The Ladera Resort, St Lucia
St Lucia has always been THE Caribbean island that I have always wanted to visit. I guess the images of the lush green rainforest and those majestic Pitons have always enticed me. After all, you know I am a sucker for mountains and the natural environment.
Add to that the warm welcome of the Caribbean people, the cuisine, the rum cocktails, the music, and the sunshine. Need I go on?
All that remains is to find a magical place to stay. So when the fabulous adult-only Ladera Resort St Lucia recently got in touch to showcase their stunning sustainable resort, I simply had to hear more.
Here is their guide on what to expect, the things to do, and places to see at the magnificent Ladera Resort, St Lucia.
Caribbean Heaven
Create unforgettable moments of a lifetime at the Ladera Resort St Lucia, with luxury, romance, adventure, wellness, eco-friendly philosophy and the Dasheene restaurant’s culinary delights. Uniquely located on a lush volcano ridge 1,000 feet above the Caribbean Sea, each luxurious suite boasts its own private heated plunge pool and an “Open Wall” design, without a fourth wall, allowing for breathtaking panoramas of the Majestic Pitons and deep blue Caribbean Sea.
Rated one of the top 5 resorts of all magnificent resorts in the Caribbean, this intimate 37-suite getaway is situated on a UNESCO World Heritage Site. All Suites include Roundtrip Private Car Airport Transfers, Breakfast at the award-winning, Farm-to-Table Dasheene, and access to the soon-to-open, 18,000 sq. ft. Ladera Spa with mineral pool for a “Beyond the Rainforest” experience.
Exclusive Guest Experiences
The Essence of this Romantic Paradise is found among the staff who create the ambience. They also produce furniture with local hardwoods and stones and maintain fabulous wellness gardens.
Exclusive “Ladera Guest Only” experiences include a private onsite guided Ladera Ridge hike to the top of the hike, where you feel as if you can touch Petite Piton, a tour of the wellness gardens, a visit to the Ladera Carpentry Shop, and yoga. Saturday mornings you may book an excursion with Chef Nigel Mitchel to visit the market in Soufriere and then return to Dasheene to prepare and enjoy a meal together.
Farm to Table Dining with a View
The award-winning Farm-to-Table Dasheene Restaurant features International Cuisine infused with St. Lucian Spices, breathtaking views of the Pitons and Jade mountain, the sea, the St. Lucian sunset and a one-of-a-kind Dasheene Team, offering a friendly and welcoming atmosphere, promoting the Ladera Eco-Friendly Philosophy; This is why Dasheene is one of the best restaurants in St. Lucia and the Caribbean.
Executive Chef Nigel Mitchel and his culinary team use products locally and organically grown on local farms, including the fresh seafood caught from the nearby waters and brought to the restaurant each morning, comprising 70% of what is made in the kitchen. The Ladera Wellness Garden tour allows guests to experience the fruit and spices served in Dasheene and the fauna of St. Lucia.
A Team of Sustainability Champions
With a Green Globe Certification, Ladera is a unique resort, committed to Luxury, unsurpassed guest service and environmental and community sustainability. Under the guidance of General Manager, Christian Gandara, the staff are empowered to move forward with their passions to create progress in these areas.
The “Ladera Green Team,” led by Sustainability Champions, Eustace and Vernette, meet to decide how they can commit and take action with sustainability at the resort, within the community and at their homes. The team planted trees at a local school and organized the main road cleanup, where they walked the streets down to the town and picked up trash. Regularly, Ladera donates leftover guest amenities, old furniture and appliances to local charities and schools as well as prepares and donates food for local food banks.
Every day staff make a difference. The three master craftsmen, Boniface, Eustace and Eustachius contribute daily to bettering the resort. They use the tropical wood, tiles and stones found in St. Lucia to build and create onsite, in our carpentry shop at Ladera. Many say Boniface’s pole, panel and sculpture creations are “living works of art, that enrich the natural surroundings.
Eustace, the Property and Maintenance Manager, and Sustainability Champion, who has been at the resort for over 30 years, has built the resort with his bare hands and has become an integral part of the resort. Eustachius has designed and built most of the furniture, in the resort, including the beds, exclusively to meet the Ladera Eco-friendly philosophy.
Beyond The Standard
Ray, the Ladera Head Gardener, is the master of landscaping, growing fruit trees, plants and most of our exotic flowers. With his vast knowledge of flora and fauna, he shares his passion and expertise, conducting educational garden tours for guests. They also learn the true meaning of farm-to-table. He oversees the onsite wellness garden of local produce and herbs used at Dasheene, our award-winning, “Farm to Table” restaurant. We grow bananas, mangos, pineapples, local apples, starfruits, herbs, vegetables and many other plants.
The Ladera Staff conserve the whole product as much as possible. For example, the Ladera Coconuts are used for fresh coconut water at the bar and coconut treats in the pastry. The leftover shells are returned to Ray, the Gardner, who uses them as the border of the gardens to contain the earth from erosion for irrigation purposes and as a decorative piece. Any leftover fruit is fed to the birds in over 50 birdfeeders across the property. Leftover bread is fed to the fish in the pond and composting of leftover food and bio-degradable products are done daily.
A Plastic Free Ladera Resort, St Lucia
Aside from eliminating 85,000 plastic water bottles with the resort’s partnership with ”Just Water,” they have eliminated plastic straws and provided and promote re-usable items with food services such as cloth napkins, glass cups, and silverware. The gift shop sells sustainable, fair trade products and cruelty-free guest amenity products are provided in all our accommodations. Even the yoga mats are eco-friendly and all cleaning products are from Ecolab.
Conserving water and energy are natural everyday best practices at Ladera. There are several water conservation systems in place throughout the resort. The rain harvesting program captures and stores rainwater for use in the resort’s irrigation system for landscaping. The team is always creating ways to conserve energy from water solar heaters for hot water in the kitchen and suites to replacing bulbs with CFL or LED lights. Ladera also observes the global initiative Earth Hour every March by turning off all non-essential lights at the resort for 1-hour.
Memories to Last a Lifetime
In addition to the Ladera Eco-Friendly philosophy at the resort, there is so much more on St. Lucia that you can experience. You can enjoy Ziplining, Horseback Riding, and Hiking to the top of the Pitons. There are Boat Rides with Snorkeling, swimming in the mud baths, and the Sulphur Springs.
Ladera Resort St Lucia is the perfect setting for honeymoons, weddings, anniversaries, birthdays, adventures, wellness and just relaxing and watching the sunset.
Contact Information
The Ladera Resort, St Lucia or any resorts in the Caribbean can be booked via your local travel agent, a choice of UK tour operators or by contacting the hotel directly:
Ladera Resort
Rabot Estate, Soufriere
St Lucia
West Indies
Reservations: Reservations@ladera.com
Telephone: 758.459 6600
Toll-free: 1-844-ST-LUCIA (78-58242)
Trade Agents Contact:
Sian Jungreuthmayer UK Representative
Email: sian@ladera.com Mobile:+44(0)7715490591
Website www.ladera.com
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