If you are searching for an intimate resort experience in paradise where you will be pampered like royalty, look no further than Sandals Halcyon on St Lucia. My wife and I celebrated our belated honeymoon and 30th wedding anniversary during a 6 night-5 day trip to this tropical oasis between January 22nd and 28th 2004.We arrived at the small airport in Castries around 9:00 PM. Clearing immigration, traveling to the resort, checking in, and unpacking could not have gone smoother. A short hour and a half later we were walking hand-in-hand down a moonlit Caribbean beach sipping our fresh pina coladas. The waves -- soft serenade continued through the night. In the morning we awoke to a picture postcard view of the Caribbean Ocean beyond the lush manicured garden, green lawn, and gleaming white wedding gazebo accented with brilliant pink and red bougainvillea and mandevilla vines. Our Honeymoon Beachfront room (number 145) and patio were only 20 yards from water's edge! This review only touches some of the highlight of our vacation, but hopefully you now have some idea of the inherent beauty we enjoyed on this island paradise.Let's talk more about Sandals Halcyon. Of the three Sandals resorts on St Lucia, Halcyon is the smallest and oldest giving it an intimacy unmatched at the other two resorts. The smaller crowd of visitors bonded quickly during the continuous schedule of activities at the Sunset pool or the relaxing conversation at the beach or Paradise pool. We met young couples on their honeymoon or planning their wedding at the resort. We met seasoned Caribbean travelers returning for one of their numerous vacations at the Halcyon. And we met other newcomers to the family like my wife and I. The couples we met came from UK, Canada, the US and occasionally France. All had a common goal for the duration of their visit -- to have fun and relax.Another benefit of the intimate size of Sandals Halcyon is the hospitality afforded each guest from Ben the bell boy, to Vernessa and her crew at the concierge desk, to Estelle at the Beach Grill and Angela at one of the many bars. The staff met us the first night with smiles and Champaign and in less than 12 hours addressed us by name! We have been fortunate to travel extensively throughout Europe. The care and grace of the staff at Sandals Halcyon reminded us of the wonderful hospitality we enjoy all over the Continent and UK. If you have a bone to pick or an axe to grind, you will need to take them elsewhere because at the Halcyon, we felt like we were part of a family and were ALWAYS treated fairly and courteously.You may have read in other reviews about small rooms, problems with towels, or clean bathrooms. We didn't experience any of those problems. Additionally, I read several reviews before we left advising us to skip the concierge surcharge. We ignored that advice, and boy am I glad! On that point let me ask a question--why are you going on vacation? If it is to be pampered and to have a worry free experience, you can't beat the extra attention the concierge staff offers. If you are on a tight budget and that degree of luxury is not important--skip it, but you will miss out on the best rooms at the resort and the associated services.I'll close by outlining some of the activities in which we participated. The Sunset Cruise is a must. It rained much of the Friday afternoon prior to our cruise, and we were apprehensive about seeing a picturesque sunset given the overcast. We went anyway to enjoy the catamaran and party. As we cleared Castries harbor to turn south down the west coast of the island, the clouds parted and set the stage for a breath-taking sunset and party cruise. We continued to play by taking the shuttle to Sandals Grand resort and then a taxi to the "Jump Up" street party in Gros Islet. Loud music, street vendors, dancing everywhere in a two-block area finished the night and started the next morning.On Saturday, we joined a hotel van full of guests on a shopping tour of Castries market and duty-free shops. The local color, smells, and merchandise afforded us the opportunity to enjoy ourselves while completing our gift list in minimum time. We returned to the resort to relax for several hours before taking the Sandals shuttle bus to the Regency resort for dinner. The 5:15 PM shuttle worked out perfectly. We had drinks overlooking the ocean and another inspiring sunset at the Sunset bar, then walked the short distance down the hill to our 7:00 PM dinner reservation at Kimonos. Go to Kimonos for fun and a memorable evening together. The food was good, but was better at Halcyon?s Pier and Mario's restaurants.Sunday we stayed at the resort the entire day to enjoy the many activities there--pool volleyball, Hobie cats, water tricycles, drinks at the Paradise pool with new friends and newly weds. We arrived at the Pier shortly before they opened at 6:30 PM and were seated at a table with only the ocean between us and the setting sun. The Pier is arguably the best restaurant of the 14 restaurants available at the three Sandals resorts. My mahi mahi and my wife's christophene were delicious Caribbean dishes. We finished off the evening dancing in the Pavilion to a round of 70's and 80's hit music.Monday morning we met Charlie and Leandre, tour guides for Island Adventures, in the lobby and boarded open-air Landrover-type vehicles for a half day tour of Errard plantation on the island's Atlantic coast. Leandre loves her country. In addition to interesting facts explaining the island's history and sites, she described the island's many fruits, nuts, vegetables, and spices in the context of Caribbean cuisine. The plantation's guide, Lennon, added to our understanding of St Lucia's history and spices topping off our afternoon with a short rain forest walk. The day's events provided a wonderful first-hand understanding of St Lucia and her people. We returned to the Halcyon around 2:00 PM ready for the beach, pool, bar, calypso steel band, dinner at the Bayside buffet, beach games, and amazing fire and limbo floor show.We set Tuesday aside for the all day cruise to the southern part of the island. Our catamaran set sail by 9:00 AM and raced the flying fish and a wayward turtle through royal blue waters down the west coast to the port town of Soufriere. Once in port, we transferred to vans which took us to the island's drive-through volcano and lunch on a hillside overlooking the harbor and the famous Pitons land mark. After lunch we hugged the coastline as we returned north. Along the way, we anchored for 45 minutes of snorkeling with what must be the friendliest and most colorful fish in the Caribbean Ocean. (Take a banana for an ecologically friendly way to attract fish to your camera.) We were reluctant to leave, but were looking forward to our dinner reservations at Mario's, one of the best Italian restaurants I have ever experienced (including those in Rome, Pisa, and Florence).After five lovely 80 to 85 degree days and six romantic 75 to 80 degree nights with 60 to 70 percent humidity, our departure Wednesday morning came all too suddenly. We vowed au revoir instead of good bye, and almost refused to get off the airplane in San Juan when we learned we were returning to 15 inches of snow and sub-zero temperatures in Omaha!I've got some great pictures to support this review, so email me and I'll send some to you.
