St. Lucia 2003

Sandals Resort

In June we spent a week on St. Lucia. I've discovered that there are a lot of islands in the Caribbean. We booked this trip at the last minute, on the web, through Apple Vacations.

This was their Last minute Apple surprise package. For a low reduced fee you would get a charter flight from Chicago to St. Lucia, and a week at an all-inclusive resort that was guaranteed to be at least a five apple rating.

We love the

We had been on Apple vacations before and have stayed at 5 Apple resorts so we took a chance.

When we arrived at the airport in Chicago we were assigned a hotel. I had been hoping we would get a Sandals, but no luck. There are three Sandals on the island. We stayed at a Sandals in Jamaica, and visited three of the other Sandals on the island. They were all wonderful.

The airport is on the southeast tip of the island. All resorts on the northwest corner of the island, about a 90-minute ride away. As soon as we arrived at the resort I knew I wanted to transfer to a Sandals. So we contacted our Apple representative and paid to upgrade to the brand new Sandals Grande.

The Sandals Grande is at the base of Fort Rodney. If you visit the Sandals Grande be sure to climb up to Fort Rodney. It is a great view.

While on the island we visited the two other Sandals. We went snorkeling and sailing, I went scuba diving 5 times, we ate at some wonderful restaurants, and Claudia read five books. The Sandals are very popular with the newly weds. Claudia and I were probably married longer (31 years) than everyone else combined.


Uncle Phil and the Dive Master

Returning from a snorkeling trip

Travel Tips

We went to St. Lucia in June. The rainy season. Go earlier in the year (Feb, Mar, Apr). It rained several days and it was overcast most of the time.

Climb to the top of Fort Rodney, and take a camera. Great view.

If you stay at a Sandals be sure to visit the other two. It's free. You just have to pay for the cab ride.

We regretted that we didn't take the opportunity to explore the island further. It has a rain forest and we should have taken a tour.

Use a lot of sunscreen, and watch the drinks. They make them really strong.

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