| Arguably,
Ladera is one of the most romantic and awe-inspiring resorts we've seen
anywhere in the Caribbean and is one of our all time favorites in the
world. |
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U.S. Citizens: Passports are
required for international air travel to all destinations outside the
USA.
 Ladera Resort in St. Lucia has been around for years and its
ambiance is timeless. Arguably, Ladera is one of the most romantic and
awe-inspiring resorts we've seen anywhere in the Caribbean and is one of our
all time favorites in the world. While not a nudist resort, the privacy and
freedom provided to guests in each of the property's private chalets is
unrivaled in any vacation setting we've seen in the Caribbean, Far East or
South Pacific. Sitting atop a mountain ridge facing west into the Caribbean,
the entire resort overlooks the lagoon nestled between the famous 2,000+ foot
Pitons, two volcanic mountains upthrust from the sea bed thousands of feet
below.
St. Lucia, a former British Colony and before that, French, is
one of the most beautiful island paradise locations anywhere. And, the local
citizens are wonderful, too.
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U.S. Citizens: Passports are
required for international air travel to all destinations outside the
USA.
St. Lucia, located in the southern Caribbean, is
served internationally from several world-class cities in Europe, South
American, United States and the Caribbean. Two international airports serve St.
Lucia so make sure you know which one you're arriving at: Hewanorra Airport
with the big jet runway at the far southern end of the island and Vigie, the
smaller airport for prop planes and regional aircraft located in Castries, the
capital of St. Lucia to the north. Actually, Ladera is near the village of
Soufriere, not far from the only "drive through" volcano in the Caribbean or
anywhere, for that matter. Soufriere is about an hour south of Castries and
about the same distance from Hewannora, but over a worse road than the one from
Castries, which has an excellent surface.
TRANSPORTATION
Reach
St. Lucia by plane or island shuttle. From either airport, take a taxi,
transfer or rental car. If you're staying for longer than 3 or 4 days, suggest
you just rent a car and spend a little time seeing this beautiful island,
perhaps one of the most beautiful in the world. Since taxis can be expensive,
consider arranging your transfers before you arrive. A package deal with
airfare, resort, taxes and transfers is the most economical method.
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Ladera is actually comprised of about 25 private units,
each as unique in design and function as you can imagine. Each chalet is built
in a suite-like format with a private entrance, living area, private bedroom
and a romantic plunge pool, each overlooking both Pitons and the beautiful bay
below. Construction is composed of native wood, stone and local
decorations...nothing fancy but mostly natural in all respects.
 There is no scheduled room service,
no in room phones and no TV or radio in each chalet. Minimum services include a
roof over your head, terrific beds, many with delicate gauze netting, hot and
cold running water, electricity, a coffee maker, showers open air to the sky
and a kitchenette in some units and each chalet has a perfect view. Take a CD
for your tunes, but be respectful with the volume, loud music is frowned upon.
There is a stocked refrigerator in each chalet, too. However, there is a big,
wide screen TV in the resort's rec room with a satellite feed, along with
internet service. A full sized swimming pool is on site between the chalets and
the main restaurant, with a gorgeous setting and view of the Pitons on both
sides.
The resort's award winning restaurant serves breakfast, lunch
and dinner ala carte.
Ladera also offers an "inclusive" program for
meals and beverages. If you are interested in this program, please request
those rates when you submit your inquiry.
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Dasheen, the mountain top restaurant on the south end of
the complex, serves all meals. Be prepared for sticker shock as the prices are
not modest for any of the meals. Evening dining is the most spectacular
occasion of the day, but try to have coffee in your chalet in the morning while
enjoying the terrific views from the ridge top. Daytime, plan on sight seeing
and exploring the island. The little town of Soufriere a few minutes down the
road below Ladera and the Pitons offers local markets, produce and wonderful
little restaurants with reasonable prices.
Evening meals include the
finest in fish, beef, chicken and pork dishes, prepared with some of the finest
spice from the island. Chef's specials and special buffets are also featured
weekly. You can also arrange a breakfast plan along with your room, too.
Light entertainment in the bar is provided during certain parts of the
week, plus the bar itself is the best part of being there.
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Ladera is comprised of 19 suites and 6 "villas" which are
really 2 bedroom suites, all with private pools.
While the resort's
accommodations are rustic and romantic, pricing is first class. Low season
rates for summer and fall start range from about $175-$200/person/night while
winter, high season rates range from about $250-$300/person/night. The room
rate includes room only. Meals are ala carte and a breakfast plan can be
included in your room rate.
If you're looking for the fourth wall of
your chalet suite, all you have to do is look toward the Caribbean since your
view facing west is open-air. All accommodations have only three walls. No bugs
or mosquitos inhabit your space since the altitude keeps them at bay and
provides a perfect temperature at night. In fact, you may need the blanket when
you rack out.
A few of the suites, called villas, include a two
bedroom layout, perfect for friendly couples who want to share space and the
ambiance of a beautiful setting together.
Other than the two bedroom
villas, our favorite suite is the "X" Suite....as in X marks the spot. There
are no suite numbers....only letters, to designate your room. The "X" suite is
at the end of the complex on the north end of the property. With three levels
which include your living room, bath and bedroom area, the plunge pool on the
second level and a raised patio with steps leading up to the wooden deck offers
perhaps the best view in the resort since you can see 360 degrees in all
directions. A big plus is that from the bedroom, you can enjoy views on both
sides of the mountain toward the rain forest valley facing east and the Pitons,
bay and Caribbean on the west side.
Ladera also offers an "inclusive"
program for meals and beverages. If you are interested in this program, please
request those rates when you submit your inquiry.
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You will find mostly 30's to 50's at Ladera. Since the
property is built on top of the mountain range about 1,500 ft high connecting
the Pitons, there are lots of stairs and switchbacks to navigate to reach your
suite.
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 Some of your
favorite rituals daily ought to include morning coffee in your room and an
evening to watch the sun go down with a glass of champagne or wine. Take a
packet of the rough, brown sugar from your coffee service and spread a few
grains on the stone wall of your chalet which should attract delicate little
birds or small ground critters to share your morning with.
Weather is
just about perfect year round. The scenery is impossible to describe so you'll
just have to review the Photo Album to see what we mean. You're in the tropics
Morning, noon and night are perfect times to enjoy your plunge pool,
included in each chalet.
Another favorite time is sunset either in
your own chalet, in your plunge pool or at Dasheen for happy hour in the bar.
Each chalet is constructed completely different, so if you want
privacy, each will offer a totally unique setting.
Ladera has been
designed using the local wood, stone and mostly natural materials from the
island itself so don't plan to visit there if you're expecting the Ritz.
Try to make the weekly manager's welcome reception and the special
weekly buffet if you want to meet other guests.
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St Lucia offers a terrific array of natural beauty, local
sites as well as man made scenery. One of the favorite things to do on a Friday
night is to visit the local village of Anse La Raye, not far from Soufriere
toward Castries. Friday night street parties in St. Lucia are something of a
tradition on the island. Plan on being there on a Friday to help celebrate the
end of a work week and the coming weekend. Another great street party on Friday
night is in the little village of Gros Islet, just north of Castries.
If you can, rent a car and see the territory. The island is naturally beautiful
and you can explore just about every corner of it by car. Driving is on the
left.
Escorted sight seeing can be arranged with local travel
companies if you desire a hosted tour with transportation. Ladera maintains
travel and tour information in the rec room and office.
Scuba diving
is world-class in and around St. Lucia. Two other properties we recommend on
St. Lucia with great views and location are Ti Kaye, near Anse La Raye and Anse
Chastenet, near Soufriere. Both of them offer terrific, rustic accommodations
and dining in addition to on site dive shops and dive sites close by. Both Anse
Chastenet and Ti Kaye offer some of the best shore diving right in front of the
resort, with numerous dive sites only minutes from the dock.
Golf,
tennis, sailing, snorkeling, touring and enjoying the countryside, its citizens
and restaurants are good reasons to go exploring St. Lucia. If you like flora
and fauna, gardens, rain forests and plantations, St. Lucia is filled with them
so enjoy.
The Iron Market downtown in Castries is a fun place to tour
and visit with the locals who bring their goods and produce to town for
sale.
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Depending upon your point of view, you can enjoy
privacy and solitude with only you and your honey. |
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Dasheen Restaurant is regarded as one of the best on
the island. |
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If you want to get away from it all to be with your
honey, this is the place. |
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Anytime of year is great. Since St Lucia is so far south in
the southern Caribbean, hurricanes are rare.
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Paradise is hard to improve upon, but if we had to wish for
anything it would be that the entire resort could be clothing
optional.
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• View the Photo
Album
Click on the Photo Album button to view photos of Ladera
Resort. The ones we have on-line now were contributed by the resort. You can
contribute to this section - all you have to do is go to our
Contribute Trip Report /
Photographs page.
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• View Trip
Reports
We need trip reports from from folks who have recently
visited Ladera Resort. You can contribute to this section - all you have to do
is go to our Contribute Trip Report
/ Photographs page.
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