A Celestial Stay at Jade Mountain, St Lucia

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With no fourth wall, the light flooded into our room and the birds singing awoke us from our slumber in our comfortable cocoon. There was no need to pull the curtains back,we were at one with nature already, our room open to the elements and sunshine streaming in. Now I know what you’re thinking, I don’t want to be woken up by the dawn chorus if I’m staying in a luxury hotel. Well, actually Jade Mountain provide eye masks and ear plugs to prevent this but jet lag got the better of us and we were up early to admire the view.
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The gorgeous Pitons which dominate the views at Jade Mountain are two volcanic spires that have been named UNESCO World Heritage sites. Gros Piton (the big one) is 771 metres high and Petit Piton (the little-r one) is 743 metres high. It is of course possible to hike these majestic twin peaks, but that sounds way too much like hard work.
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Instead, I took advantage of our early morning to catch up with a bit of blogging and to dance a happy dance in the sunshine! Jade-Mountain DSC_1279
And of course I persuaded Mr S to come to breakfast as soon as it was a socially acceptable time to do so.

But before we head up for our morning meal, I want to tell you a bit about the incredible architecture of this place…DSC_1283
Jade Mountain was born of a dream of designer and architect Nick Troubetzkoy who feel in love with the stunning beauty of the island of St Lucia. It was his collection of antique carved jade mountains and his admiration for the beautiful Pitons that inspired him to create this stunning and unique property that would make the resident feel as if they were floating on air.
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The light stone that forms the walls of the hotel blends into the natural environment and the structure is made up of a series of bridges, stairs and walkways. Each sanctuary is accessed by its own Bridge to Infinity…
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And they are punctuated by the Columns to Heaven which are topped with wire sculptures and glass designs created by David Knox…Jade-Mountain
It reminds me of a scene out the movie Labyrinth, but I loved unique design and that round every corner was a new work of art or something interesting to see.Jade-Mountain Jade-Mountain
The Jade Mountain Club restaurant is located right at the very top of the resort with a perfect vista view point of the Pitons. At this point I must say, Jade Mountain is not somewhere to stay if you have trouble with mobility. Most areas are accessible by steep staircases and walking is a necessity; unlike other luxury resorts where guests can be transported via a buggy.
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The restaurant is wrapped around a shimmering infinity pool gleaming with multi-coloured tiles and facing directly out to THAT view…Jade-Mountain
Perfect for a bit of Piton posing…
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Of  course, Mr S had to get in on the act too…DSC_1531
Breakfast is served à la carte and every morning I ordered a bright tropical fruit platter so I could enjoy some delicious mango with my view of the Pitons…We tried various items off the menu such as the homemade museli, fresh fruit yogurt, smoothies and the delicious detox breakfast but I couldn’t help ordering my favourite toasted bagels accompanied with perfect smoked salmon.
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We also sampled the traditional St Lucian breakfast: Johnny cakes (fried bread) with cucumber salad and curried fish which sounds a bit odd but was totally delicious, we ordered it twice while was were there. We also loved accompanying breakfast with the local St Lucia cocoa tea, an unsweetened drink made of cocoa, cinnamon and vanilla, it made a great alternative to my usual milky coffee.

Above the restaurant is the Celestial Terrace from which there are interrupted view across the mountains….DSC_1355DSC_1354
And into infinity…
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It’s also a great vantage point from which to see the unique architecture of the hotel. After our little exploration we headed back to our room Sanctuary, the wonderful JC1.Jade-Mountain DSC_1271
When the hour hit (basically as soon as the clock struck midday) it was time to crack into a bottle of wine…DSC_1449 DSC_1451
I just loved enjoying a glass of wine in our private pool and Mr S fell for the local beer…Jade-Mountain DSC_1445
In fact his regular order became a pint of Piton.Jade-Mountain
Soon it was time to head back up to Jade Mountain Club for lunch starting with a rum cocktail for Mr S and a sparking wine for me. As I mentioned we were on an all-inclusive package which meant cocktails, wine by the glass and beer were all included. Something that we clearly took advantage of.Jade-Mountain DSC_1469
For starters we shared a delicious ceviche and a fish cake with spicy mango salsa. We loved the food at Jade Mountain Club, and though we could dine at the restaurants at sister resort Anse Chastanet, were rarely strayed from our favourite. I’ll be telling you a bit more about the sister resort in my next post as Jade Mountain Club residents had full access to the facilities there too including a beautiful paradise beach.DSC_1478
Greedily, and isn’t it always the way at an all-inclusive, we ordered a third starter of tomato and mozzarella flat bread pizza! Honestly there were so many opportunities for good food here it was hard to take advantage of all of them without actually exploding! We pretty much stuck to the restaurant but there were some fabulous private dining options offered at a supplement such as a six course meal in your sanctuary, canapés at sunset or dinner on the celestial terrace. There were also cookery classes, wine pairings…oh and did I mention the resort has it’s own chocolate laboratory where you can make your own chocolate?Jade-Mountain DSC_1475
We chose light main courses, both the catch of the day, Mr S selecting mahi mahi, and kingfish for me served with fresh vegetables from the hotel’s own garden estate.
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And as always with eyes bigger than our stomaches we had to turn down the chocolate dessert menu favouring some delicious homemade ice-cream which did happen to include some of Jade’s own chocolate.
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We headed back to our room to take advantage of the last few hours of sunlight, Mr S enjoying the sun loungers and me taking some shade and relaxing in the room. We commented on how cool it was that he could relax in the pool and talk to me while I was in the room. Oh and by the way, there’s no TV so sometimes you are forced to talk to each other 😉

Of course, birds flew in and out, it didn’t bother us but if they did, a little friendly fire from our water pistol soon got rid of them.
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If we needed anything what so ever we were free to call our butler, the system here is a old-school and you’re equipped with a mobile phone to call him if you need him.
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Not like Alila Uluwatu and those new-fangled iPads, service from our butlers always came with a smile and they joked around with us and were clearly very happy to be working in such a wonderful environment. We had three butlers, though Mr Silver’s favourite was Christos, based on the fact the he went to school with Jermaine Defoe…and Mr S is a huge Spurs fan. Though afternoon tea was included in our room rate, we simply couldn’t fit in any more food on most days but I did slightly fall in love with these plantain chips which made a great light snack.
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Now as I always like to give a balanced view I just wanted to take a moment to tell you a few of the negatives of Jade Mountain. I totally loved the hotel and it was one of my all-time favourites but I must say it was hard to stay in such a hot country with no air conditioning. It was impossible to have it as the room is open but during the day we could take a dip in the pool and at night we had ceiling fans but it was difficult to get respite from the heat. The other problem was that despite the netting and my thorough spraying I still got badly bitten by mosquitos.

After a hard day of relaxation and indulgence it was time to leave the refuge of our Sanctuary to check out the Kai en Ciel Spa…DSC_1371
Just like the rest of the hotel, the spa had that natural feel with lots of hardwood and stone work on the walls and we loved our relaxing couples massage that was included in our Total Romance Package.
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And as if we weren’t laid back enough already, when we returned to our room our butler had filled our jacuzzi bath with bubbles and rose petals…and there was just time to crack open our bottle of prosecco to enjoy some bubbly with our bubbles before our second night enjoying dinner at Jade Mountain Club.Jade-Mountain DSC_1493
Luxury can come in many forms but when a place gives you that warm fuzzy feeling inside, that’s when you know it’s captured your heart.