This is our third time staying with Lorraine, an American expat. Her warmth, generosity and knowledge of St. Lucia keeps us coming back. A Peace of Paradise is on the eastern Atlantic edge of St Lucia's central rain forest. The babbling Mamiku River flows just fifty meters from the house and has pools deep enough to take a dip in.

Once you settle in the hammock on her big veranda you are doomed to relax and exorcise the stresses of wherever you came from. I even found it hard to concentrate on reading.

Her place is something between B&B and self-catering. Her special pricing encourages a minimum of 4 night stays but apparently many extend for much longer, depending on availability. We did. Lorraine serves your first breakfast (on the veranda) but after that you are on your own. There are two good options nearby for meals. One is the Fox Grove Inn with its Swiss/St Lucian ownership which, by our three meals there, we can confirm TA's consensus is one of the best tables on the island. They are a 15 minute walk. The other is Sheila, a local lady who makes terrific carry-out with mouth-watering island sauces that you order in the morning and pick up on return home. She is a ten minute walk.

Otherwise Lorraine's large kitchen is shared between guests. She stocks some staples but you might want to shop at the well equipped Super-J in Vieux Fort, 30 minutes south. We pigged out on their gallon buckets of Hagen-Daz ice cream. (What's a holiday for!) Sharing also goes for the one bathroom with shower. While I would have expected this might cause congestion when all three rooms were taken but in fact it didn't. We did not come here for the Hilton or Super 8 experience.

The rooms are comfortable. The one we had was small with a traditional double bed, mosquito net and fan. In fact we never used the net because the windows were screened too. A queen bed room next door and a twins-making-a-king bed (when pushed together) are the two other options.

What to do around there? You'll need to use cheap and frequent local mini-buses to reach the beach or towns. Other option is rent a car. Lorraine can get you 10 per cent off National from her friend Mariana in Vieux Port. We paid about US$55 a day. Just down the beach from National is an IKO certified Kite and Surfing Center (see Clarissa Hempel gallery at cerfdotbookdotfr). The Hewanarra International Airport is opposite the Center. A Virgin Air 747 flies in every day from the States but the passengers seem to be swallowed by the island. We never saw them. Other flights arrive at Castries Intl, an hour north of Lorraine's. I should mention the option we took was the ferry from Fort de France, Martinique. Advice? Don't, unless you love waiting in lines. Fly direct.

Without transport you might want to visit Mamiku Gardens, remains of a old plantation, a 10 minute walk, but it took quite a hit during last year's hurricane. Highly recommended are walks in the forest and to the water falls with Melvin, a local guide with profound botanical knowledge of the island.

Nearly forgot. Lorraine has fast wi-fi so if those damned jungle sounds get to you clamp on the head phones and zone out! LOL

I have being in St.Lucia probably ten or eleven times, trying different hotels and resorts, from top rated to underrated. It happened that the last trip I travelled solo, and wanted to try something inexpensive and simple, just a quiet place to sleep on East coast.
I felt in Love with this place from the first minute I saw it. My room was clean, simple but cozy. For only those unforetable relaxing sounds from near by river and night crickets I would pay extra. In the morning I was so energised that, after breakfast, I took a two hours hike, passing by banana plantations, grapefruit, orange, coconut and cocoa trees. Views are there just unforgetable...On my way hiking I met some farmers working, we had a friendly chat. I also noticed lots of birds surround, ..one was a wild parrot.
I plan to bring my kids, 6 and 3., and grandparents next time on my winter trip.
I think this place is great for people who like hikes, who prefer real luxury of nature to manicured and man-made "luxury" resorts, who prefer being away from crowds, and closer to Mother Nature.
This place is really underpriced.
I would not recomend this place for window shoppers, luxury spa seekers, and night disco bar holics.

Had an absolutely wonderful stay here. Out of all four of the guest houses my friend and i stayed at this was the cheapest so we had our reservations. It turned out to be by far the best. The rooms were lovely. Airy, colourful and full of light. The porch looks out onto the rainforest and has some lovely hammocks. Lorraine is a brilliant hostess and went completely out of her way to make us feel at home. She's great fun and made everything seem effortless.
Micoud is a friendly, small village. You can easily catch a bus to Castries or Vieux fort if you want. If you do stay at peace of paradise go and get your dinner from Sheila's, a cafe down the road. The woman can cook.

I stayed here for one week with my boyfriend. It is a lovely house tucked away in the countryside on the east side of the island. The location is fairly far away from any nightlife so maybe not the best place for a solo traveller. The owner is very welcoming and went out of her way to look after us - organising further accommodation, a car, tours, getting groceries. The breakfast each morning is good. The room was nice although no air conditioning. We got full use of the kitchen and there is a lovely verandah/garden out the back. The buses are a 10 min walk away and frequent to the nearest towns. Would stay here again. Best for couples/independent travellers. Not for people who are looking for a resort style beach holiday.