Inside the Caribbean hotel with swim-up rooms, infinity pool and fab views

HOW did our first trip to St Lucia go? Swimmingly.

I had always wanted to visit this beautiful Caribbean island and, almost as much, to stay in one of those posh swim-up rooms.

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I’m very happy to say that I have now removed both from the bucket list.

My wife Rachel and I were celebrating our 18th wedding anniversary in early June so decided to push the boat out by booking a top hotel overlooking a marina.

The Harbor Club Curio Collection by Hilton sits within Rodney Bay and looked ‘triffic’ from the website and reviews.

The place oozes luxury with a sunbathing deck and tiered infinity pools facing the marina.

Its fine dining set-up covers everything from Swiss pastries to sushi, shrimp tacos to top of the range steak.

Then there’s THAT room. Located on the ground floor it includes a private patio, direct access to the pool, overlooks the pool bar, on to the marina and out to sea.

What a thing of beauty to wake up to on a Monday morning – this was less Blue Monday and more Blue Lagoon Monday.

The room is fully air conditioned and comes with TV, wifi, bathrobes, slippers and mini-fridge which is restocked every day.

Harbor Club is set in the Gros Islet quarter on the northwest coast of St Lucia, the only country in the world incidentally that is named after a woman.

It is close to the island’s top beaches, attractions and nightlife – and just over six miles from the capital Castries.

You can get the perfect mix here – jump on the shuttle bus and you can spend the day at the sandy beach beside Pigeon Island National Park.

Rodney Bay is party central boasting many of the top pubs and clubs on the island so the perfect location to let your hair down.

The best night to go out and about is each Friday when the Jump Up street party takes over Gros Islet town with street vendors serving snacks and run while the tunes blast out.

If you don’t fancy any of that, you can just chill at Harbor Club which takes care of your every need from morning until night.

Ease yourself into the day with a swim (did I mention the swim up room), enjoy a beer or cocktail at the pool bar, savour your book or doze off on the luxury sunloungers.

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Oh, and the food here is top notch.

On arrival – after 17 hours of travelling – we just fancied chilling and watching the sun going down.

Dockside Pizzeria was the perfect spot and the coal fire oven pizza was as good as any we’ve tasted. Flammkuchen – the French version of the pizza – was delicious too.

The entertainment wasn’t bad either – some Johnny Cash, Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers.

I had thought this was perhaps a one-off but oh no, country music is huge here, even bigger than reggae.

We spent most of our time at Julia’s Restaurant – enjoying continental breakfasts, light lunches and scrumptious dinners (I was a sucker for the wings, ribs and mac and cheese), while taking in the views of the pool and marina in the casual outdoor lounge.

7th Heaven Bakery is, well, heavenly if you have a sweet tooth with hand-crafted chocolate, pastries and out of this world homemade ice cream.

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The morning after arrival we were already relaxing into our new surroundings.

A 90 minute Coconut Scrub and Wrap with Indian Head Massage couple’s treatment later we had been taken to a whole new level of chill.

Kerlisa expertly took away my stresses and strains while Rachel said her massage from Curtly was the best she’d ever had.

We could easily have spent our entire break without leaving the hotel but there’s something about this place that suggests adventure.

St Lucia is described as the Caribbean’s Eden and it’s easy to see why – the landscape is lush everywhere you turn.

And the positivity and upbeat culture oozes from the locals. It rains here more than any other Caribbean island – hence the Eden comparison – but St Lucians describe the downpours as liquid sunshine.

Not exactly how I’d describe a wet Wednesday in Glasgow so fair play to them.

There is loads to do on the island – soak in the blacker water mud baths of Soufriere, check out the world’s only drive-in volcano at Sulphur Springs Park, snorkel or kayak in the crystal clear water in the shadow of the famous Pitons or experience a live sea turtle hatching at dusk.

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We spent a cool morning in the capital Castries – only a 20 minute taxi ride away from Harbor Club and where a third of the island’s residents live.

A popular cruise port it has a vibrant, bustling feel to it. The Immaculate Conception Church is one of the largest in the West Indies while the Castries flea and street market is open from 6am and you can get all your holiday souvenirs here.

The traders like to haggle but there is no hassling, if you don’t fancy anything there’s no pressure, no stress.

One thing I’d advise though is know your US dollars from Eastern Caribbean dollars. We had been used to trading only in US at the hotel so thought the prices off-site were extortionate until we realised that it was EC and a third of what we had originally thought.

Make that two double Bounty rums please, barman.

The island’s parliament is here too and a heated debate from inside was played on a loud speaker out to the city square. Who needs Parliament TV eh?

There’s not much to the building but I was told it was built on budget and to schedule – I wonder if they know how to get a couple of ferries built?

Next stop was Reduit Beach with a couple of drinks at Spinnakers Beach Bar.

What an incredible spot this is with the rainforest-covered mountains overlooking the stunning sandy beach – there’s loads to do too with watersports, snorkelling and an inflatable splash park for kids of all ages.

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From there we headed back to Harbor Club for the meal of the trip – of the year, actually – a special candelit dinner for two on the Captain’s Bridge.

Elevated above the pool bar we had the place to ourselves, a nice cooling breeze with unspoiled views out to sea, amazing food, scrumptious wine and a cocktail each as the sun went down – this was as romantic as it gets and a lovely gesture from the hotel to mark our anniversary.

Next morning we had time for one final dip in our private pool before moving on to the south of the island.

Trust me, you should splash out on St Lucia – you won’t regret it.

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