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Saint Lucia's Hotel Chocolat: Not Made of Chocolate, but Surrounded by It

Where: Soufriere, Saint Lucia

We have a confession to make. Just over a year ago, while on a visit to the Fond Deux Cocoa Plantation Hotel on the Caribbean island of Saint Lucia (see those awesome pics here), we inadvertently trespassed on the edge of a new hotel property. Don't worry—a guard stopped us after emerging from a gingerbread-looking guardhouse. Where the heck were we? As it turns out, it was the Hotel Chocolat, which just opened February 28.

The Hotel Chocolat isn't so named because it sounds pretty; the place is high up on the island, within the actual chocolate-producing, 18th-century Rabot cocoa estate. The hotel was constructed here because its British owners are themselves crazy for the stuff, and manufacture a brand of chocolate already named Hotel Chocolat. This then is the embodiment of their dream, and guests are of course invited to learn from and participate in various chocolatier activities.

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The Bachelor / Reality TV Hotels / Romantic Hotels / St Lucia Hotels / Jake Pavelka / Vienna Girardi / Tenley Molzahn / → All Tags

Follow Jake and Vienna to the Exotic Hotels of 'The Bachelor' in Saint Lucia

Last night, the 14th season of 'The Bachelor' came to an appropriately romantic end amongst the dreamlike, exotic environs of the island of Saint Lucia. Since St. Lucia is known as a seriously romantic destination, we weren't too surprised that the crew hauled Jake the pilot and his final three girls down there, but we were shocked at how much they got around the island's many luxurious hotels. Let's break them down, shall we?

· Jade Mountain
This is without a doubt the most important hotel of them all, so we're starting with it. It's where Jake stayed, and it's where the pivotal decision moment happened at the end of the season. Jade Mountain is an architectural, organic masterpieces, and it's consistently ranked as the top Caribbean resort, with room rates (starting from $1,200 a night) to reflect its pedigree. Infinity pools, open-air sanctuary suites and ridiculously awesome views complete the package. It was up on it's Celestial Terrace that Jake chose his final girl.

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The Bachelor / Reality TV Hotels / Romantic Hotels / Island Hotels / St Lucia Hotels / Hotel Packages / → All Tags

Smooch Like 'The Bachelor' In St. Lucia With a 'Wings of Love' Package

Where: Jalousie Beach, Soufriere, Saint Lucia

We don't know about you, but the ABC Show "The Bachelor: On the Wings of Love" has us falling more in love with the romantic island of St. Lucia more than the hunky pilot who stars, and his three potential mates with whom he's traveled to this tropical place. Jake Pavelka, a pilot for Atlantic Southeast Airlines, is nearing the end of his reality television search for his love, and the cast and crew of the show have flown down to St. Lucia, known as a honeymoon paradise, for the final couple episodes

Amongst all the bikinis and sunset smooching, we get glimpses of Jake's fabulous "Fantasy Suite" at Jade Mountain Resort, which we visited ourselves recently. But on tonight's episode, Jake has his last-chance with Tenley at Jalousie Plantation, and the hotel has pulled out all the stops to recreate the romantic experience for you with a "Wings of Love" package.

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Hotel Ads / St. Lucia Hotels / Hotel Fitness / Hotel Spas / → All Tags

If Only Our Bottom Looked Like This Every Time We Checked Out of a Hotel

Where: Cariblue Beach, Cap Estate, Saint Lucia

Hmmm...we don't recall seeing this garden topiary during our stay at the Body Holiday LeSport in St. Lucia last fall but that's what the hotel is showing off in their print ads. If only our bottoms looked liked this after a week in a hotel. Usually, three days into a hotel stay and we're already walking around with a top button on our pants permanently loosened.

Then again, the hotel's mission statement is to combine a relaxing luxury hotel stay with fitness and wellness programs so showing off a perfect backside makes sense. After all, they couldn't use Amy Winehouse as a spokesmodel, could they?

Deal Or No Deal / St Lucia Hotels / Island Hotels / → All Tags

The Windjammer Landing's 20th Anniversary Deal Is Beyond Confusing

We've plied you with St. Lucia Hotels all this week, so now let's investigate a deal for holing up on the island at the Windjammer Landing in honor of their 20th Anniversary.

So the deal is, if you stay four or more nights at their property, and one of those nights happens to be the 20th of the month (valid through December 2010), that night will cost you only $20. In addition, they're offering a few other goodies:

· 20% discount on luxurious spa treatments
· 20th Birthday and 20th Anniversary candlelit dinner
· 20 hours of complimentary babysitting/nanny services
· 20% savings on a romantic sunset cruise
· 20 percent savings on food and beverage all-inclusive packages
· Sun Dollar Savings (resort credit) worth up to $200 per night per stay

Find out if it's a deal or no deal, after the jump.

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Hotel Video Tours / St Lucia Hotels / Island Hotels / Sports Hotels / Exotic Hotels / → All Tags

Inside BodyHoliday LeSPORT In St. Lucia, Post-Amy Winehouse

Where: Saint Lucia

We've spent a week teasing you with images of beaches and infinity pools on the Caribbean island of St. Lucia, and so now let's round out the hotels with one that includes massages daily—BodyHoliday LeSPORT.

You may already know of this all-inclusive, adults-only resort from last winter's Amy Winehouse St. Lucia debacle, where she holed up on the island, crawled around on the floor, snatching guests' drinks, and generally wreaked havoc until Le SPORT gave her a talking to. We may have even been sleeping in the same bed as her, but shudder at the thought. LeSPORT is far too good for Le Winehouse.

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St Lucia Hotels / Island Hotels / Exotic Hotels / → All Tags

Inside The Fond Doux Cocoa Plantation Hotel In St. Lucia

Where: P.O. Box 250, Soufriere, Saint Lucia

Have you been digging our recent tours of St. Lucia's Anse Chastanet and Jade Mountain resorts, but perhaps the prices or beachside locations aren't up your alley? Well, while we were on the island and jumping from active volcano to scuba diving, we came across Fond Doux Estate, a working cocoa plantation that also functions as a boutique hotel comprised of several individual villas scattered around the lush grounds.

It was a complete surprise to be walking through foliage just short of a jungle—with starfruit, cocoa pods, banana bunches and ginger lilies all around—and then to emerge into a clearing with the cheery yellow cottage, Angelina Villa, you see above. This house, over 200 years old, is one of the ten cottages available for your stay, but sadly it's the only one we saw since the grounds are so sprawling. Fond Doux is not on a beach, so families or couples who elect to stay here will get a decidely non-touristy look at St. Lucia. And for nightly rates beginning from only $100 and cocoa tea with breakfast, the deal is literally sweetened.

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Hotel Video Tours / St Lucia Hotels / Island Hotels / → All Tags

Inside Anse Chastanet In St. Lucia: Oh, To Be A Snowbird

Forget Disney World—when you wish upon a star, this is where you hope you are. Following our visit to the uber-luxe Jade Mountain resort on the Caribbean island of St. Lucia last week, we headed down the hill a bit to peek behind the doors at Anse Chastanet, owned by the same folks and with the same impressive views of the Pitons, but a tad older a property with thankfully less expensive nightly rates.

Just outside the town of Soufrière on the southwest coast of the island, Anse Chastanet is a tribute to the indigenous charm and pride of the island, since much of the staff and property itself is of St. Lucian origin, and it's been hopping since it opened its doors in the late 1960s—don't worry, it was freshly renovated in 2004. It's now known as the premier St. Lucian resort for scuba diving (with the first scuba center on the island), bird watching, and jungle mountain biking (they have their own 12 miles of trails).

And of course, it's quite the honeymoon and destination wedding hotspot, having been voted one of the "Top 25 Resorts: Americas & The Caribbean" for 2009 in CN Traveler, and #1 of the Top Five Places To See In Your Lifetime by good old Oprah.

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Guess the Hotel / St Lucia Hotels / Hotel Video Tours / Hotel Pools / → All Tags

Guess the Hotel Revealed: Jade Mountain In St. Lucia

Yesterday we tempted you with a stack of infinity pools so delicious yet so mysterious, since it starred as a "Guess the Hotel." Well, the tropical paradise resort is none other than Travel + Leisure's Best Caribbean Resort 2009, Jade Mountain on the Caribbean island of St. Lucia. We stopped by for a tour of the famous property, where The Girls Next Door's Kendra Wilkinson spent her honeymoon and where many rich and famous hide away when they need an exotic break.

Run by the same couple who own the beloved Anse Chastanet Resort further down the hill, Jade Mountain is one of those rare properties where it is damn near impossible to take a bad picture; the rooms all claim unparalleled views of St. Lucia's Piton mountains, they all have infinity pools, and the entire compound is focused on the indigenous, organic and natural charm of the island.

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Green Hotels / St. Lucia Hotels / Golf Carts / → All Tags

Solar-Powered Golf Carts Debut at Jalousie Plantation

Where: P.O. Box 251, Soufriere, Saint Lucia

Good news for the environment, going green is still all the rage (or at least promoting green news about your hotel so close to Earth Day is). Still it's enough of a trend for the Jalousie Plantation resort, located on the Caribbean island of St. Lucia, to rock the island's first environmentally-friendly hybrid solar-powered golf cart. Guests can shrink their carbon footprint by riding around the 192-acre property while emitting nothing.

On the flipside though, there is also a $100 million renovation of the property shaking up land that includes luxury villa suites now on the market and running for roughly $700K to $2.1 million. To plop down that kind of dough for a vacation home (which let's face it will only be used four weeks out of the year, max) you're probably the type of person who has a high carbon footprint (private planes, SUVs, etc.) So let's hope these green golf carts make you feel better.

Room rates are currently at $420 a night but drop down to $240 a night starting May 1. That's for a standard Sugar Mill room. Villas start at $490 a night.

Killer View / St. Lucia Hotels / Beach Hotels / → All Tags

La Hot View From St. Lucia's La Haut Plantation

Where: La Haut Estate, Soufriere, Saint Lucia

We are suckers for a room with a killer view.  We find that we are even more likely to forgive some minor hotel inconveniences if we can stare out the window at something pretty--yeah we are that shallow. Let's help out our fellow hotel mavens by uploading rooms with killer views to the HotelChatter/Flickr photo pool, or by sending the photo along to us. We will feature our favorites in this space from time to time. Remember to tell us the name of the hotel and the room number of the hot view.

While you sit at your desk and gaze at this photo of a place far prettier than where you are right now, allow us to add insult to injury by presenting the caption we encountered when we found this shot on N. Chatfield's Flickr page: "What we saw when sipping beer, sitting in a rocking chair, on the balcony of our room at La Haut Plantation hotel, Soufriere." Yup. Mad jealous, right?

The hotel, nestled on the coast of St. Lucia, is teensy: it has 13 rooms (six premium, four standard, one self-contained cottage and one 2-bed unit). And you'd better love the heck out of this view because those rooms have no TV's and no telephones. During the summer low season, rates for a single standard room start around $80 and prices can climb up to $525 for a six-person villa during the high season (winter) — but breakfast, gratuity and tax are bundled into the rate, so it doesn't seem too bad.

Then again, we imagine not a whole lot of things seem too bad when you're sipping beer in a rocking chair admiring this view.

[Photo: Neil Chatfield]

Amazing Race / Hotel Packages / St Lucia Hotels / → All Tags

An Adventure a la 'The Amazing Race' at The Landings St. Lucia

Where: Rodney Bay 1, Castries, Saint Lucia

Surely you've been following Season 14 of "The Amazing Race." But if your Sunday evenings are spent watching or doing other things, then surely you've been following Jaunted's extensive, detailed and on-the-money coverage of the series, right?

Surely. Then you know that the “pit stop prize” that (spoiler alert!) Margie and Luke snagged on last night's episode of the 'round-the-world competition was a five night vacay at the swanky Landings at St. Lucia.

Lucky them. But you don't have to be an Amazing Race contestant to get the same sort of experience: today, the hotel has introduced the "One Amazing Adventure" package to coincide with the airing of last night's eppy, which offers major savings and cool activities during your stay.

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