Bay Gardens Beach Resort, Saint Lucia-a little gem in Rodney Bay

On the last day of our Saint Lucia Specialist Familiarization Trip, the last hotel we were set to visit was Bay Gardens Beach Resort and Spa in Rodney Bay.  This was # 10 on our whirlwind 4 day tour and we were tired and were dreaming of the beach.

My Vacation Lady fully expected to not like this property and to be unimpressed.  After all, we had seen some fabulous 5 star boutique resorts on this trip as well as some luxury properties.  Depending upon which travel supplier is doing the ratings, this property is rated between a 3 1/2 and 4 star resort.

Located just 2 blocks from the new Treasure Bay Casino in Rodney Bay and within walking distance of lots of restaurants, the Bay Gardens Beach Resort was in a convenient location but it still was going to take a lot to impress me after everything else we saw.

The lobby was unremarkable, compared to some that we had seen.  You might call it downright homey.  With a couple of couches to the right and a gift shop to the left of the reception desk, the lobby wasn’t going to knock my socks off, so to speak.  We were kept waiting a while since we had arrived a bit early and rooms were still being made up so we looked around.  The first thing I noticed was a pleasant surprise- wireless internet access in the lobby.  I was able to check email from my phone.

Just past the lobby is the tour concession stand and a bar, which stays open until the last guest leaves.  Just past this porch, you can get a glimpse of the ocean.  This is when our eyes started opening up a bit more.    We took a short stroll along a nicely manicured garden path and checked out the spa since the rooms we were going to see weren’t quite ready yet.

Please realize that this 5 year old resort is locally owned and not part of a chain of resorts.  With only 75 rooms, I was not expecting much of the spa.  Again, we had seen some fabulous 5 star deluxe resorts with fabulous spas.

Yet again, My Vacation Lady was surprised.  La Mer Spa is not huge but it was lovely for such as small resort.  In addition to a beauty salon area, there are a couple of treatment rooms that were very nicely appointed.  As a family resort, Bay Gardens Beach Resort is a good option for a family friendly destination wedding and the beauty salon looked extremely inviting for a mani/pedi before the big day!

To be honest, one of the spa treatment rooms was far nicer than some at a deluxe resort.   With a jacuzzi tub in the room, this spa treatment room was warm, inviting, tranquil and very, very nice.

In addition to the treatments in the spa, there was also a beachside cabana for open air treatments.

Let’s talk about the beach, which I feel is one of the biggest selling points of this property.  Not only is it beachfront, it is on a long stretch of beautiful, white sand beach.  Saint Lucia as an island has some parts of the island that have nicer and wider beaches than others and Bay Gardens Beach Resort is on a great part of the beach on Reduit Beach.

The beach made us ready to jump in the water.  With water sports available right on site like water skiing, snorkeling, hobie cats and more right on the beach, this is a resort that can please most travelers.

On to the rooms:  We saw rooms in building 8, one of the beachfront buildings.  The beachfront view was obscured by greenery since we were on the first floor but we still had a nice view of the ocean from the balcony.  I would imagine the rooms on the 2nd and 3rd floor would be even better!

We saw a deluxe room with 2 double beds and a very nice bathroom.  The deluxe room was connected to a

1 bedroom suite (master bedroom with a king bed, gorgeous bathroom, fully equipped kitchen and living room with a sofa bed).  If you open the doors between the suite and the double room, you now have a 2 bedroom suite that can sleep 6.

While many vacationers don’t want to be bothered cooking on vacation, plus the proximity to lots of great restaurants in Rodney Bay Village, clients will have a hard decision on whether to take the meal plan or all inclusive option.  The all inclusive plan which includes house brand liquor but not premium alcohol, does allow you to dine at any of the 3 Bay Gardens resorts in the Rodney Bay area.  On site, the Hi Tide restaurant offers sit down and buffet style dining beachside.  Trios is their fine dining restaurant open for dinner.  The all inclusive plan runs about $100 per person per day but considering that a lunch buffet can run $30 per person, it is something to consider.  Water sports are not all included in the all inclusive package so that is something to consider as well.

In all, for a resort that I was not expecting to like, My Vacation Lady more than liked Bay Gardens Beach Resort.  I would certainly recommend it without hesitation to my clients.

Who would I recommend Bay Gardens Beach Resort to:

• families
• groups
• destination wedding groups
• beach lovers
• vacationers who want to get out and enjoy the town and local cuisine
• honeymooners with a lower budget, don’t mind a family atmosphere but still want to have fun.

My Vacation Lady has seen a good number of resorts in Saint Lucia and Bay Gardens Beach Resort is definitely one that I will be recommending to my clients.