Capturing Kids and Grown-Ups on St. Lucia

Rated as the top Caribbean family vacation destination by the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States, the island of St. Lucia has also won the Caribbean region’s 2000 Ecotourism Award for its Heritage Tourism Program.
St. Lucia provides rest, relaxation and rejuvenation for adults; and outdoor fun for kids. Several hotels welcome families and offer special facilities such as kids clubs, special meals, and comforting sleeping arrangements – beds and cots in room or adjoining rooms. An endless array of soft adventures, short tours and excursions on St. Lucia, make it easy to plan to share inter-generational experiences.
St. Lucia’s calendar is spiked with adult-only events, too. The Food & Rum Festival (Oct. 30-Nov. 2) is a gastronomic event that attracts some of the best chefs, rum connoisseurs, food critiques and gourmands from not only the Caribbean, but internationally. The Festival will be a combination of dinners featuring menus from our invited chefs, lectures on rum, chef demonstrations, rum tastings of over 40 rums from across the region and concerts held on Saturday and Sunday night. Visit www.foodandrumfestival.com.

Activities and Locales
Marigot Bay (right): A lovely, sequestered, natural harbor that once provided a hideout for pirate ships, Marigot Bay also served as the setting for the film Dr. Doolittle.
Maria Islands Nature Reserve: These tiny islands in southern to the east of Vieux Fort are home to rare wildlife and birds. Several species exist nowhere else in the world.
Pigeon Island Museum and Interpretive Centre: Housed in the former British officers’ mess building, which has been restored to its 1808 plans. A modern “hands-on” display brings Pigeon Island’s fascinating history to life.
Whales & Turtles: St Lucia is recognized as one of the leading whale-watching sites in the area. More than 20 species are spotted all year, including humpbacks, pilot whales, sperm whales and spinning and spotted dolphins.
Turtles are a fascinating thrill for nature-lovers and their abundance on St Lucia is due to the protection provided by local environmental activists, who have ensured there is a permanent suspension on turtle hunting.

A Few Deals in the Offing
Windjammer continues to offer up to 30% in resort credit (Sun Dollars) to guests based on the land portion of their stay at Windjammer Landing Villa Beach Resort. The percent is based on the season. An additional incentive is that the resort offers 15% commissions to agents.
Windjammer Landing is converting its ocean view rooms to luxurious Anthurium Lily Junior Suites and will be completed by December, 2008. The new suites will have deluxe touches like 27” plasma TVs, romantic rain showers, as well as feature vessel sinks that are locally designed by a St. Lucian artist and whose design will be replicated in the shower walls. Each suite will have its own scene.
The suites rates will start at a nightly rate of $450 (based on double occupancy, EP, plus tax and service charge) from Dec. 21, 2008 to Jan. 2, 2009, and then start at $350 effective Jan. 3 through April 18, 2009.
While the suites sound very grown-up, one recent nine year old guest, Samantha Strelzer, rated the kids and teens programming as A++ there. She confided that when it came to fabulous excursion opportunities, she hated to leave the property and her parents sent her meals to the kids club with evening programs every night – from disco parties, PJ & Cookie parties, pizza parties. Her parents say, “The real sell here is the ladies who run it are so loving!” Call 800-345-0356; 800-958-7376; www.windjammer-landing.com
The literature promises clients will find beauty, pleasure, retreat and romance at Discovery at Marigot Bay, a contemporary eco-friendly hotel overlooking what novelist James A. Michener described as “the most beautiful bay in the Caribbean.” Through Nov. 2, a highly desired bay-view room costs $378, including taxes and breakfast. Call 758-458-5300 or visit www.discoverystlucia.com
Sandals Regency La Toc Golf Resort and Spa in St. Lucia debuted four lavish new “Millionaire Suites at Sunset Bluff,” transporting guests to new levels of extravagance. Situated above the resort’s highest point, ensuring an unhindered, full 180-degree view of the Caribbean Sea. Call 800-SANDALS; www.sandals.com

New Developments
The Tides, an elite brand with resorts in the world’s most desirable locations, announces plans to reposition The Jalousie Plantation in St. Lucia. Kor Hotel Group, operator of The Tides brand, has entered into an agreement with property owner Roger Myers to manage, rebrand and reopen the resort as The Tides Sugar Beach in 2010.
“We are very excited to embark on this project in St. Lucia, which will apply our unique blend of high design and intuitive service to the exceptional work already achieved there,” said Kor Hotel Group President, Nicholas Clayton.
Located in the “Valley of the Pitons,” a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the future Tides will have a spectacular setting, with 192 acres of rainforest and white-sand beaches. Guests at The Tides will be enveloped in views of the two majestic pitons (mountain-like formations) and the Caribbean Sea beyond. Upon opening, the resort will offer 150 villas and guestrooms with private pools, four restaurants, and a world-class spa. Visit www.thetidesresorts.com

Getting There
Flying time from Miami is 3.5 hours, four hours from New York and five hours from Toronto. The Airport departure tax is $26 for all passengers over 12 years is applied to ticket prices at the time of purchase.
There are two airports on the island: Hewanorra International Airport at Vieux Fort (UVF) is 40 miles south of Castries and George F. L. Charles Airport (SLU) is on the outskirts Castries.
American Airlines’ suspended thrice weekly service between New York JFK and UVF as of Sept 4th but will recommence on Thursday, Nov. 20 with its Thursday, Sunday and Monday flights. American’s Airlines nonstop daily service from Miami..
Since last month, American Eagle’s service between San Juan, Puerto Rico and George Charles Airport, Castries (SLU) has been reduced from three flights per day to one flight per day. As of November 24th the flights will operate on a daily basis for the foreseeable future.
Delta Air Lines: Flies between Atlanta and St. Lucia using a 150-seat B737-800 during the week and a 188 seat B757 at weekends. As of September 7th the ATL-UVF service was reduced to two flights a week (Sunday, Monday). As of Saturday November 15th it goes to three (3) flights a week with the reintroduction of Saturday service. On December 20th it goes daily until the first week of January when it reverts to five flights a week (no Wednesday or Thursday flights). As of February 9th it goes to six flights a week and on February 16th it goes back to daily service.
US Airways: currently flies once per week, on Saturdays, between Charlotte, North Carolina and St. Lucia using a 120 seat Airbus. The Charlotte flight is suspended as of Saturday August 30th and recommences service on Saturday November 8th. The Philadelphia nonstop flight is currently suspended and will recommence Sat., Dec. 20.
LIAT currently flies into St. Lucia from Barbados, Port of Spain, Antigua, Dominica, St Vincent, and Martinique. This schedule will be maintained for the foreseeable future.
Airport Transfers: Taxis are readily available from the Hewanorra airport to Castries and the north of the island and should cost in the region of (EC $120 up to 4 persons). Public transport is an alternative, will take twice as long to get there than by taxi.
For more information, contact the St. Lucia Tourist Board, www.stlucia.org

September 2007 Feature

Almond Smugglers Cove – St. Lucia

JAX FAX Site Inspection
By Doug Cooke, CTC

Located just eight miles from Castries on the island of St. Lucia Almond Smugglers Cove, which opened earlier this year, is spread out on a 60-acre estate bordered by a spectacular bay. Its 357 rooms are organized in single-story clusters throughout the property with none more than a five-minute walk to the beach and resort facilities. The layout ensures plenty of privacy as I experienced on a recent visit.

Room Types
There are five room categories: Standard, Deluxe Garden View, Deluxe Beachfront, One Bedroom Garden View and One bedroom Beachfront Suites. The standard and deluxe rooms are very spacious while the one-bedroom suites have a separate living room area outfitted with sofa bed, coffee table, TV and small refrigerator. Each of the rooms has the standard amenities an American tourist would expect like irons, hairdryers, and individually-controlled air conditioning. It should be noted that a majority of the outlets in the room are 220V so remind clients to bring a converter for small electrical appliances. All rooms are eco-friendly with all power and hot water provided by solar energy with generator backup.

Guest Amenities
The property boasts five freshwater pools including one in the racquet club area and one with a swim-up bar that actually overlooks Smugglers Cove.
Resort guests are welcomed to use the seven tennis and squash courts that are part of the private racquet club located on the property. Three rounds of golf are included at the Cap Estate Country Club located directly across the street from the resort as part of the all-inclusive package but the fee does not include cart rental. Several rooms at the spa are available for a range of treatments including beachfront massage areas. Note – an additional charge applies for spa treatments. Do ask for a price list so you can book treatments for clients prior to their arrival to ensure they are able to get exactly what they want.
A fitness center is also available 24 hours a day. Watersport facilities are also available for sailing, snorkeling, water-skiing, windsurfing, kayaks, banana boats and reef fishing at no extra cost.

Kids’ Club
Almond Resorts is one of the few all-inclusive chains to provide complimentary care for infants – newborns and older. Starting at age two, and up to 18, the property offers daily programs from 9 a.m. -5 p.m. After hours babysitting can be arranged for an additional cost.

Dining Options
Guests have a choice of four gourmet restaurants to choose from featuring Continental, Italian, seafood and Caribbean cuisines. The Waterside Grill is located directly above the water (above) and serves all three daily meals with fresh seafood being the dinner specialty. Additionally, a strong selection of wines is part of the all-inclusive program. Snacks are available throughout the day and room service is available for lunch and dinner. In true British tradition, a daily High Tea is offered every afternoon.
Almond management takes special pride in the fact that they purchase a majority of their produce from local farmers under their new “growing agreement” program. Not only does this program support the local farming industry, but it also assures their guests of the freshest ingredients possible.
Of course any all-inclusive worth its salt must offer a variety of bars and Smugglers Cove doesn’t disappoint with four to choose from including the aforementioned swim-up bar, Tommy’s Rum Bar (with nightly entertainment), The Piton Lounge and The Racquet Club Bar. All of the bars serve premium brand drinks, cocktails and soft drinks as part of the all-inclusive plan.

Client Profile
This resort is great for families with young children, but given the layout of the property, honeymooners and couples would also find they can get away from the pack; the attributes of this property are ageless and will appeal to most clients seeking an all-inclusive, active Caribbean vacation.
Pricing and Packages
For the U.S. market, Almond offers a four-night package priced from $575 per person double (a 35% savings) for travel through Dec. 20, 2007.

Getting There
I recommend clients take flights directly into Castries as it saves a two-hour drive from Hewanorra Int’l Airport at Vieux Fort. Call 800-4ALMOND (425-6663); www.almondresorts.com