Jade Mountain

An unusual kind of resort

Jade Mountain stands on a ridge above Anse Chastanet, north of Soufrière, and it is designed around a single idea: the view. Its rooms, called sanctuaries, are open on one side so that the landscape becomes part of the room. The usual wall between you and the Pitons is simply absent.

In 24 of the sanctuaries a private infinity pool merges with the bedroom and living area, and each sanctuary is reached by its own bridge. The resort was designed by its architect-owner, Nick Troubetzkoy, as a work of organic architecture, and the building is the headline here.

How it relates to Anse Chastanet

Jade Mountain shares its hillside and its heritage with Anse Chastanet, the beachfront resort below. Guests of the hillside property can reach the beach and the dive centre, so you get the drama of the elevated stay and the practical benefits of the bay in one trip.

Both lie on the coast just north of Soufrière, close to the best snorkelling and diving on the island. If that matters to you, read our diving and snorkelling guide before you choose.

Who it suits

Jade Mountain suits couples, honeymooners and design-minded travellers who value a distinctive building and a strong sense of place. It is less suited to travellers who want a large, lively resort with constant activity.

• Think about what you want from the days: scenery and quiet, or social energy.
• Combine it with a walk up the Pitons or a morning at the Sulphur Springs.
• See weddings and honeymoons for how couples plan a celebration here.

Timing your stay

Saint Lucia is warm all year, but the drier months from roughly December to May are the most popular. Rain showers pass quickly and the hillside stays green, which many guests enjoy. Our best time to visit guide explains the seasons so you can pick the right month.

Confirm current room types, rates and policies with the resort before booking.

Design and the idea of the open room

The thing guests remember is the open side of each sanctuary. Instead of a window, there is a wide opening onto the view, which lets the sounds, the breeze and the light of the Caribbean into the room. It is a deliberate decision to dissolve the line between inside and outside, and it works best for people who relish that closeness to the landscape.

Because the rooms are open, expect to share your space with the climate. On rainy evenings you will hear it, and in the morning the first light arrives early.

Making the most of a few days

Many guests spend the first day doing very little, simply because the setting asks for it. After that, the options open up. The reef is beneath the resort, so a morning of snorkelling or a dive is the obvious choice, and the diving and snorkelling guide explains what to expect.

For something different, take a boat along the coast to see the Pitons from the sea, as explained in our boat trips guide. Or visit a nearby estate for a cocoa tasting and lunch. If you are celebrating a special occasion, ask the resort about private dining and what its team can arrange.

• Think about the time of year. The drier months bring the clearest views.
• Ask whether the resort has any minimum stay, age policy or seasonal closures.
• Take a torch for the walk back after dark.

What is it like to stay in a Jade Mountain sanctuary?

A Jade Mountain sanctuary in Saint Lucia has one wall open to the view, so the Pitons, the sea and the weather become part of your room, and many have a private infinity pool. The first morning at Jade Mountain is the one people describe afterwards. You wake without an alarm because the light simply arrives, spilling across the room from the open side and settling on the water of your pool. The Pitons stand in the distance, softened by haze at first and then sharpening as the sun climbs, and the sea below has the flat sheen of early day. A bird may land on the edge of the terrace, and the breeze carries the smell of warm earth and salt.

It is a very different experience from waking in a conventional hotel room, where curtains and glass stand between you and the weather. Here the weather is simply part of the stay. A sudden shower is a drama to watch from the dry side of the room, and a clear night offers a ceiling of stars.

Many couples decide, after the first day, to order breakfast to the sanctuary and linger over it for an hour or more. Nobody will hurry you, and the quiet is the real luxury. The design encourages you to slow down and to notice small things, such as the shifting colour of the peaks, the sound of the sea and the way the evening breeze moves through the room.

What are the dining and spa like at Jade Mountain?

Jade Mountain offers dining at the Jade Mountain Club and on the Celestial Terrace, the Kai en Ciel spa, and yoga at sunrise and sunset, with nightlife deliberately absent. A stay on the hillside is easy to fill with small rituals. In the late afternoon the pool is warm and the view is at its most golden, and a drink on the terrace as the sun drops towards the sea is a fixture for many guests. The Celestial Terrace is the place for sunset cocktails and, later, for stargazing, and dinner at the Jade Mountain Club is served in the open air beside a bright infinity pool, with a menu that leans on produce from the resort's own organic Emerald Farm. A table in your sanctuary under the stars can also be arranged. The resort works hard on its tables, as the page on fine dining and champagne explains for those who like to mark an evening with a celebration.

The Kai en Ciel spa is a natural companion to the sanctuaries, treatments can be brought to your own room, and yoga is held at both sunrise and sunset. Guests can also join the Chocolate Lab for a hands-on session with local cocoa. The guide to spa rituals and mud baths describes the kind of island treatments that make a good complement to a day of swimming and walking. A massage after a morning hike up one of the peaks is particularly welcome.

Evenings are quiet and unhurried. There is no nightlife in the usual sense, and that is the point. Guests tend to dine, watch the stars, and retire early with the sound of the night around them. If you want more energy, you can travel north for a day, but most visitors find the hill gives them everything they want without leaving, and they return home rested rather than exhausted.

Is Jade Mountain worth it for a honeymoon in Saint Lucia?

Jade Mountain suits a honeymoon in Saint Lucia if you want privacy, striking architecture and a view of the Pitons, and suits less well anyone wanting nightlife or a large beachfront resort. Jade Mountain is a popular choice for honeymoons and anniversaries, and the sense of occasion is built into the architecture. If you are planning a wedding or a vow renewal, the dedicated page on weddings at Jade Mountain explains the possibilities, and it is worth contacting the resort early, since dates in the drier months are sought after. Ask what the resort can arrange for flowers, photography and a private dinner, and discuss any wishes for a small guest list, because the setting suits intimate gatherings far better than large parties.

Pair the stay with something active so that the days have contrast. A guided climb on Gros Piton is the island's signature challenge, and a gentler alternative is a boat trip, such as the evening voyages described in the guide to catamaran sunset cruises. The trailing wake and the colours of the sky make a memorable end to a day.

For a wider sense of the forest around you, rainforest and plant life explains the species you can see on the hillside, and the transfer from the airport, covered in our getting here guide, is worth reading before you travel so that you arrive in daylight and in good spirits.

The living landscape behind the view

The open-sided rooms put the island in front of you, so it is rewarding to know what you are looking at. Geology and volcanoes describes how the dramatic skyline formed, and rainforest and plant life introduces the greenery close by.

If wildlife is part of the appeal, read wildlife and ecology and conservation and protected areas to see how the island looks after its natural character.

Booking a stay at Jade Mountain

Jade Mountain is among the most talked-about luxury hotels in St Lucia, and it works best when you give it enough nights to enjoy. Compare it with Sugar Beach, its neighbour on the same stretch of coast, and with Anse Chastanet, then see our wider guide to where to stay in St Lucia to weigh up every area.

It is a natural choice for a honeymoon in St Lucia, and the Jade Mountain wedding page sets out ceremony ideas. When you start pricing a holiday in St Lucia, check how many days to allow, the best time to visit and how to get here, and browse private villas and VIP stays for similar ideas.

Jade Mountain at a glance

Jade Mountain is on the hillside above the Anse Chastanet estate, on the southwest coast of Saint Lucia in the Soufrière district. The nearest town is Soufrière, a short drive away. Most guests arrive through Hewanorra International Airport and transfer by road. The stay is a set of sanctuaries, each reached by its own bridge and open on one side to the Pitons and the sea, with private infinity pools in most. It suits couples, honeymooners and anyone marking an anniversary. A typical stay includes dinner at Jade Mountain Club, sunset cocktails on Celestial Terrace, daily yoga and a short shuttle down to the beach.

What is near Jade Mountain?

The nearest neighbours are the beaches below. Anse Chastanet and Anse Mamin are shared with Anse Chastanet and can be reached by a short walk or a shuttle of a couple of minutes. The reef off the beach lies within a marine reserve, and Scuba St. Lucia runs daily dives from the sand. Our guide to diving and snorkelling explains the coast, and the page on snorkelling beaches lists good places to get in the water. On land, the estate has more than 12 miles of trails for walking and mountain biking, and the hiking and rainforest guide covers longer routes inland.

Further afield, Soufrière is the closest town, with a harbour, a market and the gardens at Diamond Falls, described in our guide to botanical gardens and nature parks. The Sulphur Springs volcano is a short drive away, and the Tet Paul Nature Trail is a guided walk of easy to moderate effort with long views of the Pitons. For the peaks themselves, read about the Pitons before deciding how much effort you want to put in. Chocolate lovers are well served: the resort has its own Chocolate Lab and Emerald Farm, and the chocolate shop and factory at Cacoa Sainte Lucie, with a restaurant above it, is covered in our cocoa and chocolate guide.

Eating out is easy to vary. Within the resort, Jade Mountain Club serves modern cooking by chef Allen Susser beside the infinity pool. Down at Anse Chastanet, the open-air Treehouse Restaurant has a daily-changing menu, and Apsara serves modern Indian food on the beachfront in the evenings; it closes on Tuesdays and needs a booking. In Soufrière, Orlando's is known for small plates of local produce and fresh fish, and Dasheene at Ladera has a Piton view at sunset. Rabot Restaurant, at Rabot Hotel from Hotel Chocolat, uses cocoa in savoury dishes. For more views with dinner, see restaurants with a view. On Fridays the fish fry at Anse La Raye is the nearest street party, but ask the resort whether it is running that week. Evenings are quiet by design: Celestial Terrace is the place for sunset cocktails and stargazing, and daily sunrise and sunset yoga keeps the rhythm gentle. Cooking classes, kayaking and excursions arranged by the concierge reach the rainforest, the gardens and the Sulphur Springs without any driving on your part. Weddings and vow renewals are also arranged here, as our Jade Mountain weddings page explains.

The location makes a strong base for couples because privacy and activity sit side by side. You can spend a morning doing nothing in a sanctuary, then be on a reef or a forest trail within minutes, and still reach the best known sights of the southwest in a short drive. Booking a guide or driver through the concierge keeps the day relaxed.

Questions travellers ask