The Village Inn & Spa, St Lucia

Ariel view of Village Inn & Spa © Resort Marketing International

I am biting into small chunks of freshly cut coconut on a softly curving stretch of golden silica ending in a green mountain soaring skywards whilst an infinite tank of sparkling, sapphire water stretches to the horizon; the Caribbean Sea.

I'm on Reduit Beach in Rodney Bay, on St Lucia's north-west coast. The beach is just a three minute walk to my tropical abode, the 76-room Village Inn & Spa where a vast, open-air lobby dotted with inviting sofas, chairs and tables makes up the spacious entrance area.

We are checked into one of the hotel's best rooms - the verandah suite on the first floor. There's a huge king-sized bed piled high with pillows, while tea and coffee making facilities, TV and DVD, fridge freezer, a large wardrobe, and a small living area with a table and chairs offer all the homely comforts we could need.

To one side, through a set of patio doors sprawls a private patio with a solitary sun lounger overlooking the bar and pool -an ideal spot to lap up the late afternoon rays as well as check out the other guests.

Not that there are many of them during my visit in late April. Iceland's disruptive volcanic eruption means many have failed to arrive. The hotel is unusually quiet, particularly evident during breakfast every morning where there are just a handful of other diners in Emerald's.

Despite this, I find the hotel's restaurant service painfully slow, even by Caribbean standards. The a la carte menu is also memorable for all the wrong reasons; the orange juice is too bitter, the toast aneroxically thin, and the accompanying slab of butter meagre. On the plus side, I enjoy the deliciously juicy, mini tropical fruit platter of melons, pineapple and bananas served each morning, while hotel staff make up for the snail-like service by being effortlessly warm and friendly.

In addition, the hotel has plenty to offer guests. There's the Sea Shells Spa offering affordable priced treatments: massages and facials from about £10, manicure, pedicures and hair style services, plus the option of poolside or in-room massage treatments. Sports lovers can play tennis at an on-site court, there's free internet access in the lobby, a convenient poolside bar called Nardoni's, a small souvenir shop (albeit permanently closed during our stay) and a tour desk.

Eager to explore, my husband and I book the rainforest zip line tour (£67pp) in which we spend half a day whizzing through a dense canopy at heights of up to 30m (130ft) above the ground as colourful butterflies and hummingbirds dart around us.

We also enjoy a full-day catamaran cruise (£70pp), gliding past glorious beaches and St Lucia's stunning mountains, taking in the hot sulphur springs at Soufriere, the world's only drive-in volcano, and lunch at a cocoa plantation. I decide it's definitely the best way to tour St Lucia.

Back in Rodney Bay, it's no longer than a five minutes walk from our hotel to a strip of restaurants situated behind a marina. There's an eclectic choice of bars and restaurants offering everything from Mexican, Indian, Chinese to Caribbean, Thai and Italian. Plans to open a swish entertainment, shopping and dining complex called the Baywalk Mall featuring the island's first casino, will undoubtedly add to the area's appeal.

For real party animals, it's only10 minutes by taxi to Gros Islet famed for its Friday night jump up party, an outdoor, all night street disco which is big on atmosphere, lethal rum punches and frenetic, infectious dancing.

Anyone jetting off to St Lucia would be hard pressed to find a hotel that combines comfortable rooms, a gorgeous beach, exquisite sunsets, and a location close to the heart of the action other than the Village Inn & Spa.

The Village Inn & Spa
Reduit Beach, Rodney Bay,
P.O. Box 3050, La Clery,
St. Lucia.
Tel: (758) 458 3300
Website: www.villageinnstlucia.com