Guest reviews East Winds

by Joncul Hemel Hempstead, United Kingdom

Wonderful find, we'll be back!

Finding that perfect holiday spot is often a case of trial and error. We've been round many Caribbean resorts down the years and can definitely say that East Winds is our best yet. After a couple of years at the Inn at English Harbour, in Antigua, which is also very good, we decided to try St Lucia. This is where Trip Advisor is invaluable. We trawled through countless resorts before coming across East Winds. It seemed to tick all the boxes. Small enough not to feel crowded, an all inclusive package, and a beach that came highly recommended for swimming. Then we checked all the reviews. You could barely find anything under 4 stars and the vast majority were 5. Good sign! What really clinched it were all the glowing references for the staff, 'couldn't have been more friendly. 'made us feel so welcome' and so on. We took the plunge and booked. Everything turned out even better than we anticipated. The food was excellent, especially the barbecues, and the fizz flowed freely. Nothing was too much trouble. We asked for a gazpacho (off menu) one day and the next it duly arrived. Delicious! If you like gardening the grounds are a kaleidoscope of colour and exotic vegetation. We enjoyed meeting Sylvanus, the aptly named head gardener, who I photographed with a creepy crawly straight out of a bushtucket trial! Sylvanus kindly lent me his secateurs to take home a few hibiscus cuttings. These have already produced some flowers to remind us of our memorable stay. We'll be back!

by Chalmondleigh Berkhamsted, United Kingdom

Delightful

Our first ever visit to St Lucia and we will be forever grateful to our very good friends for picking East Winds. I don’t ever recall arriving at any hotel and deciding within just a few minutes, “yes, we are really going to enjoy this”. The staff are unfailingly helpful and friendly with nothing being too much trouble for them. East Winds is clearly a happy place to work as well as visit. Our room was generously sized with plenty of space for our clothes and luggage. The bed was large and comfortable with a choice of pillows. The sunken shower is large and much better than either a wet room or shower enclosure. Food is unfailingly good with plenty of choice and daily variations. Quite the best BBQs we’ve had at any hotel. And of course the restaurant staff; welcoming you with a big smile and professional service. Bar staff are amicably competitive to create new cocktails and guests are invited to taste and judge! Really good fun. The organically shaped swimming pool has a ‘swim up bar’, self service with a recipe book to use if you wish. Lots of loungers around the pool too with both shady and sunny areas. All of which is surrounded by the beautiful gardens. The beach has lots of space and divides roughly into three sections by the restaurant and bar area as well as natural features. No need for a 6am dash to get your towels out on the sun loungers. Well before we were halfway through our stay we had emailed our Travel Agent, Caribtours, to rebook us for 2020.

by mikechalkwell Didcot, United Kingdom

A real gem

My wife and I spent 7 days here in early March. It was our first stay here and our first visit to the Caribbean. This hotel had been recommended by friends in the UK and we had high expectations. We were not disappointed, it is a wonderful place to stay. Unlike some of the large sprawling and frankly rather ugly hotel resort complexes in this area, East Winds is a discrete hotel made up of 30 individual “cottages” and one historic home (that used to be owned by the Horlicks family). The cottages are spread around in lovely landscaped gardens, some near the beach, others set further back in the grounds. There is one restaurant building with 2 bars, where all meals are served. Breakfast and lunch is buffet and dinner is a 4 course a la carte experience. The food is truly wonderful, extensive choice, fresh and the dinner menu changes every day. There is also a good choice of wine. Some lunches and one dinner per week are barbecue cooked. What makes this place truly special though, is the staff. They are all so friendly and helpful. They are relaxed in style but work hard to make sure you don’t wait for anything. Many of them have worked here for many years and are clearly well looked after and love their jobs. There is a foundation, which you can support if you wish, to provide assistance for the cost of educating their children. Education is very expensive in St Lucia. There is a daily schedule of activities to choose from including tours to other parts of the island, boat tips, nature walks, cookery classes and shopping trips. There is also complimentary Yoga and Pilates twice a week Many of the guests that we met at East Winds had stayed here multiple times and you can see why. If you’re looking for lots of action this is not a place to stay, but if you like to stay in small, exclusive and individual hotels, with the highest level of service, good food and a relaxed, informal atmosphere, this is the place to come.

by snowdrop67 Ormskirk

Still fantastic

After a three year break, we stayed another amazing ten days at East Winds. As well as the very clean and comfortable cottages, there are various items for the energetic, a small gym, Pilates and an exercise trail. Trips are arranged away from the resort,including sailing to the Pitons, and amazing walks around the garden with the head gardener, a very knowledgeable man. Salads and vegetables are grown on the resort and used for meals. Food always plentiful and well cooked. All the staff are so friendly and welcoming, it could be the same holiday again next year.

by Wbajesse Warwick

A relaxing winters break in the Caribbean

A relaxing winters break in the Caribbean The world is a large varied place and we rarely make a return visit, but East Winds is an exception and this was our third visit spread over thirty four years. Our last visit ten years ago was to celebrate my seventieth birthday. We noticed several changes over the intervening years all for the better, the cottages have been refurbished with better shower and air conditioning. Thoughtfully insect spray, mosquito repellent, emergency flashlight and umbrellas were provided. The garden has matured and is a colourful lush environment teaming with wild life and carefully tended by a team of gardeners. There is an abundance of sun loungers comfortably spaced throughout the pool and beach areas with ample shade for those who prefer it. The bar staff are on hand to keep you hydrated or serve something stronger from the bar. All the staff are friendly, discrete, courteous and efficient with no request too onerous. The food is excellent with a buffet breakfast, Pauline will cook your eggs anyway you want them. Buffet and bbq lunches, the lobsters were large and succulent, dinner is four courses with three choice for each course and a couple of wines options each night (red,white or rose) which were changed daily, champagne was always available. For the more energetic there is a small gym, a fitness trail,kayaking and supervised sailing. This is not the place if you are looking for loud music and wall to wall entertainment but perfect to relax in the warm Caribbean sunshine in a small beachside resort with good food and wine overseen by the hotel manager Judith.