurants the food was so poor). The staff for the most part are totally indifferent and very rude and sullen. The facilities are non existent. They rent the beach to the cruise ships so it is difficult even to get a chair on the beach. The location is beautiful so the view from the dining room made up for the rotten food. Supposed to be a gym but it was closed. If you want to go to St. Lucia, I suggest you stay at the Beach Garden Resort - much better hotel. Supposed to be transformers for the hydro but they ran out the first day and had no more to loan out. |
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| Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel |
Some entertainment at night but only 1 of our 7 nights was any good. One night no entertainment at all. Very cheap entertainment and not good.
Local bars and restaurants outside of hotel had lots going on. |
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| Beach/Pools/Grounds |
| Beach was beautiful but there were few chairs and no umbrellas or shade. Had to ask at office for umbrella and it was charged to credit card until returned so you had to carry it around all week. Pool was OK but very basic. Net across pool for volleyball was all falling apart. Hardly any shade near pool and few umbrellas. |
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| Other Comments |
| Would not recommend this hotel to anyone. It is listed as a 3 star but I would barely list it as a 1 star. I have written to Sunwing to suggest they remove the hotel from their listings as it will do their company no good at all sending guests to this awful hotel. I was not the only guest complaining - everyone was! |
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| Restaurants and Bars |
| Food dreadful - repetitive, poor selection and often ran out and did not replace. Always had to wait for plates, cups etc. as they were being washed up. The kitchen looked dirty - cracked floor tiles, grungy looking stove, burnt and chipped counter tops. Surly chefs. The bartenders were all surly and miserable. Had no interest in serving guests. We heard the hotel is up for sale so that could account for the indifference of staff to guests. No snacks available unless you bought them between meals. |
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| Rooms |
| Old, run down, bed creaked and clanked. No tea/coffee facility as promised. Lack of towels. Had to ask for toilet rolls and soap. Old furniture, non matching curtains and bedspread. Floor tiles all loose. The TV worked. The shower was good - assume a new one had been recently installed. |
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| Your Arrival |
| Arrived late at night - hungry - only thing to eat was a stale cheese sandwich in the lobby. The walk to our room was 1/2 a mile with no shuttle. |
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| We like it |
| Hotel Almond Morgan Bay Beach Resort |
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David >
22 contribution(s) Canada |
| Apr, 2009
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Arrival
Was arranged with our travel agent and the hotel. We took the scenic route and stopped for photo's and a beer over looking Dennery. The driver was a very helpful tour guide and the long ride was worth it. Even the kids enjoyed.
Rooms
The room was clean and a nice size for the four of us with a view of the ocean and tow bathrooms.
Restaurants and Bars
Reading some other reviews I am not sure I was at the same place. The staff stood back some until they found out what we were looking for, then they were great. The food was fantastic and the variety was good. The staff ensured we had enough and gave suggestions for activities for the day when we asked.
Beach/Pools/Grounds
The Beach was clean and the water sport staff were excellent about sailing and helping us when we needed it. The pools were clean and at one point one was drained for cleaning but there were still others to use so it was fine. In fact the kid pool put me closer to snacks and the bar.
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel
We did the Brig Unicorn and it was well worth the money for both myself and the kids. I did a dive with Dive Fair Helen and then With Rainbow divers on the Beach. I preferred Marie and Judy (The Mermaid) the trip was more relaxed and it was me and my family so I got to see more then on the crowded boat dive. Both dives were good but next time I would just use Marie's services.
Other Comments
When you go on holiday If you look cranky the staff are likely to stay away. Remember you are on holiday and the staff are still working a little respect can make your holiday excellent. |
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| We had a fabulous time |
| Hotel Coconut Bay Resort |
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T&M >
2 contribution(s) Canada |
| Jan, 2009
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We had a fabulous time. The weather was nice and hot with a constant breeze. Hotel room was simple, but clean and comfortable and a good size. Food was very good. The buffet was smaller than what we have enjoyed at other resorts but they changed up the menu every day and always had a good variety. I never ate the same thing twice or experienced anything I did not like. The Hotel puts on a Country and Western BBQ night on Wed and a Pirate theme cookout on Sat, plus with the Italian restaurant, the Asian restaurant and the Beach Grill, you only need to eat at the buffet restaurant 2 evenings, if you choose. Alcohol was plentiful. They offer all kinds of mixed tropical drinks and they are strong! Kids lazy river, pool, water fountain area, and slides were all alot of fun. Pools were cleaned daily. No need to reserve loungers as they offered plenty. Towels were picked up and dropped off as required by the pool. No towel cards required. No arm bracelets required. Beach was also cleaned daily of seaweed. Ocean was very rough so we did not swim there but did walk along the beach and put our feet in. Cushioned beds offered along the beach for a nice afternoon siesta.
My only complaint, and that is because we were travelling with a 4 year old, is that we arrived at the hotel at 1pm. Luggage follwed in a separate truck, but we did not get our room keys until after 4:30pm. Our little guy was very cranky and exhausted by then.
I would certainly recommend this hotel to anyone travelling with young children because of all the great activities included. Hotel is literally minutes from the airport.
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