Stonefield Villa Resort
A Caribbean Christmas
In December 2020, James and I had an unexpected Christmas in the Carribbean. James had been filming a documentary, sailing across the Atlantic Ocean as part of the annual ARC Rally. He spent a gruelling 26 days at sea and I decided to fly out to meet him for his arrival in St Lucia.
We’d arranged a collaboration with one of St Lucia’s most beautiful resorts, Stonefield, and spent our first 10 days enjoying this magical place, nestled on the South of the Island near the famous Piton mountains.
Villas
Being at the mercy of the weather and wind James, unfortunately, arrived 2 days later than planned. This meant I spent the first few days enjoying Stonefield solo. Their motto: ‘Escape. Relax. Rejuvenate’ is no exaggeration. We had our own villa, complete with pool, hammock, outdoor shower and 4 poster bed, all with the backdrop of the stunning Petite Piton.
Mango Tree
James arrived the following morning and, after nearly a month on the Atlantic living off tinned food, was dying to tuck into some Caribbean cuisine.
The Mango Tree (aptly named for the tree in the dining area which overlooks the sea), is Stonefields five star restaurant. The view is breathtaking; offering an ocean sunset backdrop which complemented our pina coladas perfectly.
The food is nothing short of incredible with a wide range of dishes from local caribbean secrets to international favourites. Many of the ingredients; herbs, fruits and vegetables are grown right there on the property as part of their garden to plate initiative and you can absolutely taste the fresh and organic flavours!
Petroglyphs
James slept for nearly 14 hours, exhausted from his trip. The next day we took things pretty steady and wandered around exploring the resort. We were taken to see the ancient Petroglyphs; stone carvings hundreds and hundreds of years old which hold particular historical significance. One of the carvings is a birthing stone; and it’s rumoured that if a couple touches the stone they are likely to get pregnant. The hotel owner, Cybelle, had plenty of stories of newly wed couples who had experienced this incredible phenomenon. James and I kept our distance, we’re not there just yet!
Hiking
After a day of relaxing it was time for us to explore some more of the island. Stonefield arranged a morning of hiking for us up the Gros Piton mountain. It’s smaller of the two mountains (but the less technical hike) and took us around 2 hours to get to the top – although we were getting quite a sweat on in the process!
The views from the top are spectacular, looking out over the Petite Piton and the rest of the island; well worth the steep and sweaty hike!
We were welcomed back to Stonefield with a wonderful surprise for our tired legs: an evening massage and spa session complete with Champagne as the sun went down.
Beach
Christmas in the Caribbean was nothing like anything we’d experienced. Far from the fireplaces and brisk walks of the UK, we wandered to the beach on Christmas Day, went for a swim in the crystal clear water and had lunch on sunloungers!
The evening was spent enjoying rum punch and eating dinner whilst listening to steel drum variations of classic Christmas Carols.
Our 10 days came to a close far too quickly and it was time for us to move on to another part of the Island. Stonefield had been our home away from home and, after lockdowns and covid stresses it was everything we’d needed and more.
We can’t wait to return to St Lucia soon to visit!
