Reviewers Rating: 
Excellent
We honeymooned at Halcyon from January 2-14,2002 and we loved it!The reviews here were so helpful, we felt obliged to leave our own and to comment on some matters that may not have been addressed by others. Please note that these are our subjective opinions, especially as Halcyon compares to the larger Sandals St. Lucia Golf & Spa (hereafter referrred to as "La Toc"--which is also the name of the French restaurant there and the name the locals use to refer to the resort).
ONLY BAD THING: DO NOT get a massage. We booked a couples massage at the Spa and it was awful. My wife's neck ached for 4 days after it, and the massage "therapists" were definite amateurs. Mine picked up and heaved my table to make it easier for her to move around it. Quite jarring and NOT relaxing at al. I could not wait for it to finish and even cut it short when she started to rub oil into my hair for some bizarre reason. This was our only complaint about either Sandals or St. Lucia itself.
FOOD: Good. Not as good as the finer restaurants you may have been to, but better than we expected. We liked each meal and we ate at all Halcyon and La Toc restaurants execpt for Arizona (the BBQ buffet restaurant at La Toc). I suggest making your reservations for Kimono at La Toc and Mario's at Halcyon as soon as you check in, even if you are in a concierge suite. This was really the only finger you had to lift.
CROWDS: At Halcyon, NONE! This was one of the best features. No waiting or lines for anything at all, even getting drinks from the bar or using water sports. La Toc had more crowds, but even there it did not get to be a real problem. It was great to just walk into a restaurant and be seated right away.
BEACH/WATER SPORTS: Great. We scuba dove for the first time and it was a lot of fun. We did pretty much everything they had, and the equipment was all brand new. Many folks from La Toc came over to use the beach and water sports at the bay at La Toc is rougher and the beach gets washed under by the tide. Halcyon's beach was better.
HALCYON VS. LA TOC: Halcyon is definitely smaller, less crowded and more of a beach resort, and MUCH more convienent. La Toc is great, and it's more grandiose and things are really spread out from each other. La Toc is more like a nicer hotel property here in the states, whereas Halcyon feels and looks like the Caribbean. Halcyon also has the only rooms at either place right on the beach--which we loved. We went to La Toc at night for dinner several times and really enjoyed it. For us, the best was staying at Halcyon. If you want more people around and more activity for nightlife, La Toc had it--when we wanted it, we jumped on the free shuttle. La Toc people we met seemed to do the same, coming to Halcyon for the ocean and returning at night. Pools are bigger at La Toc, so if you don't want the beach or water sports, you probably would stay at La Toc except to eat at Mario's or the Pier. If you aren't impressed by grantie counters/nice harwoods in the public spaces, or want to get away from that in the Caribbean when you leave home, you won't be impressed by La Toc. It's spread out and no rooms are near the beach. It's beautiful and we loved it, but it's not a beach resort and isn't designed to be one. Depends on what you are looking for--you'd have a great time at either resort. I'd recommed the villas on the Bluff if you go to La Toc, or staying at Halcyon rather than any of the other La Toc accomodation categories.
STAFF: Fabulous. They were extremely friendly at both resorts and very polite. At Halcyon, most learned and remembered our names and what we liked. It was uncanny. St. Lucians we met off the resort were also wonderful, warm and funny. Everyone had a welcoming attitude, even the vendors you refused. Vendors were not really aggressive, except at the volcanic site where they would swarm the tours coming in, but even they weren't that bad.
WEATHER: We got rain for the 1st 2 days and the next to last day of our stay. It was beautiful every other day, with brief intermittent showers. Our trip to the rain forest obviously had more frequent showers.
TO CONCEIRGE OR NOT TO CONCEIRGE? We recommend it. It's great to have the bar in your room, especially when that bar is steps from your chair on the beach. The conceirge is highly solicitous and really did everything for us. When asked if there was anything we wanted (often) and we replied "no, we're having a great time", they'd suggest things they could do for you (rememebering what your preferences were)! THe place is great even without concierge service--you get the same facilities, food and activites from the cheapest room as the most expensive. If you're on the fence and the money isn't too much of an issue--do it. It's probably MORE important at La Toc than it was a the much less spread out Halcyon. La Toc was more effort intensive simple because of its size and the number of people around--I'd have relied on the in-room bar more there for quiet drinks together, I'm sure.
Robert
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