We stayed for 6 nights in May 2003 in Soufriere, 3 nights each at Ladera resort and the Jalousie Hilton (now the Jalousie Plantation, under new management). Our trip was magical in every way a honeymoon should be. We started in the mountains at Ladera in an open air suite, complete with private plunge pool. The roof was A-frame and the room had doors to a veranda on one side with jalousie type slats that you could open and close to control the wind. Being up in the hills, we did not have any trouble with bugs because of the wind. On a less windy night, the mosquito net would suffice.
The restaurant at the Ladera Resort, Dasheene, is quite renowned. Chef Orlando makes creative Caribbean fare each night, featuring locally caught fish and produce grown right at the resort. We opted for the meal plan and ate breakfast and dinner nightly at the resort.
The only downside to the resort is that it is not on the beach. We wanted to be in the hills and have a few relaxing days in solitude after our busy time planning our wedding, so it suited us just fine, but it was quite nice to move to the Jalousie for the second half of our trip.
Hilton Jalousie/Jalousie Plantation. This resort sits right between the two Pitons, what a view! We had an Ocean View Villa with our own plunge pool and woke up each morning to a gorgeous view of the Pitons. The resort is quite large and provides free van service from villas to beach, restaurants, and pools. There are four restaurants. We ate and danced at the Pierside restaurant and also drank several Piton beers at the beachside restaurant. Breakfast was included with our rate and we ate a full breakfast buffet each morning at the Verandah Terrace overlooking the bay. While we were there, we did attend one of the Calypso beach parties. The food and entertainment were great! The beach is so beautiful at the Jalousie. It is white sand, where others on this part of the island are black sand. There are tons of water activities at the beach, but we enjoyed sitting under a grass hut and ordering our Piton beers and fish sandwiches from the passing waiters the most.
Quick Tips:
Take advantage of the private taxi service tours. We booked our hike through Simon Seys, a local taxi driver. He arranged for a guide (Keyshawn) to take us up the Petit Piton. It was a very strenuous hike with a barely maintained "trail." The view at the top was worth it, but we hear that the nice switchback trail on the other Piton is much easier and can be done without a guide. (that being said, neither is an easy hike). Thankfully the spa at Jalousie had wonderful spa pedicure treatments for hikers that included a leg massage!
Other Excursions: The concierge at Ladera organized many different types of excursions, all with complementary transportation. Beach shuttles to both the Jalousie and Anse Chastanet Beaches. We were able to take a water taxi over to he Anse Chastenet for the day, where my husband went diving and I went to the beach front spa for a massage. We also scheduled an afternoon of horseback riding through the concierge.Best Way To Get Around:
The Jalousie has a helicopter pad and you can arrange a helicopter transport to either airport on the Island. Unfortunately we did not book this ahead of time and there were not enough people traveling by helicopter on our return to the airport, so we went by land. The road to the airport in the North was very bumpy with lots of hair pin turns, but it is very scenic.