For peace and privacy and lots of one-on-one time with your favorite person, Jade Mountain is ideal. No wonder it’s consistently voted as one of the most romantic hotels in the world. The only time we really saw any other guests on property was at dinner at the Jade Club.
Once we exhausted all of our in-room options…
…. it was time to find some things to do at Jade Mountain!
Jade Mountain is perched high on a hill in its exclusive, austere glory, but most activities take place down the hill at Anse Chastanet, which is bustling and resort-y. We met our excursions there at the dock, a snorkeling trip to the base of the Pitons and a sunset cruise around the bay.
I’ve said it before – as a scuba diver, I find snorkeling to be a bit tedious. Once you’ve seen the world that thrives 100-feet below the surface, floating around up top doesn’t cut it. Plus, some destinations brag about excellent underwater life there’s not much more than a couple rocks and a few fish.
Saint Lucia was the exception! We went three times in our week on island, and our excursion with Jade Mountain/Anse Chastenet was particularly awesome. At the base of Petit Piton, we saw a school of little squid, a lionfish, a camouflaged flounder and lots of colorful corals. Well worth doing.
On our last night in Saint Lucia, we boarded a little sailboat at the Anse Chastanet dock and cruised around Soufrière, the Pitons and Sugar Bay, covering all the ground we’d seen so far, this time by sea.
As the sun dipped toward the horizon to the west, the Pitons behind us changed color from green to orange to pink to purple. It was one of the most beautiful sunsets I’ve seen in all my travels.
When we turned our sails back toward home, it was surprising that from the sea, Jade Mountain almost looks like an abandoned parking garage. You’d never guess from far away that it’s at the top of every luxury hotel list.
This is one place where it’s what’s on the inside that counts.
Anse Chastanet’s accommodations dot the hillside below Jade Mountain (see the green roofs above), so if Jade is a bit out of the budget, it’s a less expensive option for the same location.
You don’t have to walk up that giant hill to get home either! There’s a shuttle running constantly from Jade Mountain to the beach. We usually used our Major Domo cell phone to let them know when we were ready to go. I don’t think we ever waited longer than about 10 minutes to be picked up.
Once you’re dropped off at the Anse Chastanet beach, there are boats to sail, other beaches to explore and areas for self-guided snorkeling.
So what about food, a key aspect in choosing a romantic destination?
We ordered breakfast in our room every morning and either Reynold or our other Major Domo Filliner delivered it. We fended off hungry little birds with napkins and pool towels, but it was all a part of the adventure of having an open 4th wall.
The good news is that we never had any trouble with insects – whew. Can you imagine spending a week basically living outdoors and not getting a single mosquito bite?
I was pleasantly surprised on that front!
For dinner, we climbed the endless stairs to the swanky Jade Club atop the resort, starting with cocktails at the Celestial Terrace (pictured above at sunset), then sampling a little bit of everything – goat curry, beef tenderloin, grilled octopus, blackened kingfish, jumbo prawns and frog legs.
Want to know our favorite? The frog legs! No one was more surprised than us. The Salted Caramel Mille Fueille was one of the best desserts I’ve had in a while.
The view is even better than the food, so it’s well worth a couple of splurge nights up here at sunset. (Unfortunately, it was much too dark to take food photos so you’ll have to take our word on this one!)
Surprisingly, one of our favorite meals was at a little beach hut on Anse Mamin, a short walk from Anse Chastanet’s main resort complex. We’d heard from multiple sources that their burger was the best on the island, so we had to check it out.
Verdict? I love banana ketchup on a tropical burger with grilled pineapple! I wish we’d discovered this burger on Day 1. Then again, we might’ve missed out on the tasty frog legs if we were always running down to the beach for more burgers.
Jade Mountain is a hotel like none other. You really have to experience it yourself to fully appreciate the architecture, the views and the singular service. Thinking of booking? Start here!
Next time, sign us up for a Galaxy sanctuary!
Have you been to Jade Mountain? Which room did you stay in? What was your favorite activity?
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Thank you to Jade Mountain in Saint Lucia for hosting our visit. Opinions, observations and general musings are my own, as always.
