My family and I had the pleasure of staying at the Laterra Resort and Spa for the start of the holidays.
This hidden gem is located only 15 minutes from the historic district and worth the drive.
Our condo was perfect and luxurious, we felt like it was home away from home.
The boys went for a round of golf at the King and the Bear while we treated ourselves to the Laterra Spa located on sight, the staff was most accommodating to get us in the next day.
The Spa of Laterra was luxurious and sophisticated, we commend the staff for their gracious treatment of us and making our stay at Laterra one of the best experiences we have ever had.
If you want a top notch stay and treatment the next time you are in St. Augustine Florida, I highly recommend Laterra Resort and Spa, we all look forward to our next visit.
Debra Kay Irwin and Family

I flew in to st augustine from new jersey with my spouse and pet on our ANNIVERSARY, to find out that they did not accept large pets after I had already booked the stay with expedia, whom said they do accept large pets. There is nothing on the Laterra Resort website or expedia website saying they do not accept large pets. they specifically say that they "ACCEPT PETS". Now I am out two plane tickets, two nights at the hotel, and was left hanging with no where to go on OUR ANNIVERSARRY! No thanks for the HORRIBLE EXPERIENCE!

When we started looking at places to stay on our first trip to St. Augustine Laterra topped our list. The first thing you should know is this resort is about 10-14 miles from Downtown St. Augustine. This was absolutely fine with us once we arrived and realized how fabulous this place is as a whole. We rented from the owner directly and were really glad we did b/c we were able to hand pick the perfect condo and we got the price we wanted/needed. I read prices as high as $250/night for this resort....we would not have thought that price was right now that we have stayed there...we paid $120/night and cannot see how anyone would want to pay more than $150/night peak for the 1BR and maybe $200 for the largest 3BR there due to the amenities. There are many pros and a few cons to this so I will try to be as honest as possible and positive as possible b/c as a whole this was Almost Perfect.
I'll knock out the cons first:
1. Location: I'm putting this in the Pros section as well. The location is farther away than I think most would want to stay. It is however perfect if you are staying for longer than 2 days b/c it gets you away from the touristy side of town and in a more relaxed state of mind.
2. Service: This is non existent. Most of these condos are owned and I'm assuming lived in by the owners. If not they should change the service here. We never saw housekeeping which we were told would be every other day as we were guests and not owners. When I called the front desk to ask for just clean towels I was told they would send housekeeping down. 1 1/2 hours later they called me back and said we have 2 (only 2) towels for you at the front desk if you still want them (we were in a separate building and I had already showered and was in my robe so I declined and picked them up the next day...but only 2 towels). There is a trash drop in the open air lobby of the building we stayed in so i'm assuming the same for the other buildings. But I guess they do not supply more than the initial trash bag in the kitchen. Basically you need to stock up on certain things before you settle in. We really felt lost some of the time like check in...where to go what is around there etc. We wished we had stopped and asked more questions.
3. Spa and Fitness Center: This is a HUGE negative for this place. When I booked the condo the spa was one of if not the main reason I chose this location. The spa is closed and up for auction along with the Fitness Center. If you are a guest they have a sign that says you can pay extra ($8/day) to use the fitness center...that is not an option since it is closed. You cannot use the spa or the fitness center. I was extremely disappointed and very surprised that they still include spa information with this location...even our check in packet had info for the spa which does not exist. (Now my neighbor did tell me if you stay for 6 months you can pay to use the fitness center at another location in the world golf resort but not at this particular place). I do not blame the owner that rented to us she most likely had no idea that they had closed it.

Thats all for the cons...now the Pros:
1. Location: Yep its away from all the touristy scene which was a major plus for me. No traffic and b/c of the location there were hardly any guests at this resort.
2. Privacy and Relaxation: Like I said above this place was EMPTY. We saw no more than 15 people on our entire trip at this resort. My neighbor actually told me its been that way since he arrived 4 months ago. I'm not sure if it is because the kiddos are still in school or if it really stays this empty but we found this to be the best thing for us!! At any given time we were the only people at the pool or the hot tub.
3. The POOL!!! wow what a place. Relaxation times 10. Beautiful, relaxing, clean, and quiet. If that is something you are looking for you have found it. The pictures are accurate in this regard. It is beautiful.
4. Room: Having a full kitchen is a must for me when I go on a longer vacation. I do not eat a full breakfast and only usually want a sandwich for lunch so I loved having the full refrigerator in our condo. The room we rented was a studio and perfect for my husband and I. They also have condos as large as 3 bedrooms so bring the family or a group of friends and there is plenty of room for all to enjoy. We stayed on the first floor which I normally hate....Not here. All of the first floor condos (with the exception of the ones facing the pool and I think the roads) have a full courtyard for each unit. It was like having your own little yard and another room off the house with a table and two chairs it was wonderful. The little gate that lead out to the walkways was a major plus.

All in all this place is really wonderful. There are just a few things we wish we would have known before we arrived. We would recommend this to friends and family with all the knowledge above and let them make that decision. Next time we might try elsewhere but we at least know we really loved this place as a whole. If they had the spa and fitness center back as well as true housekeeping services that we could use or easy access laundry facilities we would return in a heartbeat.

We stayed at Laterra July 11-14, 2008. The place is BEAUTIFUL. There is an open-air entry, fountains, perfect landscaping and immaculate rooms. The pool and jacuzzi area are surrounded by gardens a fountains and water-features.

We rented the 2 bedroom/2 bath condo and it was huge. The kitchen lacked nothing and the free movie rentals was a nice added perk. The staff was readily available and very helpful.

We were on the first floor and had a huge patio surrounded by a wall and gate to the walkways. It honestly felt like a Tuscan villa. The patio was very private and an ideal place to have a coffee in the morning.

Laterra is in the World Golf Village. Do NOT expect to be close to the historic section (about 20+ minutes away) nor the beach (approx 30 minutes). It is peaceful and nicely off the beaten path.

We couldn't figure out why this place only got 3.5 stars...Definitely atleast a 4 star+ establishment. I would recommend this establishment without hesitation