Jade Mountain, St Lucia
Tania Swasbrook, Sept 2011
As a seasoned traveler does, it’s now become habit that I book my own vacations last minute! We were going on our “babymoon” (an American tradition in which you take a trip in the 6th month of your pregnancy as a last hurrah before the world as you know it ends when the baby arrives) and so we wanted something relatively close, adults only and romantic. We’d never been to St Lucia and had had some request about it so I looked into it.
There are 3 Virtuoso properties in St Lucia. Jade Mountain and Ladera (on the West coast of the Island in Soufriere) and Cap Maison which is on Gros Islet in the north (more developed in tourism) near the capital of Castries.
Both Ladera and Jade Mountain are known for their “3 walled bedroom” (meaning outdoor living) and the minimum age is 15…but Ladera is closed in September. Cap Maison had the TV’s and “walls” which we were trying to get away from and although gorgeous, we wanted to try something different. So off we went to Jade Mountain.
I’ll be brutally honest in saying that I didn’t give it much thought or investigation. It was starting to get cold in NY so we just wanted to get away. We booked our Jet Blue flight (one of the only direct ones) and off we went.
A 5 hours flight later, we arrived (a bit longer than we thought but St Lucia is, after all, near Venezuela). It was obvious from just the plane ride that St Lucia is a place to go on your honeymoon or with “that special someone” as the majority of visitors were couples. We went through immigration and got our luggage (all quite fast) and our driver from Jade Mt was there to pick us up. The drive to Jade Mountain Resort is no more than 20 miles but it takes about an hour to get there given the windy roads. Its actually a nice drive (albeit windy and hilly) but you get a sense of the place. You pass by fishing villages and small towns with multicolored houses and scenic views of the ocean and rain forests. Once you come to Soufriere, the fun starts. It’s about a 15 minute climb up to the hotel. You most likely wouldn’t be able to go without four-wheel drive and walking it would be an incredible work out. They don’t do much to fix the roads in order to keep it more private as the beaches and views from the area are incredible and would be filled with non-hotel visitors.
 |
| Soufriere |
The area (which is that spot you reach after climbing that hill from Soufriere) is called Anse Chastanet and it encompasses 600 lush tropical acres bordering two soft sand beaches. It is St. Lucia's only resort property with the iconic view of both the Piti and Gros Piton mountains floating upon the Caribbean Sea. Not only do you get a UNESCO World Heritage Site anchored by the twin peaks on land, the resort’s two crystal-clear bays are part of a designated marine reserve protecting miles of colorful coral reefs teeming with tropical fish.
The beach is known for excellent scuba diving and snorkeling and many of the reefs are accessible by simply swimming a few meters out from the beach. The beach is part of the private resort owned by Russian-Canadian architect Nick Troubetzkoy. (Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hG2QTlzQJzY)
Troubetzkoy purchased Anse Chastanet in the 70’s and was determined to revolutionize conventional thinking as to what a hotel room should look like and why one hotel room should not be a cookie cutter duplicate of the next. Troubetzkoy’s love for large open spaces built in harmony with nature was first realized in his redesign of Anse Chastanet Resort, and now has reached a new level of sophistication in his creation of Jade Mountain…the more upscale of the two resorts.
When we arrived to the very top (Jade Mountain is at the top of the hill, Anse Chastanet is at the bottom) we were taking straight to our room. Now, I knew it would be open air living, but I really didn’t know what that meant or what to expect and hadn’t thought about the fact that this meant no AC. At first I thought I was going to have some sort of panic attack. Coming from the summer in NY, I could not fathom it and both my husband and I just looked at each other like a deer in headlights. Then came the news of no TV or electronics (ie Phones in the room) (although there is very fast WiFi which is free) . I thought I was hearing things. I just remember asking our Major Domo (aka Butler) where the “other wall” was.
You know what though? Best thing ever. The first day was a bit rough as I actually don’t remember the last time I was somewhere with no AC. Both of us were coughing up all the “gunk” (we kept kidding that we were allergic to nature) and by the end of the trip, I actually was fearing going back to AC filled, pollution based NYC. My skin was the best it had ever been, I think we actually lost weight from all the walking and fresh air, and even our eyes were clearer.
And when was the last time you saw stars? At night you could actually see the galaxy it was so clear. It did feel a bit as though we were in tree houses or the movie Avatar.
The food was obviously seafood based with a Caribbean (creole) twits. Not my absolute favorite but it’s a personal taste. They have an excellent sommelier at the main restaurant for Jade Mt whom was very knowledgeable and professional making the ambiance particularly upscale.
The spa at Jade Mountain, albeit small, was very comprehensive (from couples massages to pre-natal massages to facials). They have a gym as well (both spa and gym have AC) but you really don’t need to go at any point given the amount of walking you do!
Service was a bit disjointed. Your front of office staff was incredible (Manuel and Jeff particularly) and the butlers and some of the waiters at the Jade Mountain main restaurant (there is only one exclusively for Jade) were fantastic. But then you’d get some of the other staff that was not as “fantastic” and I think a lot of it had to do with the mixture of the two resorts. Let me explain.
It took me a while to understand the relationship between the two resorts (Anse Chastanet and Jade Mountain) but basically, as a guest of Jade Mountain – the more upscale, elite of the two - you can roam the entire area, eat wherever you want and enjoy all the activities and amenities both resorts have to offer. By the way, when I say “roam” I mean that very loosely as remember that the resorts are on a hill so you literally go up and down to get anywhere (like your room to the beach) which is an excellent work out (they do offer shuttles for the Jade Mountain guests but that’s no fun).
On paper, having the two resorts intertwined sounds like an excellent marriage. However, the demographics of the two resorts are completely different. Those staying at Jade Mountain and paying over $1500 a night are expecting the best (Note: we had a special travel agent rate!). They are high net-worth individuals and perhaps described best as “high maintenance” travellers. Point is, they are very different to those at Anse Chastanet paying $250 a night. You may see where this is going. When you are at the other restaurants or the beach, the staff doesn’t actually know whom you are so that may be where the issue lies.
This is my one main criticism. However, to our grand delight, as we were walking up from the beach we literally ran into Parrot Cay’s (Virtuoso resort in Turk’s and Caicos) former General Manager whom was recently brought in as the new general manager of Jade Mountain and Anse Chastanet. I believe that he’ll have this issue resolved in no time at all.
The good thing is that most packages come with meals included as things are expensive on the resort.
I did leave the best for last though…the rooms are something out of this world. It is no surprise that they have won so many awards. Even the “Bachelor UK: was filmed here (and returning soon!). I can’t even begin to describe them and the pictures don’t do them justice so here is a short video we took.
So the question is: would we recommend Jade Mountain? If you want to get away from it all…pollution, AC, stress and revive and regenerate…then absolutely. If you are a honeymooner (or simply want to spend quality time with that special someone) then absolutely. Just make sure you are informed as to where you are going and what it entails.
Most surprising thing? The St Lucian’s love of country music and line dancing!!
Tips: - Take advantage of the activities such as climbing the Pitons or jungle biking (if that’s your thing), sunset sail or visiting Soufriere or the volcano (try to get a water taxi there so you avoid that steep hill road).
- If you can afford it, make one of the transfers from the airport by helicopter. Its an 8 minute ride but well worth it to avoid the winding roads.
- Take mosquito repellant and good sandals (not flimsy flip flops only!)