| Everyday Luxury Travel North America St Lucia

Top Ten Luxurious Things to Do While Staying At Jade Mountain, St Lucia

You’re probably thinking, I’ve seen that room sanctuary, why would I ever want to leave it? I thought I’d just tell you about a few experiences that you can have both in and around Jade Mountain whilst staying in St Lucia. Jade Mountain is located just outside of the town of Soufriere, St Lucia’s oldest town and the former capital. Though St Lucia is a small island it can take over an hour to get to Castries, the capital city, as the road is winding with sharp bends. As you can see many of St Lucia’s main sights in Soufriere I would stay local in order to avoid long car journeys and too much time out of that beautiful Caribbean sun. If you are keen to see more areas of the island, check with your hotel as a water taxi may be quicker.

1. Visit Diamond Falls Botanical Gardens & Mineral Baths

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Not far from Jade Mountain is the beautiful Diamond Falls Botanical Gardens and Mineral Baths, here you can admire the 17 metre multi-coloured waterfall which owes it kaleidoscopic appearance to the wide mineral content. DSC_1808 DSC_1814
We took a guided walk through the lush, verdant garden and learnt about the the vegetation and flora and fauna grown there. After the educational experience we were invited to take a dip in the mineral baths which apparently have healing properties, I took a dip and crossed my fingers that I would emerge ten years younger. Which I didn’t but at I’ll always have photoshop 😉

2. Drink a glass of wine in Your Private Infinity Pool

The majority of rooms at Jade Mountain have their own private infinity pool and as we were staying in a Galaxy Suite, the highest room category, we had the largest size pool that there was. Each gorgeous pool is lined with glass tiles which have a beautifully coloured iridescent appearance and have been designed especially for Jade Mountain. At night the pool is lit up by fibre optics and the guests can even select the shade or allow the system to cycle through a range of colours.
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We absolutely loved cooling off in our pool with a glass of wine or a beer in hand.

3. Enjoy Breakfast in Your Room

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We loved dining at Jade Mountain Club, the hotel’s exclusive restaurant, but all meals could also be served in your sanctuary and beautifully set up by your butler. We adored having a private breakfast with our view of the Pitons and every meal at the hotel was a joy. We tried lots of different dishes from the breakfast menu but I did insist on mango everyday.

4. Have a Glass of Bubbly with a View

On the Total Romance package all wine by the glass is included and we enjoyed having a glass of sparkling wine everywhere we went.IMG_5278
We loved having one at Jade Mountain club over lunch, or at the top of the hotel on the Celestial Terrace….Jade-mountain
…or even barefoot in the sand.

5. Eat at Jade Mountain Club

Jade Mountain’s signature restaurant caters exclusively for hotel guests and features a menu created by James Beard award winner, Chef Allan Susser. Though guests of Jade Mountain could also enjoy the restaurants at sister resort, Anse Chastanet, we ate nearly every meal at Jade Mountain Club as the food was totally exquisite. I haven’t blogged about every meal but wanted include a few more of the amazing dishes that I couldn’t fit into the other posts.Jade-MountainDSC_1513
Meat and fish was always exquisitely fresh and perfectly prepared. DSC_1857
As were the more simple comfort foods such as turkey and bacon quesadillas or delicious flat bread pizzas. DSC_1863
And vegetables are beautifully showcased as everything is grown and picked from the hotel’s own Emerald Farm.jade-mountain
Desserts are a real highlight and we totally loved this cheesecake.jade-mountain
And as there is an on-site chocolate factory, the hotel has a whole chocolate menu of different desserts or you can order a selection of their homemade bon bons. If we’d had more time I’d have loved to try one the cookery classes offered by the hotel or one of their foodie masterclasses.

6. Visit the Emerald Farm 

Eating at Jade Mountain truly is a farm-to-table experience and one morning we visited Emerald, the hotel’s own organic farm that provides ingredients for all the restaurants in the resort.
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Head Chef Allan Susser oversees the growing of all the organic produce from greens to salads, fruits, spices, nuts and herbs. DSC_1755 DSC_1798
There is also over 1,000 cocoa trees providing the resources for the hotel’s chocolate production. Visiting the resort garden is a fascinating experience and certainly makes you more mindful of the hard work that goes into producing the cuisine at Jade Mountain.

7. Check out the hotel’s chocolate lab

Could this hotel be any more perfect? Jade Mountain has an in house chocolate factory and its own resident Willy Wonka.jade-mountain
Mr S and I paid a visit to the man himself and he explained his chocolate making processes and told us the Jade Mountain is the island’s only bean to bar chocolate maker.
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Don’t you just wanted to grab a spoon and get stuck it? DSC_1904
The hotel also offers chocolate spa treatments, tastings and wine pairings, and an interactive class where you can make your own chocolate. We chose not to take the class however as I’d booked us onto a very similar experience at Hotel Chocolat.

8. Relax, Rejeuvenate and Refresh at the hotel’s spa and gym

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The Kai en Ciel spa at Jade Mountain is a beautiful, wooden organic zen like space offering a wide variety of body and beauty treatments with options of classic, holistic or ayurvedic. There are also romantic couples rituals and luxurious treatments devised by Aromatherapy Associates.DSC_1373
I avoid the gym while on holiday, but at least this one comes with a view of the gorgeous St Lucian landscape. Or for a slower pace there are daily complimentary yoga classes.

9. Visit the world’s only drive in volcano

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Sulphur Springs in Soufriere is the world’s only drive in volcano, you can pop in and walk around the actual caldera because the volcano itself is dormant. Though we didn’t get a chance to do it visitors can soak in hot springs and enjoy the healing properties of the mud bath on their skin.

10. Sail the ocean wave

Jade Mountain offers the options of a private sail or the fun Jazzy Sunset Cruise but a great way to get around the island is by water taxi.Jade-Mountain DSC_1920
From the water you can not only see the exterior of the gorgeous, unique Jade Mountain but you can also see the majestic twin peaks of the Pitons…DSC_1926
….and the lush landscape of the emerald island with the colourful town of Soufriere nestled in the hills. DSC_1935
The hotel also offers water sports, scuba diving and guided walks, hikes or biking but they sounded too much like hard work for me…especially when there’s plenty of all-inclusive sparkling wine and chocolate to be had. Warning, this hotel may make you put on weight but it will also make you very relaxed and very happy.