If I had read the previous reviews (regarding the recent building work) before setting off for St Lucia and the Rendezvous I would have been very worried! Fortunately I didn't and managed to travel worry free and arrive at the resort where there was no building work to be found. At the time of our stay (beg of Dec) the hotel seemed to be putting the finishing touches to a small pool at the top of the resort but there was no disruption from this at all.

We were welcomed with a Rum Punch and cool towels after what was a surprisingly good transfer. Although pretty long, the journey enables you to see a lot of the island and gives you an inital flavour of St Lucia. Having read other reviews it seemed we had booked into one of the more standard rooms (the Garden View Rooms) of the resort. Once we were shown to our room, we decided it was far from standard with typical Caribbean furniture, colours, great amenities and a lovely super king size four poster bed with tropical flowers decorating the place! This was cleaned to a high standard every day and we had no issues at all with anything throughout our stay.

The pools are great and are again cleaned meticulously throughout the day. The garden furniture all seemed pretty new and there were plenty of loungers, sofas and cushions to choose from in order to make the relaxing process as easy as possible!

All the land owned by the hotel is extremely well maintained and the gardens are beautiful as a consequence. The beach is also well looked after and the staff continually make sure all guests are looked after by offering a fab drinks service and cool towels in the afternoon. We didn't take advantage of many of the watersports but at any point during the day the instructors would be happy to take you for a lesson or lend you any of the equipment if required.

The food was good. Not fantastic but good. The buffet rotates on a weekly basis and there is a good choice of dishes. We would have liked to have seen more typical caribbean food offered instead of Indian and Italian etc.... There is also the Trysting Place Restaurant which is the more formal a la carte restaurant of the resort with a better standard of food. The sister hotel of the Rendezvous is the Le Sport hotel and you are able to eat there if you so wish as part of the all inclusive deal . Although it is a bit of a drive the Tao restaurant there is well worth a visit. The food is fantastic and makes a good change from the Rendezvous.

As mentionned in other reviews, the hotel is near to the local cemetery and domestic airport. Don't be put off by these things. There are few flights per day so noise from aircraft is minimal and the cemetery is at the other end of Vigie beach (a very long beach!) so is not imposing at all. A plus point for the location of the hotel is that it is a short walk from the centre of Castries so a venture to the local market and eateries there is possible without the need for taxis.

All in all this is a perfect hotel run by fantastic people. From our arrival to our departure we were impressed with everything that the resort had to offer and would recommend to anyone.

Have just got back and was a bit unsure about where the building works were going to be, and i was pleasantly surprised. The lazy river is finished but just not open - this is due to the surrounding area needing a bit of landscaping. so don't worry just go and enjoy!
This is the second time we have visited and the refurbishment has been done to a high standard and is backed up by the work of the great service of the staff. Watch out for Deano - he is an absolute legend.
Our room was right on the beach and had everything you needed. The maid did a good job every day and ensured we were supplied with fresh towels. We encountered no issues with electricity unlike other reviews, although there was limited water pressure 1 morning which was fixed promptly.
We only ate from the buffet and there was plenty of variety but i would not call it the best food in the world nor the worst a 7.5 out of 10. With the chicken dishes it was legs and thighs all the way and therefore a bit gristly.
The airport is very close but is not an issue around 10 small planes a day and not a unsocial hours.
So overall I would find it hard to say a bad word about this place and will definitely be going back again.

As we booked before we were aware of the refurbishment work going on. we was not expecting all the new features .We arrived four days after it opened alot of worked was still going on in the gardens , lazy river ,and gym, as we were in a garden room on the third floor this work did not effect at all . We made friends with a couple from New york whose room was just behind the river and it did effect them with some dust from the work and noise.
Every one seems to have a different story to tell on what they expected some travel agents had told customers work was finished , not to sure who was to blame on this one
Should the hotel been opened before work was finished maybe not the builder told me another two weeks with no quest would have seen it finished,was the hotel optomistec
in getting the work done in 12 -14 weeks very much so
In the end with the amount of bookings taken the hotel had no option but to open
And in the end we had a great time weather was hot with just the odd shower
took the helicopter in on arrival this is a absolute must took just 13 minutes views superb loved it so much booked it back as well just enough spending money left

Room was clean freshly painted but paint splash marks not cleaned off floor new bath with sticker marks still on bath light problem in hall and bath room not a big problem as dealt with straight away but shows work had been rushed ,new towels every day and i think sheets as well maid was excellant .

Gardens are beautitful with humming birds flying around, alot of planting was still going on with no effect to us or any other quest that i could tell. The new pool and spa bath was finished and had good guality loungers , strange that the day beds did not materilise till the day of a photo shoot though,.could do with some sun shades around pool area maybe coming as it get hot up there.
The new buffet area and bar was also finished this had new settee and chairs nice to sit in after meals, bar had all the premium drinks you could wish for and the bar staff and buffet staff WHERE GREAT could not do enough for you ihad to stop them bringing me sometimesdrinks as i would have been drunk every night.
We ate in theTrysting restaurant every other night and the sevice and food in there is the best ive had in all inclusive The buffer food on the other hand was ok but i had better in a three star hotel in Antigua last year,the portions given out on the meat sliced for you were ridiculus.would not have satisfied a five year old.but the rest you could have as much as you like.Update the buffet area still has worked to been done on it in the way of cooking stations being installed these had not been done before we left , i like things cooked in front of me
Beware ordering wine we thought we would get a glass ful no given bottle each as we ordered differant types.another headache on the way.
I joined in everthing archery was fun went hobbycat sailing everyday doughnut rides on hotel power boat plus diving lessons if that is you fancy.
A speacial word on the entertainment staff these guys work tirelessly to make your stay a happy one.
So in conclusion yes it was not finished we did have a power cut , a few probs with hot water but we still had a great time as did 90% of the people i spoke to,staff great ,food great to ok ,drinks phew. weather great , entertainment good and plenty to do ,the two trips i can recommend were whale and dolphins watching saw pods off dolphins over 100 strong magic, the late tour that takes in volcano plantation and gardens was also very good the smell at the volcano was not for the faint hearted .

I recently visited St Lucia and on arrival at the airport (Sat 6th Nov) we were greeted by a member of the Rendezvous staff. They explained the situation that the hotel had not reopened yet after the renovations and said that the building works had been delayed due to recent heavy rains. They did not feel that the hotel was quite ready to take guests and therefore booked us into the 5 star Royal Hotel (Rex Resorts) for 2 nights. They said that when we go to the Rendezvous we will have an upgraded room so we agreed to this as we would be in a suite at the Royal and on an all-inclusive basis.

The Rex hotel was nice (located at Rodney Bay the more touristy area) and the rooms (although dated) were large. The hotel itself was nice but there were very few guests. We came to realised that pretty much everyone (apart from the Virgin Crew) were waiting to go to the Rendezvous! The breakfasts here were good but the service at this hotel was rubbish and the all day dining menu that we could order from for lunch and dinner left a lot to be desired.

Anyway, we left this hotel on the Sunday and headed (with about 50/60 other guests) to the Rendezvous. We were picked up by coach and driven to Rendezvous, when we got there there were still work men cleaning off the driveway! The staff had put on a lovely welcome for us (steal pan music, champagne, rum punch etc.) and were trying their best to keep everyone happy. We were taken to our room - we had booked a verandah suite but were upgraded to a luxury ocean front suite, their highest grade of room (which is lovely by the way!) We were also given champagne, flowers and a fruit basket to welcome us to the resort. As we were the first batch of guests on the opening day I think everyone got an upgrade. I think those who have written on here recently probably arrived after us and did not get upgraded which was a shame for them as we were actually away from most of the building work. We saw the JCBs moving the sand on the beach but it did not bother us! There are fewer beach sellers here compared to the Rodney Bay beaches which was a welcome relief.

We couldn't fault the food at Rendezvous (having visited Le Sport - not as friendly staff and the food wasn't as good). We ate at the Trysting Place restaurant for each of the four menus whilst we were there - they have a menu for 3 days and change it 4 times over the course of 2 wks. The chocolate fondant and coconut creme brulee were our favourite dishes although everything was delicious and very well presented. This restaurant is air conditioned and they do keep the temperature quite low so I would recommend taking some long sleeve shirts gents and a pashmina or cardigan ladies!

We found the staff to be the warmest and friendliest staff we have met anywhere in the Caribbean. They put on lots of activities - the archery and scuba are well worth a go!

Other reviews have mentioned a power cut, although this was an inconvenience the staff did their very best to keep spirits high that night and even provided a complimentary catamaran trip which included a sail down to Soufriere and a Beach BBQ on Pigeon Island.

This resort will be amazing when it is completed and we hope to return to see the completed lazy river and hospitality suite! Don't be put off permanently by other reviews on here - just wait until 2010 to book!