A Week in St. Lucia

While the highlight of the trip was Jade Mountain Resort, we also wanted to explore some of St Lucia. Our first foray was to the nearby town of Soufriere.

Within (or at least near) the gardens are the Diamond Falls. While the falls are in a lush and pretty area, they do not compare to many North American waterfalls.

We took a road trip (chauffered) northward up the coast of St. Lucia. This image was taken atop a ridge as we left Soufriere. The town below and the Pitons in the distance can be seen.

Between the towns of Soufriere and Anse La Raye are the Canaries. It is a small fishing village, and this image is of a residential area above the town center.

A couple of notable tourist areas were recommended. One was the mud pits, which as interesting although a bit underwhelming.

This shot from the rooftop bridge shows the pathways, stairs, and immaculate landscaping network.

Now, we're down on the beach. The Caribbean water is great for swimming, and there are plenty of amenities available. Also, as we found out later, plenty of mosquitos ignored the insect repellent.

This was not the biggest room in the hotel, but it had a dining room (which we did not use) and a bathroom behind the half-wall.

This is a zoomed-out shot of the Pitons from the hotel, showing the lush forests just below the hotel. Green was all around us.

We took a not-very-short walk through Sourfriere to the Botanical Gardens. Quite unlike botanical gardens in the U.S., it was almost a tropical forest.

Again, one can see that the falls are a pretty water feature, but not huge.

A short distance north of the hotel, we arrived at Marigot Bay, and this is a picture taken from another ridge as we descended into the town and headed to the waterfront.

Castries is the capital of the island, located on the northeast side. Like others, this image was taken from a ridge before entering the town. Castries is a popular cruise ship port.

The second was the hot springs, where you can pay to dip into the "therapeutic" waters. We did not.

Taking the boat to Soufriere, we can get a good view of Anse Chastanet Hotel on the left behind the palms. Jade Mountain can barely be seen between the building and the palm tree to the left.

One can walk north along the shore, past some beach bungalows and the hotel's plantation, to another beach, Anse Mamin. This image looks bad towards the hotel.

The room had no fourth wall; it was wide open to the ocean and Pitons. In the middle of the balcony was the infinity pool, too small for laps but perfect for a scenic dip.

This is a slightly zoomed-in shot from our room. This is a view that (I assume) most all Jade Mountain rooms have.

Not unexpectedly, many unique and interesting tropical plants abound.

This is one of the nicer houses we encountered while walking around Soufriere. We passed by several nice residential areas on our trek through the town.

This picture is taken while standing on a boardwalk near the water and looking across the bay.

This picture was taken along the coast north of Castries. It looks towards Pigeon Island, but unfortunately, we did not have time to wander there.

Jade Mountain is built on a cliff, and this is the backside of the hotel. Hotel rooms and the rooftop restaurant are accessible via bridges from the mountainside pathways.

On the way down the steep hill to the beach, one can get several lovely views of the bay and beach above the hotel. This is one.

Normally I wouldn't post shots of the hotel room, but this one was very unique. This image shows a living room area to the left of the mosquito netted king bed.

This is another angle of the room, taken from the living area. The bed is on the left, and the open bathroom is at the far end of the room. Again, this hotel was (for us) the highlight of St. Lucia.