Paradise in the Sky - Ladera Resort
Written: May 19 '03
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Product Rating:
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Pros: A Romantic Paradise setting with Spectacular Views.
Cons: Very underdeveloped outside the resorts.
The Bottom Line: A Romantic Getaway for couples of all ages....
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| larry3's Full Review: St. Lucia |
If you've ever seen the twin Pitons (mountains) of St. Lucia featured in many Caribbean advertisements, chances are the picture you're looking at was taken from one of the rooms at Ladera.
The Ladera Resort is perched 800+ feet above the sea in the cliffs of southern St. Lucia. Its most impressive feature beyond that of its stunning views, is that the Ladera suites feature rooms that "only have 3 walls". The side of the room facing the ocean is completely open to sunshine, ocean breezes, the occasional colorful finch, occasionally a tiny green lizard, and even the chirping of tree frogs after dark.
The opposite side of your bungalow has fully opening wood and bamboo french doors that allow opening the entire wall to view the rain forest that begins only a hundred yards away across the road.
Add to this, a huge four poster bed with a mosquito net canopy. Along with its romantic look during the day, it has an equally functional purpose of keeping the occasional mosquito out while you sleep after dark.
And last but not least, the suites have personal plunge pools which doesn't really adequately describe what they look like. They're basically a small cool water pool that could easily fit a half dozen people, surrounded by greenery and each has its own private waterfall that you can turn on and off at the waters edge.
Since the rooms can't be looked into from one another and the cliffs below aren't really scalable, if you want to enjoy the privacy of your room, pool, and private sunning deck "au' natural", then you're free to do so without fear of being seen by anyone other than the person you're sharing the room with.
Second only to your private bungalow, is the Ladera restaurant and adjoining public pool. The views are equally magnificent of the Pitons and the food is a wonderful combination of local cuisines and more standard fare for those that aren't as daring.
Things to do in the immediate area are visiting one of a number of botanical gardens, visiting the interior of a live volcano, treking through the local rain forest, swiming and diving in the ocean just down the hill from Ladera (although visibility wasn't that impressive for diving when we were there in mid-May), and if you're daring enough, you can even attempt to climb one or both of the pitons. Neither requires technical climbing skills using ropes, but both require a great degree of physical strength and endurance to summit.
The only bad part about St. Lucia (if you choose to look at it this way), was the relative poverty of the surrounding countryside outside the resort areas (as of the year 2000). This was primarily due to its almost non-existent advertising in the US up to that time. Since then the media blitz has been on to get more US tourists. So if you want a more developed island, I'm sure it will become one now that more flights are arriving in St. Lucia daily with plenty of US tourists. But my advice would be to go and enjoy it now while it's still relatively wild and undeveloped. You can always go back later when they have MacDonalds and Golf Courses if that's how you define a good island experience.
Although I don't think they discriminate against children, Ladera is definitely a romantic hideaway for couples and honeymooners. And if nightlife is your measure of a fun island experience, stick to the Northern side of the island and forget the Ladera's location on the southern shores. Tranquility and great views are the order of the days and nights at Ladera.
Recommended:
Yes
Best Suited For: Couples
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Epinions.com ID:
larry3
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Member: Larry
Location: Maryland
Reviews written: 26
Trusted by: 9 members
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