Malcolm and I like to see as much as we can in one trip and having last visited the Caribbean some time ago, thought it was about time we returned.
St Lucia was top of my wish list, and we top and tailed a ten-night visit with a three-night jaunt across to Dominica - tropical storm and all - in an action-packed adventure.
Our first stop was the Bay Gardens Beach Resort situated northwest of the island and around a 90-minute transfer from the International Airport. Although picturesque, the journey was enhanced thanks to our transfer driver and excellent guide, Willet, who provided us with a refreshing bottle of cold local beer, stopped to purchase some freshly made warm bread, and kept us enjoyably entertained.
Bay Gardens is located on the beautiful Reduit Beach and within walking distance of Rodney Bay village. The staff were very welcoming, and we were shown to our spacious ground-floor room with a pool view.
The all-inclusive option covers all meals (no limitations on lobster or steak), drinks, non-motorised water sports, and unlimited access to Splash Island Waterpark.
Guests staying 7 nights or more also get to experience the ‘Taste of Rodney Bay’, a dine-around programme allowing a couple of dinners at a choice of nine independently-owned restaurants and includes complimentary return shuttles – a fantastic initiative.
The gardens and pool area are beautifully kept with a bridge across the pool to a small island with a hot tub. We had most of our meals at the main restaurant, Hi Tide, set on the beach with the Caribbean Sea just a couple of metres away. The smaller SeaGrapes Restaurant specialises in St Lucian food and has a relaxed ambiance and more romantic feel, especially at night with its sparkling fairy lights.
A bit jet-lagged, we started our first full day with a lovely long walk along the beach at sunrise, followed by an early breakfast before spending the rest of the day relaxing around the pool, swimming in the warm sea and sampling the mighty fine cocktails.
I had contemplated attempting Splash Island Waterpark, but with a limited sense of balance, I knew anyone watching from the beach would have enjoyed my lack of elegance far more than me.
Instead, we decided to spend the following day visiting Pigeon Island across the bay, which is also a National Park.
A speedboat taxi literally pulled up on the beach, we paddled out, clambered onboard and enjoyed a 5-minute transfer across.
Pigeon Island was artificially joined to the mainland in 1972 by a man-made causeway. It has a colourful history due to the unobstructed views from the two peaks, from being a 16th-century pirate lookout to a naval base for both the British and French, both of whom controlled St Lucia seven times each.
There are still many military ruins and we hiked up to Fort Rodney, built between 1778 and 1782, and then up to the highest point, Signal Peak, which is where Admiral George Rodney spied on the French naval base on Martinique.
The views from both are breathtaking and worth the effort to climb. The first peak is relatively easy; the second much harder with a narrower, steep and rocky path. It felt good to conquer it.
After breakfast the next morning, Willet drove us the short distance to St Lucia’s second airport in Castries, for the 45-minute interCaribbean flight to Dominica. By this point, we were aware that tropical storm Fiona was heading in the same direction but luckily, we were just ahead of her and landed safely on the green and lush tropical island.
I thought St Lucia was mountainous, but Dominica is even more so with the addition of lots of waterfalls, streams and rivers – apparently, there are 365 of them!
The hour journey to our accommodation took us up, down and around picturesque mountains, through small villages and gave glimpses of both the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean.
Fort Young Hotel on the waterfront was our home for three nights, built within the remnants of a 17th-century fort on the edge of the colourful capital Roseau.
The rooms all have sea views, ours had a lovely wrap-around balcony with a pool view too and I loved the décor.
There is an amazing dive centre here too, where you can dive straight from the hotel’s private dock or go further out to steep drop-offs with marine-life-rich coral gardens.
With the storm pending, the hotel sent most of their staff home, with dinner delivered to the room as we anxiously awaited its arrival. Although it was windy, by early evening things weren’t too bad but around 4am we were woken by a thunderstorm and the rest of the day consisted of strong winds, lashing rain and huge waves crashing just below us.
I put together a live weather report, that morning...
As you may have heard, we were safely and happily tucked up in our lovely room with plenty of films to watch, cards to play and books to read. Lunch was able to be served in the restaurant and from mid-afternoon, things did start to ease up.
Our postponed island tour was rescheduled for the following day. From the many on offer, we had opted for the Roseau City Tour, Botanical Gardens and Trafalgar Falls.
Dominica is famous for spectacular waterfalls and is a great island for adventure with hiking trails, canyoning and trips along the Indian River, including visiting locations from the Pirates of the Caribbean films.
Tiffany, our knowledgeable guide, drove us around Roseau to absorb the rustic atmosphere, passing the old slave market and historical buildings before viewing the city from the top of Morne Bruce.
We drove around the beautiful Botanical Gardens, a real oasis on the edge of the city, before the highlight of visiting Trafalgar Falls. The drive up was spectacular with amazing views, and from the car park, it’s a short walk up to the falls themselves.
It is busy during winter when the cruise ships visit and according to Tiffany, not easy to get good pics but I’m so glad that we had the luxury of being the sole visitors and had totally the opposite experience.
Sadly, thanks to Fiona, we only had one full day to explore this beautiful island but there is clearly much to offer, and I would hope to return.
The short flight back to St Lucia was early and the landing was slightly nerve-wracking, being so low over the water and not being able to see the runway until touching down on it. The queue to get through immigration took longer than the flight due to the arrival of another flight but once through, Willet was there and ready to start us on our final leg.
Our final four nights were at the fabulous East Winds, a property I have long been intrigued about as it’s an extremely popular hotel with the British and I now understand why.
Rather than rooms in a hotel building, accommodation is provided in just 30 semi-detached cottages, spread amongst beautiful gardens which are maintained under the supervision of Sylvanus, the head gardener since 2006.
Sylvanus happily takes guests on a fascinating weekly tour sharing his amazing knowledge of the flora and fauna – we learned that most of the garden has a medicinal benefit depending on how used.
Our Superior cottage was lovely, with a huge comfortable bed and a bathroom with a fabulous sunken shower. The mini fridge (stocked with beers, water, soft drinks and wine) is on the outside veranda with a sink and kettle, encouraging you to sit outside first thing in the morning to enjoy a cuppa and watch the many varieties of birds, including two types of beautiful hummingbirds, enjoy the feeders that hang from each cottage.
For my latest audition to become a property guide presenter, here’s our arrival experience with my own special bartender...
The staff here - and the service they provide - are outstanding, with many having been on the team for years. They know you by name within a day, have your favourite drink ready at the bar before you’ve even ordered it and go out of their way to make sure you are having a relaxing holiday.
The swimming pool is a beautiful oasis with a great swim-up bar. Pre-Covid, this was a ‘help yourself' and apparently guests would enjoy getting involved to prepare drinks for other guests.
The lovely Mikele kept our drinks topped up but they hope to have the self-service bar reinstated soon.
There may only be one restaurant, but the variety provided from breakfast to dinner by the executive chef is fantastic.
Every night was a four-course meal with three choices per course along with a wine pairing. The entertainment whilst enjoying the delicious food was very chilled, either provided by a pianist or local singers. I don’t think I have ever felt so relaxed and well looked after and I will certainly be going back to this special place.
It was very hard to tear ourselves away from East Winds, but we did go out for a day’s highly recommended excursion to Rainforest Adventure, which involves a gentle 30-minute glide up through the canopy.
The tram sits eight people plus a naturalist guide who provides fantastic insight into all the flora and fauna. Once at the top, there is the option to descend straight back down with panoramic views or before doing this you can opt to get off and enjoy some zip wiring, which we chose to do.
There are eight zip wires in total of varying lengths and it was a fantastic experience to be descending through ancient rainforests and of course, it wouldn’t be a rainforest without the rain, which was torrential, and though it drenched us through, it added to the fun.
Before we knew it, the time had come to leave beautiful St Lucia, and there was Willet waiting to drive us to the airport for our overnight flight home. Happy days.
