Hotel Review: Sugar Beach, St Lucia
After five nights in Barbados, Oliver and I flew to St Lucia for the second part of our Caribbean trip. After a delayed InterCaribbean flight, we finally touched down on the island in the afternoon (I’ll save that story for another day). If it’s your first time visiting the Caribbean (as it was mine), I would probably advise trying not to be overly ambitious and sticking to one island for the duration of your trip, unless you’re going for two weeks or more, as you might feel a little tired from all the travelling. Despite this, our visit to St Lucia was totally worth it. Our hotel was somewhere that i’ve been wanting to visit for a long time, and our stay here exceeded all of our expectations. Read on for my full review of Sugar Beach.
First impressions: 5/5
Sugar Beach is the kind of resort where you really don’t need to leave - and to do so, you’ll need to follow a long, sweeping drive to exit the 100-acre estate. Encompassing six different restaurants and bars and over 100 different bedrooms, you will have everything you could possibly need here. Bedrooms are individual villas scattered around the estate, from bungalows right on the beach, to rooms nestled higher up the mountain - and range in size from smaller guest rooms to villas (of which there are many types and sizes) and beachfront bungalows. Private residences that can sleep up to 8 and offer their own kitchen and living room areas are also part of the hotel, and face a quieter side of the island.
The majority of rooms follow a similar design: built in a colonial style, you’ll find rooms awash in bright white, featuring slatted window shutters, panelled walls, and elegant four-poster beds. This classic design harks back to the resort’s former iteration as a sugar plantation, and depending on room type, you may have a separate living room in your suite, as well as an outdoor seating area. The incredible thing about Sugar Beach? Every single room in the hotel has its own private plunge pool, regardless of room type or size. Some of the bedrooms are also available in a newer design, featuring more contemporary finishes and slightly darker tones - the incredible private residences included in the Beachfront Collection are designed in this style, as are the Grand Beachfront Bungalows.
Oliver and I stayed in one of the Grand Beachfront Bungalows: our bedroom had a huge, modern four-poster bed, and private deck with plunge pool - from here we could walk directly onto the beach. We were lucky enough to have the bedroom right at the end of the beach, which means that we were further away from the busiest stretch of sand, but still close enough to all of the action. Choosing between the more classic or modern rooms is simply a matter of personal taste, as bedrooms come with all of the same amenities and level of comfort. My personal preference is the more classic, colonial-style design; location wise, being by the beach is definitely more convenient, but being up in the mountains affords some incredible views (and you can get shuttled to and from the beach).
The rest of the hotel is designed in a similar colonial style, with long colonnades and lots of al fresco seating areas. Art lovers will also be impressed by the incredible number of artworks dotted around the estate (all from the owner’s private collection) - from paintings by Yayoi Kusama to sculptures by Jeff Koons.
To do: 5/5
The hotel’s unique position between the island’s two famous Pitons means that Sugar Beach is the enviable home to St Lucia’s famous Anse des Pitons beach. This long and wide stretch of beach is nestled in a cove between the two Pitons, and is where most guests gather every day to sunbathe. You’ll find chic loungers spread out all along the beach, and helpful staff keeping watch throughout the day - they’ll help guests to get settled in with towels and drinks orders, and may even come around with popsicles on some afternoons. The beach is mere steps away from two of the hotel’s restaurants: the Jalousie Grill and the Bayside Restaurant, meaning that you can also order food to your lounger, or if you prefer, simply sashay over to one of the restaurants for a table on the beach at lunchtime.
The beach’s unique position also means that it’s a fantastic spot for snorkelling. At the water sports centre, guests can borrow snorkelling gear, paddle boards and kayaks - motorised water sports come with an extra cost. Don your flippers and head out to the cove, where you’ll find the shore drops away quite dramatically, and you’ll swim among hundreds of colourful fish - it’s quite an amazing experience, and you don’t even need to swim out very far at all.
Around the corner from the Anse des Pitons beach, the hotel also boasts a second, much quieter beach. This long stretch of sand has a stunning view of Gros Piton, and is a much more peaceful spot to sunbathe under the palm trees. You’ll find fewer guests here, and there’s also a chic jetty bar, where you can order drinks while watching the sunset. If you haven’t visited the island before, it’s worth noting that all beaches in St Lucia are public. This means that visitors from the general public can actually visit the beach (they can’t walk through the hotel, but they can arrive by boat) - and while hotel staff do their best to keep them separated from the hotel guests (visitors can’t use any of the hotel facilities such as the loungers), these visitors always tend to be a little bit rowdy which contrasts with the peaceful, calming atmosphere that pervades throughout the rest of the hotel. This is, of course, out of the hotel’s hands - and it’s worth knowing that most beaches across the Caribbean islands are public.
If you’re someone who can’t spend the whole day sunbathing, the hotel also has a large outdoor pool a few steps away from the beach (guests can book private cabanas here throughout the day) as well as a spa set within the jungle. Individual treehouse-like pods are positioned among the treetops and act as private treatment rooms, feeling like a world away from the rest of the resort. There’s also a super slick gym with an impressive range of equipment, and a kids’ club if you’re visiting as a family.
Food and drink: 4/5
Most guests won’t leave the resort during their stay, and there’s more than enough different destinations for you to eat. Start off the day with breakfast at The Terrace Restaurant, where you’ll find a continental breakfast buffet and a hot menu available (depending on your room rate, the hot menu may or may not be included, whether you have chosen to go all-inclusive or half-board). I would skip the Western-style dishes and opt for the Caribbean breakfast instead: expect a smorgasbord of stewed salt fish, smoked herring, fried plantain and Johnny cakes (traditional Caribbean flatbreads), all washed down with Caribbean cocoa tea.
We usually didn’t need lunch during the day, but if you require a snack on the beach, you can simply order this from your sun lounger - alternatively, the hotel’s cafe Boopa’s serves a range of homemade cakes and pastries if you’re craving something sweet. Come dinnertime, there are lots of different options to choose between. Drinks are served at the hotel’s stunning Palm Court Bar or the Cane Bar (which also acts as a chic sushi restaurant). A fine dining menu incorporating local produce and plenty of seafood is served in The Great Room, where you can dine al fresco with stunning views over the resort, and be serenaded by live jazz as you eat.
For a more casual dining experience, The Jalousie Grill and the Bayside Restaurant both offer menus that incorporate grilled meats and a mix of Western and Caribbean flavours - interiors are incredibly chic in both restaurants: hanging rattan lamps, wicker chairs and minimal whitewashed walls. Our favourite meal was Friday BBQ night at the Bayside restaurant: every week, the restaurant puts on a huge buffet, where you can sample fresh sushi, grilled fish, homemade pizza, and crepes among other delicacies (all cooked on the spot for you!). A live band performs while you eat, and at 9pm, a DJ rocks up and the restaurant turns into a bit of a party - it’s a lot of fun, and the food is all delicious.
Comfort and service: 5/5
Service throughout the entire hotel is flawless, and the staff really work hard to ensure that guests are well looked after during their stay. Every single bedroom comes with a private butler (you’ll likely have more than one butler looking after you given that they work on shifts) who is available 24/7 - you’ll be given a mobile phone to take around the resort with you, should you need to contact them. Our butler team were incredible, especially Michaela, who was always so cheerful to see us. At every single restaurant, all of the staff were equally as welcoming, as was the case throughout the rest of the hotel - from the staff who greeted us at reception to the gardeners, security and other members of the team that we spoke to throughout our stay. ‘Welcome to paradise!’ is a term you’ll hear the staff saying many times over, and it certainly feels like you’re in paradise.
Given that we were only in St Lucia for three days, we didn’t get the chance to explore the rest of the island as we really wanted to soak up at our time at the hotel. This is the kind of five-star luxury resort where most guests do the same; with everything you need on site, there’s no real reason to leave if you’re looking to enjoy the beach and good weather. And relax we did…from whiling away the hours at both of the hotel’s beautiful beaches, to enjoying the private plunge pool in our bedroom, there’s more than enough space for guests to truly kick back and relax - and that’s before even trying your hand at the other activities and facilities on site. I would love to revisit St Lucia again and stay for longer to explore the island - and I would absolutely choose to stay at Sugar Beach again.
This was a gifted stay, but all opinions are my own. I do not accept and write about gifted stays unless I enjoy them.
