Sweet Escape: Sugar Beach, St. Lucia

We just returned from our vacation along the southwestern coast of St. Lucia, the breathtakingly beautiful Sugar Beach resort. Located on a 130-acre former sugar plantation, surrounded by the Pitons that are famous to St. Lucia as well as the rainforest, the views are as world-class as the resort. Ah, a girl could certainly get used to this. And she did!

Although getting to the resort is an adventure in and of itself—it takes about 45-minutes of very windy, steep, and narrow mountain roads, you arrive at your secluded getaway and are whisked away to your own private villa in the mountains, all surrounded by lush gardens. Each villa comes with its own plunge pool and a dedicated butler, with shuttle service to take you anywhere on the expansive property you’d like to go, since walking the crazy roads isn’t exactly a friendly option.

Villa 606 was our home for one phenomenal week.

Sweet dreams are most certainly made of this.

Join me for a moment as I swoon over this bathtub. You can have your butler draw a bath for you as well. 

And Clint's most favorite part, our patio and private plunge pool. He never wanted to leave!

We were given an old-school Nokia cell phone with a direct line to our butler (and did we use it!)

Sugar Beach Viceroy also has a collection of modern art throughout the property that they rotate out regularly featuring works from artists like Andy Warhol and Banksy. And we all know Clint has a keen appreciation for fine art.

Andy Warhol's Moonwalk x 2 prints are on the wall behind us (apologies that only one is visible). They were my personal favorite. 

One of the most exceptional parts of the resort is the staff and the service—they could not have been friendlier or done a better job. Every person we met was determined to make sure we fell in love with St. Lucia and that we were having the best vacation experience possible. Our butler, Swamed, even went to the local grocery store for us one morning on his way into work to buy the supplies to make a pitcher of margaritas later that day at sunset, because he wanted to save us money. There was never a request we had that he didn’t say, “But of course…I am happy to!” (We talked him into having one of those margaritas with us as a thank you.)

There are so many things to do—a drive through volcano, mud baths, hiking those Pitons I mentioned earlier, snorkeling, kayaking, a chocolate tour—I could go on and on—but, as you are probably aware, we tend to focus most of our time and energy on full-blown relaxation. We did have a driver take us into the nearby downtown, Soufriere, which is a small fishing village. It is not a tourist area at all, but we were able to a feel for the part of the island where we were, see some very (ahem) interesting locals, lots of chickens (dear LORD, I’m afraid of birds and the chickens…the chickens were everywhere), take a short walking tour of the city square and surrounding area.

Here we are at an overlook stop; you can see downtown Soufriere's pastel buildings in the background.

The "Pitons" is the casual term for the two mountainous volcano plugs in St. Lucia, which are UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Clint is so close to Petit Pitons, he can touch it.

The town square in downtown Soufriere.

After our downtown adventure, we headed back to the resort, where our hardest decisions were which of the two beaches to visit, or did we want to enjoy the pool? Luckily, we are multi-taskers, so we were able to squeeze them all in. It’s a tough job, but somebody had to do it.

Hello, sunshine.

We had our best (and fanciest dinner) Thursday night at Saltwood, the upscale restaurant at the hotel. Anytime there is caviar, I am content. After that, Clint (of course) was craving steak and I went with a spinach and parsley risotto that was divine. 

Even though Clint is not terribly fond of excursions, when we saw that there was an opportunity to go on a whale watching tour, we knew it was an occasion we could not let pass. If there is even a remote possibility that you can meet a whale in your lifetime, you need to show up!

Here we are, getting ready to board our boat, hopeful to spot either a whale or some dolphins. We were told we had about a 50/50 chance of spotting a sperm whale while we were on the tour....

We saw FOUR whales! Our first sighting was a solo, and then we actually saw a calf with both its mom and dad. What an amazing experience.

After such an exciting day, we capped it off with the most unique dinner of our visit. We dined at Treetop, a literal treehouse restaurant. It is an Indian, three course prix fixe menu and the restaurant is a four story open air tree house with amazing scenery of the surrounding island. The in-house mixologist came over and talked to us about the categories of taste preferences ("citrus, spicy, creamy, smoky" and helped create a unique cocktail for each of us--fabulous!).

Again, these unbelievable views and more to see than your eyes could take in. A feast for the senses.

There was so much to see and experience at Treetop, I forgot to take a picture of the phenomenal first course (spicy seafood soup, blue cheese bruschetta on a sweet potato chip, and a creamy chicken kabob). Our main course was Rogan Josh lamb, butter chicken, basmati rice, buttered street corn, and (heavenly) garlic naan bread. Our watermelon welcome cocktail is also in the picture. For dessert, we had a sampler of three petit fours that featured vanilla cake, mini cherry cheesecake, and a whipped chocolate mousse. 

Time flies when you’re in paradise. Before we knew it, we were down to our last day (I bet our butler was keeping track…ha!) We decided to make the best of the best and headed down to the private beach. It was just us and one other couple with our own daybeds and service flags to raise whenever we needed anything….ah, so good.

At 1:00, the grill started sizzling over on the pier, letting everyone know it was time for the famous Jetty Burgers that you can only get at the pier from 1:00-4:00 each day. Our quiet beach filled up quickly as a line started forming for those mouthwatering burgers with their “secret sauce.” We each got one and split some crinkle fries, sitting under the shade on the pier and talking to another couple who were also from North Carolina while we savored our fare.

Making memories.

My hat says Spicy Marg Social Club. If you're going to talk the talk, you have to walk the walk. Cheers!

We were told South Pier was the best place to see the St. Lucian sunset, so we made our way there for a spectacular moment that did not disappoint! 

And then, some final quiet moments back at the villa, soaking up every moment of relaxation in our pool.

As you can see, Sugar Beach is a pretty spectacular place and we did our best not to take a moment of it for granted. The views, the people, and the time away were a great way to rest and recharge before heading back to the real world…and in true Susie fashion, I did manage to bring home one less-than-desirable souvenir as well: I tested positive for COVID just three days after our return. When the vacation is over, it really is over.

Maybe I should have brought this sign home with me for my ten days of quarantine? 

No matter what, thanks for a grandiose trip, St. Lucia--it is a place like no other!

Blog Post Title One

It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

Don’t worry about sounding professional. Sound like you. There are over 1.5 billion websites out there, but your story is what’s going to separate this one from the rest. If you read the words back and don’t hear your own voice in your head, that’s a good sign you still have more work to do.

Be clear, be confident and don’t overthink it. The beauty of your story is that it’s going to continue to evolve and your site can evolve with it. Your goal should be to make it feel right for right now. Later will take care of itself. It always does.

Blog Post Title Two

It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

Don’t worry about sounding professional. Sound like you. There are over 1.5 billion websites out there, but your story is what’s going to separate this one from the rest. If you read the words back and don’t hear your own voice in your head, that’s a good sign you still have more work to do.

Be clear, be confident and don’t overthink it. The beauty of your story is that it’s going to continue to evolve and your site can evolve with it. Your goal should be to make it feel right for right now. Later will take care of itself. It always does.

Blog Post Title Three

It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

Don’t worry about sounding professional. Sound like you. There are over 1.5 billion websites out there, but your story is what’s going to separate this one from the rest. If you read the words back and don’t hear your own voice in your head, that’s a good sign you still have more work to do.

Be clear, be confident and don’t overthink it. The beauty of your story is that it’s going to continue to evolve and your site can evolve with it. Your goal should be to make it feel right for right now. Later will take care of itself. It always does.

Blog Post Title Four

It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

Don’t worry about sounding professional. Sound like you. There are over 1.5 billion websites out there, but your story is what’s going to separate this one from the rest. If you read the words back and don’t hear your own voice in your head, that’s a good sign you still have more work to do.

Be clear, be confident and don’t overthink it. The beauty of your story is that it’s going to continue to evolve and your site can evolve with it. Your goal should be to make it feel right for right now. Later will take care of itself. It always does.