Written December 2020
When Rob and I and I set out to find the perfect family-friendly resort in St. Lucia, we knew it would be a feat to find somewhere who had all of our priorities, a fun place for Compton, and was Covid approved for travel. My big thing was I wanted somewhere with hourly childcare, (which if you’ve traveled before with a young child, you know it’s harder than it sounds to find), and we wanted somewhere on the ocean with all of the food and drinks taken care of, so we could just arrive, stay, and play without worrying about getting access to groceries or food with the quarantine lock down in place. We found Bay Gardens resort and fell in love instantly. This place is seriously a jewel. Placed right on the beach in Castries, Saint Lucia, with the most beautiful sunsets right from your room, the restaurants, or the sand, it is the family dream getaway.
Upon arrival we were greeted by the kindest, sweetest people, who were absolutely magical with Compton. They learned our names instantly, and went out of their way to make sure that our stay was extra special. Even when our toddler broke al of my make up at 5 AM and PAINTEDDDD all of the bed sheets.
They gave Compton a banana and took us to our room, the most perfect suite with a kitchen and front room and separate bedroom, and even two bathrooms. This was so perfect because for naps and bedtime we could put Compton down in the big bedroom, and have the place to ourselves or have drinks on the patio next to the pool. It was all the privacy we needed and was such an accessible proximity to everything available in the resort.
Steps away from our patio was the main pool, totally clean and centered in the middle was the cutest hot tub, with the view of the beachy restaurant and amazing ocean waves.
When we booked our all-inclusive package, we thought we were in for a buffet food by the beach, with all the free apple juice we needed. The bay gardens resort REALLY knows how to do all inclusive. Not only are you not at a buffet, but catered to by your own waiter at your own table for your entire vacation, their package also includes all of the amazing bar drinks, alcoholic or nonalcoholic, on top of the amazing food. We could sit and swim in the pool with Compton while placing our lunch order, and take turns dipping in the pool and eating amazing seafood, chicken, and Compton‘s very favorite pizza in all of the world.
After a dip in the pool and an amazing nap, we would catch up on emails and head out to the ocean. The beautiful thing about the placement of this resort placed in the cove near pigeon island, is the waves are not too big for a toddler, and the sand and trees are gorgeous. Compton lived in his puddle jumper and spent 5 to 6 hours a day splashing and swimming in the warm, beautiful, low waved ocean. And we got all of the beach side Diet Coke and apple juice that our hearts desired, while playing together in heaven. Right off shore at bay Gardens resort, is the only floating water park on the island, where our passes included access to spend the afternoon jumping and playing on the park. We had the BEST time!
Heading to visit a new country during a pandemic can be SO intimidating, but the bay Gardens resort made sure that all of its guests and employees were safe. Masks are required throughout your stay at the resort, unless swimming or eating/drinking, and there are even the most amazing nurses on site who meet you at your scheduled time twice a day to take your temperature and check in with symptoms. Compton still has a doll named after our very favorite nurse, and “Dolly” will always be the hero of our house.
Bay Gardens has so many fun family activities, from karaoke on the beach, to their kids club and bingo at the pool, to crab hunting at night, and when I found out that we could also drop Compton off with their child care specialist for only $15 an hour, I was freaking pumped.
To keep everything safe with Covid, for childcare, when you drop off your child or children for kids care, only one family group per time is allowed, so you know that not only are you getting full attention given to your children, but that germs aren’t being shared between other groups. They even offer evening babysitting in the rooms, if you want to have a dinner date or go out after the kids’ bedtime.
On our date day, we woke up, had an amazing breakfast together with fresh fruits from the island, dropped Compton off at kids camp for his babysitting appointment, and headed to go wakeboard in the ocean and play at the water park. From paddle boards to sailboats, wakeboarding, parasailing and tubing, there were so many fun things to do all without leaving the resort. And if it’s something that isn’t included in your all-inclusive pass, the pricing is totally affordable too.
We even got a cheaper price because we already knew how to wakeboard, instead of needing the lesson during our time.
After our magical morning with just the two of us, we wandered back over to kids club and opened the door to the most amazing St. Lucian woman holding and snuggling our sleeping toddler, who was passed out in her arms and all ready for his nap. The. Perfect. World.
The next five days spent here were packed with amazing food, gorgeous sunset, calm water, and family memories we will look back on and treasure forever.
Getting into the country and then back home was surprisingly easy, as long as we followed the quarantine rules and stayed healthy for the trip. When you book Your flight into St. Lucia, you will need to send an email to apply to enter the country, and save and print the documents they sent you. We brought these documents and printed proof of our less than one week negative Covid test for all three of us, wore masks and got our temperatures taken frequently at the airport and customs, and then stayed at the bay gardens resort.
I cannot stress enough HOW AMAZING IT WAS to have the luxury of an all inclusive, Covid certified resort for our vacation. With the two week quarantine rule for visiting in the country, we needed to stay in the hotel property for the duration, and living on the beach with everything we could ever want was THE ONLY WAY TO GO. The resort lined up our private driver for us to and from the airport (totally affordable, around $80 per trip), and our driver was an amazing guide to the island, sharing stories and amazing facts with us as we weaved and awed at the most gorgeous, beautiful country, and Compton slept in his car seat for the perfect naps. We felt so spoiled the entire time. We really got the full experience of visiting St Lucia, with none of the stress and all of the perks, all thanks to Bay Gardens and the island of St Lucia.
We are so grateful to have had this amazing, sunset filled, two week memory with our little family, and cannot wait to go back again soon.
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