Auberge Seraphine 13 January 2012
Lovely short stay at Auberge again. We had a room overlooking the water and the Egrets. Very clean. I met our housekeeper, Lia, and she is very nice. Elton and the other staff do a brilliant rum punch. Clive the new security guard was a pleasure to talk to and a mine of information. A very well run and not expensive place. Going back to stay later in the year for a little longer.

Following my previous report (in 2009 I think), this place remains a delightful place to stay. True, some of the facilities are somewhat "jaded" - old-fashioned TV sets, somehwat faded bathroom facilities etc - but these pale into insignificance when you sit at the Seraphine's bar, or on the terrace above, with a marvellous view of the Castries bays and the cruise ships which come in and out on a regular basis.

The Seraphine's restaurant is good value for money and the staff (at evening time) are friendly and helpful. I still can't say the same about the female breakfast staff - not exactly rude, but offhand, but a few more smiles would be welcome.....

The reception staff are a delight to deal with - always helpful - not always the case in the Caribbean these days.

Don't go here for a beach holiday, but if you want to be close to Castries, this is the place to stay. Prices still very reasonable for the region; large rooms with balconies, and - a big plus - free WiFi, with simple sign on.

I stayed here for a night after arriving late on the catamaran from Martinique. It is clearly the best option in the St Lucian capital, and a welcome haven after the needlessly chaotic scene at the port. I was quickly ushered to a perfect room...large, clean, stylish in a traditional if stereotyped "island" fashion with en excellent bathroom and large balcony. Wifi free and TV excellent. The view is of the pretty yacht harbour and trees packed full of egrets. the latter a nice but unintentional touch. The restaurant was fine with good service, although some of the staff seemed more intent on serving the small group of affluent locals at the bar than dealing with the visitors. The reception was helpful if not effusive. I actually easily walked into Castries, possibly one of the Caribbean's least compelling capitals, with a shortcut past the new-built cruise ship port. Wanted to buy a bottle of rum for friends I would visit, which was a no-go in town since it was election day, but passing the shopping centre at the very artificial cruise ship port found I could buy anything anytime at duty free prices with a passport. Funny that. The front desk conveniently arranged an impromptu care rental so I could be off quickly to Soufriere.

I must say right up front that I did not select this property for my stay. It was arranged by a local partner. The property and the stay overall was ok but they have room for serious improvements. The room was clean, comfortable and quiet. The bathroom was clean. The air conditioning, key for this place, became very noisy at times, sometimes while I was sleeping and it woke me up a couple of times. If you shut down the AC, the room becomes very smelly. This was perhaps one of the two serious downsides in this place. The room gets very smelly. But after you switch the AC back on (some 15 minutes later) the smell loses strength. The food is NOT impressive at all. Compared to other places I visited, the restaurant in this hotel is far far behind. I even had lunch at a very small place next to the road to Soufriere and the food was superior when compared to the hotel food. The second big disappointment of this hotel was that before arriving I was told the rate included the breakfast. When I sat down at the restaurant the first morning to have my breakfast I was told that it was not included. That is simply dishonest. But the place is isolated from other places so no chance to run away to get breakfast. And again, the food is not good AT ALL. The staff is helpful and courteous, unless you want to get your breakfast as part of the rate!