I don’t often return to a place, so St Lucia must have something special. It also happens to be a good route to another of my bucket list destinations, Bequia, in beautiful St Vincent and the Grenadines.
My 11-night itinerary was an initial four in St Lucia and two at the end, sandwiched between five in Bequia - perfect.
On my last trip to St Lucia in 2015, I did a little hotel hopping, staying at Windjammer Landings, The Body Holiday and Rendezvous, now known as StolenTime by Rendezvous.
East Winds, St Lucia
Having recently created my Essential Caribbean Collection, I felt it was appropriate to sample one of the luxury boutique hotels on this trip, so I opted to stay at East Winds for the first four nights.
I also wanted to see some of the island not previously visited so headed out to the rainforest, where we enjoyed hiking nature trails and riding the aerial tram. This holds eight passengers, and glides quietly through the forest canopy whilst a naturalist guide provides information on all the plants and wildlife. Looking down on the palm trees was fabulous and a first for me.
We also managed to spend some time on the water, enjoying a relaxing sunset catamaran cruise from Rodney Bay up the coast past Pigeon Island. Being the ever-observant travel agent, I took great care and enjoyment of noting all the hotels we sailed by.
East Winds is a lovely property worthy of a future blog of its own. Suffice to say for now that it was everything I had hoped it would be and the special birthday dinner they amazingly arranged on the beach gazebo will stay with me always.
The Bequia Beach Hotel, Bequia
On to Bequia (pronounced Beck-way), 60 miles north of St Lucia, 100 west of Barbados and the second largest island in the Grenadines at seven square miles with a population of around 5,500.
It can be reached by ferry from Kingstown on St Vincent which is served by a direct flight from the UK, or you can take a short VIP flight from St Lucia or Barbados on a plush 9-seater plane with Bequia Air as we did.
The Bequia Beach Hotel, set on ten acres of gardens, has been on my radar for many years. It's a family-owned and run property, sitting on Friendship Bay Beach, with views across to Mustique and the surrounding islands. This is another magnificent hotel worthy of a more detailed review to follow.
For an authentic Caribbean experience akin to a scene in 'Death In Paradise', this is the place to go. The main town of Port Elizabeth hosts the island’s one fuel station, only police station, lone pharmacy, bank, and a handful of shops.
The hotel operates private island tours in open air taxis, and we took one for a few hours with a delightfully welcoming driver/ guide who ensured a visit to all the great viewpoints, even taking us to a turtle sanctuary as we had expressed an interest.
We enjoyed our visits to Jack’s Beach Bar, owned by the Bequia Beach Hotel, with its relaxed beach vibe and daily dishes displayed on chalk boards. It sits on the stunning Princess Margaret Beach, undoubtedly one of the best locations in the entire Caribbean.
From Jack's you can reach Kingstown via a walkway where there are a few local restaurants to explore, but don't expect them to have everything on the menu as they rely on small aircrafts and ferries bringing supplies - and if these can't reach the island, they go without.
The Liming, Bequia
I had received a kind invitation to visit another wonderful property on the island, The Liming, recently featured on Channel 4’s The Caribbean: Billionaires' Paradise.
The stunning resort, situated on the southeast coast will appeal to the discerning client seeking the perfect picture postcard Caribbean escape.
It has nine villas with private infinity pools and a junior suite with a hot tub plus its own tranquil beach, which we had all to ourselves, and is a perfect spot to watch the occasional plane land and the spectacular sunset.
We were provided with a fabulous lunch filled with locally sourced products at the Liming restaurant, which overlooks the glorious Caribbean Sea, its open sides giving way to the gentle cooling breeze.
The restaurant is open throughout the day for meals or to cater for guests wanting to dine in their accommodation. Nothing is too much trouble for the staff who will also happily assist in organising personalised activities.
The Liming is a special place, and I appreciated the opportunity to experience it for a few hours.
Bequia felt very different from the larger Caribbean islands - natural, unblemished and on most mornings, it was just me and the local shorebirds to be found on the beach.
Divers and snorkelers are attracted here too and there are a variety of day trips available to Isle de Quatre, Tobago Cays or the celebrity hotspot private island of Mustique.
Anse Chastanet, St Lucia
After an enjoyable stay, it was time to head back to St Lucia on a speedy 20-minute flight and knowing my tendency for a little sadness when the end of an amazing trip is nigh, I had arranged to stay our final two nights at the incredible Anse Chastanet.
This is a one-of-a-kind resort with 49 rooms, nestled within a private tropical estate overlooking St Lucia’s iconic Petit and Gros Piton.
A client who recently returned from Anse Chastanet summarised it as follows:
"I think the real difference is the combination of luxury and nature. The lack of aircon, concrete in general and no TVs provide a sense of getting away from the world, whilst the food, service and room quality gives a feeling of being totally spoiled."
Yet another amazing property that I will have to write about further to come anywhere near conveying the experience.
It was impossible to do much other than relax, enjoy the two gorgeous beaches, snorkel and take advantage of the dining options. It’s scary how much you can eat in two days!
The only time we left the resort was for a tour around yet another superb property, Jade Mountain.
More detail about these fantastic hotels will follow in due course but in the meantime if you want to discuss them or any further detail about my trip, just get in touch - I do love to talk holidays.
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