Jade Mountain Honeymoon Review - Nov 16-22

sunset78 · November 24, 2009

We had our wedding ceremony at the Iberostar Grand Paraiso in the Riviera Maya, Mexico.

We had our honeymoon at the Jade Mountain resort in Soufriere, St Lucia.

This was a total surprise to my now hubby.

TRAVEL 8/10

We flew first class from Cancun to Miami (had 4 hour stop there), then first class from Miami to San Juan (with 3 hour stop but then a extra 1.5 hour delay - flight was late), and regular class (no first class on the flight) from San Juan to Vigie.

Seats were very uncomfortable on the last flight, then a baby was screeching for the first hour of the flight. Saw lots of lightning, and sparks from the plane (which they call St. Elmo's Fire... and it's normal... freaked most people of at first and me too...lol)

Customs was pretty quick. We had to wait about a half hour for transportation, then travel by van with another couple for about 1.5 hours to get to the resort from Vigie.

The drive was interesting. We managed to stay awake for it. Super twisty roads and very narrow. Apparently some people can get sick from the ride, we were fine. They drive on the opposite sides of the roads, as well the steering wheel is on the opposite side. Kinda freaks me out when I not use to it...

It was after 2AM by the time we arrived. It was a long day.

CHECK-IN 10/10

Our baggage was taken to our room first. We were given a quick overview of the resort, the room, the resort cellphones to contact the butler and main desk, a pamplet of our package, shown the booklet of resort info, restaurant, excursions, etc. They quickly left because we were pretty tired.

APPEARANCE 10/10

Absolutely stunning. Very unique. Nothing but stairs, so it can be tiring walking up and down the quite often.

ROOMS 9/10

Again stunning. Everything is beautiful. There are several fans in the room, the pool is very cool, everything is wide open... so you can't be shy about using the bathroom since there is no door to close, but you are somewhat hidden behind a wall. Beds are comfortable and the netting kept the flies out. Surprisingly there was many bugs in the room, some ants, but that's nothing. Many birds came and went from the room all the time... especially at breakfast time. Views were of course amazing. We were in JB4 so we had a view of the mountains and beach. They also offered wireless internet.

LOCATION 10/10

St Lucia is an amazing location in itself. It's so breath taking.

STAFF 9/10

Very friendly and helpful. Always smiling.

BEACH 9/10

The beach was almost full everyday. The reefs are just off the shore, so many people were snorkeling all the time. They gave you towels when you arrived on the beach, and waiters were always walking around to serve food and drinks.

There is another beach that you have to be boated to. This one is much quieter, not many places to layout though. And you have to wait for the boat to arrive to go back... most times he'd so up every 30-45 minutes.

FOOD/RESTAURANTS 8/10

The food was pretty good. We ate room service for supper twice, and at the Piti once, and the Beach once. We preferred the Beach over the Piti. Never experienced Jade Mountain Club for meals - Mark didn't like the meals listed... he's a picky eater.

BAR SERVICE 8/10

I drank mainly the Piton beer which wasn't bad. Mark mainly drank cocktails most times... he loved the Love Affair drinks. Not too much in a selection for drinks though.

HOUSEKEEPING 9/10

They came in twice a day. Made the beds, replaced the towels, and emptied the garbage. The pool was cleaned every 2 days.

ENTERTAINMENT/THINGS TO DO 8/10

They had events every night from live music to other social events. We didn't really experience them though. We did do some of the snorkeling trips and Jungle Bike ride (not what I thought it was going to be though)

COST 6/10

Jade Mountain is very expensive. But we would pay to go there again. I do recommend the AI option so you don't have to worry about extra fees. All meals are charged 10% service and 8% tax, but it appaears the AI package is excluded from this (well, we were not charged it). But there also are items in square boxes on menus that are not AI and are extra for everyone. We had a Star Sanctuary with the AI option which cost 1500 US a night. We got nights (one night was free). You also have to sign off on everything regardless of AI or not.

CONCLUSION

We spent our days pretty much the same... get up, get a shower, order room service for breakfast, get ready to head to the beach, snorkel for a few hours, lay on the beach and have drinks and snacks, go back to the room, swim in the pool for awhile, get showered, walk around a little, go for supper and drinks, then head back to the room, swim in the pool and have some more drinks, then off to bed.

If you can afford it, do go. It's quiet the experience. We were both amazed from this place. It was so relaxing. We'll go back again someday... nothing can top this place.