Jade Mountain Honeymoon - tips you need to know before booking!

jade mountatin honeymoon review and tips before booking all inclusive plan how to get there what to do st lucia

view from our room and complimentary bottle of wine!

Jade Mountain truly felt like a once in a lifetime experience and the perfect place for our honeymoon. Our room was spectacular and felt like a fairytale. If you are unfamiliar with Jade Mountain, it is a resort built into the side of a mountain on the island of St. Lucia by architect owner Nick Troubetzkoy. All of the rooms are open-air and missing a 4th wall with spectacular views of the mountains and beaches. It is truly unlike anything I had ever seen, and the service was great (we got our own butler that scheduled everything for us!). It is rated one of the most romantic hotels in the world. If you decide Jade Mountain is the place for you, the below are tips that I wish I would have known before booking. I did a lot of research and pieced together most of the below before I got there, but it is nice to have everything in one place!

Pro Tips:

Food/Drink:

If you plan to drink alcohol, get the all-inclusive package ($~315/day per couple). The plan may seem expensive at first, but food/drink prices are really high. For example, some of the dinner menus are already set around $100/person and you don’t get al la carte options. Example day (for 2 including alcohol): $75 breakfast, $60 drinks at the beach, $50 lunch/snacks, $230 dinner = ~$415. It adds up quickly, and my husband and I are NOT foodies.
There are multiple restaurants at the resort and you can also visit any of Anse Chastanet’s restaurants as well.

Rooms:

Ask for a room with optimal sunlight. I read the reviews very thoroughly to find out that some rooms do not get much sun. We called and specifically asked for a room that gets sunlight throughout the day. Even if the resort claims that pools are heated, they are still very cool/cold.
There are no elevators or handicap accessible ramps. If you have a hard time climbing stairs, this might not be the resort for you.
We were on level 2 in a Star suite and it was plenty big and very beautiful. We were thinking about upgrading before we got there, but there was definitely no need! This room was plenty large and we felt no desire for a different room.
The toilet was in the middle of the restroom room (which is open-air) and there was no door or divider to the rest of the sanctuary. If you are a private person, this might be an issue for you. Personally, I was horrified and it was my only complaint at the end of the trip.
Get a suite with a pool. If you can’t get a pool suite**, I honestly don’t think the experience is the same. I know it’s more expensive, but if you are already paying for the travel to get there, I definitely think it is worth upgrading.

Pools/Beaches:

There is no community pool except for the one IN the restaurant which is super awkward. So if you don’t have sun in your room or you have a suite without a pool, you will have to go down to the beach to get some sun. As mentioned above, I would definitely get a pool room.
There are 2 beaches available – one is shared with Anse Chastanet and one is a private beach (see pictures below).
At the private beach you can get food and drink service but it is quite a walk to get there or you will need to take a boat shuttle. The beach chairs are super cozy and the palm huts provide lots of shade.

What to Pack:

Pack semi- casually. I had no clue what type of clothing to bring for this experience. I would suggest maxi dresses (took this one!), rompers, bathing suit cover ups and mostly flats (maybe a pair of wedges). Since there are so many stairs and the entire resort is open-air, high heels and fancy clothing don’t make sense. Plus, we spent so much time in our room that I was in my bathing suit most of the time. Dinner can be more dressy, but the amount of stairs you have to climb doesn’t make the stilettos worth it!
The weather was surprisingly perfect the whole time (we went late February). You sleep under a mosquito net so the bugs never bothered us – although the birds like to sneak in your room to eat leftover breakfast. There is no shade so if you usually sleep in, bring a sleep mask.
Bring your own music player! It is very quiet and there are no electronics in the entire room (no tv, clocks, etc). If you like music, bring your own player. The butler gives you an old school cell phone to call them if you need anything.

What to do/booking:

You don’t need to book anything until you get there if you are staying at the resort for the entire time. There are cooking classes, hiking, spa appointments, etc that your butler will help plan and schedule all of your activities once you arrive.

How to get there:

The resort has car transportation that can take you from the airport to the hotel. The road from the airport to the resort is very windy and rough. If you get motion-sick, bring some type of ginger or nausea medicine OR take the helicopter option. It took over an hour of driving to get there, and we regretted not splurging on the helicopter.

Other Notes:

If you’re worried about privacy with the missing wall – don’t be! We didn’t have any issues with worrying if someone could see in our room or hear our conversations. It is extremely private.
You can go down to the sister resort Anse Chastanet for restaurants and its amenities. The beach is located at between the 2 hotels, but Ana Chastanet guests are not allowed back to Jade Mountain.