What’s New at Ladera for 2007

What’s New at Ladera for 2007

Ladera Named #1 for Service by Travel + Leisure Magazine
The June issue of Travel + Leisure magazine includes the results of their survey to identify The Top Hotels for Service, as part of Travel + Leisure’s annual World’s Best Awards. Ladera placed first in the Caribbean with a near perfect score of 94.05 out of a possible 100, as determined by the worldly readers of Travel + Leisure.

Ladera was the only St. Lucian property on this short list of the most prestigious hotels in the Caribbean, Bermuda, as well as the Bahamas. The magazine recognizes the above and beyond personal attention that has become Ladera’s signature.

New Above and Beyond Welcome Service
For guests who book one of Ladera’s Hilltop Dream Suites for five nights or more, the experience begins immediately upon touching down at Hewanorra International Airport (UVF) on St. Lucia. Ladera’s exclusive new Above and Beyond Welcome Service expedites the arrival process by extending the resort’s signature service to ensure a swift and effortless clearance through customs and immigration. A Ladera representative will meet Dream Suite guests in the arrivals hall at UVF for clearance, before escorting them to an awaiting Lexus sedan for the short drive to Ladera. Stocked with cold drinks and chilled towels, the restorative, scenic drive will refresh guests after their flight and provide a preview of the tropical paradise that awaits them at Ladera. Upon departure, guests will transfer back to UVF in equal style, with transportation by Lexus and access to the First Class airport lounge.

“Passport to Paradise” Package
Now until December 21, all guests who travel to St. Lucia, and check-in at Ladera, using their first U.S. passport will be reimbursed the $97 processing fees. As an added incentive to get more armchair Americans traveling, Ladera will provide those guests with a handsome leather passport case, a complimentary 30-minute Jet-Lag massage at the Ti Kaye Posé Spa and a tall drink created especially for these newfound explorers by the resort’s Tcholit Bar head drinkmaster, Peter Joseph. The debuting “Juanderlust Cocktail” was developed in honor of the Spanish explorer Juan de la Cosa who is widely credited for discovering St. Lucia in the early 1500’s. It is a refreshing mix of rum and Spanish vanilla liquor served on the rocks with a splash of fresh Caribbean-grown limes.

Passport to Paradise
Valid until December 21, 2007, guests must overnight at Ladera before December 21, 2007.

Ladera will reimburse guests for the full cost of a U.S. passport for first-time overseas travelers, (Valued at $97, based on the routine processing. Not valid for rush delivery fees, or shipping costs.) Guests need to present the original receipt and passport at check-in for reimbursement.
Plus, first-time passport holders will also receive:
Ladera’s signature leather passport wallet
A 30-minute jet-lag massage at the Ti Kaye Posé Spa
And a complimentary Juanderlust Cocktail, Ladera’s salute to the Spanish explorer who many believe discovered St. Lucia in 1509. Ladera’s award-winning bartender, Peter Joseph, has concocted a special mix of rum, Spanish vanilla liquor shaken and served on the rocks with a splash of fresh Caribbean-grown limes.
5-night minimum stay required.

Ladera Dream Pillow Menu – Ladera’s guests are guaranteed to catch up on their beauty sleep thanks to the new pillow menu now available on their website. The menu features private label pillows designed to enhance the dream experience and provide a good night’s sleep. Pillows are hypoallergenic with luxurious polyester fiber fill that looks and feels like down. Menu options include pillows specifically designed for the “back sleeper”, “the side sleeper” or “the stomach sleeper.” Guests can select their dream pillow prior to their arrival through the online order form. Sweet dreams.

Hilltop Dream Suites Provide Ultra-Private Enclaves - Two luxurious, open-air Dream Suites have been introduced in response to high demand for more seclusion and special design features. This brings the total number of Dream Suites to three. One Dream Suite is located at the northernmost point of the property. The two most recent Dream Suites are at the opposite end of the resort on a previously unutilized ridge to the south of Dasheene restaurant, and on a slightly higher elevation that the rest of the property. Each of the Dream Suites is intentionally set apart from the other rooms and provide an ultra-private escape, ideal for honeymooners. They feature the same unobstructed views of the Pitons and Caribbean Sea for which Ladera is known. The Suites are designed in the same elegant tropical architecture as all of the Suites and Villas, using polished hard woods, luxurious white linens and colorful tile work in the bath areas. A private deck and a spiral staircase lead to a private pool. Dedicated concierge services are available for Suite guests and for the existing two-bedroom Villas. Rates for the Dream Suites start at $560 per night for the summer season and $640 per night for the fall.

Secluded Beach for Guests – Ladera has a secluded beach for guest use at Anse Jambette, a small bay just 20-minutes by boat from the Soufrière dock. The bay is being leased by Ladera with an option to buy. Dubbed Dasheene on the Beach at Anse Jambette, the fully-staffed facility will feature a casual beach café serving grilled lunch items and snacks from a light and innovative Caribbean menu created by Dasheene's Executive Chef, Orlando Satchell, as well as a full bar. Ladera offers scheduled shuttle service to the beach by boat.

Mineral Pools Compliment Spa Facility - Drawn directly from the source at the Diamond Mineral Baths near Soufrière (French for sulfur), Ladera guests can experience the restorative waters right on property, in bathing pools. Conveniently located beside the resort's Ti Kaye Posé Spa, guests may include a mineral soak as part of their pre- or post-massage routine, or simply use it to relax after a day hiking or spent at the beach. Originally built in 1785, just before the French revolution, with funds from King Louis XVI, it is rumored that Napoleon's Empress Josephine bathed in these same waters. The Mineral Pools are complimentary to all guests.

Ti Kaye Posé will also begin offering "Rainforest Massages" outdoors beneath a tent in the lush, tropical gardens that flank the Spa. The tranquil setting will also serve as a new relaxing area for post-treatment respites.

And for those who can't get enough burn by hiking the Pitons, Ladera has a gym, featuring treadmills, yoga mats, weights and a Universal work-out machine.

Dasheene Restaurant - In response to an increasing number of requests for fresh and lighter menus, Executive Chef Orlando Satchell has created a menu for the upcoming season. His signature favorites will remain on the menu, featuring the same emphasis on fresh, local products, while adding new, more health-conscious dishes, minus heavy sauces and eliminating butter. Vine-ripened produce from nearby plantations, fish caught daily in the nearby waters and West Indian spices, many of them harvested from indigenous St. Lucian plants, will play a more central role in the cooking. Chef Orlando's new menu may even help guests rationalize dessert. A more elaborate dessert selection will debut this season, bringing back the popular chocolate fondue and other sinful creations.

Ladera is an eco-lodge style property with six villas and 21 suites, each modeled on luxurious tree house living and located at an altitude of 1,100 feet above sea level feet and surrounded by the lush St. Lucian rainforest. Since November 2006, Ladera was named the "Best of the Best" Hotel in the world by the readers of Condé Nast Traveler and the #2 hotel in the Caribbean by Travel +Leisure. The guest rooms were intentionally designed with just three walls, affording spectacular, unobstructed views, while remaining sheltered, safe, and completely private. www.ladera.com

For reservations guests may call Ladera toll free at 800-738-4752 or send an email to ladera@candw.lc. More information on the resort and other special packages is available on the website at www.ladera.com.

Press Contact: Conran Communications 212.447.1010 info@conrancommunications.com