CANADIANS Danielle and Steve Unruh felt they were being boiled alive in their jobs as health and safety advisors to the oil industry.

When they sent each other drawings of their ideal place to live, both doodles depicted a house by the sea fringed by palm trees.

The light bulb moment illuminated the way to the pair establishing the aptly-named Boiled Frog Guesthouse, near Castries, on sunny St Lucia.

For many people, holidaying in the Caribbean means an all-inclusive resort with all the associated pampering you fancy.

What Danielle and Steve offer Is a bed and breakfast by the sea, with the option of dining with them and their family at night should you wish.

Arriving at the Boiled Frog feels more like arriving at a friend’s home.

Danielle and Steve greet you with a smile and introduce you to sons Alex, Sasha, little smasher Kieron and Zeus the friendly dog.

You walk, via the sprawling ocean-facing deck, to either a self-contained cottage or one of two large bedrooms with en-suite bathrooms.

You grab a beer already chilling in the fridge, you hear the waves swooshing on the sand, see a huge illuminated cruise ship crawling by on the horizon and the relaxation begins.

We spent what must be one of the laziest two weeks of our lives at the Frog, and we loved it.

Mostly all we did was take long beach walks alongside the clean, crashing surf of Choc Bay, throw down the sarongs, lap up the 30C heat and cool off in the waves.

The only decisions were whether we turned left or right in the morning, which book to read next, or if we could have a private skinny dip, which was normally “oh yes”.

Having flown all that way from the UK, we did hop on one of the abundant island minibuses and do the tourist bit to the marina and fort at Rodney Bay, as well as to Soufriere in the shadow of the islands famous Piton twin peaks.

We also took in scenic Marigot Bay, marvelling of the hilltop holiday homes belonging to the likes of Oprah Winfrey and boxing champ George Foreman.

But we really were lazy on this trip, which was designed to be a battery charge away from an England on the cusp of another chill winter.

We breakfasted around 7am, helping ourselves to fresh coffee, juice, muesli and toast.

We sometimes had family dinners and enjoyed lovely homemade bread, pasta, Frog burgers, steak and lobster (lobster which two local spear fisherman had caught that very day).

Sometimes we walked the 15 minutes along a busy main road to dine at the Wharf bar and restaurant , where owner’s daughter Liza bent over backwards to make us feel at home and kept to cold beers coming with gusto.

And that was about it.

Plenty of people told us to keep out wits about us for theft, but plenty of people strolled by us on our deserted stretch of beach and every one was polite and civil.

It is a fact of life that you have to keep your wits about you everywhere in the world, even your home town.

Frog gardener Sylvester, who came with the property when it was bought, did appear with a machete now and again – in order to offer us coconuts from the palm tree or golden apples which we chomped on with thanks.

All in all we had restful days capped by interesting chats during family dinners or down at the pub.

The room was clean, the food was great, and hosts Danielle and Steve were on hand to solve the slightest problem should it arise.

Danielle’s parents, Dave and Barbara, turned up for Christmas and enriched the family scene.

Even Zeus the dog smiled for a photo, almost.

We would thoroughly recommend the Boiled Frog to any fellow traveller who feels they are getting a bit boiled by life’s pressures, and fancies the same kind of break.

It you stay there, when the interested locals ask you which hotel you are staying at, you will undoubtedly tell them the same as we did: “We aren’t in a hotel, we are staying with friends.”

I'm writing this review with a lump in my throat looking at pictures of The Boiled Frog. I miss our vacation cottage by the sea. We have stayed in many resorts and hotels in our travels and we can honestly say that our stay with Danielle, Steve, and their boys (yes, you too, Zeus) topped them all. This was our first trip to St Lucia and we couldn't have been in better hands to learn about the island and venture out on our own. Danielle's assistance was invaluable; from arranging transportation with our very competent driver Elias, to booking excursions. Plus, she bakes some damn good bread! Every meal prepared by our hosts were delicious. We even got to eat lobster caught near the guesthouse by local fishermen. We swam in the private little beach coves, slept well, and enjoyed good conversation. I loved zenning out in the hammock under the moonlight listening to the waves. The Boiled Frog's atmosphere is laid back and carefree, like a hug for your soul. Guests posting previous reviews know what I'm talking about. We had an absolutely wonderful vacation and plan to return. Steve and Danielle have a genuine love for their home and we're so happy that they shared it with us.

The owners of this guesthouse were very friendly and went out of their way to make sure we had a relaxed stay. It is right on the water and it is possible to walk into Castries. Our room was very large and had everything we needed, including air conditioning. Breakfast was included in the price and taken on the nice veranda overlooking the sea. The veranda is unfortunately caged in but presumably this is necessary for security. We would definitely stay here again if in Castries.

There is not much I can add to the positive comments already left on this site, except to echo them. Staying at the Boiled Frog really is like staying with family or friends: I have never been at a hotel or guesthouse like it. The location is convenient, and the hosts very friendly and welcoming, and always ready with advice on how to use the local buses, where to go, what to do etc.

I should also mention the option (on most evenings) of eating dinner with the family, prepared by Danielle. These were uniformly excellent, in fact probably the best cooking we had on the island (and that includes the impressive Wharf restaurant, 10 minutes walk up the road). Add to that, the very reasonable charges for room (and a small extra for dinner) and it all adds up to amazing value. The only problem with people wanting to stay there will be the small number of guests that they can take. My advice is to consider advance booking if you want to stay there from now on, given the high ratings it is getting on Tripadvisor.