Settling Into Sandals La Toc
David’s birthday was a great excuse to plan a luxury Caribbean getaway in January. We started our vacation with a cruise in the Southern Caribbean. We enjoyed lazing on the ship and great port adventures. Then we left the ship in St. Lucia for a week in St. Lucia.
We stayed at the Sandals Halcyon Resort in St. Lucia on our previous trip. There are 3 Sandals Resorts on the island and you get to enjoy all of them during your stay. We had visited Sandals Regency La Toc twice and it looked like a great place for our second visit to Sandals in St. Lucia. We booked a two storey butler suite. It is a small separate block with direct beach access. It was our oasis! We knew we could have a great luxury experience for a week.
Our cab from the cruise dock took us right to the butler lounge to check in. At any time, there were two butlers assigned to our suite, although they did change over the duration of our stay. As she would say when she called, “Neomi the butler” took us by golf cart to our suite. The Sandals La Toc resort is spread over a large area, all on a hill. We really loved having butler service and a golf cart chauffeur at this resort!
We knew we were in for some luxury pampering when the bed decoration and towel art gave us a very personal welcome! Champagne was chilling and we enjoyed a glass sitting on our private patio.
This was a great start to a pampering week in St. Lucia.
David Was Spoiled With Chocolate For His Birthday
David’s first birthday celebration started when we were still cruising in the southern Caribbean. We had dinner at the Italian restaurant and then the staff marched out with chocolate cake. It was a yummy start.
At Sandals on the actual day of his birthday, we started the day with a lovely breakfast on the patio. This would give us some energy for our day as we planned our first scuba dive for the week. Neomi picked us up at the scuba shop when we finished our dive. She had one more surprise for us. We found lunch on the patio. And she even found some chocolate cake for David.
After lunch we discovered that food was not the only birthday recognition David would get. Our bed was decorated with a special Happy Birthday message. At dinner, our reserved table was decorated with “Happy Birthday”. Nobody missed that it was David’s birthday that day.
Celebrate your birthday with a week in St. Lucia and you will be spoiled!
More Chocolate Treats
David’s chocolate treats were not over. We planned a day to visit Hotel Chocolat in St. Lucia. It was a lovely drive to Soufriere. Drinks and lunch were all decadent chocolate options. And then we spent a few hours learning how to make chocolate. A perfect day for a chocoholic like David.
While the chocolate part of our day was great, it was also a great spot for views of the Pitons. We saw the Pitons again from the water when we headed back that way to scuba dive under the Pitons.
One of our favourite events at Sandals is the chocolate buffet night. When we visited Sandals in Exuma for Valentine’s Week, we got two chocolate buffet nights! The chocolate buffet night was the night before we left St. Lucia. We enjoyed this final chocolate treat outside with the sound of the surf pounding in. A perfect chocolate goodbye to a week in St. Lucia.
Busy Days In The Water
We visited Sandals in St. Lucia before and enjoyed the free scuba diving. Sometimes resort diving is just about getting out for the exercise. But we found the scuba diving in St. Lucia to be much better than expected.
We did two days of scuba diving on this week in St. Lucia. We again found there to be lots of things to see underwater. And the colours were amazing.
Scuba diving in St. Lucia under the Pitons was a great way to get a little exercise, see some great underwater sights and get the most amazing view.
Lazy Days With A View
Other than our trip to Hotel Chocolat and scuba diving under the Pitons, we planned to enjoy just lazing about on the resort for our week in St. Lucia. If we wanted quiet and no sun, we could lounge on our patio. We got a great view from there as the cruise ships went in and out of the harbour. We even waved goodbye to Oceania Cruises Insignia. It had been a great luxury home away from home on our southern Caribbean cruise.
The Piton Pool was a short walk from our suite. It was quiet and not well used in the afternoon after the sun was lost. The larger pool was a short walk up the hill. There were stunning views of the blue green water from the restaurant and pool decks. The butler reserved our lounge chairs and brought us a cooler of cold drinks. It was a great spot to relax.
The beach and main pool was down the hill. This was the party pool and we spent little time lounging down there. But we did to love and listen to the waves crashing on the beach.
Everywhere we looked on the Sandals Regency La Toc property, we found yet one more spot to relax and be pampered. Lounge cabanas, waterfront massages, hammocks in the shade and romantic dinners on the beach called to us.
It was great to start our day late with breakfast in our room. An afternoon snack was delivered and we could pop the champagne. It was not hard to relax. We even made great use of the outdoor bathtub after a long day scuba diving!
Fun On The Resort
There was entertainment every night during our week in St. Lucia. Many nights we just retired to our suite after a long leisurely dinner at one of the many spots on the resort.
But the day that we arrived was the Street Party. Large buffet tables were set up on the main level. There was a great selection of local foods.
A band played and people danced. But we waited for the main event. The fire act went from one excitement to the next. There was fire eating, fire breathing and fire limbo. Each trick caused the audience to watch in rapt attention. I am positive the the audience members who were asked to participate were sure they would catch on fire!
But it was a fun way to spend a night.
Plan A Birthday Week In St. Lucia
Our whole trip for David’s birthday was a great success. We escaped Toronto cold weather in January. We started with a southern Caribbean cruise that took us to many new Caribbean ports. And our final birthday week in St. Lucia let us totally unwind. We enjoyed lazing on the resort. If we wanted exercise and some excitement, we booked scuba diving. For our final chocolate treat, a trip to Soufriére to Hotel Chocolat was an indulgence.
We have had mixed success with butler service in the past. We are generally undemanding guests and don’t ask much of the butler. But this visit, we had a number of really good butlers. They anticipated our needs proactively. They went out of their way to listen and we didn’t have to ask twice. And the golf cart they ushered us around in certainly helped with the very hilly Sandals La Toc!
If you are looking for a spot to enjoy a special day, consider a week in St. Lucia. It was certainly the perfect end to our southern Caribbean cruise.
Have you done a birthday week in St. Lucia? Did you get totally pampered?
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What an amazing week you both had, it looks absolutely amazing and now I can’t wait to go myself!
Audrey, It was a great mix of total relaxation and a bit of water fun. Sandals is great if you want to pay to be pampered. The Sandals in St. Lucia is particularly good because you get to visit 3 different resorts when you stay. Linda
Wow, I didn’t know the Sandals treatment and stay would be that luxurious, it looks amazing! And all the delicious food, I definitely would have to do a lot of active things to try out all those wonderful meals.
Noel, The nice thing about Sandals is we could be as lazy or as active as we wanted. The resort is also all on a hill so there was lots of walking between spots. A great spot for food and fun! Linda
Yes! Yes! Yes! Get me there now! This looks totally amazing and could see myself relaxing here. Loving looking at your photos and love reading the post. You sure did have an amazing time and took home a lot of memories.
Danik, Thanks! It was a great spot to splurge for a birthday visit. Lots of spots around the resort to just laze back and relax. And then lots of active things to do day and night. A little for everyone. Linda
We had considered doing St Lucia for our honeymoon but opted for Italy. But we really want to get there someday. Sandals Halcyon Resort is the resort we were actually looking at because it was adults only. So it is great to see how your celebration trip was! Looks like it was a ton of fun and the property looks incredible. Thanks!
Steph and Zach, We stayed at Sandals Halcyon on our last visit. Check out to blog if you ever start to re-plan. The three resorts are very different. But the nice thing about St. Lucia is that you can visit all 3 resorts. It would be a great romantic spot for a honeymoon or to get away. But I probably would have picked Italy too. Indeed we did a Mediterranean cruise for our honeymoon! Linda
I haven’t been to the Caribbean but when I go it will be luxury. And I think I need to plan a birthday celebration on St. Lucia – wow! A butler suite with direct beach access in St. Lucia sounds perfect. And what a lovely welcome with chilled Champagne! And then all of the birthday treats. Plus the incredible scuba diving under the Pitons. On the list!
Nancy, It was indeed a great birthday celebration week in St. Lucia. Sandals is certainly the way to go if you want a luxury experience. We lucked out and had great butlers who made sure our needs were anticipated. You can’t go wrong with looking at St. Lucia for your luxury experience. Linda
My husband and I looked at going here for our honeymoon and now I wish we did! The custom messages on the bed are so cute, and champagne to have on the patio is the way to start any vacation.
Marissa, Sandals in St Lucia was definitely a trip for relaxing and pampering. Maybe for a second honeymoon??? Linda
What a wonderful week! We spent our honeymoon in a Sandals resort in Jamaica in 1994, we wanted to go to St Lucia then but it was hurricane season, we were told. I’ve not been back to an AI resort since but you had me at chocolate buffet!
Kavita, One of our favourite things at Sandals is the chocolate buffet. When we went to Sandals in Exuma at Valentines, we had two chocolate buffets. A dream come true for my chocoholic hubby. The nice thing about St. Lucia is that you can visit all 3 resorts. The last time we visited was in July and that was out of hurricane season too. Linda
St. Lucia sounds like such a paradise! I love the bed decoration at the Sandals La Toc resort – and the white-glove service is pretty special too. It looks like you enjoyed a fabulous, romantic getaway!
Claudia, It was a great romantic and pampering week at Sandals in St. Lucia. We have had mixed success with butlers but we were really glad we splurged this time. We lucked out with great service, awesome attitude and it meant we didn’t have to walk the hills every time! Linda
You guys had such a beautiful welcoming on your bed. I love that rainbow, the amazing views, the pool, and the desserts! Spoiled to the fullest 😀
Bella, We loved all the great towel and flower art we got during our stay. Always made it a surprise when we went into the bedroom! The whole resort was built for spoiling you for a special occasion. Linda
This sounds like a little slice of heaven…and more specifically chocolate heaven for your husband. What a great treat and pampering getaway…I especially love your butler experience! St.Lucia sounds like a paradise. Have never been, but just added it to my list of places to explore. Happy Birthday to your husband!
Rosemary, Our week in St. Lucia was definitely chocolate heaven for us. It was great to escape for a day to see Hotel Chocolat and how chocolate is made. Sandals in St Lucia is a great place to visit if you are celebrating a special event. It is nice that you can explore the 3 different resorts on one stay. Linda
Firstly, Happy Birthday to your husband, he was really lucky to be able to be pampered so lovely for his birthday celebration. And it sounds that you really had a great trip, I dunno if I could have left that chocolate buffet 🙂 I hope I will get to St Lucia one day
Andra, Thanks for the birthday wishes. It was a very long birthday celebration. But it was a great spot for pampering. The chocolate everywhere was definitely a bonus. Linda
Well David was really spoiled rotten. ? so much chocolate. I’m going to inadvertently send this to my wife, with a “wouldn’t that be nice” message. The free scuba diving was real icing on the chocolate cake. Good read as always.
We have always enjoyed Sandals for a pampering and romantic getaway. And there is always great chocolate! I hope you get to go one day. It is a nice treat. Linda
What a special birthday trip for a chocoholic boy! Just by the name, Hotel Chocolat, I know I will like staying there. And how special it was they welcomed you with art on the bed! You must be still remembered that week until today.
We were so glad we got to visit the Hotel Chocolat for great chocolate and to learn more about chocolate. It was a great birthday celebration for sure.