Ladera

Ladera Resort

Ladera sits on a ridge above Soufriere with the Pitons filling the view. Its 37 suites are open on the fourth side, three walls and no glass, with a private plunge pool in every one. That design is the whole reason to come and the thing to understand before booking, because open walls mean birds, insects and weather come in with the view. Guests who knew that adore it. It is adults-only. This is not an all-inclusive by default. Dining happens at one restaurant, Dasheene, and the inclusive experience comes from optional culinary packages: the Gourmet plan covers breakfast plus three courses at lunch and dinner, and the Connoisseur plan adds the drinks. Room service and the spa sit outside both. One thing is unusually generous, though, and it is worth counting: airport transfers to and from Hewanorra and the smaller island airport are included on arrival and departure, which nothing else in our St. Lucia listings offers as standard. Our samples run from 991 to 1,129 dollars a night for two, and the honest limit is what the resort is not. There is no beach here. Getting to one means a shuttle or a taxi down the hill, so if beach days are the point of the trip, this is the wrong ridge. What you are paying for is a view very few hotels anywhere can match, a pool you never share, and dinner at a table looking straight at two volcanic peaks. Book a Piton-view suite, since they all are.