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So you’re planning a romantic stay at Sugar Beach St. Lucia and you want everything to be absolutely perfect? I can relate! My husband Reed and I picked St. Lucia for our 10-year wedding anniversary. It was a special trip we were excited to splurge on–and for that kind of thing, of course you want every minute to be amazing. Here’s what you need to know about choosing a room, booking photographers, your food options, and more–all the details that will make your stay flawless! 

Photo credit above: Alberta Henry Photography (@alberta_henry) on Instagram. Scroll down for more about booking a photographer during your trip.

Why stay at Sugar Beach St. Lucia?

That’s easy–the location and the view. Sugar Beach St. Lucia is the only resort nestled between the feet of the majestic Gros and Petit Pitons. Wherever you go on the property, you’ll be able to see the Pitons. There’s one in almost every photo from our trip! Being able to take in the Pitons, beach, and ocean views at the same time is a unique feature that you won’t find anywhere else.

While other resorts higher up the inland crest also have Piton views, they don’t have beach access. Sugar Beach has two secluded beaches on the property. The main beach is below The Terrace restaurant, great lawn, and the pool. It’s dotted with rows of shaded loungers where you can enjoy the sand and sun, while ordering fresh coconuts, cocktails, and nibbles. Along the beach are beach bungalows, a resort boutique with chic brands like Cloe Cassandro and Hunza G, and two casual dining restaurants, Bonté and the Jalousie Grill.

A short five-minute walk along the shore is the south beach, with its own pier, bar, and more lounge chairs. Again, Sugar Beach is the only resort between the two Pitons, which makes it feel very special!

How do I pick a villa?

Every Sugar Beach room has a private outdoor area and plunge pool (a jacuzzi for the beach front bungalows). We splurged on an Ocean View Grand Luxury Villa for our anniversary because we typically stay at smaller, boutique properties and I wanted to make sure that if the pool or beach felt crowded (which was not the case) that we had somewhere beautiful to retreat to.

Our villa, #503 had stunning views of both Pitons–credit to our travel planner Mackenzie Peyser (@mackenzie_getawayguild) who got us preferred treatment and potential for upgrades throughout our stay. She’s also a good friend and I highly recommend booking your trip through her!

As you can see from the map below, the most budget-friendly rooms (Luxury and Superior Sugar Mill Rooms) are by reception and The Terrace restaurant. This is on the same level as the pool and beach, while the villas (3-9), climb up the hillside and are positioned considerably higher than the other rooms.

A few people we spoke with on the property said 503 has one of the best views. On the map it’s the villa at the bottom of the 500 block–we had to walk down a path and some stairs to get to it, which made it feel delightfully secluded. One of our drivers said the other villas with the best Piton and ocean views are in the line going down the hill–I think they were 306 and 1001 (sorry I should have written down the numbers, but hopefully that helps!). While you can’t select a specific room through the online booking, a travel planner like Mackenzie can help you find the best room within your budget.

What are the Sugar Beach St. Lucia villas like?

Our room included a plush living room, tranquil all-white bedroom, spacious closet, large shower with two rainfall shower heads, claw foot tub, a huge veranda with two outdoor sitting areas in addition to lounge chairs and an umbrella, the aforementioned plunge pool–and an enormous old tree growing up through the wooden deck that was beautiful and so unique.

As far as amenities go, I loved that our room had a Nespresso machine and that the team was generous with the coffee capsules. The shampoo, conditioner, and lotion in the bathroom by ROIL were high quality. The only thing Sugar Beach didn’t provide that I wished I had at one point were ear plugs. The tree frogs and katydids were charming, but incredibly loud every night.

When you arrive at your room, you’ll be greeted by your private butler (we had two) who will give you a cell phone to call them any time you need a shuttle to somewhere else on the property, room service, dinner reservations, or anything at all. Having a butler was a lovely touch that made our stay at Sugar Beach feel so elevated and special.

How do I book a photoshoot at Sugar Beach?

Sugar Beach is very popular for special occasions, so it’s understandable you’d want to document the experience! Reed and I hadn’t had professional photos taken since our five-year anniversary in Paris, so I was very interested in hiring someone for a couples shoot. 

I found the amazing Alberta Henry (@alberta_henry on Instagram)–her work blew me away with how she captures the light and candid moments that feel both intimate and full of joy. I filled out her form online, selected my package, and then communicated with Alberta over email and Instagram message. She was super responsive and professional. In addition to picking a date and time, I shared the colors Reed and I planned to wear, and noted past photos Alberta had taken that I liked, so she could get a feel for what I was looking for. When we checked in at Sugar Beach, I let our private butler know when she would be coming for our shoot and they added her to the list at the front gate.

We met up at reception at 5:30pm and had a Sugar Beach shuttle take us to the south beach to catch the sunset. Between the pier, the beach, and views of both Pitons, there was no shortage of beautiful backdrops. Alberta and her husband worked as a team and they made us feel totally at ease. You can see how the photos turned out for yourself. I highly recommend booking her–if you do, please name drop my blog!

How is the food at Sugar Beach St. Lucia?

This was my first time at a Caribbean resort and I’ll admit I had some sticker shock, even though I studied the menus in advance! My view on the food is mixed, so I’m going to break it down into meals and what we ate. Here’s what was worth it and what wasn’t.

Breakfast (included with our stay): Our favorite meal of the day, the breakfast buffet was open from 8-11am. We took our time in our villa each morning and moseyed down to eat around 9:30am. Every morning I had over-easy eggs from the egg station, a chia pudding, a selection of cheeses, fresh guava and Caribbean apricot, and a passion fruit mimosa. The pastries weren’t as buttery or flaky as I like, but most other things were delicious.

Lunch: Most days we skipped lunch after our (very hearty) breakfast. One day we did have sushi rolls down at Bonté that were very tasty, but again–resort prices–gulp!

Dinner: We ate at the Jalousie Grill for two casual dinners during our stay. Both nights I had grilled shrimp and a baked potato (not on the menu but the kitchen was gracious in making one for me). Both were delicious–ask for the Barron’s banana ketchup and hot sauce to go with your meal! Reed tried a few things that were more “American” and they weren’t great. I recommend sticking with simple, fresh dishes over anything that could have come frozen, and avoiding foods like pizza and pasta that are specialties of other countries.

Is it worth going off-property?

We booked two special dinners off-property at the Ladera resort above Sugar Beach at the top of the hill crest. Their award-winning restaurant Dasheene has an insane view of the Pitons–it’s a beautiful place to enjoy a drink and dinner as the sun sets. Mackenzie arranged a private car for us ($50 round trip each time) and reservations at 6pm. I recommend getting picked up at 5:15pm so you arrive by 5:30pm and have time to sit with a drink before being seated for dinner. A word to the wise–bring your sunglasses! Even if it’s cloudy when you head up, the sun will inevitably come out and it is bright (and hot). The food is very good, less pricey than Sugar Beach, and the wine list is extensive. It’s well worth the trip!

The hotel offers all kinds of other packages to go off property, including visiting hot springs, exploring the nearby town of Soufrière, and more–but I can’t speak to these as we were really focused on enjoying our villa and the property. Between the relaxing views, bopping between the pool, beach, and our private veranda, and a few rounds of corn hole–it was a perfect paradise.

Do I need to bring cash to tip at Sugar Beach St. Lucia?

Good news–St. Lucia uses US dollars which makes it very easy to bring cash for tipping, or to pay your photographer (Alberta takes Zelle too). I brought a couple hundred dollars in cash to tip our drivers, butlers, and room service. At the end of our stay we were a little short so I asked if there was an ATM at reception–there is not, but they can do cash back, or simply charge your credit card for the amount of gratuity you want to add for any specific individual staff member. This made it super easy to give our second butler (we didn’t realize we’d have two) something extra at the end!

Overall we had an amazing stay at Sugar Beach–it was the perfect place to celebrate 10 years of marriage by simply enjoying each others’ company in one of the most beautiful places on earth. 

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Message me on Instagram @theprimpysheep if you have questions about our stay, and follow me for more travel and staycation inspiration.

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