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Chez Marie Alish is delightful retreat on the fringes of action in Gros Islet, a very local town in Rodney Bay in the north of St Lucia. It is set in a modern building, behind a fabulously colourful front garden, and the love and care that goes into it is instantly obvious. It is festooned with tropical blooms. There are just five self-catering apartments, overseen by a friendly St Lucian couple. Chez Marie Alish is among the nicest of the many independent St Lucia guest houses rented out as a St Lucia private rental with self-catering facilities.
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KEY FEATURES
| Exceptional value, 5 well presented, spacious St Lucia rentals, balcony, air-conditioning, well-equipped kitchenette, easy local transport, close to great beaches & best restaurants in St Lucia |
STYLE
| Attractively furnished, modern, friendly owner run |
CLIENT PROFILE
| Independent travellers happy to cater for themselves who want to be a part of a local town |
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You come across Chez Marie Alish as you turn off the main road into Gros Islet. It sits on a road behind a wall of foliage and explosions of flowers. Fingers of purple bougainvillea reach out from the greenery and shrubs. It is set in a modern building that has been embellished with some traditional features of St Lucian architecture, gingerbread pointing, neat gable windows and fan shaped windows to let the maximum light in.
Chez Marie Alish is just before you enter Gros Islet proper, so it is a short walk to all the activity of the small town and the beach beyond it, and of course just a stumble along to the Friday night ‘Jump up’, which is always fun to attend. It is also not far from all the other activity of Rodney Bay, around the marina, and along the main strip of Rodney Bay Village, where there is an extremely lively nightlife.
The apartments of Chez Marie Alish are all on the first floor level. There are five of them in alland you approach them from stairs at the side of the building and along a passage running at the back. The surroundings are relatively unpromising at this stage – there is untended ground behind you - but once you step inside the apartments you will find them of an unexpectedly high standard. They make an excellent, self-contained place to retreat to after the lively activity in the area. Each apartment consists of a main room, with a kitchenette and living area, a bathroom and then outside at the front a balcony with a table and chairs.
At the front of the apartment, doors lead out onto a good sized tiled balcony with a table and chairs, ideal for sitting and reading or watching the world go by. The spars of the balustrade are interspersed with Greek mythological figurines. You look over the garden straight onto the road, which can be quite busy with people heading in and out of Gros Islet and beyond it into a genuine panyard (home to a steel band). Sometimes you will hear them practising, which can be loud but is also a fantastic sound. You would also be welcome to go across and watch.
The owners of Chez Marie Alish, who live on property, are Castro and Ginette. They are very interested in the culture of St Lucia and in addition to using local architectural features in the building they have named the rooms after places of historical interest in the area. These include Mena (after the first port of entry in this area of St Lucia), Dauphin, the name of the first town in the North-east of the island and Choc Bay, which takes its name from the area just north of Castries where there is an excellent strip of sand. It was apparently the haunt of pirates and brigands in centuries past. Fort Rodney celebrates the British Admiral Rodney who operated in the area just over two centuries ago. Marquis Estate takes its name from St Lucia’s first sugar estate. The last apartment is called Paix-Bouche, which comes from the estate that was owned by the family of Empress Josephine Bonaparte, wife of Napoleon. Although the Martiniquans will assure you otherwise, St Lucians claim that she was born here rather than on Martinique. |
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Beach & Swimming
Gros Islet Beach is about five minutes walk through the town. There are no facilities but of course there are plenty of small shops in Gros Islet itself where you can buy water and a snack. It is popular with the locals, particularly at the weekends. You should be extremely careful about your belongings on this beach. Do not leave them unattended for a moment.
To get to Reduit Beach, you must go out to the main road and make your way around Rodney Bay marina, turn in along the strip of restaurants and along the front behind the hotels and you will come to the entrance to the beach. Reduit is St Lucia’s liveliest beach and there are beach bars there and watersports. |
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Sports & Recreation
There is an 18-hole, 6829 yard, par 71 course at the St Lucia Golf & Country Club in Cap Estate, about five minutes drive and has a pro shop, driving range and restaurant. The nearest tennis courts open to the public (courts must be booked in advance) are at the Rex St Lucian in Rodney Bay and at the St Lucia Racquet Club at Club St Lucia, also in the Cap Estate, where there are seven floodlit Laykold cushioned tennis courts, a squash court and gym. There are also two squash courts at the St Lucia Yacht Club at Reduit in Rodney Bay. The Sportivo fitness centre at Rodney Heights is St Lucia’s largest gym and offers yoga, Tai Chi and Karate classes. |
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Staff
The owners of Chez Marie Alish live on property. Daily maid service is provided. |
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The Rooms
There are five well sized self-catering studio apartments with a kitchenette, bathroom and a living/sleeping space. They are painted in a pale salmon pink and are extremely well presented, neat and tidy, with air conditioning and a fire extinguisher and fire alarm. They have direct dial telephone, cable television and an ironing board and iron.
You enter via the kitchenette, where there is a breakfast table for three set against one wall and opposite it a good quality fridge/freezer, and a four ring gas burner and a stove. There are plenty of plates and glasses for two people or more. The kitchenettes are well equipped, with good kitchen knives of the sort you would have in your own kitchen, a decent chopping board, nice mats and oven gloves.
The kitchenette is delineated from the living area by hanging greenery from potted plants, their trails hanging down from the ceiling making an arbour beneath which you pass. The bedroom section is at the front of the room and has a queen-size bed with two rattan bedside tables and rattan lamps with white shades. There is a dresser with six drawers, a mirror and a dressing table with a glass top. There are colourful tropical prints and the bedspread and the curtains have a cheerful tropical floral design. The bathroom, next to the kitchenette at the back of the room, has a bath with an overhead shower and is fully tiled. There is also a nice tiled surround effect around the mirror. From the sitting area doors lead out to the balcony overlooking the colourful front garden. |
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Dining
The apartments have fully contained kitchenettes, but meals can be prepared for you on request. Fruit baskets are delivered to you. There are also restaurants within walking distance in Gros Islet which serve very good local food and of course there are all the restaurants in Rodney Bay Village, which include some of the best restaurants in St Lucia. |
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Useful Hints
Chez Marie Alish is set on the main road into Gros Islet, a very local St Lucian town, so it is not really a secluded escape but makes a great base for travellers. |
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Practical Facts
The check out time is 12 noon and there is a charge of US$20 per person if you wish to stay later than 12 noon. |
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Rates
| | 16 May-11 Dec 2009 | 12 Dec-15 May 2009-10* | 16 May-11 Dec 2010 | | Double per day Single per day Double per week Single per week Extra Bed | 55 50 330 300 20 | 80 65 480 390 20 | 55 50 330 300 20 | All rates are quoted in US$ per room and are subject to 10% Service Charge and 8% Government Tax. * Please note that high (winter) season rates apply during the St Lucia Jazz Festival periods. All Rates subject to change without notice. |
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Locality
Gros Islet is a lively and very West Indian town. Besides the many bars and small local restaurants, you will find a small supermarket nearby so that you can buy everything you need to look after yourself.
Pigeon Island National Park, a forty four acre National Trust reserve which was joined to the mainland by man-made causeway in 1972. The island features ruins of many 18th British and French military buildings including Fort Rodney, and has an Interpretation Centre, a restaurant featuring local cuisine, a historical themed pub and restaurant, and lookout point at the top of the fort. The island is also the main venue of the annual St Lucia Jazz Festival, held each May, which attracts a host of international stars. A ferry runs between the island and Rodney Bay on an hourly schedule.
Close by, Rodney Bay is St Lucia’s busiest tourist area, with hotels, restaurants and bars, a shopping mall, banks, mini marts and a nearby supermarket (on the main road) called Julians and a very lively nightlife. It has a busy marina and attracts over 200 boats for the annual ARC (trans-Atlantic Rally for Cruisers) which usually sees its first arrivals in early December. The nearby village of Gros Islet hosts the now famous Friday Night Jump Up, an all night street party. The Rodney Bay and Pigeon Island area is an approximate ten minute journey by car. Castries the capital and George F L Charles Airport (formerly known as Vigie) which receives inter-island flights only, are within about twenty-five minute drive. |
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Meet & Greet
You would make your own way from the airport in an airport taxi or by bus to Chez Marie Alish. |
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Getting Around
Buses will drop you right at your door and plenty of them run the road between the northern terminus in Gros Islet and Castries (via the turn to Rodney Bay Village on the way). The fare costs EC$1 for short distances such as to the shopping malls at Rodney Bay, Rodney Bay Marina, the Entertainment Centre and Cinema. From Chez Marie Alish to Castries will cost EC$2.
If you would like to hire a car, for sightseeing and shopping for groceries for instance. We recommend Drive-A-Matic Car Rentals or Cool Breeze Jeep Rentals. Vehicles can be returned at the airport or be collected from the property at a pre-arranged time on. |
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