Balenbouche Estate—Step back in time and enjoy its rustic charm We visited the Balenbouche Estate August 19, 2011. We were welcomed and greeted by Verena who was a very friendly hostess. After a brief orientation, Verena let us explore the grounds on our own. The Balenbouche Estate is a heritage site dating back to the 18th century. A visit here is like stepping back in time. After meeting the resident turtle we followed friendly dogs through lush, jungle trails and gardens overgrown with tropical plants and flowers which led the way to the rustic remains of an old sugar mill. The setting here was like discovering lost ancient ruins sunken in the midst of a rainforest. Large tree roots and tropical foliage have taken over this once active sugar mill. The large 40 foot water wheel still stands and this certainly was impressive to see.
Balenbouche is located 20 minutes from Vieux Fort. Set amidst tropical vegetation, its peaceful and tranquil setting and its rustic old world charm made this an interesting stop in our day of busy activity.

We thought that Balenbouche was lovely and charming, and really enjoyed our stay here - we would definitely recommend that you consider staying here, however there are also some negatives which you should be aware of when making your decision. Below are a summary of some of the pros and cons:
Pros:
- If you want to get away from it all, this is the place. The estate is beautiful and rustic, you can walk down to the old sugar mill and the beach, or just hang around your cottage and feel like you're in another (very slow) world.
- The cottages are all very charming. Each is different but very cute.
- Breakfast was fresh adn delicious each morning
- We found the hostesses to be friendly, welcoming and helpful - they booked taxis for us and recommended local festivals which we would not have known about otherwise (although the festival turned out to be a little disappointing), and on the day we arrived they gave us lemonade and made lunch for us (delicious sandwich) at very short notice as we were there earlier than expected and there was nowhere nearby to go.
- The evening we had the dinner, the food was absolutely delicious.
- The atmosphere was very friendly and we chatted with and made friends with other guests
Cons:
- The cottages are rustic (which is part of their charm) which means that insects can get in. If instects bother you, I would not recommend staying in the cottages (I imagine the main house is a little better protected so try a room there). There was a mosquito net around the bed which was mostly successful while we slept but we still spent a lot of the evening going round killing mosquitos and trying to block gaps under doors etc.
- Our cottage was surrounded by Calabash and mango trees and at the time of year we were there (May) these regularly fell on the roof of our cottage and the balcony/ground ourside with a loud crashing noise. We had not been warned about this so when it first started happening we thought there was an intruder trying to get in which was very scary! Even when we had worked out that it wasn't an intruder, whenever a loud crash occured it would wake us up meaning a peaceful night's sleep was difficult. I am not sure whether all the cottages have this problem, so ask when you book.
- As a previous poster has mentioned, although they advertise dinner, it is only available when suitable for them to cook. We didn't find this to be a huge problem and drove to local restaurants, but it's a shame it wasn't available more often as it was absolutely delicious and well worth the money.
- Without a car you are a little restricted in what you can do. There is practically nowehere within walking distance to go. During the day, this was fine, as they arranged a taxi-tour for us, and I am sure they would have arranged evening taxis to restaurants too (we were lucky and made friends with a couple who had a car and went out with them in the evenings) - but the taxi option might mean you end up spending more money than you budgeted.
- We were aware that we couldn't pay with a card so had made our initial payment with paypal, and then paid the remainder with a U.S. cheque when we were there. It was not a big problem for us, although I'm not a fan of paypal, but it could be inconvenient for some.

All in all, we are glad that we stayed here, we enjoyed the place and we would recommend it.

We stayed here at the start of a trip that included the BodyHoliday and Ladera (see other reviews) and were completely happy with this choice at the start of the trip to relax after the flight.

You are staying in a rustic cottage at a historic family home and found the service friendly, genuine and very accommodating - easily able to take an extra pot of coffee from breakfast to enjoy the balcony and grounds, to being given calamine lotion for my mosquito bites - all appreciated touches.

All the information on the website is accurate - do not stay here if you don't like wildlife! We found the chorus from the tree frogs and birds, the cat on the porch wanting a fuss and feeding or the dogs leading the way to the beach all part of the charm, but the ear plugs from the flight did come in handy for sleep! The grounds are just beautiful and so relaxing. The beaches were private and we have very happy memories of time there.

The food is home-cooked, fresh and delicious, and be sure to enjoy a rum punch or more on the verandah as night falls.

If you want hermetically sealed, insect free, or a commercial enterprise, go elsewhere. If you want a completely charming rustic base that felt like an instant home, to relax and get to see some of the real St Lucia and its history, I can't think of anywhere better and will very happily return.

Balenbouche is a wonderful experience, to see the plantation house preserved and be part of it for a few days was wonderful. We met Utta who runs the place and read the story of what happened here - her lovely daughters and her looked after us and took us to the 3 beaches. It was a fabulous couple of days and Debbies restaurant nearby is great.