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Saint Lucia
Unpretentious and charming, comfortable and affordable
This is a review of:

Almond Smugglers Cove All Inclusive

Detailed Ratings
Accomodation Value:
4.0
Communication:
5.0
General Location:
3.0
Wedding Sites:
5.0
Wedding Value:
5.0
MEve

By MEve, · 646 Views · 0 Comments

Pros: Unspoiled beach, intimate atmosphere, beautiful wedding gazebo and gazebo location
Cons: Some rooms have yet to be refurbished, rotational closure of restaurant in the low season

We stayed there from April 1st to April 4th.  This time of year is considered "lower season", so out of the 4 restaurants, they close one per night on a rotation. 

One of the restaurant is the buffet (The Cove), so nothing too spectacular, but it's great for breakfast.  The dinner there was ok, nothing too fancy and lots of heavy food (fried fish, fried rice, potato/meat/gravy, etc.).  Lunch there is better, sandwich bar, limited selection of salads, some other varied dishes.

Cafe Asia is the adult only restaurant.  It says on the website to be Thai, Japanese, but the influence is a mix of Indian/Caribbean.  Didn't really see the Thai or Japanese in the dishes.  The food was good.

The Italian restaurant La Trattoria is basic Italian food, which can be disappointing if you come from a big city with its own Little Italy.

The Waterside Grill, well, that was pretty great!  Set over the water, with the waves crashing below you, the dinner menu is varied and more high end.  This restaurant (as well as the Trattoria) can be booked for private wedding reception, no matter the number of guests.

 

The beach is small, but secluded and seemed to be used only by the hotel guests.  Nice beach, not too crowded at this time of year.

The rooms are hit or miss (my fiance said I was more picky than him on that, which is rare).  The rooms that we had in the Anse La Raye block (we were there with friends) were clean, but rough around the edges.  It needed some finishing touches.  However, we saw the standard rooms that were recently refurbished in a different block, and now that I wouldn't be embarrassed for my guests to be at.  Also, they have a few oceanview rooms (like 7 or 8) in bldg 1, 54 and 55 and those are very new inside, with massive bathrooms.  They are located in an adult-only area, and are the upscale ones of the resort.

In terms of wedding at Smuggler's Cove:  we met the wedding coordinator, and she is great. The wedding gazebo is one of the nicest I've seen.  White, airy, set on a cliff overlooking the bay (absolutely no chance of getting people in bathing suit on your wedding shots), totally isolated location.

 

Pros: all-inclusive, the unspoiled look of the beach, possibility of renting a whole restaurant, the intimate location and beauty of the wedding gazebo.  Nice professional staff.  They seem to be continually working on the property, fixing things one at a time.

Cons: after a week, the food might get boring especially with the closure rotation, need to be specific in the room selection as to not get the older ones, airport transfers not included.

Comment: the beach vendors are actually quite fun, friendly and lively.  They aren't aggressive or pushy.  Only a few are present on the beach each day, so not overwhelming.

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