First look: St Lucia’s newest all-inclusive resort is bookable using Hyatt points

A dream I’ve had for over 15 years was to go to the island of St. Lucia.

The rolling, lush, green mountains; the clear, blue water; the litany of relaxing resorts. It captured an obsession of sorts from me back in the impressionable days when I was up all night with a newborn. A gorgeous brochure about visiting St. Lucia I somehow ended up with became my mental distraction and fuel when I was up all night caring for a newborn back in those long days.

But, at that time, St. Lucia felt out of reach. Too expensive. Too far.

As a points and miles traveler, St. Lucia was not at the top of my active trip planning board for many years, as while it was home to some outstanding resorts, they weren’t really the kind I could book with hotel points … at least, not until recently.

Fast-forward to the present day, and there are now multiple ways to use your points and enjoy that tropical island vacation of your dreams, which is exactly what we just did thanks to being able to use World of Hyatt points at the new Secrets St. Lucia Resort & Spa that just opened in June 2025.

With both of my kids thankfully long past the days of keeping me up at night as infants, and both big enough to be away doing summer activities for a few days, my husband and I headed to this all-inclusive, adults-only resort to check it out. Here, I’ll share what we found, in case St. Lucia has been on your travel wish list, too.

Related: Best all-inclusive resorts in the world

First impressions of Secrets St. Lucia

We had a legit James Bond moment as we arrived by private boat transfer right up to the hotel’s beach, rolled up our pants and walked through the water onto the sand.

(And no, it wasn’t James Bond prices. It was about $135 to $150 per person from the airport to the hotel via Clearwater Tour Company.)

We were met on the beach by our first of many exceedingly friendly Secrets employees, several of whom very quickly learned and remembered our names.

Since we were entering from the ocean, we walked from the beach, past the pools and swim-up bars, toward the lobby that sits in the heart of the 355-room resort. Aided by some relaxing big band music playing in the background, the lobby evoked a bygone era, when things moved slowly and taking in the moment was the norm.

Needless to say, we were happy to embrace that vibe and had smiles on our faces even before our first (on land) rum punch of the trip.

And if I had any fears that this resort would be too much of a base-music-thumping, 24-hour booze fest, given the all-inclusive nature of it all, one walk through the property pretty much put those fears at ease. Secrets St. Lucia had a mostly relaxed vibe with people of a variety of ages and backgrounds who came to relax, have fun and soak up some sun.

Secrets St. Lucia is a new resort nestled into the sloping hills along the coast, which means you will get your steps in as you head up to your room or back down to the pools and restaurants.

While this resort just opened in June 2025, know that it is not an all-new build. This used to be the St. James’s Club Morgan Bay before it closed for a multiyear renovation and rebranded to a Secrets resort, which, of course, brings with it pluses like mature foliage and minuses such as some older facilities.

The rooms at Secrets St. Lucia

We stayed in building No. 1, which was one of the closest buildings to the lobby, just up a hill (like I said, you will get some steps in here).

The room’s style was that of a timeless beach resort, featuring a wooden floor paired with crisp white and blue decor.

While we had initially been assigned a king deluxe room, when I asked at check-in about what benefits we may get as Hyatt Globalists, the staff eventually changed our room assignment to one with a swim-out plunge pool at no extra charge.

As this is a newer integration with Hyatt, I found a few times that we had to ask around a bit to learn what benefits Hyatt elite status brought with it at this resort. I’m not 100% sure I ever got a comprehensive list of perks, but we did eventually learn we could access the Preferred pool and lounge, too, which is where you could find some elevated beer and cocktail selections.

I also must add that my favorite pool at the Secrets St. Lucia was the Preferred pool located up on the hill. It had great views, was always calm while we were there and had more comfortable loungers to read in.

This is also where you’ll find the Preferred pool bar with some upgraded drink offerings.

New hotels often come with some quirks at first, which is to be expected, especially at a beach resort on an island. With that said, we did meet a variety of guests who had some very real issues with their rooms, ranging from water leaks to no running water for long periods of time. Even one guest we spoke with at the pool claimed to be dealing with a number of crabs trying to take up residence in their room.

Thankfully, our room didn’t have those exact issues, but it did have an odor to it that wasn’t quite strong enough to make us ask to be moved but was noticeable every time we walked in.

I don’t know if it was related to some prior water issues or something else entirely. Do pack your patience if coming in the near future, and don’t be shy to flag any room issues that necessitate reassignment, as this didn’t seem uncommon there right now. That said, the staff appeared to be doing all it could to assist, from what we saw and heard.

Dining at Secrets St. Lucia

Let’s get to the good stuff — all the included food and beverages you care to enjoy at the resort’s restaurants, which include:

• Himitsu (hibachi and pan-Asian)
• L’Creperie (crepes and tapas)
• Portofino (Italian)
• Market Cafe (the buffet, open for breakfast and lunch)
• Morgan’s Pier (French)
• Seaside Grill (steakhouse and seafood)
• Oceana (seafood and eventually a la carte breakfast for Preferred Club guests)
• Coco Cafe (coffee and light snacks)

I loved that dining at Secrets St. Lucia wasn’t a competitive sport, meaning you didn’t have to fight for reservations.

In fact, except for the hibachi tables, reservations weren’t accepted. Of course, this could change as the resort gets busier, but for now, it was a nice change from some other all-inclusives we have visited.

A must-try is the Italian-themed restaurant, Portofino.

It has indoor seating, very attentive service and some tasty dishes, which started with the fluffy bread with vinegar and olive oil and continued through the appetizers and onto the shrimp scampi.

I’d also like to give a special shoutout to the pan-fried garlic shrimp and fried calamari at La Petite, which was a delicious and easy lunch option for when you’re not feeling the buffet.

The food we had wasn’t all home runs, but none of what I tried was bad. Most of it ranged from good enough to pretty good. It was not yet consistently at the level of the food we enjoyed at the Secrets Moxche Playa del Carmen in Mexico, but again, we are grading on a curve of sorts, as this Secrets resort is still very new.

What I enjoyed a lot was the fact that we weren’t getting a bill for each bite of sushi, plate of barbecue on the beach, glass of wine or dessert.

That feeling of having it all included truly is relaxation-inducing. Also absolutely noteworthy was the staff, who never let a water glass go dry, checked in on us frequently throughout the meals and was the kind of friendly that really makes you smile and feel welcome.

When it comes to included drinks at the bars, expect to find beer such as the local brew, Piton, along with Heineken and Red Stripe.

In the Preferred Club lounge and pool bar, you will also find Guinness. In the Preferred areas, some of the alcohol choices include Grey Goose, Ketel One, Glenfiddich, Glenlivet 12, Johnny Walker and Makers.

Location and logistics of Secrets St. Lucia

Secrets St. Lucia sits on the northwest side of the island near the city of Castries. That places it close to an hour by boat from the main airport or, I’m told, about 90 minutes by car.

The island isn’t especially large, at 14 miles across and 27 miles long. However, the roads are winding and hilly. As someone prone to motion sickness, I skipped doing any real distance on the island by car and instead booked our transfers to and from the airport and for excursions by boat.

As mentioned, we used Clearwater Tour Company for our trip from the airport to the resort and our transfer to the second resort we tried on St. Lucia, the other Hyatt all-inclusive, Zoetry Margot Bay St. Lucia.

To return to the airport, we used the FunToSee Island ferry, which operates on a set schedule and picks up and drops off in Castries, a short (included) car ride from the Secrets resort.

I highly recommend using a boat to get to and from the airport and the Secrets resort, if possible. It was fun, lovely and, in my opinion, far preferable to tackling winding roads in a car.

What it cost to stay at Secrets St. Lucia

Another reason I’m not being too harsh on this resort despite some bumps in the road is that it is priced lower than some other all-inclusives we have enjoyed.

For me, it is reasonable to have somewhat lower expectations for this resort, which is a Category C resort in the World of Hyatt all-inclusive chart and starts at 21,000 points per night, than Secrets Moxche (or even the Zoetry on St. Lucia), which are both Category E resorts and start at 35,000 points per night.

We paid 25,000 World of Hyatt points per night for each of our three nights, which, again, is a solid deal in my book, considering that it included all our meals and drinks during the stay for both of us.

Related: TPG’s guide to the best all-inclusive resorts you can book with points

A few great ways to earn Hyatt points so you can take a trip like this without spending your hard-earned cash include:

• Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (see rates and fees): Points transfer to Hyatt at a 1:1 ratio, and it is currently offering a welcome bonus of 75,000 bonus points after spending $5,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.
• Chase Sapphire Reserve® (see rates and fees): Points transfer to Hyatt at a 1:1 ratio, and it is currently offering a limited-time welcome bonus of 100,000 bonus points and a $500 Chase Travel℠ promo credit after spending $5,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.

If you are paying with cash, those rates seem to start at around $450 per night for double occupancy during lower-demand dates.

Accessibility

I would not consider this resort especially accessibility-friendly.

First, the hillside terrain means there is often not a flat pathway to get from point A to point B. I also did not notice any pool lifts, and when searching for accessible rooms on the website, I did not see any options displayed.

Things to know before staying at Secrets St. Lucia

I’m going to sound like a broken record saying that, as a guest staying within the first couple of months of operations, it is common and expected for hotels to have some service hiccups and issues they are still working out, so some of this is likely to improve with time. However, if you are considering a near-term stay at this resort, here are some things to note so you can decide if it is a good match for you.

• While there were some included water, juice and soft drinks, there were no snacks or alcohol in our room’s minibar. It’s possible this was just an oversight or may evolve over time. Additionally, the stock in the minibar was not refreshed during our three-night stay.
• Room service, and sometimes dinner service in the restaurants, can take a while to arrive at times.
• Outside of the crepes and tapas, which were great, the midday snacks on the property are a little underwhelming.
• While there are some activities, there is not yet a ton to do at the resort beyond the bars, beach and pools.
• The TV reception in the rooms was a bit glitchy.
• Some rooms have problems such as a lack of water, leaks, critters and odors.
• The resort is 60 to 90 minutes from the airport.

I’ll also add that if you are susceptible to bug bites, you may want to use bug repellent diligently.

Bottom line

I went into this trip wanting St. Lucia to live up to the destination I’ve had in my dreams for years … and in many ways, it did.

While I think the island is unquestionably lovely, your specific near-term experiences at Secrets St. Lucia itself will likely be influenced a bit by whether you are looking for things to enjoy or things to get frustrated about, as there will likely be some of both.

The luck of the room assignment may also play a role in your experience. A longer-than-desired wait at dinner is one thing, but some of the issues guests have been experiencing in the rooms in recent weeks, including potentially the one we were in, are another.

All that said, we had a relaxing, affordable and enjoyable stay overall at a resort that I think has the potential to be a solid option on an incredibly beautiful island. Right now, it can be a good destination if you can roll with some not-always-perfect things and like to view things with a glass-half-full perspective, as we did.

Otherwise, let some more months go by and see how things evolve at this St. Lucia all-inclusive resort by the ocean with incredibly friendly staff and what will hopefully be a long and enjoyable future.