Malabar Beach, Castries, Saint Lucia | (501) 232-4463
Right on a beautiful white-sand beach
The spa pool and lazy river offer quiet and private places to lounge
Oceanfront pool with swim-up bar
A couples-only resort geared toward romance
Rooms have sophisticated colonial Caribbean style; some open directly onto the beach
Air-conditioned champagne bar with nightly tastings
Dinners at the Terrace restaurant mix candlelight and the sounds of the sea
Malabar Beach Club serves light cuisine on the beach
Spa-like departure lounge with showers and lockers for late-departing guests
Excellent Spa at the Water Garden, a well-equipped gym, and activities such at yoga
The resort is next door to the regional airport and you can see and hear the planes
The beach is not private and can get busy on weekends
Couples only, no singles or guests under age 17 (pro for many)
No TVs in the rooms
The cuisine at the buffet is bland and uninteresting
Pool area can get littered with used glasses and towels in the late afternoon
Late check-outs are available until 4:00 p.m., but are costly
The romantic room decor (statues and paintings) may strike some as tacky
Founded in 1966, Rendevous is an established all-inclusive, upscale resort that caters specifically to couples. Set on the shores of the white-sand Malabar Beach close to St. Lucia's capital city, the 100-room resort is both intimate and grand. Property features include two pools, a spa, and tennis, and rooms have sophisticated tropical style. The main restaurant has fabulous ocean views but the cuisine is a bit bland, and the planes coming and going at the neighboring airport can be noisy.
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Scene
Romance is a priority at this laid-back resort.
Couples of all ages come to Rendevous for the romantic, easygoing all-inclusive vibe. The resort is the sister to the more upscale and more wellness-oriented Body Holiday LeSport, located about a 20-minute drive north. At Rendevous, it's all about romance, connecting as a couple, and being a bit self-indulgent.
The Seaside Pool offers a swim-up bar and views of the ocean, but the more intimate pool by the spa is more reflective of the resort's overall vibe. Sleek, white lounge chairs rest in the water, and bright blue modern lounge chairs are set in pairs (not crowded) around the pool's edges. Hidden by a row of greenery behind the pool is the Lazy River, a meandering series of streams with private spots for couples to hide out in pod-like day beds.
The resort's social center begins at the lobby and spreads across a covered, whitewashed terrace toward the sea. The open-air pavilion with white marble floors, white ceilings, white woven seating, and columns wrapped with breezy curtains is elegant and chic with a hint of Miami Beach. The area encompasses a bar, restaurant, and ample lounge space for relaxing and watching the ocean and activity on the beach. In the evenings, the Terrace Restaurant, which serves all three meals buffet-style, transforms into a romantic candlelit dining room. Guests craving a la carte options (and air-conditioning) can reserve a table at the Trysting Place, the resort's French restaurant, or head to the Champagne Bar for nightly samplings of bubbly. Malabar Beach Club, added in 2015, also serves lunch and dinner a la carte from a space on the beach.
Guests are encouraged to take part in the resort's Room Retreat, a service that sets the mood with soft music, flower petals on the bed, candlelight, champagne, aromatherapy, or whatever the guests desire to transform their rooms into an after-dinner romantic retreat.
Location
Adjacent to the George F. L. Charles Airport, St. Lucia's regional airport, and close to the Castries and Rodney Bay Village
Along the two-mile stretch of Malabar Beach, adjacent to the George F. L. Charles Airport, St. Lucia's regional airport, and two miles from the capital city of Castries. The resort's northwest island location also means that it is just 10 minutes to Rodney Bay Village, St. Lucia's entertainment district. Hewanorra International Airport, which handles most major carriers, is a 90-minute drive. Other notable activities within a 10-minute drive are Pigeon Island National Park and St. Lucia's Golf Resort. The Body Holiday LeSport, Rendezvous' sister retreat, is a 20-minute drive north.
Rooms
A collection of suites, rooms, and cottages overlooking the beach, pool, or gardens
Rendevous offers a collection of cottages, suites, and rooms facing the beach or gardens. Beachfront Rooms are set in a vine-covered three-story building with two entrances; the rear door opens into a dark, covered outdoor hallway while the front door opens to the beach. The rooms feature small terraces with hammocks and day beds as well as spacious bathrooms with separate make-up vanities facing a glass-block wall. The larger Beachfront Suites, located in the same building as the Beachfront Rooms, offer a split-level layout with separate sitting rooms and bathrooms with claw-foot tubs. The private semi-detached gingerbread-style Beach Cottages feature vaulted ceilings, bamboo floors, and direct views of the beach from king-sized beds. The Verandah Suites and Garden-View Rooms, which were refurbished in 2015, are located in separate, two-story and three-story buildings overlooking the property’s gardens. Seaside Suites, located on the ground floor, were also refurbished and open directly to the property's Seaside Pool.
Most rooms are furnished in colonial Caribbean style with king-sized mahogany four-poster beds, large dressers, ceiling fans, and soft colors. The renovated rooms are more modern, decorated in blues and greens and chic, beachy furnishings. No rooms have TVs (a conscious choice, to help keep guests focused on romance) and some rooms are finished with slightly provocative decor such as replicas of Rodin’s statue, The Kiss, and artwork of couples embracing.
Features
A couples-only resort with a romantic, boutique-like vibe, three restaurants, a champagne bar, spa, and gym
Romance is priority at Rendezvous, and the staff is geared to helping couples connect by arranging romantic seaside dinners, couples massages, and transforming rooms into romantic retreats. Yet, the resort also offers a slew of activities for active guests, including two tennis courts, a gym with modern equipment, yoga, archery, motorized and non-motorized water sports, and scuba.
Loungers will find plenty of private spaces under the umbrellas on the beach, in around the spa pool, and along the Lazy River. More socially minded guests tend to congregate at the Seaside Pool, at the swim-up bar, and around the Terrace Bar, a busy spot that revs up for cocktails in the late morning and keeps buzzing until late night.
All-Inclusive / Food
Multiple activities, motorized water sports, and wines by the bottle with dinner
The all-inclusive St. Lucia package at Rendezvous includes:
Unlimited use of all the facilities at the resort
Breakfast, lunch and dinner daily
All beverages including premium-brand alcohol, and wine by the bottle at dinner
Land and water sports, including motorized water sports and scuba boat dives with personalized instruction
Unlimited tennis
Wi-Fi
Manager's Cocktail Party on Wednesday nights
Nightly entertainment
Taxes and gratuities
