Windjammer Landing Hotel, Castries, St Lucia
Hotel Information
Recent Price: £261
Hotel Class:
Hotel Description:
A superior first class resort that is ideal for both romantic and families alike. All inclusive option especially good value in summer, and not suitable for those with walking disabilities, though transport round the resort is provided at all times. loading...
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Windjammer Landing Hotel Reviews
" My family of 10 booked a one week... "
Submitted By: Other Flop Jack
My family of 10 booked a one week vacation (3-separate suites) at the Windjammer Landing in St. Lucia through Elite Island Resorts.
Accommodations - When we arrived we were swiftly moved to the reception area and offered a drink. The person who helped us was pleasant but did not do a very good job in enlightening us to the our stay (specifically regarding the all inclusive plan and how it worked at the resort). We asked a lot of questions and they answered them as best as they could. Once done, they told us the room was not available (it was 3:00 in the afternoon) so we were forced to sit around and wait. About a half hour later they told us the room was finally ready and we could go and finally check in. Their shuttle service to the room was good (the resort is built on a hillside and getting around is mostly done via the frequent shuttles) as was the people who helped with our luggage. When we got to the room the maid was still not done and so we waited an additional 15 minutes while she finished. In the room waiting for us was a bottle of bubbly - a nice touch. The room was nice and as with all of them at the resort had a wonderful view. The rooms are open so birds and other native island habitats were free to come in as they saw fit (this did not bother us). The large suite my wife’s family occupied was fantastic. Well appointed, well taken care of and very impressive. The other room we got was new but did not quite have all the kinks worked out as it had a number of electrical (no working electricity on some outlets), mechanical (air conditioning was intermittent) and build issues (the wooden bed frame fell apart in the middle of the night).
Food - The food was not bad. I am a very picky eater so it took me a while to find a restaurant that i found things that appealed to me. Overall we rated the food a 7-8 on a scale of 1-10. We went all inclusive which is the way to go here as their prices are very expensive. For breakfast we had the buffet which was pretty good but my only complaint would be that there was not enough things to chose from. Fresh fruit, custom omelets to order, eggs, bacon , cereal and pastries.
Lunches were a bit less interesting than the breakfasts. Too much fast food faire for my palate.
Dinners were the best meal of the day. While I thought Papa Dons restaurant was awful, the other two were very good.
Excursions - They seemed to be overstaffed with people trying to sell you excursions. The folks were pleasant, helpful and not overly pushy but you couldnt go anywhere near the lobby without being accosted. We took a number of excursions and one turned out to be a bad experience and were very disappointed with the resorts response to what happened. Shawna, the excursions supervisor, was the problem. My sister unbeknownst to us, booked us a helicopter ride around the island (which turns out to be a highly recommended trip). She also paid for the taxi ride to the heliport. Since this was a surprise, Shawna worked with the rest of the resort staff to make up a nice gift certificate which was sent to our room. We scheduled the trip for 10:00am. We were told to be down at the main pickup location at 9:30am. We wert down there after breakfast (about 9:15) and confirmed at that time with Orlando that we our time to fly was 10:00. He called the helicopter company and confirmed. I asked Orlando to order us a cab (which was supposed to be waiting). About 15 minutes later (and 15 minutes after we were scheduled to leave) we left. The taxi driver flew through town and broke every speed limit to get us there on time. Once we got there the driver told us we owed him $20 for the trip. this was already paid for (and charged) to my sisters card. He told us that he needed payment (or a voucher from the resort). Unfortunately, as it turns out, the resort failed to include a voucher for either the cab ride or the helicopter ride with our gift certificate. We paid the cab and figured we would work it out when we returned to the resort. WE scrambled into the heliport at 10:03 and found out that we never had a 10:00 appointment; it was 11:00 and, oh by the way, where is our voucher? :-(. We returned to the resort to an hour long discussion with Shawna who apologized profusely and promised to get it all worked out (the refund of our money which ended a double payment) and have it reflected on our bill or a refund in cash. WE went on the zip line excursion, helicopter ride, scuba dive and a full day sail/tour of the island. All were note worthy except the trip around the island which was highly pushed and sold by the resort (since it was the only excursion provided by them - the others were provided by outside vendors but sold by the resort). It was not worth $10 let alone the $90 or $100 (I forget which) they charged.
The resort was overall nice. Similar to your average Club Med or Sandals. It was clean, well maintained and the staff I found to be for the most part very nice and helpful (except for the reception person handling our checkout). As with everything, there were exceptions. The island is a wonderful spot to visit and I would recommend it (though not at this resort).
Before retiring to our rooms on our final night we checked out. The surly individual (I forget his name) was unpleasant, unhelpful and clearly not in the right job. Comes to find out, Shawna failed to follow through on fixing the helicopter excursion debacle and the charges were not corrected as promised. Because it was in the evening Shawna and other supervisorial staff were not available to help fix the problem. WE spent another hour "reasoning" with reception. They kept insisting we provide them proof of the transactions (ie provide voucher) before they could do anything. The frustrating thing is they DONT KEEP A COPY of the vouchers for excursions so they have no proof of what was purchased and how. If they did, this problem would not have even been an issue as they would have had records available to follow and track the transaction. In the end it was resolved and ruined what was an overall good vacation up to that point. But the real problem was yet to occur.
On our final night we went back to our rooms about 9:00pm. The long story short was my wife's family suite was broken into. Most all their cash, electronics and cameras (they did not steal their credit cards) were stolen, in spite of most everything being locked up in the safe as the hotel recommends. The very "interesting" thing about this is that the thieves accessed the suite and when they left they dead bolted the door. The "funny" thing is that there is no way to deadbolt the door unless you do it from the inside and leave by another exit (which was not done) or by engaging the deadbolt from the outside with a key. While this doesn’t sound strange, where it gets weird is that apparently the general manager of the hotel/resort is the only one with the key to deadbolt doors (that is what we were told). The card key provided guests opens only the locked handle, the dead bolt a separate lock, has its own special (not card key) lock. There was no evidence of forced entry. My wives family had to spend their final day downtown filing a formal report with the constable and meetings with the hotel staff.
You can draw your own conclusions about how someone could have entered into a locked room without forcing their way into it and when leaving locking a deadbolt that supposedly only hotel staff had the key. In addition, the "safe" provided was easily broken into and was not "safe". There are always inherent risks when traveling abroad so my complaint isn’t with the incident, rather how it was handled. I have been to the Caribbean more than 20 times and this is not the first time something crazy happened. Unfortunately, this is the first time it has been handled as poorly as it was. I would highly recommend that anyone considering Windjammer Landing do so carefully as your safety, security and valuables may not be worth risking.
Follow up
When getting home and trying to work with Windjammer to clear up this mess the experience was worse than the break-in and theft. Even though my family was the victim I was threatened with potential legal action when I told them I would be posting my experience on various websites. As always, your mileage may vary but at least you should consider others experience before you spend any of your hard earned discretionary vacation dollars.
Accommodations - When we arrived we were swiftly moved to the reception area and offered a drink. The person who helped us was pleasant but did not do a very good job in enlightening us to the our stay (specifically regarding the all inclusive plan and how it worked at the resort). We asked a lot of questions and they answered them as best as they could. Once done, they told us the room was not available (it was 3:00 in the afternoon) so we were forced to sit around and wait. About a half hour later they told us the room was finally ready and we could go and finally check in. Their shuttle service to the room was good (the resort is built on a hillside and getting around is mostly done via the frequent shuttles) as was the people who helped with our luggage. When we got to the room the maid was still not done and so we waited an additional 15 minutes while she finished. In the room waiting for us was a bottle of bubbly - a nice touch. The room was nice and as with all of them at the resort had a wonderful view. The rooms are open so birds and other native island habitats were free to come in as they saw fit (this did not bother us). The large suite my wife’s family occupied was fantastic. Well appointed, well taken care of and very impressive. The other room we got was new but did not quite have all the kinks worked out as it had a number of electrical (no working electricity on some outlets), mechanical (air conditioning was intermittent) and build issues (the wooden bed frame fell apart in the middle of the night).
Food - The food was not bad. I am a very picky eater so it took me a while to find a restaurant that i found things that appealed to me. Overall we rated the food a 7-8 on a scale of 1-10. We went all inclusive which is the way to go here as their prices are very expensive. For breakfast we had the buffet which was pretty good but my only complaint would be that there was not enough things to chose from. Fresh fruit, custom omelets to order, eggs, bacon , cereal and pastries.
Lunches were a bit less interesting than the breakfasts. Too much fast food faire for my palate.
Dinners were the best meal of the day. While I thought Papa Dons restaurant was awful, the other two were very good.
Excursions - They seemed to be overstaffed with people trying to sell you excursions. The folks were pleasant, helpful and not overly pushy but you couldnt go anywhere near the lobby without being accosted. We took a number of excursions and one turned out to be a bad experience and were very disappointed with the resorts response to what happened. Shawna, the excursions supervisor, was the problem. My sister unbeknownst to us, booked us a helicopter ride around the island (which turns out to be a highly recommended trip). She also paid for the taxi ride to the heliport. Since this was a surprise, Shawna worked with the rest of the resort staff to make up a nice gift certificate which was sent to our room. We scheduled the trip for 10:00am. We were told to be down at the main pickup location at 9:30am. We wert down there after breakfast (about 9:15) and confirmed at that time with Orlando that we our time to fly was 10:00. He called the helicopter company and confirmed. I asked Orlando to order us a cab (which was supposed to be waiting). About 15 minutes later (and 15 minutes after we were scheduled to leave) we left. The taxi driver flew through town and broke every speed limit to get us there on time. Once we got there the driver told us we owed him $20 for the trip. this was already paid for (and charged) to my sisters card. He told us that he needed payment (or a voucher from the resort). Unfortunately, as it turns out, the resort failed to include a voucher for either the cab ride or the helicopter ride with our gift certificate. We paid the cab and figured we would work it out when we returned to the resort. WE scrambled into the heliport at 10:03 and found out that we never had a 10:00 appointment; it was 11:00 and, oh by the way, where is our voucher? :-(. We returned to the resort to an hour long discussion with Shawna who apologized profusely and promised to get it all worked out (the refund of our money which ended a double payment) and have it reflected on our bill or a refund in cash. WE went on the zip line excursion, helicopter ride, scuba dive and a full day sail/tour of the island. All were note worthy except the trip around the island which was highly pushed and sold by the resort (since it was the only excursion provided by them - the others were provided by outside vendors but sold by the resort). It was not worth $10 let alone the $90 or $100 (I forget which) they charged.
The resort was overall nice. Similar to your average Club Med or Sandals. It was clean, well maintained and the staff I found to be for the most part very nice and helpful (except for the reception person handling our checkout). As with everything, there were exceptions. The island is a wonderful spot to visit and I would recommend it (though not at this resort).
Before retiring to our rooms on our final night we checked out. The surly individual (I forget his name) was unpleasant, unhelpful and clearly not in the right job. Comes to find out, Shawna failed to follow through on fixing the helicopter excursion debacle and the charges were not corrected as promised. Because it was in the evening Shawna and other supervisorial staff were not available to help fix the problem. WE spent another hour "reasoning" with reception. They kept insisting we provide them proof of the transactions (ie provide voucher) before they could do anything. The frustrating thing is they DONT KEEP A COPY of the vouchers for excursions so they have no proof of what was purchased and how. If they did, this problem would not have even been an issue as they would have had records available to follow and track the transaction. In the end it was resolved and ruined what was an overall good vacation up to that point. But the real problem was yet to occur.
On our final night we went back to our rooms about 9:00pm. The long story short was my wife's family suite was broken into. Most all their cash, electronics and cameras (they did not steal their credit cards) were stolen, in spite of most everything being locked up in the safe as the hotel recommends. The very "interesting" thing about this is that the thieves accessed the suite and when they left they dead bolted the door. The "funny" thing is that there is no way to deadbolt the door unless you do it from the inside and leave by another exit (which was not done) or by engaging the deadbolt from the outside with a key. While this doesn’t sound strange, where it gets weird is that apparently the general manager of the hotel/resort is the only one with the key to deadbolt doors (that is what we were told). The card key provided guests opens only the locked handle, the dead bolt a separate lock, has its own special (not card key) lock. There was no evidence of forced entry. My wives family had to spend their final day downtown filing a formal report with the constable and meetings with the hotel staff.
You can draw your own conclusions about how someone could have entered into a locked room without forcing their way into it and when leaving locking a deadbolt that supposedly only hotel staff had the key. In addition, the "safe" provided was easily broken into and was not "safe". There are always inherent risks when traveling abroad so my complaint isn’t with the incident, rather how it was handled. I have been to the Caribbean more than 20 times and this is not the first time something crazy happened. Unfortunately, this is the first time it has been handled as poorly as it was. I would highly recommend that anyone considering Windjammer Landing do so carefully as your safety, security and valuables may not be worth risking.
Follow up
When getting home and trying to work with Windjammer to clear up this mess the experience was worse than the break-in and theft. Even though my family was the victim I was threatened with potential legal action when I told them I would be posting my experience on various websites. As always, your mileage may vary but at least you should consider others experience before you spend any of your hard earned discretionary vacation dollars.
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- Date of Holiday:May 2008
- Board Basis:All Inclusive
- Tour Operator:Elite Island
" The grounds are spectacular and the... "
Submitted By: Mr TJB Tom
The grounds are spectacular and the beach is nice, but the resort itself has too many issues.
The resort is a good hour and a half from the airport. The ride will take a toll on anyone prone to motion sickness.
Villas are spacious but somewhat primitive. Many rooms have windows with no glass so be prepared to be swarmed by bugs if you get one the rooms without windows.
You can only get to and from the Villas by shuttle or serious hiking up or down hills. The shuttle service was unpredictable, ranging from immediate pickup to upwards of 20 minutes.
The food was generally expensive and mediocre. The selection is somewhat limited. There is a small grocery store on site, but its expensive. It's a pricey cab ride to any other grocery store.
Be prepared for somewhat of a hard-sell on the over-priced timeshares.
My biggest issue was customer service. There were several days when housekeeping left us without towels for no apparent reason. When we pointed this out, they were unapologetic and took their time delivering replacements. In addition, Windjammer management thought nothing of intentionally shutting off the power for three hours during our stay to aid in construction of additional timeshares. Again, they were unapologetic until they were unable to successfully restore power after the three hours were and we were all ended up sitting in the dark in our villas. (Apparently, the candles in all of the villas are there for a reason.)
Overall, Saint Lucia is very beautiful, but I would pass on the Windjammer.
The resort is a good hour and a half from the airport. The ride will take a toll on anyone prone to motion sickness.
Villas are spacious but somewhat primitive. Many rooms have windows with no glass so be prepared to be swarmed by bugs if you get one the rooms without windows.
You can only get to and from the Villas by shuttle or serious hiking up or down hills. The shuttle service was unpredictable, ranging from immediate pickup to upwards of 20 minutes.
The food was generally expensive and mediocre. The selection is somewhat limited. There is a small grocery store on site, but its expensive. It's a pricey cab ride to any other grocery store.
Be prepared for somewhat of a hard-sell on the over-priced timeshares.
My biggest issue was customer service. There were several days when housekeeping left us without towels for no apparent reason. When we pointed this out, they were unapologetic and took their time delivering replacements. In addition, Windjammer management thought nothing of intentionally shutting off the power for three hours during our stay to aid in construction of additional timeshares. Again, they were unapologetic until they were unable to successfully restore power after the three hours were and we were all ended up sitting in the dark in our villas. (Apparently, the candles in all of the villas are there for a reason.)
Overall, Saint Lucia is very beautiful, but I would pass on the Windjammer.
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- Date of Holiday:Feb 2008
- Board Basis:Room Only
- Tour Operator:Booked Independently
" We stayed here a week. We are... "
Submitted By: Mrs T Taylor
We stayed here a week. We are partial to St. Lucia, I will admit. This was our first stay at Windjammer Landing but not our first to the island. We shall be returning this year and staying at Windjammer.
First, the bad - check-in is a chore as is check-out. Plan time for both of these. That's why they get a 9 instead of 10.
Now, the good. We thought our unit was fantastic. A bit on the rustic side but fit into the "island" feel of things. We loved our king size bed with mosquito netting (never saw a mossie anywhere).
The unit had a full kitchen that was well equipped although we did not use it during our stay. The living area was comfortable, basic and had a TV with cable. Maid service was daily and you could eat off the floors that was how good it was.
We were extremely impressed. We had a private balcony with table and chairs as well as loungers. Views of the ocean were incredible.
The food at the restaurants was fabulous. We ate gourmet every day - really a bit much but we were all-inclusive. The bar drinks and bartenders were fabulous. The hedonistic part was that they gave you an umbrella on the beach that you could raise at your leisure and someone would come out see if you needed a menu, food or a drink. Amazing.
The St. Lucians are a very warm people. If you give them a chance you will receive an abundance of care, concern and warmth. Just don't expect to be rude, loud or unappreciative and be respected in return.
The beach at the resort was great. It's a bit on the small side but St. Lucia is a volcanic island and does not have the pristine beaches you find elsewhere in the Caribbean. If you want that, don't go to this island.
We especially loved the opportunity to sail every day on a catamaran at our leisure.
Late in the afternoon they offer banana boat and tubing rides. It's fun to watch the younger folk get a thrill as they hoot and holler and occasionally fall off into the warm ocean waters.
We have no complaints. No place is perfect and we have stayed at the finest in the world. We don't like snobby places and this is not one. We love St. Lucia and its people.
We have stayed at 5 resorts on St. Lucia so far and Windjammer is the first one we will be returning to. If you have realistic expectations you will love it. If your idea of the ideal vacation is absolute luxury from every standpoint, don't go here as you will not be satisfied.
First, the bad - check-in is a chore as is check-out. Plan time for both of these. That's why they get a 9 instead of 10.
Now, the good. We thought our unit was fantastic. A bit on the rustic side but fit into the "island" feel of things. We loved our king size bed with mosquito netting (never saw a mossie anywhere).
The unit had a full kitchen that was well equipped although we did not use it during our stay. The living area was comfortable, basic and had a TV with cable. Maid service was daily and you could eat off the floors that was how good it was.
We were extremely impressed. We had a private balcony with table and chairs as well as loungers. Views of the ocean were incredible.
The food at the restaurants was fabulous. We ate gourmet every day - really a bit much but we were all-inclusive. The bar drinks and bartenders were fabulous. The hedonistic part was that they gave you an umbrella on the beach that you could raise at your leisure and someone would come out see if you needed a menu, food or a drink. Amazing.
The St. Lucians are a very warm people. If you give them a chance you will receive an abundance of care, concern and warmth. Just don't expect to be rude, loud or unappreciative and be respected in return.
The beach at the resort was great. It's a bit on the small side but St. Lucia is a volcanic island and does not have the pristine beaches you find elsewhere in the Caribbean. If you want that, don't go to this island.
We especially loved the opportunity to sail every day on a catamaran at our leisure.
Late in the afternoon they offer banana boat and tubing rides. It's fun to watch the younger folk get a thrill as they hoot and holler and occasionally fall off into the warm ocean waters.
We have no complaints. No place is perfect and we have stayed at the finest in the world. We don't like snobby places and this is not one. We love St. Lucia and its people.
We have stayed at 5 resorts on St. Lucia so far and Windjammer is the first one we will be returning to. If you have realistic expectations you will love it. If your idea of the ideal vacation is absolute luxury from every standpoint, don't go here as you will not be satisfied.
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- Date of Holiday:Dec 2006
- Board Basis:All Inclusive
- Tour Operator:Booked Independently
" My wife and I stayed here last August... "
Submitted By: Mr P Finch
My wife and I stayed here last August via RCI (Timeshare). The one bed roomed villa near the top of the hill was just fab.
It's own "splash" pool so need to go to the beach. The kitchen was of a reasonable size just for the 2 of use. The maid called everyday, change towels, make bed etc. The bars etc here could do with a bit of a makeover. The shuttle to the bottom of the hill was on call 24/7, just pick up the phone and within minutes they were there. They did however, drop-off and pick up of guests.
Would I go back, not sure without seeing other islands first.
It's own "splash" pool so need to go to the beach. The kitchen was of a reasonable size just for the 2 of use. The maid called everyday, change towels, make bed etc. The bars etc here could do with a bit of a makeover. The shuttle to the bottom of the hill was on call 24/7, just pick up the phone and within minutes they were there. They did however, drop-off and pick up of guests.
Would I go back, not sure without seeing other islands first.
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- Date of Holiday:Aug 2005
- Board Basis:Self Catering
- Tour Operator:Booked Independently
" I am astonished to find that this is... "
Submitted By: Not Specified
I am astonished to find that this is the first review of this hotel on this website, or perhaps we the only couple to have resisted voluntary brainwashing on departure from hotel!
Having read Dr Ian Wilson's guide '500 Destinations TO AVOID and 500 to visit, he is also founder of Wexas International. Pretty experienced traveler one would imagine! Why oh why did I not take heed? His experience of St Lucia was spot on "another one of those islands full of people who have swallowed the tourist propaganda (emperor's new clothes? Indeed!) There are almost no good beaches, surly locals, (I myself would add resentful of wealthy visitors). I personally found myself desperately trying to pretend it was great, like when you are at a party and are willing yourself to join in the fun but, would rather be at home watching sports or a good film instead.
Initially we thought it may be the Windjammer Landing which was Brad and Angelina - the Pitts! Does that place need a complete makeover? Yes indeed! But please, not when hundreds of guests were there on vacation - including us, last week! There was no formal notification from management that tractors, diggers heavy duty trucks would be climbing from bottom to top of resort for days! One family that we have knowledge of, only because we were told by other guests (staff denied it of course) insisted on returning to the US, and, since there was no other hotel on the island to accommodate were moved to another island.
The Windjammer is quite honestly awful. If you know small London Hotels I would consider it the equivalent of a tired smelly dirty Premier hotel (sorry to insult the Premier group). In the week we endured, I mean stayed, we were told every morning by the less than helpful staff that the coffee machine was out of order at the moment. Of course this would be a great source of pleasure to them, telling these spoiled Europeans and US residents they couldn't have their coffee. They would then gabble away in patois among themselves and giggle. I speak French, but mutually cannot understand each other, great pity but highly frustrating. We did eventually track down F & B Manager and ask him why such a 'luxurious' hotel could only offer regular 'inedible' coffee, and not have the machine repaired in the week we had been there, his explanation being that it had to be collected and repaired in the factory and without even an eyelid batting!!
Breakfast was very very ordinary. All juices were cartonned originally, and passed for fresh, I very much doubted this to be true. After enquiring re origin and supplier of the juice, the staff who obviously thinks all guests of hotel has similar i.q. to themselves admitted cartonned. I wouldn't have minded, but Tesco value oj would have been most welcome to us at the w jammer breakfast table, then, as juice not very palatable.
St Lucia is supposedly a luscious island with an abundance of fruit and vegetation, if so, it is obviously not delivered to that hotel! A fruit as simple as mango which is in season currently, was never to be seen at the buffet, however, a variety of melons and occasionally pineapple was served.
The birds were our constant breakfast companions albeit uninvited but not discouraged by staff as a rule. The indifferently behaved staff would chat whilst the used plates with plenty of leftovers naturally, due to quality of food eaten and left untouched would be a regular feast for as many as eight birds at a time. Flying over us and occasionally depositing their birdc**p on tables and naturally guests too, mostly unaware.
The service areas i.e. reception, pool, pool washroom beach restaurant were very poorly presented. Beach again, ordinary, dull sand.
Chipped floor tiles, unclean table linen. We even had to pay a deposit for beach towel rental. Hilariously, who would want to nick one of their scabby towels? A feeling of uneasiness wells inside when presented with this non-option negotiation for a simple towel 'rental' to place on a thirty year old lounge chair, situated near an even older looking swimming pool.
The shuttle buses taking you from reception to accommodation, are threadbare inside, half the seats without covering.
The accommodation is an insult to any discerning traveler. The worst is reminiscent of a fousty smelly bed-sit, one bed apartment, with no windows to close in the living room area, thus inviting every bird on the island to fly through the adorable Al Catraz window rail as you enjoying a read on the pongy, dingy (conservatory furniture) chairs. Yuk. The views from the room terrace however, are absolutely magnificent
Spa, again not exciting, desperately in need of refurbishment.
Accommodation improves as one travels higher up the slopes, newer buildings emerge being owners villas, which are mostly timeshare. Once the building work complete, there must be more to sell. Certainly the owner of Windjammer doesn't share the owners' enthusiasm for improvement. He ought to sell up, he is obviously not interested nor proud of this hotel of his, as he does not need to worry about competition, the other hotels that we visited to escape from Windjammer that are also named as St Lucia's best in the 'luxury brochures' were equally disappointing.
If you do go, expect the worse, but that all depends of course, on one's personal standards.
Having read Dr Ian Wilson's guide '500 Destinations TO AVOID and 500 to visit, he is also founder of Wexas International. Pretty experienced traveler one would imagine! Why oh why did I not take heed? His experience of St Lucia was spot on "another one of those islands full of people who have swallowed the tourist propaganda (emperor's new clothes? Indeed!) There are almost no good beaches, surly locals, (I myself would add resentful of wealthy visitors). I personally found myself desperately trying to pretend it was great, like when you are at a party and are willing yourself to join in the fun but, would rather be at home watching sports or a good film instead.
Initially we thought it may be the Windjammer Landing which was Brad and Angelina - the Pitts! Does that place need a complete makeover? Yes indeed! But please, not when hundreds of guests were there on vacation - including us, last week! There was no formal notification from management that tractors, diggers heavy duty trucks would be climbing from bottom to top of resort for days! One family that we have knowledge of, only because we were told by other guests (staff denied it of course) insisted on returning to the US, and, since there was no other hotel on the island to accommodate were moved to another island.
The Windjammer is quite honestly awful. If you know small London Hotels I would consider it the equivalent of a tired smelly dirty Premier hotel (sorry to insult the Premier group). In the week we endured, I mean stayed, we were told every morning by the less than helpful staff that the coffee machine was out of order at the moment. Of course this would be a great source of pleasure to them, telling these spoiled Europeans and US residents they couldn't have their coffee. They would then gabble away in patois among themselves and giggle. I speak French, but mutually cannot understand each other, great pity but highly frustrating. We did eventually track down F & B Manager and ask him why such a 'luxurious' hotel could only offer regular 'inedible' coffee, and not have the machine repaired in the week we had been there, his explanation being that it had to be collected and repaired in the factory and without even an eyelid batting!!
Breakfast was very very ordinary. All juices were cartonned originally, and passed for fresh, I very much doubted this to be true. After enquiring re origin and supplier of the juice, the staff who obviously thinks all guests of hotel has similar i.q. to themselves admitted cartonned. I wouldn't have minded, but Tesco value oj would have been most welcome to us at the w jammer breakfast table, then, as juice not very palatable.
St Lucia is supposedly a luscious island with an abundance of fruit and vegetation, if so, it is obviously not delivered to that hotel! A fruit as simple as mango which is in season currently, was never to be seen at the buffet, however, a variety of melons and occasionally pineapple was served.
The birds were our constant breakfast companions albeit uninvited but not discouraged by staff as a rule. The indifferently behaved staff would chat whilst the used plates with plenty of leftovers naturally, due to quality of food eaten and left untouched would be a regular feast for as many as eight birds at a time. Flying over us and occasionally depositing their birdc**p on tables and naturally guests too, mostly unaware.
The service areas i.e. reception, pool, pool washroom beach restaurant were very poorly presented. Beach again, ordinary, dull sand.
Chipped floor tiles, unclean table linen. We even had to pay a deposit for beach towel rental. Hilariously, who would want to nick one of their scabby towels? A feeling of uneasiness wells inside when presented with this non-option negotiation for a simple towel 'rental' to place on a thirty year old lounge chair, situated near an even older looking swimming pool.
The shuttle buses taking you from reception to accommodation, are threadbare inside, half the seats without covering.
The accommodation is an insult to any discerning traveler. The worst is reminiscent of a fousty smelly bed-sit, one bed apartment, with no windows to close in the living room area, thus inviting every bird on the island to fly through the adorable Al Catraz window rail as you enjoying a read on the pongy, dingy (conservatory furniture) chairs. Yuk. The views from the room terrace however, are absolutely magnificent
Spa, again not exciting, desperately in need of refurbishment.
Accommodation improves as one travels higher up the slopes, newer buildings emerge being owners villas, which are mostly timeshare. Once the building work complete, there must be more to sell. Certainly the owner of Windjammer doesn't share the owners' enthusiasm for improvement. He ought to sell up, he is obviously not interested nor proud of this hotel of his, as he does not need to worry about competition, the other hotels that we visited to escape from Windjammer that are also named as St Lucia's best in the 'luxury brochures' were equally disappointing.
If you do go, expect the worse, but that all depends of course, on one's personal standards.
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- Date of Holiday:May 2006
- Board Basis:Bed & Breakfast
- Tour Operator:Booked Independently
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Safety: No lifeguards to monitor the 4 swimming pools or beach area, no enclosed swimming pools around villas, for parents this is a nightmare also broken Glass is not cleaned up regularly from communal areas, Wear Shoes!
Cost: Expect a 10% service charge a 6% tax charge and expect to Tipp on top for all food and beverage, expect an extortionate bill for all washing, the supermarket is poorly equiped and costs double if not tripple what out of resort supermarkets charge. The Taxis out of the resort are a rip off and prices vary.
Rooms: expect Bed Bug Bites and Birds to fly around your apartment leaving you gifts!
Cash: No cash machines but the resort will charge each Villa 10% for a max take out of 50 USD per day and 20% above 50 USD!, this could be interesting when the callout for a doctor is 150 USD cash!
Car Hire: From the resort any damage however minor will immediately get you a bill of 250 USD and you will be responsible for pursuing the other party to reclaim your cash. I am Never going back! Every Day And In Every Way we were taken to the cleaners in a resort where a smile is considered the be all and end all!