First look: Secrets and techniques St. Lucia

A dream I’ve had for over 15 years was to go to the island of St. Lucia.

The rolling, lush, inexperienced mountains; the clear, blue water; the litany of enjoyable resorts. It captured an obsession of kinds from me again within the impressionable days after I was up all night time with a new child. A beautiful brochure about visiting St. Lucia I someway ended up with grew to become my psychological distraction and gasoline after I was up all night time caring for a new child again in these lengthy days.

However, at the moment, St. Lucia felt out of attain. Too costly. Too far.

As a factors and miles traveler, St. Lucia was not on the high of my energetic journey planning board for a few years, as whereas it was house to some excellent resorts, they weren’t actually the sort I might e-book with resort factors … at the least, not till lately.

Quick-forward to the current day, and there are actually a number of methods to make use of your factors and luxuriate in that tropical island trip of your desires, which is strictly what we simply did because of with the ability to use World of Hyatt factors on the new Secrets and techniques St. Lucia Resort & Spa that simply opened in June 2025.

With each of my children fortunately gone the times of conserving me up at night time as infants, and each sufficiently big to be away doing summer time actions for just a few days, my husband and I headed to this all-inclusive, adults-only resort to test it out. Right here, I am going to share what we discovered, in case St. Lucia has been in your journey want listing, too.

Associated: Greatest all-inclusive resorts on the planet

First impressions of Secrets and techniques St. Lucia

We had a legit James Bond second as we arrived by non-public boat switch proper as much as the resort’s seashore, rolled up our pants and walked via the water onto the sand.

(And no, it wasn’t James Bond costs. It was about $135 to $150 per individual from the airport to the resort through Clearwater Tour Firm.)

We had been met on the seashore by our first of many exceedingly pleasant Secrets and techniques workers, a number of of whom in a short time discovered and remembered our names.

Since we had been getting into from the ocean, we walked from the seashore, previous the swimming pools and swim-up bars, towards the foyer that sits within the coronary heart of the 355-room resort. Aided by some enjoyable huge band music taking part in within the background, the foyer evoked a bygone period, when issues moved slowly and taking within the second was the norm.

For sure, we had been completely happy to embrace that vibe and had smiles on our faces even earlier than our first (on land) rum punch of the journey.

And if I had any fears that this resort can be an excessive amount of of a base-music-thumping, 24-hour booze fest, given the all-inclusive nature of all of it, one stroll via the property just about put these fears comfy. Secrets and techniques St. Lucia had a largely relaxed vibe with individuals of a wide range of ages and backgrounds who got here to calm down, have enjoyable and absorb some solar.

Secrets and techniques St. Lucia is a brand new resort nestled into the sloping hills alongside the coast, which suggests you’re going to get your steps in as you head as much as your room or again right down to the swimming pools and eating places.

Whereas this resort simply opened in June 2025, know that it isn’t an all-new construct. This was once the St. James’s Membership Morgan Bay earlier than it closed for a multiyear renovation and rebranded to a Secrets and techniques resort, which, in fact, brings with it pluses like mature foliage and minuses equivalent to some older services.

The rooms at Secrets and techniques St. Lucia

We stayed in constructing No. 1, which was one of many closest buildings to the foyer, simply up a hill (like I stated, you’re going to get some steps in right here).

The room’s model was that of a timeless seashore resort, that includes a wood flooring paired with crisp white and blue decor.

Whereas we had initially been assigned a king deluxe room, after I requested at check-in about what advantages we could get as Hyatt Globalists, the employees finally modified our room project to 1 with a swim-out plunge pool at no further cost.

As it is a newer integration with Hyatt, I discovered just a few instances that we needed to ask round a bit to be taught what advantages Hyatt elite standing introduced with it at this resort. I am not 100% certain I ever acquired a complete listing of perks, however we did finally be taught we might entry the Most well-liked pool and lounge, too, which is the place you may discover some elevated beer and cocktail choices.

I additionally should add that my favourite pool on the Secrets and techniques St. Lucia was the Most well-liked pool situated up on the hill. It had nice views, was all the time calm whereas we had been there and had extra snug loungers to learn in.

That is additionally the place you may discover the Most well-liked pool bar with some upgraded drink choices.

New lodges typically include some quirks at first, which is to be anticipated, particularly at a seashore resort on an island. With that stated, we did meet a wide range of company who had some very actual points with their rooms, starting from water leaks to no working water for lengthy intervals of time. Even one visitor we spoke with on the pool claimed to be coping with a lot of crabs attempting to take up residence of their room.

Fortunately, our room did not have these actual points, but it surely did have an odor to it that wasn’t fairly robust sufficient to make us ask to be moved however was noticeable each time we walked in.

I do not know if it was associated to some prior water points or one thing else solely. Do pack your endurance if coming within the close to future, and do not be shy to flag any room points that necessitate reassignment, as this did not appear unusual there proper now. That stated, the employees seemed to be doing all it might to help, from what we noticed and heard.

Eating at Secrets and techniques St. Lucia

Let’s get to the great things — all of the included meals and drinks you care to get pleasure from on the resort’s eating places, which embrace:

• Himitsu (hibachi and pan-Asian)
• L’Creperie (crepes and tapas)
• Portofino (Italian)
• Market Cafe (the buffet, open for breakfast and lunch)
• Morgan’s Pier (French)
• Seaside Grill (steakhouse and seafood)
• Oceana (seafood and finally a la carte breakfast for Most well-liked Membership company)
• Coco Cafe (espresso and light-weight snacks)

I cherished that eating at Secrets and techniques St. Lucia wasn’t a aggressive sport, which means you did not have to struggle for reservations.

Actually, aside from the hibachi tables, reservations weren’t accepted. In fact, this might change because the resort will get busier, however for now, it was a pleasant change from another all-inclusives now we have visited.

A must-try is the Italian-themed restaurant, Portofino.

It has indoor seating, very attentive service and a few tasty dishes, which began with the fluffy bread with vinegar and olive oil and continued via the appetizers and onto the shrimp scampi.

I might additionally like to present a particular shoutout to the pan-fried garlic shrimp and fried calamari at La Petite, which was a scrumptious and simple lunch possibility for once you’re not feeling the buffet.

The meals we had wasn’t all house runs, however none of what I attempted was dangerous. Most of it ranged from adequate to fairly good. It was not but persistently on the stage of the meals we loved on the Secrets and techniques Moxche Playa del Carmen in Mexico, however once more, we’re grading on a curve of kinds, as this Secrets and techniques resort continues to be very new.

What I loved rather a lot was the truth that we weren’t getting a invoice for every chunk of sushi, plate of barbecue on the seashore, glass of wine or dessert.

That feeling of getting all of it included actually is relaxation-inducing. Additionally completely noteworthy was the employees, who by no means let a water glass go dry, checked in on us often all through the meals and was the sort of pleasant that actually makes you smile and really feel welcome.

In the case of included drinks on the bars, anticipate finding beer such because the native brew, Piton, together with Heineken and Crimson Stripe.

Within the Most well-liked Membership lounge and pool bar, additionally, you will discover Guinness. Within the Most well-liked areas, a few of the alcohol decisions embrace Gray Goose, Ketel One, Glenfiddich, Glenlivet 12, Johnny Walker and Makers.

Location and logistics of Secrets and techniques St. Lucia

Secrets and techniques St. Lucia sits on the northwest facet of the island close to the town of Castries. That locations it near an hour by boat from the primary airport or, I am informed, about 90 minutes by automotive.

The island is not particularly massive, at 14 miles throughout and 27 miles lengthy. Nonetheless, the roads are winding and hilly. As somebody liable to movement illness, I skipped doing any actual distance on the island by automotive and as an alternative booked our transfers to and from the airport and for excursions by boat.

As talked about, we used Clearwater Tour Firm for our journey from the airport to the resort and our switch to the second resort we tried on St. Lucia, the opposite Hyatt all-inclusive, Zoetry Margot Bay St. Lucia.

To return to the airport, we used the FunToSee Island ferry, which operates on a set schedule and picks up and drops off in Castries, a brief (included) automotive journey from the Secrets and techniques resort.

I extremely advocate utilizing a ship to get to and from the airport and the Secrets and techniques resort, if doable. It was enjoyable, pretty and, in my view, far preferable to tackling winding roads in a automotive.

What it value to remain at Secrets and techniques St. Lucia

One more reason I am not being too harsh on this resort regardless of some bumps within the highway is that it’s priced decrease than another all-inclusives now we have loved.

For me, it’s cheap to have considerably decrease expectations for this resort, which is a Class C resort within the World of Hyatt all-inclusive chart and begins at 21,000 factors per night time, than Secrets and techniques Moxche (and even the Zoetry on St. Lucia), that are each Class E resorts and begin at 35,000 factors per night time.

We paid 25,000 World of Hyatt factors per night time for every of our three nights, which, once more, is a strong deal in my e-book, contemplating that it included all our meals and drinks throughout the keep for each of us.

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In case you are paying with money, these charges appear to begin at round $450 per night time for double occupancy throughout lower-demand dates.

Accessibility

I might not think about this resort particularly accessibility-friendly.

First, the hillside terrain means there’s typically not a flat pathway to get from level A to level B. I additionally didn’t discover any pool lifts, and when trying to find accessible rooms on the web site, I didn’t see any choices displayed.

Issues to know earlier than staying at Secrets and techniques St. Lucia

I will sound like a damaged file saying that, as a visitor staying inside the first couple of months of operations, it is not uncommon and anticipated for lodges to have some service hiccups and points they’re nonetheless understanding, so a few of that is seemingly to enhance with time. Nonetheless, in case you are contemplating a near-term keep at this resort, listed here are some issues to notice so you’ll be able to resolve if it’s a good match for you.

• Whereas there have been some included water, juice and tender drinks, there have been no snacks or alcohol in our room’s minibar. It is doable this was simply an oversight or could evolve over time. Moreover, the inventory within the minibar was not refreshed throughout our three-night keep.
• Room service, and generally dinner service within the eating places, can take some time to reach at instances.
• Outdoors of the crepes and tapas, which had been nice, the noon snacks on the property are slightly underwhelming.
• Whereas there are some actions, there’s not but a ton to do on the resort past the bars, seashore and swimming pools.
• The TV reception within the rooms was a bit glitchy.
• Some rooms have issues equivalent to an absence of water, leaks, critters and odors.
• The resort is 60 to 90 minutes from the airport.

I am going to additionally add that in case you are prone to bug bites, you could wish to use bug repellent diligently.

Backside line

I went into this journey wanting St. Lucia to reside as much as the vacation spot I’ve had in my desires for years … and in some ways, it did.

Whereas I feel the island is certainly pretty, your particular near-term experiences at Secrets and techniques St. Lucia itself will seemingly be influenced a bit by whether or not you might be on the lookout for issues to get pleasure from or issues to get annoyed about, as there’ll seemingly be a few of each.

The luck of the room project can also play a task in your expertise. An extended-than-desired wait at dinner is one factor, however a few of the points company have been experiencing within the rooms in latest weeks, together with probably the one we had been in, are one other.

All that stated, we had a soothing, inexpensive and fulfilling keep general at a resort that I feel has the potential to be a strong possibility on an extremely lovely island. Proper now, it may be vacation spot in the event you can roll with some not-always-perfect issues and prefer to view issues with a glass-half-full perspective, as we did.

In any other case, let some extra months go by and see how issues evolve at this St. Lucia all-inclusive resort by the ocean with extremely pleasant employees and what’s going to hopefully be a protracted and fulfilling future.