Ladera Resort is an adults-only luxury hotel nestled on a forested ridge overlooking the iconic Pitons in Soufriere, St. Lucia. What sets Ladera Resort apart is that all 36 of its rooms and villas have only three walls. “Because the hotel is built on a hillside, rather than having a typical room fully enclosed, the resort’s rooms have a missing fourth wall, looking out to the breathtaking Piton and Caribbean Sea views,” says General Manager Daly Mariatte. “Imagine waking up in the morning and being able to look straight out to the spectacular scenery. Except for the gym, the spa, the kitchen, and the offices, every building has an open wall – the restaurant, the rooms, the front desk all have open walls. In addition, our guests can also avail themselves of in-suite spa services. Ladera pioneered the three-wall concept in St. Lucia and in this part of the Caribbean. The ingenious way the rooms are built allows them to coexist with the wind, the rain, and the sunlight without affecting our guests. Architecturally, it fits in with the natural environment because it’s done so purposefully and beautifully.”
Ladera was once part of Rabot Estate, one of Soufriere’s oldest and most renowned cocoa plantations. The resort was originally founded by John DiPol, an American architect who visited St. Lucia, and according to Mariatte, “fell in love with the country and this location and could not pass up the opportunity to own a piece of paradise. He built a restaurant and named it Dasheene after the tropical root crop, dasheen, prevalent on the estate. He then built a small villa with an open wall and that’s how the concept was born in 1982,” she continues. “One of the friends who visited him in St. Lucia was Mr. Ralph Hooper, who in 1988 became the sole owner of the property to this day. It has evolved from a restaurant and one villa to now having a fine-dining restaurant and 36 villas, along with a main house and a cottage where the owners stay.”
Ladera, with most of its guests coming from the US and Canada, bills itself as “a romantic, paradise getaway.” “We have no TVs in the resort, so it’s a perfect way to disconnect,” says Mariatte. “We do provide complimentary WiFi throughout the resort so people can connect if they wish to, but the idea is to disconnect from the real world. It’s ideal for honeymooners; it’s ideal for those wanting to elope as we offer unique wedding packages. It’s ideal for people wanting to reconnect, maybe celebrating an anniversary or a delayed honeymoon. Many of our guests have the resort on their bucket list. We’re a luxury, boutique-style resort, the first Forbes 4-star rated in St. Lucia, so our clientele are mainly professionals and business people wanting anonymity or to disconnect from the pressures of the real world.”
Beyond the breathtaking views a thousand feet above the Caribbean Sea, Mariatte says the resort has added immensely to the location’s already abundant natural flora. “We take great pride in our gardening and landscaping, and over the years, we have amassed a collection of trees and flowers beyond any other garden in St. Lucia.” In fact, the resort has incorporated a daily garden tour for its guests, now including a recently completed medicinal garden. “We share information about the healing properties of these wonderful plants and how they can benefit the body,” she adds.
Ladera’s Dasheene Restaurant, headed by Executive Chef Nigel Mitchell, features innovative St. Lucian and Caribbean cuisine based on local produce and fresh fish. “Our cuisine is organic,” says Mariatte. “Most of what we offer on our menu are things we source locally or grow ourselves. It’s farm-to-table and very fresh. We also source our fish and other seafood daily.”
Mariatte says the hotel, which periodically closes for renovations, such as last year when it installed new natural hardwood floors in the rooms, had to close longer than usual due to some damage caused by Hurricane Matthew. “But luckily, it was good timing, as the hotel was closed to guests at the time,” she remarks. While there are no immediate plans for any new expansion, ownership is always considering long-term plans. “The hotel sits on 21 acres of land, so there are many possibilities for anything,” adds Mariatte.
In addition to its close relationship with its natural surroundings and use of local organic produce, Mariatte says the resort is looking at upgrading the level of its environmentally sustainable practices. “We’re working with an environmental health and safety consultant to review our operations in terms of our energy use,” she explains. “We’re trying to move toward using more solar energy. It’s a cost benefit to us and it’s better for the environment. We’re also looking at our waste and how we dispose of it. We’ve been harvesting rainwater, which we put through a filtration system that we reuse within the resort. And all our irrigation for the plants comes from rainwater.”
Finally, Mariatte says the resort’s staff of 150 provides guests with a very personalized level of service. “Our staff-to-guest ratio is extremely high,” she says. “Our employees are some of the longest-serving in any privately held company and are all St. Lucian. Some have been here since 1988. So, we basically have a team that is extremely loyal to the company and takes great pride in their work.”
Communing with nature in a breathtakingly romantic setting while being served by a dedicated, professional staff should be on everyone’s bucket list. And it can all be found at Ladera Resort in St. Lucia.
