Amazing!

Warning, this review is long……………..

On the last night of our 2-week stay in St Lucia we stayed in Jade Mountain and upgraded to a Sun Room. We were totally blown away by the concept of this resort. Over the years I have watched it being built and had been openly critical about what I saw from the view from the diveboat, but, until you get near it, it is impossible to understand its concept.

Inside the room is amazing with a huge infinity pool that you can actually swim in. This room is open on two sides so the through-breeze is very welcome. There is always shade or sun at all times of the day as the room as 2 sofas and 2 sunloungers strategically placed to take advantage of this. The multi-coloured glass tiles and the coral tiles in the main room area are really pretty and also non-slip. Very practical when moving around with wet feet! The bathroom with shower, twin sinks, loo and steps up to a whirlpool bath was incredible. The view from the whirlpool bath took in the Pitons and then across to the pool and the sea and horizon. Even the curves of the bath and pool seemed to match. Moulton Brown products (my favourite) were provided.

The loo concept took a bit of getting used to but, like a previous reviewer, there are ways of dealing with it. I tended to go near the pool when my husband was using it as the sound of the running water from the drop edge pool drowned out any other noise (!). He probably did the same when the situation was reversed!

There are posts and wire fencing around the edge of the room which is minimalist and therefore allows the scenery to be uninterrupted. A bit like being on the edge of a cruise ship but without the noise and hassle.

Note, the pool filtration system comes on at 9:15am so that the guests get peace and quiet before then. The pools are connected by running waterways which then go through a pond filtration system via ozone and carbon filtering. This means that they are clean but not chlorinated.

The huge pool is on two levels, a paddling area and then a drop into the main pool which is about 5ft in depth. The drop in from the paddling area can be a bit of a surprise. The pool was cold but I found this refreshing. Unfortunately the pool was not completely private but I noted that plants are growing up along the non-private side so hopefully this should be resolved soon. Oddly enough the Moon and Star rooms have very private pools (we were given a tour before leaving).

This is the first time I have slept without air conditioning in St Lucia. Sensibly (and unlike Ti Kaye) there is a fan located within the four poster bed unit underneath the mosquito netting. This provides air circulation in that area which could otherwise be stuffy. Outside the mosquito net there was a steady breeze blowing through. The atmosphere at night was magical. We were lucky enough to get a near full moon and the stars were incredible.

The staff service was great. After 2 weeks at Windjammer Landing with the phone constantly ringing with Ambassadors asking us at 9am in the morning if we were “enjoying our stay”, construction noise by the main pool, JCBs delivering rocks etc and the constant call to buy from "Diamonds International" delivered at megavolume through the microphones of the social coordinators, the lack of phone and peace and quiet was a welcome relief.

The message system of leaving the appropriate “Room Service” bag containing your order, or “Housekeeping” or “Privacy” worked very well. The room service order menu gave you a time to state when your order should arrive and they asked you to leave a half hour between hanging out the bag and the order arriving. There was also a bell where you could summon someone and issue a request. All this was new to me but I soon got used to it! I can see why it might be a bit spooky at first but the privacy and lack of intrusion was well worth it.

The upstairs area in the Jade Club was lovely with comfortable chairs, small flaming fires and, of course, the sky to gaze at. Very peaceful and romantic. Cellphones are banned in restaurants – although one guy didn’t seem to be aware of this rule.

Food.
We had lunch down in the restaurant at the beach. I had eaten there 4 years before and had not been too impressed. The food this time was ok but not special. I was disappointed in the rather limp salad leaves served. The hot buffet looked good but was too much for me at lunchtime. The crab cakes seem to be made out of those seafood sticks and weren’t exciting.

Jade Mountain restaurant. Dinner and Lunch the next day was quite good. Cocktails were lovely. The “Stairway to Heaven” cocktail which has a ginger base was unusual but good and was my favourite. On the basis of what I ate I think the food could be a bit more gourmet but I might be being unfair as I didn’t try all of the restaurants. The staff service both in the beach restaurant and the Jade Mountain club was very friendly and pretty efficient. The guitarist, David, who played on Saturday night was good with soothing, relaxing unobtrusive music. We heard him before at Ti Kaye and remembered him from there.

Breakfast in Room.
This was the highlight. The variety of choice for fresh-cooked options was very good. We ordered eggs, bacon, local bakes, mushrooms and local coca tea. All good and fresh. Of course the birds took over when we had finished!

Summary.
This place is amazing. I would have to save up for quite a while to do it again but, for a special occasion, it would be well worth it. My husband is already trying to work out how to save up for when we go back to St Lucia in June - even if only for one night.

Once I load my camera up onto my computer I will print some pictures to try to give an idea.