The Best Boutique Hotels on St Lucia

Chocolate heaven awaits at this 19th-century working cocoa plantation, which is proudly Saint Lucian-owned, staffed, and managed. While there are 55ha (135 acres) of cocoa fields and tropical gardens, there are just 16 eco-friendly, luxury cottages – some with private plunge pools – so if it’s privacy you’re after, that’s what you’ll get. Each cottage is a preserved colonial relic from around the island, abandoned and now restored. Make sure to savour the fresh produce, including coconut, love apple, cherries, plums, avocado, and mangoes, all grown on site, and served at the two “plantation to plate” restaurants. Gourmets, take a tour of the estate, learn how to make chocolate or try a rum tasting.

Nurse a cocktail as you watch the low sun carve out the Pitons and the crest of each falling wave. Previously a private home, the six suites and infinity pool of this mountainside getaway, hanging high above the Caribbean Sea, are all about that spectacular view. Built from stone and brick with soaring ceilings and dark wood rafters, each room has a four-poster bed. Opt for one with an ocean and mountain view and open those shutters wide. Rent the whole site for a group, or choose just a suite if you’re looking for a private, palatial perch above the sea.

Hold on tight – getting away from it all requires a drive down a very bumpy track. But arriving at the Anse Chastanet Resort, you’ll agree that it’s worth it. With no other building in sight, this hotel set deep in a large estate feels remote, yet in reality is just a 10-minute drive or quick water taxi to the lively town of Soufriere. Architect-owner Nick Troubetzkoy has created a uniquely Lucian retreat, with the dozen rooms deliberately designed to be absorbed by foliage and peaks of the jungle. Each octagonal whitewashed cottage has a wraparound, flower-draped balcony and louvered windows. One suite is even built around a red gommier tree. Take a chocolate-making tour at its sister property, Jade Mountain; sail, kayak, windsurf or dive at the watersports centre; or wander the estate to discover the beauty of the jungle for yourself.

Lay your head amid St Lucia’s only Unesco World Heritage site – this is the only hotel located within it. Once part of the Rabot Estate, one of Soufriere’s oldest and most famous cocoa plantations, the Ladera Resort sits on the ridge of a volcano, 305m (1,000ft) above the Caribbean Sea. The 37 rooms and suites merge inside and outside with mountain and ocean views. Each has a private plunge pool where you can look out to the Pitons. Butler service, airport transfers and shuttles to the beach are included. Make the most of the spectacular location with a free yoga session, sunrise meditation or nature trail walk.

There’s no prizes for guessing the main draw at the Rabot Hotel. Yes, it’s chocolate. As befits a property belonging to luxury British chocolate brand, Hotel Chocolat, you’ll be glad to know guests of the 14 private eco-lodges will receive plenty of freshly made chocolate treats. Hotel Chocolat grows, ferments, dries, roasts, and conches cacao beans from this organic, sustainably farmed 250-year-old cacao estate. The wooden shuttered lodges, with outdoor showers, and the open-air restaurant submerge you in the forested mountainside setting. Being high above sea level means that the beach is a little way away, however, the property runs a daily shuttle to the local beach.

There are few things more romantic, or convenient, than a champagne zipline. Hear us out. Book a candle-lit dinner on Cap Maison’s over-ocean deck, and champagne will be ziplined down the cliff to you as desired. Get there before sunset to glimpse Martinique to the north and Pigeon Island to the west. This clifftop hotel is located above its own cove and beach. Definitely one for the foodies, Cap Maison has two great restaurants and a number of food-focused experiences if you want to take your Lucian food exploration further. The Cliff at Cap serves Caribbean-French fusion food from award winning chef Craig Jones. Try the roast Caribbean bouillabaisse. Head down to the more relaxed Naked Fisherman, directly on the beach, for some fresh seafood.

Million-dollar views on an affordable budget. La Haut, which means “the height” in patois, is set up in the mountains, a mile and a half away from sleepy, picturesque Soufriere. You’ll see goats and the occasional donkey passing through the estate as you ramble past its two pools and pathways. Look out for the fireflies at night. Modest rooms are set across two buildings, one of which occupies a structure once used for the drying and fermenting of cocoa beans. The Delice Restaurant and Bar on property serves breakfast and lunch only. Though rooms have a kitchenette, you may want to head to Soufriere for dinner, so car rental is essential.

Fancy a life on the high seas, but just don’t have the sea legs for it? Scratch an itch in the most relaxing fashion with a stay in a new over-water boathouse studio apartment at Mango Beach. This endearingly rustic Inn consists of stone-built apartments set up the hillside above the obscenely picturesque Marigot Bay. The new floating rooms have full kitchens, as do the two simply furnished garden apartments. Sat on their own palm-spattered sandy peninsula, the only way to access Mango Beach Inn’s bungalows is by boat. There’s a pool and an evenings-only bar on the dock. Catch the ferry across Marigot Bay for a wide choice of restaurants.

Wander down the forest path from your villa to the secluded Trou Volant cove, where you’ll have the small bay to yourself for swimming, snorkelling or just sunbathing. Canadian hosts Josee Meunier and Pierre Deland provide a homely welcome at this jungle bolt-hole. Surrounded by mature forest and sat high on a ridge over the cove, this two-villa property appears to grow out of the canopy and consists of three rental apartments with a shared pool. Wake up to the sound of birdsong and dine under the star-filled skies as the waves break below. Though self-catered, you will find your fridge fully stocked for your first breakfast.