First of all, apologies for the delay in posting this review. It had always been our intention to do it as soon as we got home, but we've been rather busy adjusting to married life! My husband and I recently had the pleasure of spending our honeymoon at the truly wonderful resort of East Winds Inn on the beautiful island of St Lucia. We stayed for 12 nights but would have happily stayed much longer! We stayed Room 27 which was one of the Ocean View Rooms in a suite of rooms which used to be the Horlicks family holiday home. Whilst these rooms are smaller than the other rooms, it was perfectly big enough for the 2 of us and what a view every morning! We also had the suite lounge area which was a perfect spot to sit and watch the sun go down.

What makes East Winds so special is a combination of things - wonderful staff, beautiful setting, incredible food, stunning grounds and a charm that I find hard to put into words. Whilst we were there, we were fortunate enough to meet George and Marilyn Reti, the couple who bought the resort a couple of years ago. They have created a luxurious and professional resort, whilst maintaining the local character which makes East Winds so personal. One of the things that struck us was how the staff were encouraged to be themselves - not only were they extremely helpful and attentive but they also became our friends. From the guys behind the bar, the girls and guys in the restaurant, the guys in the kitchen, to the girls in Reception and all the grounds staff and the very talented thatcher man - you all know who you are! There really was a genuine tug at the heart-strings when we came to leave.

Whilst I'm not going to go into detail about all the wonderful food we ate whilst we were there (I'd be here all day!), I do feel the need to respond to a previous review. In our opinion, the choice at breakfast was extensive, both hot and cold, and my hubby is a real breakfast fan! The quality of food produced at all meal times was of a very high standard and for 2 real foodies to have nothing to complain about, speaks for itself! Whilst the BBQs were delicious, the creations that Didier, Vincent and the team came up with on the other nights were inspirational and beautifully presented - a real mix of French gastronomy, local culinary expertise and little flash of the unexpected - and for those of you visiting the island and not fortunate enough to be staying at East Winds, there is the possibility to book yourselves in to come and taste the delights of the kitchen.

As some of the other reviews have mentioned, the average age of the clientele at East Winds is certainly older than us (I'm in my 30s and hubby in his 40s) but this certainly didn't mean that there was no fun to be had! One example of this happened one night just before we left. That particular night the entertainment was 2 singers and the very lovely pianist - who learned Stairway to Heaven during our stay just because my hubby asked for it! Unbeknownst to us, Marilyn had arranged for the staff to move a couple of tables after dinner for a bit of a boogie in our honour! It wasn’t only the guests who were dancing, we even got some of the guys out of the kitchen and from behind the bar to show us their moves!

We met some real characters during our time at East Winds and made some wonderful friends. We spent some very entertaining afternoons and evenings chatting with the staff and other guests, whilst sipping away at the cocktail of the day! For us it was the ideal place for a honeymoon - you can be as sociable or as private as you like. I know George and Marilyn are keen to promote the resort as a honeymoon destination and if our experience is anything to go by, they are absolutely right to do so.

If you're looking for an idyllic little piece of heaven, where you will be fed mouth-watering delights and welcomed with such warmth and character that you'll find it hard to leave, then East Winds is the place for you.

Exactly one year later I went back to East Winds and the place, and it's phenomenal staff, are even better than ever. It was a treat to see so many familiar faces - and best of all they remembered who I was! I again took my camera equipment with me to document this beautiful and lush place, and again had no trouble taking thousands of unique pictures in the week I was there. I noticed the numerous changes made including a new look to the open air seaside restaurant, as well as the bar and furnishings in the Bamboo Lounge. It was a refreshing change to be able to check my email while sitting in the architecturally unique room (rather than couped up in a hotel 'business room' as I'm used to doing. This year I stayed in one of the 'superior' rooms and it definitely lived up to it's name. I had close access to the pool, the beach, and the restaurant/lounge area. One of the other things I noticed about East Winds is the feeling of space. Everywhere you go on the property you have lush gardens, meandering pathways, and the sounds of the ocean lapping at the soft sandy beach. It was nice to have lots of beach to choose from when deciding where to plant myself for some much needed sunshine. Also, the food...ah... the delicious blend of local cuisine and more exotic favourites. I have to compliment the entire culinary team as I never left the table unsatisfied. If you're the kind of traveler that appreciates an authentic, understated kind of elegance - this is the place for you. I'm already planning my return in 2009 - only next time I'm going for two weeks!

My wife and I have just returned from a two week stay at East Winds, which was our first visit to the resort. During our stay we had the pleasure of meeting George and Marilyn Reti the new owners who seem to be putting their heart and soul into improving still further the East Winds experience.
We loved the extensive landscaped tropical gardens in which the cottages and rooms are located. We had a deluxe cottage which was very secluded with a lovely spacious terrace with fridge tea/coffee making equipment. The interior was large and well furnished with high ceiling, fan and AC. The bathroom was luxurious with a novel sunken shower which was open at the rear, and whilst we had no accomodation behind us, I understand guests comments that it lacks a certain privacy, as at night it is possible to look straight in to some bathrooms as you walk through the grounds!
What struck us most from our stay is the wonderful eagerness to help and give the best possible service to all guests by all of the staff whether in reception, the bars or the restaurant. Let us thank especially Sandy in reception, Windel, Sebastian and Titas behind the bars, Christine, Ellie and Henry restaurant supervisors, and Hanna, Deborah Nicole and Chris serving us food and drink, but especially Paula for wonderful eggs and Omelettes at breakfast.
We are sure that all this wonderful service is in no small way due to the efforts of Gareth the manager, who went above and beyond the call of duty to make our stay a memorable one.
Having praised both the resort and the staff however we do feel that a number of points should be taken on board mainly relating to the food. We did not find it as wonderful as many writers have reported. Breakfast is good but could be improved by a wider hot selection at no great expense. Only eggs,bacon and sausage were consistently available. In our experience fried tomato and mushrooms greatly improve a good english breakfast.
Lunches were generally fairly limited in choice with salads of only tomato and lettuce and no cold meats to go with salad. We missed such things as cold chicken, turkey, prawns or ham ,not all every day but at least something each day. On saturdays we were overwhelmed with crab claws, smoked salmon,cold beef, prawns and ham etc it was like feast or famine!
Dinner was pretty good although some things uneaten at the BBQ's or other meals tended to turn up in another form, especially fish which we found on several occasions was not fully cooked through.
The choice of wines was excellent in quality and delivery to the table.
Finally BBQ's. In our opinion there were too many and not of qood quality. Near the end of our stay we had BBQ's friday, sunday and monday. There seemed a lack of expertise when it came to cooking and serving, and often the coals had not had time to settle white hot so food was cooked while there were flames and both meat anf fish was burned outside yet nearly raw inside. Fish particularly did not seem very suitable for a BBQ and the the steak used was rather tough. Prawns were OK but we lost out on any lobster as it was out of season. At night especially extra staff should have been available both to cook the food ahead of the queue which built up both to be served and then wait while their choice of food was cooked from scratch.Sometimes only one person cooked and served but even with two it really needed three well organised people.
We are convinced that these suggestions will all be acted on by the management to make a good experience even better and we hope to return at sometime for another enjoyable holiday

In 2 words " Simply Wonderful"

Just returned from this Fabulous hidden gem and our overall stay was wonderful.

Just one hiccup though, the room was not the one promised and thats my only complaint. I did received an email 2 days prior to our departure from the uk to eastwinds, confirming we had been allocated room 27 the largest of the Ocean View Rooms.

On Arrival at the hotel we were greeted by Gareth the hotel Manager and the receptionist who informed us we had been given room 29, I questioned why not the room promised and the only words spoken were "its occupied" .Tired after a long flight and the airport tranfer by private car of an hour and a half, I let this go by and thought lets see what 29 is like. I was very dissapointed with the room, it was tiny and there was a smell of drains and the fridge kept us awake all night.

The next morning we contacted reception, who without hestation offered to move us to another room but without an ocean view as all the others were occupied. After viewing room 20 we were happy to change as its was very spacious, spotless and there was a wonderful double semi outside shower which was fab. Loved to butterfly cushions the bed too.The fridge was located on the terrace outside so no noise was heard from it at night. The only compromisedwas "" NO Ocean View"" something I had been dreaming of.
This was my first visit to the carribean. But hey ! "What the hell " we were having a wonderful time and I wasnt goint to let it spoil things. ( The guests who arrived on the same flight as us were given room 28 an Ocean View room, next to our 29 and they moved the next morning for similar reasons to us.)

The room was kept imaculate on a daily basis, towels changed daily, beech towels changed daily, It was as if the maids were fairy's as you never saw them, they seemed to know just when you were in or out!!! fastinating.

The Butterfly cushions on the beds were so nice, i just had to buy them. They didn't stock them in the eastwinds shop, but they should do as a few of the other guests has purchased them too and told me where to buy them from . Its a little shop in Castries called "Bagshaws" .

The Restaurant and food. It was all very good. We chatted with Vincent the young chef most evenings and saw him regulary buying fresh fish on the sea shore from passing fishermen selling their daily catch of Dolfin Fish and Tuna.
Breakfast was buffet and Lunch was mainly buffett and BBq with the odd steel band thrown in !!! Just to set the mood.

We ate lunch everyday in the gazebos outside, they are a must to every east winds guest. We were served most days by Chris a young St Lucian Guy who was always very freindly and could always answer many of our daily questions about what wines he had, what the fish of the day was and of course what the special cocktail was. He was a mine of information about what St Lucia had to offer.
The Bar in the club house was hosted by Titus, the Thats where the saying Top Banana came from!!! He was also a really nice guy and we told him if he ever gets chance to visit the UK he can stay with us.

The Staff, Well The "Top banana " has to be Crythansus the restaurant supervisor. He was a shy sort of guy. I just have to mention just two of many really nice things he did for us while we were there. We were walking around Castries and he pulled up behind us and offerred me and Peter a lift in to town, we were amazed atfer all the guests he must see, he even knew us from behind!!!!
Also on our last night I was chatting to him about the local rum, The very next moring on his day off he came to find us the club house and he had bought us a bottle of the chairmas rum!!!! How nice was that.I would say its was over and above his job description!!!

The Owners George and Marilyn and their family were present during some of our stay and they certainly brought plenty of life to the place! One night Marilyn got one of the Male guest up to dance and all the rest of the guest s and staff joined in too. Shame there wasnt life like this every night. Come back Marilyn!!!We also met some Freinds of George and Marilyn in our second week they were from Calgary and full of life too. I think The Canadians are a bit less old school than the Brits.....

Wne, Champayne, Cocktails, Beach, Pool, Swim up bar, Sunsets, Kayaks, Snorkleing all great. We will probably end up Being" repeaters ".

We also have made some really nice friends too. XX