TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

This resort met all our hopes for a relaxing holiday in a rustic, yet sophisticated environment. It is nestled on the side of a mountain and there are some steep climbs. For those who might find this difficult there is motorised transport to take guests anywhere on site. This rustic hotel blends luxury and tranquility; excellent rooms, gastronomy and wine list with no televisions. There are two beaches. The main hotel beach of fine, darkish volcanic sand is reached via a staircase of 150 steps. There are enough thatched shelters for everyone to find a good spot on the beach. A short walk away along the base of a cliff is a less populated second beach with whiter sand and Jungle Grill which serves up BBQ fare and cocktails. The 5-star PADI diving centre offers a large range of courses for beginner and experienced scuba divers. This was the centre of gravity for our holiday. The staff were friendly, professional and helpful. A relaxed approach on shore gave way to a highly professional and reassuring safety-first approach on the boat. The dive sites are spectacular. The coral is colourful with a good array of medium sized fish, numerous eels and rays with the occasional turtle and school of dolphins. But a distinguishing feature is the natural beauty of boat trips and dives beneath the towering Pitons. For us the mix of quiet, rustic charm, excellent diving and varied gastronomy ticked all our requirements for a relaxing holiday. We have already booked our return visit.

The hotel was fantastic, staff, room, food all superb. However, the beach experience is spoiled by a seemingly continuous arrival of noisy, disco boats bringing cruise ship passengers to the beach. This spoils the ambience, view and experience particularly around lunchtime. The hotel can do little about this as the beach is public! but they could stop day-trippers using the beach bar / restaurant so that hotel guests, at least have priority. The day-trippers cant use the beach loungers, but they bring towels and fill in the gaps between the loungers etc. This might seem petty, but considering that the hotel has no pool it is annoying to say the least.

If you like to snorkel then you will love this! From the cruise port in Castries, St Lucia , in the port area with all the shops, find a speedboat tour that will take you to Anse Chastanet for snorkeling off the beach and a great view of the Pitons. We took a 40 ft speedboat that took about 40 minutes to get there. They drive near the Pitons which are next to Anse Chastanet beach. You are dropped off at a small pier that borders the Marine Reserve which is in a roped off area where boats are not permitted. This is where the best snorkeling is on the left side of the bay. I have never seen more varieties of tropical fish in one area while snorkeling. The snorkeling is very easy here with no noticeable currents and clear water. Explore the entire roped in area and be sure to get near the rocks where you can get up close to many varieties of tropical fish. To get in the water here use the ladder off the end of the small vessel landing jetty or enter at the beach and swim over but watch out for the boats coming and going from the vessel landing area. On the other side of the bay the snorkeling is completely different where you will see a forest or different sponges and huge sea fans with fewer tropical fish. Enter from the beach on the right side of the bay and swim to the right near the rocks towards the long pier on the right. There is a restaurant and facilities at the beach there and you can relax on the beach until your tour boat returns to pick you up. Be sure and ask when to expect them back. The ride in the speedboat was fun and very scenic, returning us to the port with plenty of time to get back on the cruise ship. The cost was about $60 per person for this tour which was extremely reasonable. Bring a beach towel and water!

We just returned from St Lucia - we spent the first 5 nights at Anse Chastanet before moving on to Cap Maison. We stayed in 2 beach rooms - my wife and I in one and our kids (14 and 11) in another. These rooms vary in size and configuration - I was very happy with ours but the one they put the kids in originally was quite obviously not suitable for the extra bed they shoehorned in, blocking the patio door and rendering a chest of drawers unusable. Our complaint was dealt with pretty well (see under 'Service' below). Our room had more space inside than out and the eventual kids' room had more outside than in - I thought both were nice and I suppose we were lucky to have one of each - we played cards on their verandah in the evenings. Both had hammocks, which was nice. The beach rooms do not have a beach view (although they are very close to the beach and that was a massive bonus) and are quite dark - covered by trees and constantly shady. Mosquitos weren't a massive problem there. The walk up to the restaurant/reception wasn't all that bad, tbh. Beaches - very nice. My wife went scuba diving, my daughter did a lot of snorkelling and my son and I did a lot of sunbathing and messing around in the sea. Excellent beaches, although not quite as spectacular as I expected. My memories of the Caribbean are perhaps a bit rose-tinted through the passage of time, being nearly 30 years since I've visited. We preferred Anse Mamin for its relative quietness, even though it's a pretty short walk along the shore to get there. Food - average, I'd say. After 5 nights I was pretty glad I didn't have to find something to eat from the same menu again. The Asian curry I had in Apsara was poor - greasy, not spicy and pretty grim, actually. The rest of the food was fine - nice enough but a long way from amazing. We were on all-inclusive (new for us but we were convinced it would be sensible due to the prices we'd seen online - another reviewer has described them as 'eye-watering' and that's not a bad description) and it was a good decision. Service was mostly very good. We complained about the room the kids had been put in, and that got changed the next night. That suggested to me that either a) they were keen to please an unhappy customer or b) they knew they'd tried to pull a fast one originally. Or a bit of both. Anyhow, it was sorted out to our satisfaction but I'd really rather not have to complain on my holiday. Things like excursions (we went to the mud baths and botanical gardens - really good trip) and transfers were deal with totally efficiently. Staff on the beaches and reception were uniformly great but some of the restaurant service was a bit off-hand. I know, this is the same all over the world and in all industries, but this is an expensive place to stay - I don't want to be made to feel that I'm causing some kind of a problem or an inconvenience when ordering a drink in a luxury setting.

I think this might be one of my favourite hotels! The location is stunning, we loved going to sleep with the rainforest sounds and waking up to the wonderful views, birdsong and the rolling sea. We are a family and booked 2 rooms, we stayed in 12A and 12C, one directly above the other. 12A had a bedroom with four poster bed and a massive verandah with only 3 walls and another double bed, sofa, seating, table etc. Very big and very comfortable. Quite near the restaurant too. We stayed in All Inclusive, prices are eye-watering, so glad we chose this option. Food was excellent and service very friendly and spot on. We had breakfast at Jade Mountain one morning and wow, the view is unreal! The beach is absolutely stunning, the water is crystal clear and warm. Snorkelling was pretty good, I did it most days and my daughter went diving. Instructors were very good. We went on the walk to Anse Mamin with Meno, who is an absolute legend! Loved the walk. Spa was excellent too and staff was lovely throughout. The steps- there are many but it was actually ok, not a problem at all, although I did make sure I had everything I needed before heading out to the beach! The bumpy road leading to the hotel was ok, I expected worse, it was fine. We had a fantastic holiday and will have many fond memories of our time at Anse Chastanet and in St Lucia for many years to come . St Lucia is gorgeous and this hotel is a very special and beautiful place, we will definitely return soon :)