Rodney Bay holiday villa

Seven members of my family (three generations) stayed in the Grand Coyaba villa in August 2009 in complete comfort. Even though it was a very hot time of year, the bedrooms were comfortable with the air conditioning and the fans in the main rooms made the evenings much more bearable. The pool was lovely, with beautiful views out over Rodney bay, and it had a special shallow seated area for us non-swimmers!

Greg the owner greeted us on our first day with a lovely bunch of flowers which lasted the entire two weeks. Both he and his son Matthew were more than helpful with information and ideas (such as organising for a scuba demonstration in our own pool to help us decide whether to book a full trip) and Martha the housekeeper couldn’t do enough for us. I would also recommend future visitors to take up Greg’s offer of the “Local Orientation Tour” even though it may be your first morning there. It is well worth it, even for previous visitors.

The villas are in a quieter location up a nearby hill (which gives you those stunning views) which means you do need transportation; however Greg and Matthew were more than happy to run us the short distance down to the beach or shopping area during the day. In the evening we found a wonderful taxi driver called Peter ( tel 4877581) who took us everywhere for two weeks - including an island tour which was very enjoyable and very comfortable.

We’ve been to St Lucia many times before and already love the island, but this was undoubtedly one of our best trips. Try both the island and the villas – you won’t be disappointed!

Since our return to reality we have had nothing but good things to say about our trip to St. Lucia. The most important being our accommodations. We have highly recommended Sunwest Villas to our family, friends and their friends. This was our first time finding a home online and we were not disappointed. The house is just as described. It was impeccably clean and well stocked. Greg and Matthew are excellent hosts and were there for our every need. Thanks again for getting a crib at 10pm. They visited every day and ensure we were comfortable. Travelling with four children under 8 is not easy, but after this trip I am ready to return. Thanks again.

After a particularly damp and dull Christmas 07 I decided to escape Christmas 08 with the family to somewhere bright and warm. So we began to trawl the internet and for some reason Sun West Villas kept popping up with its steel band music. As we booked early we managed to get much cheaper flights. Finally the time came and we flew from Jersey to St Lucia via Gatwick and for once everything went. We were met at the airport by a nice air conditioned car (Greg’s) and transported in style to the Villa via the local supermarket to stock up on provisions. The two bed villa has everything you need for a family including a communal washing machine and dryer so you can have more room in your suitcase for all the tat you end up buying. Greg took us on tour around the local areas so we were able to familiarise ourselves. We prefer to stay at villas so we can experience the real St Lucia rather than the one the tourist board or your hotel want you to see. It also allows you more freedom of choice. Food prices in St Lucia aren’t much different to the UK and if you shop in the markets you can buy local fruit and veg at much lower prices and it tastes so much nicer. From the villa there is a great view over the Rodney Bay area and Greg or Matt are on hand to ferry you around locally and there is also a great bus system where you can jump on and off at will for a few pence. To get around the island I would suggest you hire a car and if you have young children a few travel sickness pills won’t go a miss due to very bendy roads. Greg and Matt will be able to arrange car hire for you. St Lucia feels very safe. However, a great tip is to use Caribbean dollars and not American and keep telling the vendors that you are not from a cruise ship but staying local as you will get slightly cheaper prices and less hassle. St Lucia was fantastic with lots to see and do but don’t be fooled by the hype of some of the organised tours as these are quite expensive and you can do most of them yourselves if you hire a car etc. A great day out is a trip into the forest to look for the rare St Lucian parrot. This was of great interest to me as I work at Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust and we are helping to save this species form extinction. Huge thanks to Greg, Janet, Matt and Lindsay, Shannon and Marcu for helping make it one of the best holidays ever. The kids still talk about you all and the last of the beads have fallen from Chloe’s hair.
Rosie Iain Dylan and Chloe.