My boyfriend and I spent a week at Ladera Resort in St. Lucia, West Indies, this past October. It is a beautiful resort with incredibly attentive and friendly staff. I would like to specifically mention Chef Orlando Satchell. He made an already special stay at Ladera even more wonderful. The room we stayed in was utterly incredible. The view of the ocean flanked by the Pitons, with the moon casting a path on the sea below was magic. It was an incredibly romantic, relaxing vacation which neither one of us wanted to end. -J. Ordehi & R. Holder

We have been to Ladera about 8 or 9 times since 2007, have a few wonderful friends that still work there, but will never go back. We'll see our friends in town instead. Because we will ALWAYS go back to St. Lucia. We love the area, we love the people, there is no other place like Soufriere and the surrounding area anywhere else we have ever traveled. And we travel a LOT! Please don't get us wrong. There is no view in this world like that from the hillside in between the Pitons. The staff is wonderful. You'll have a fabulous time if you go. But we were treated better by senior management the very first time we went years ago than we were treated this time as guests that had been there so many times. We got one of the two rooms WE KNOW get the most guest complaints. In fact, our friends at Ladera were embarrassed for us but were powerless to do anything about it.  So we quietly checked out three days early and went to Stonefield...which was fabulous. Ladera "graciously" comped us on our outstanding bill (about $300 I'm guessing) in lieu of crediting the three days back to our LL account. You do the math. Anyone with a fourth grade education can do it easily. And they acted like they were doing us a favor. We didn't complain and cause any kind of scene. It isn't about the money with us. If we're treated poorly, we just leave and never go back.  We recommend that you book your LL vacation at Stonefield. Mrs. Brown, the owner, and Mr. Kahn (the manager) are wonderful people and treated us fabulously. Being local people, they knew the situation at Ladera long before we arrived at their reception area needing three nights. In fact, our St. Lucian friends sent us there. In an instant, we were treated as valued guests and not just another tourist face in the crowd.  Soufriere is a small town and EVERYONE knows what's happened at Ladera. We're not the only returning guests who have been treated this way.