We wanted something different for our 5 week stay in St Lucia, Villa Frangipani fitted the bill, although rustic the villa is spacious. If you want a sanitised version of the Caribbean, go to a soulless resort. However, if you want to experience life in a Caribbean community, go to Villa Frangipani.
The villa doesn’t have or need air-conditioning, as the location is on a hillside the constant breeze keeps the villa cool and pleasant. The very large veranda has stunning views out across Castries harbour and Vigie beach.
On booking, Dylyn will send you a helpful newsletter about the villa, what to do and where to go on the island. Dylyn & Chris were very helpful and had lots of tips and ideas for things to do.
As with all locations there are pro’s and con’s. Being in a residential area you must expect noise, everyone lives outside, and like all hot countries the local dogs seem to prefer to be active at night time, and the chickens may well give you an early wake up call. St Lucian’s seem to only have one setting when playing music and that is LOUD.
It is true that you can manage without a car, but we doubt that you would want to. The walk into Casteries town is down a steep hill, we would not recommend walking back to the villa as the local ‘mini’ buses run frequently and at less than 2$ECD is very cheap. You can walk to the beach and back, but really the walk back up hill negates the enjoyment of the beach. Taxis and buses can get you to every part of the island, for us, a car was a better deal.
We felt completely safe in the neighbourhood and Hidden was always on hand with advice, particularly on how to make rum punch. The local mini-market is very good for daily staples. Everyone wants to say hello, it’s a very friendly area, help and advice, all provided.
Vigie is the nearest beach, long, sandy, backed by trees. Our afternoons included walking along the beach, then having a swim. We visited beaches on both coasts, resorts like The Landings and Ladera. Villages like Dennery & Soufriere. Rain forests, plantations, restaurants, distilleries, Marigot bay, Rodney bay & Marina, Pigeon Island.
Do not miss the Saturday market in Castries, all Caribbean life is here. Sunday afternoons on Vigie beach is fascinating, families gathered for games of football and cricket, BBQ’s, & fun.
Our favourite restaurant was Jame De Bois on the water edge, huge portions and 2 4 1 cocktails.