Most of my points will be below, but here are the keys to this resort: Make sure you go all-inclusive, the price of food and drinks is extreme (as in $150-$200US per meal if you drink, per couple). This is a long way from the airport, so if you don’t want a long trek, book a different resort. Service here is spotty, it depends on who you get, and how much you tip. Rooms are variable, and may lead to some disappointment. No night life – last bar closes at midnight, stops serving food at 10.
No-Limit to a la carte, you can eat off the menu at the best restaurant every night, and pay nothing more for it.
Room Number:
156b
Room Block:
100
Arrival: We Flew with Westjet connecting from Vancouver BC to Toronto, and then to Vieux Fort. From there the agency arranged our shuttle to the resort, which is a beautiful 90-minute ride through the near-entirety of the island. The sociability of the driver is relative to the driver themself, and the driver who took us to the resort didn’t say a word (whereas our exit shuttle was a complete tour in itself the driver was so knowledgable). The check-in process was messy, there was someone there to get drinks for everyone as they waited, but the system was slow and there was only one person at the desk. It took us nearly 30 minutes to just get checked in (orientation excluded), and then another 20 minutes to get a shuttle to our room. After 16 hours of travel it was a little much. Also, the hotel orientation is really helpful and you should attend it. They answer any and all questions and do a very good job explaining things. The same cannot be said about the travel reps. Most companies use a consolidated agency for their orientations, and they were useless. The orientation consisted of the rep trying to sell us on excursions (which are offered through the hotel for cheaper), and not answering anything about the resort. All in all, not impressed with the agency rep that we were assigned to.
The arrival piece could use some work.
Rooms: Due to the nature of the resort and each building being different, you will have a different experience. We paid a really huge sum of money to be there (more than some of our companions, less than others) and we ended up with a room that was little more than a cave. Bed, TV, 1 chair, and a bathroom which had no windows, just bars and some netting. The people above us were loud, and up late, and we had no view of anything except the front gate. The room was my only REAL complaint. Our companions had different experiences, one couple was upgraded to a villa with 3 floors, a pool, and all the accommodations of a house. Another was in a really nice condo-style room with a great view. So I think it is luck of the draw – they wanted $200US to upgrade us, which we didn’t feel was fair as we had already paid $1600/person to be there.
Shuttles are provided at no cost between rooms and the lobby which is really nice for those who have trouble getting around.
Restaurants and Bars: 5 Restaurants, and they were all pretty good. Embers – This one is on the beach and only open for lunch during non-busy seasons. Great pub-style food and good staff/servers. This can’t be said for all of the staff – again depending on who you get, the service may be stellar, or you may be sitting waiting for long periods of time. Papa Dons – Dinner only – This is an Italian place that is situated in the middle of the resort. We went here twice – the pasta was amazing, but the pizza I’m 99% sure is mccain frozen pizza. We had poor service both times so decided not to return after our second visit. Jammers – This one is open for lunch and dinner, no reservations, casual dress-code, good bar, sports on the TV (singular, ONE TV), and serves everything good. We had good service here, ate the entire menu through our time here, and probably enjoyed Jammer’s the most. It is also the ONLY restaurant open past 10pm. Live music is played here, and we did really enjoy the steel band. Dragonfly – Typical resort food, and the only breakfast restaurant. I can’t say much, service in the morning was good, and their dinner menu was rather boring, but it did rotate, so sometimes the food was better than others.
The Upper Deck – Dinner only, formal/decent dresscode required. The food here was FABULOUS! But the menu was lacking, so after a few dinners here we decided to stick with the other places.
Beach/Pools/Grounds: The beach is really nice and quiet. 3 pools, but no swim-up bars. The pools were clean and convenient. Towels however were a nightmare to find. The beach was a true highlight of this resort. Great loungers, great swimming area, and enough seating for everyone. All beaches in Saint Lucia are public, and at the Sandals we visited during our excursions there were pushy vendors and tourists all over. Not the case at Windjammer. The beach is public but nearly inaccessible due to rocks on both sides. We didn’t see a single outsider there in the entire trip. It was super.
The grounds were a little different however – simple fixes had not been done all over the place. Lights burned out, covers missing, bricks broken or missing as well. Soap rarely in the auto-dispensers. It had the feeling of a resort in decline, even though it was busy and charges top dollar.
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel: Lots to do on resort – 3 beach games a day from bocce to volleyball. As well, all the watersports are included (even the tubing and skiing). The jetski vendors are always there and not resort controlled, so they are pay-to-use, but the resort advises you to just ignore them, and they aren’t pushy. We never had a problem finding something to do in the resort. The outside stuff was amazing. Pigeon Island was an amazing little hike with a huge history lesson. The views were unbelievable, and the staff was friendly. No tours here, just a taxi in and a taxi out, and the admission fee of $7USD. Land and Sea tour was the best thing we could have done. an all-day event for $160USD, includes full trip around the island, the toraille waterfall, volcano, mudbath, lunch, beer, and a catamaran ride. This was the hands-down highlight of the vacation.
The one regret I had was not getting a chance to hike the Pitons. This is another all-day event that as an avid-hiker I would have loved to do. Sadly we just couldn’t fit it in.
Other Comments:
Housekeeping was an issue. Twice we were left no towels, and once not serviced. We called the front desk and they had informed us our "DND" sign was up, but it wasn’t, and never was. They did come up and service the room for us, but they were adamant that we didn’t want service and were reluctant to send anyone.