St. Lucia Villa Rental - All Inclusive – St Lucia Luxury Villa Akasha brings in new concept

One of the regular questions that is asked in the Travel Cyberspace is – “what is All Inclusive” and should you chose that option?

All Inclusive is typically meant to be a vacation or holiday where you pay for everything before you leave home and not have to dip into your pocket for things like – a higher grade of wine in the restaurant or the sunset cruise when you arrive at your resort.   Then there is the question of “is Service Charge included in the All Inclusive rate”.   If it is included – how much of it actually goes to the staff who delivered you that great experience?

Akasha’s St Lucia’s most Luxurious Villa Rental has taken a different approach to All-Inclusive by offering its guests the option to be “Inclusive” as much as they like or not at all.  So how does this work?

Well we start with the initial position of offering our guests a Luxury Villa Rental so the starting standard is pretty high.   Then we offer guests the option to add to that any one or more of a host of options which guests can chose to ‘include or not’ in their vacation.

This way guests at Akasha St Lucia Luxury Villa Rental get to chose exactly what they would like to include in their vacation (and price) with us – so they do not have to pay for things they did not want nor do they have to pay for hidden extras when they get here. Take a look at what you can include as part of your All Inclusive vacation at Akasha St Lucia Luxury Villa Rental.  This we believe is a transparent way of conducting business with our guests so no nasty surprises when you get here.   We quote you a price for your personalized All-Inclusive vacation.

With regard to Service Charge – Akasha St Lucia Luxury Villa Rental leaves that entirely at the discretion of the guests who can reward our staff at the Villa if they wish, there is no preset amount either if guests do chose to give our host team a reward.   This way the whole amount goes directly to the team at the Villa and rightly so!

Being transparent is the way Akasha St Lucia Luxury Villa Rental likes to conduct business.

The film crew from UK have completed their shoot at Akasha St Lucia’s most Exclusive Villa Rental.

Day 4 consisted of the Jet Skiing at Reduit Beach before transferring to Choc Bay to grab some scenic shots of the beaches on the Caribbean side.  In the evening dinner and filming was at one of St Lucia’s top restaurant – Rainforest Hideaway in Marigot bay.  By all accounts they had a super dinner.

Day 5 was a little more relaxing on Pigeon Island.  Some filming on the local beach there and lunch at Jambe De Bois.  Relaxation at St Lucia Luxury Villa Rental was the order of the day in the afternoon.  Finally the Crew were able to take in some of the local night life on Rodney Bay’s version of the strip where all the bars and restaurants are – a mere 8 minutes car ride.

So on Day 6 we finally said goodbye to our guests from ITV and the Celebrity (hopefully we can let you know who it was once they give us the go ahead).  As always Earl our taxi driver delivered them safely to the airport.  Not sure if it was good news but Gatwick was open for business so they had no choice but to fly back home and leave the sun in St Lucia behind.

So the Crew have sampled some of the All Inclusive features of St Lucia’s Best Villa Rental and what the island has to offer to its visitors.

Akasha St Lucia Luxury Villa Rental is so excited to see the final results in January to get your and the audience’s reaction.

The UK ITV Film crew have wrapped up another two days of filming at St Lucia’s most Luxurious Villa Rental – Akasha.

The crew were treated to a selection of hor’s d’oeuvres and cocktails on their arrival at St Lucia Luxury Villa Akasha, supplied to us by our friends at Jambe de Bois from Pigeon Island.

On the first full day the Crew spent time taking shots in and around the villa. They also took in a sunset cruise and sipped champagne on the boat ending up at Spinnakers restaurant on the beach for dinner – apparently their full schedule meant they couldn’t fit the two for one hour in (this is usually stretched if you talk to the staff nicely).

The second day consisted of a helicopter flyover Akasha St Lucia Luxury Villa Rental, some super shots apparently according to Fred our Concierge Manager.  Akasha Luxury Villa Rental can’t wait to see them. This was followed by a walk around the Craft Market in Castries hunting for some bargains.   It was then over to Rodney Bay marina and down to Marigot Bay to get some beach shots.  Earl, our taxi driver made sure that they made their tight schedule.  The day was wrapped up with a scrumptious BBQ prepared on the super size Viking BBQ by our Chef Ossie at Akasha St Lucia Luxury Villa Rental.

Julietta, our cook, has been preparing breakfast and lunch for the crew.  She will do the same for you if you chose to stay at Akasha St Lucia Villa Rental and chose one of the All Inclusive packages

We will post another blog for the remaining days the crew are here – so do come back and take another look at Akasha’s St Lucia Luxury Villa Rental blog.

Akasha St Lucia’s most luxurious villa is currently hosting a party  from UK’s top independent broadcaster.  We are also privileged to have staying at the villa a celebrity who is narrating the filming.

During their stay at Akasha St Lucia Luxury Villa Rental the party will not only film the inside of the Luxury Rental Villa and its grounds they will be treated to a number of the activities we can arrange for our guests.

The crew will be sampling and filming;

• the delights of our massages
• a sunset sail on the Caribbean sea with Champagne
• the services of our first class chef
• a motor cruise down to the World Heritage Pitons
• Jet skiing
• in house cook to prepare breakfast and lunch
• dinner at some of recommended restaurants
• plus the views from Akasha Luxury Villa Rental

Take a look at our complete list of Concierge services and see how you could make your vacation extra special.  This is ‘inclusive’ redefined, not your normal run of the mill inclusive resorts – here you decide what you want and when.

At Akasha Luxury St Lucia Villa Rental there are no crowds or strangers – just you and your party along with the views to the Pitons, sunsets and Caribbean sea.

We will be releasing the videos being shot during January so you can get a closer look at Akasha St Lucia Luxury Villa Rental.

Akasha has only been available for luxury villa rental for the last 10 months and has done well but like the rest of global economy St Lucia tourism has suffered from the recession over the last few years.   However, according to some experts things are looking up and will help St Lucia recover.   This is the message from leading lights in the industry.  Below is an article sent out by Caribbean 360.  Italics are our comments.

LONDON, United Kingdom, Monday November 8, 2010 – Three experts on tourism trends in the United Kingdom and Europe have painted an optimistic picture of the British market for the Caribbean tourism sector in 2011, despite challenges such as the Air Passenger Duty (APD) which saw another increase take effect this month.  APD is such an imposition on holiday makers and has a negative impact for small businesses like Akasha luxury villa rentals.

A panel of media and industry practitioners concluded that the worst is over for the global economy and that the Caribbean region can look forward to an improved performance next year.

“The global recovery has begun,” John Taker, the purchasing director for Virgin Holidays told dozens of Caribbean tourism ministers, directors and private and public sector officials gathered at the London offices of the Daily Telegraph for the Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO) European Marketing Forum.  Many of our high end clientèle fly Virgin who have increased flight to St Lucia.

Taker added that there was a clear opportunity to grow the family travel market for the Caribbean, pointing out that price was a more important consideration for consumers booking a Caribbean holiday than it was for holidays to destinations like the United States.  Families are well come to Akasha St Lucia’s most exclusive villa rental with so much to do at Akasha.

While admitting that the APD “is a punishment that the Caribbean will have to live with for a very long time”, Graham Boynton, the Daily Telegraph’s travel editor, said there was hope for the region.

“While ultra long-haul is still suffering from the effects of the recession, medium long-haul is seeing recovery (and) the Caribbean is doing relatively well when compared to (other regions). The Caribbean is doing better than Australia…it is doing better than South Africa,” Boynton told delegates.  By adding to the quality of the St Lucia product Akasha villa rental is doing its bit to increase the appeal of St Lucia to a bigger market.  We believe that St Lucia will over take Barbados in the long term as a destination of choice.

However, he advised, there was a need for Caribbean destinations, individually and collectively, to communicate the realities of the region in a more dynamic manner.

Meanwhile, Daniel Pearce, editor of the travel trade magazine, TTG, unveiled exclusive research which painted a confident picture from British travel agents. The research revealed that two out three agents felt the reputation of the Caribbean had increased in the past year, and half the travel agents surveyed said they expected sales to the Caribbean to increase in 2011.  We at Akasha villa rental are seeing more and more interest from our UK agents.

This year’s CTO European Marketing Forum has as its theme: “2011, A Year of Opportunity or Threat?” The annual event is held as a precursor to the tourism trade show, World Travel Market (WTM).

If you check out the rest of our website you will see a lot of information about the island and how we work with our local contacts to personalise your holiday in paradise when you stay at Akasha St Lucia luxury villa rental.

Akasha Saint Lucia luxury villa rental offers all its guest the opportunity to book a variety of activities prior to the arrival.  This means guests have more time to relax and do what they came to do – vacation, and not spend time arranging things.  So if your idea of all inclusive includes taking in the local culture then one of the things we can offer is local food and/or Creole cooking lessons at one of the most idyllic restaurants on the island – Jambe De Bois.  This is located on St Lucia’s National Park (Pigeon Island) which is only a 5 minute drive from the villa.  Creole cooking is wide spread across the Caribbean including islands like Barbados and Antigua.

This rather chocolate box looking restaurant is set by the waterside and looks back over the Rodney Bay towards the local town of Gros Islet and the mega marina.  So while you dine you can watch the mega yachts and the local fishing boats sail by.  Less than 10 yards away from you seat there is small sandy beach – safe for kids and good for snorkelling. This place is one of Akasha villa rental’s recommendation.

If you come to dine then we also suggest you go up the steep hill just behind Jambe De Bois and take in the super views from the old fort ruins.  Do this before you dine – great for working up an appetite.  Take care as the path is rather steep (with stairs in certain parts).  From the top you can see Martinique to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the West and lush green island to the East and south.  If look carefully to the North East you will see Akasha your luxury villa up on the hill looking straight back at you.

At Jambe De Bois you can just have a meal or if you want to know how to make some of the local recipes then we will arrange for the Chefs there to show you how it’s done. The local chefs take all day preparing the various dishes using local indigenous ingredients so if you want to learn and have some fun we can arrange your own personal Creole cooking lesson.

The food here is unpretentious, served without fuss, and very reasonably priced.  Our favourites are the Roti(s) – fish, chicken, lamb, or local fish – cooked any way you like, and Barbara’s personally prepared desserts.  I can recommend anyone of these but be warned if you are on a diet – stay away from them because once you have one you will be back for another! Barbara also helped us at Akasha – St Lucia’s most luxurious villa rental, with our Feng Shui aspects , helping us to ensure our guests enjoyed good energy flows and good fortune.

Check out the work of some local artists that’s on display or in the ‘library’ at the back.  The décor is rather rustic and wobbly chairs are part of the charm of the place as is the owner Barbara – charming that is not wobbly or rustic.  This is the complete opposite to Akasha luxury villa rental where luxury is assured, we hope you appreciate the contrast – we do. Barbara has been on the island a long time and hails from the lovely county of Somerset in England.  Everyone on the island knows her and she is a great lady who contributes to so many local causes.

She makes a mean cocktail and there is a “two for one” all day every day! You have been warned.

If you ask Barbara nicely, she will let you have a take out to take back to your luxurious villa rental.

So as part of your all inclusive vacation we can include a meal (or two) at Jambe De Bois and or a few Creole cookery lessons just let us know and consider it done.

Akasha St Lucia’s most luxury villa rental offers you what you want in your all inclusive vacation.

Akasha Saint Lucia luxury villa rental offers all its guest the opportunity to book a variety of activities prior to the arrival. This means guests have more time to relax and do what they came to do – vacation, and not spend time arranging things. So if you are after an all inclusive golf vacation then this may be for you. Let us know how many times you want to play and our personalised quote will be inclusive of your games.

In this blog we expand on playing golf in St Lucia. The only 18 hole championship course in St Lucia is a 4 minute drive away from St Lucia’s most luxurious villa rental.

If you want to play golf we would suggest you bring some extra balls along as the course is rather difficult and it’s all too easy to lose them. But you will be able to buy them back, at a very reasonable rate, from the locals who collect them from the bushes or the lakes that are found all over the course.

A famous golfer once said “don’t forget to smell the roses on the way round” well here you should also take some deep breaths because the air is so pure and clear. From all over the course you will get super views of the Atlantic and Caribbean Sea and from certain advantage points you will see your home for this vacation – Akasha the best St Lucia luxury villa rental on the island.

The course is a par 71 and 6685 yards and has plenty of challenging holes. Power carts are mandatory. The club house is a large warm and friendly place – there are changing rooms and showers available. The pro shop also offers duty free shopping as well as the customary club and shoe rentals. Power carts are mandatory – and trust us you will appreciate them by the end of the round. The green fees here are much more reasonable when compared to the likes of Barbados. If you want a lesson then there is a pro available but if you here during the high season seek out “Regis” – the best golf coach on the island, in my opinion.

It is hard to pick one hole which is a favourite – they are so well designed around the topology of the local landscape. My top four are:
• 5th Which is a tricky blind dog leg left, don’t over hit your tee shot or you are in trouble. The second shot to the downhill green requires the accuracy of a sharp shooter.
• 7th The most difficult hole on the course, not only because it’s long but there is OB on the right and trees down the left. Some locals will even play for the fairway (4th hole) coming up the other side to avoid trouble. Take care as the fairway slopes right to left and there is the strong Atlantic wind in your face. But the view out from the tee is awesome and sometimes you can see a ship sailing over the horizon towards St Lucia.
• 11th A downhill with water to the front of green. Watch for the glory hole on the right hand side by the bunker – this is big trouble if you end up here. Again the view from the tee is incredible, this time over the Caribbean Sea.
• 15th Another great view out to the Caribbean sea from the tee and is a deceptive downhill – be warned the green always runs right to left, your eyes will be deceived. Take care not to be too far right otherwise your ball may just end up in the back of a local truck heading in to Rodney Bay!

After playing why not stay and have a few Piton beers on the large expansive terrace which overlooks the 18th hole. The club house also offers good quality food including local St Lucian dishes like salt fish and broth. If you are there during a tournament you can get to play in them as the members always welcome guests to join in.

Our suggestion is you should play as early in the morning as you can – course is open from dawn, my favourite time is 7.00am. Our Concierge Manager will book a tee off time for you and drop you off or call the shuttle from the course to pick you up. We would also recommend you take a few bottles of water to stay hydrated – again our Manager will pack those for you (and if you insist a few beers).

There are also two 9 hole courses on the island but in comparison to the St Lucia Golf course in our opinion do not compare. Two other 18 hole courses are being built but at the moment these projects are effectively on hold. As soon as they are completed and playable we will let you know.

Coming back to those who want all inclusive vacation i.e. more than golf check out Akasha’s concierge service to see our list of what we can include in your vacation of a lifetime.

We at Akasha Villa Luxury villa rental want to make your round and vacation a memorable one so if you have any questions about the golf (or villa) just ask.