Boucan by Hotel Chocolat

We were totally wowed by this resort the minute we stepped on the property! The breathtaking mountain view of the famous Pitons stood grandly before us in the open main lobby/ restaurant area, where we were promptly welcomed by resident manager Judy! Her warm and friendly nature set the mood for the entire rest of our stay. We were then given an informative tour of the grounds, including the gorgeous infinity pool area, where free snacks(cookies and plantain chips) and water are readily available. Our spacious room conveniently had a mini bar/fridge as well as complimentary mineral water, coffee and treats of chocolate nib cookies, truffles and coconut chips for our enjoyment. My very favorite feature of the room was the stone waterfall shower with an open view of the moon overhead! We enjoyed delicious complimentary breakfasts every morning, which started with a tray of local tropical fruits like mango, pineapple, and the sweetest bananas I've ever tasted! Breakfast specials change daily and include such items as omelette, French toast, and chocolate chip pancakes. With chocolate being the focus of the entire resort, dinners featured the cocoa flavor in unique ways. We enjoyed bread with chocolate butter and cocoa balsamic sauce at every meal. The chocolate lava dessert was heavenly! Each entree we had was delicious and elegantly presented. The bar offered the most extensive list of specialty cocktails I have ever seen! The hotel offers daily transport to a lovely beach via shuttle and a ride aboard the Boucaneer II, where the boat captain and crew happily shared info about their beautiful island. Our enjoyment was certainly their priority! We boarded the Bouconeer again for the sunset cruise, which offered the most amazing views of the Majestic Pitons rising straight from the beautiful Caribbean. And yes, our party experienced the "green flash", a rare phenomenon I had never heard of! The boat crew went the extra mile to create an unforgettable excursion for us. We also enjoyed the coca production tour with Cuthbertson, whose passion for--and knowledge of--his trade is amazing! What a lot we learned from this very hands-on experience. And yes, we grafted and named our very own cocoa tree, which will be planted on the grounds for us to locate on future visits. My husband and I have enjoyed many islands in the Caribbean, but only our Hotel Chocolate experience would earn the adjective "amazing". We miss it already! Many thanks to Judy and her excellent staff for insuring that our stay earned five stars!

Hotel chocolat at Boucan has been on wish list for some time. Right from the welcome hot chocolate and salted caramel chocolate cocktail, and a chat to the owner/manager Judy, it felt perfect. Wonderful food on every occasion, with so many touches related to cocoa beans or cocoa butter but not overwhelmed by it. Friendly helpful chef even coped with us vegetarians. The infinity pool with views over the Pitons was great for morning dips or afternoon cooling off or backdrop to wonderful romantic evening meals. The basic rooms had luxury semi outdoor showers. The pool had an ultra luxury hot shower with body jets. The highlight of the trip was Cuthbert's tour of the cocoa plants and the chance to understand the grower's skill and science behi d cocoa bean growing and harvesting. All the guests could graft cocoa plants and tag them with their names and come and see them bearing fruit in 18-24 months time. We hope to get back and check on them. In the meantime we will have to make do with our local factory outlet shop in Huntingdon.

I was very excited to go to this restaurant, friends had told me how good it was. My main meal was good but parts of it were cold as were my husbands, he was very disappointed with his veal the four tiny pieces of meat sat with four larger dollops of cold mash. We did complain after the meal and I hope my complaint registered! We should really have sent it back for being cold which is just a basic rule of cookery. The desserts were ok not mind blowing like I was hoping. Service was good and of course the view was great.

We stayed at the hotel for 3 nights at the start of our honeymoon. We were really excited to come to the hotel as we had heard and read such great things about it. We were greeted warmly on arrival and given a very friendly and informative induction to the hotel while we sat in the restaurant (which was fabulous and which we reviewed separately). On arrival to our Luxe Lodge everything was perfectly presented. These are big spacious lodges with big 4 poster beds with mosquito nets round them and large private open balconies with loungers, mini fridge, and a huge bathroom with rainforest shower. The views are breathtaking, the petit piton in full view ahead and nothing but tropical rainforest between you. The pool area is small but we didn't ever see it overcrowded, and the infinity pool is just great looking. The hotel is on the working cocoa estate where Hotel Chocolat grow their cocoa to use for their chocolate making, and this is an amazing concept you don't get at other hotels. You can take various walks around the estate which is fantastic. The rooms were always clean after housekeeping had been in, and any staff we saw around the grounds were always friendly and polite. All in all the hotel has all the ingredients for a magical, perfect stay. Unfortunately, this was all slightly tainted for us by the fact that there is absolutely no air conditioning in the hotel -anywhere! All areas of the hotel, i.e. lodges, restaurant and pool are really open, presumably to not obstruct the amazing views and to encourage a breeze and have ceiling fans. But this does little to cool you off, and by the end of our 3 nights stay we were actually glad to be leaving for another hotel as we both felt pretty close to heatstroke. Sounds dramatic, but there really is nowhere to go to cool off and if you are not used to that (and possibly even if you were) it gets to be too much after a while. The open design of the lodges means there can be no air conditioning, and yes its eco-friendly, but when you spend a good amount of money to stay there to relax, its impossible if you are overheating. We had plenty of "visitors" to the lodge, due to the open design - numerous lizards, a cockroach, mosquitoes, and a spider during our stay. This didn't massively bother us, but its worth noting there is no way to stop any of these coming into the lodge. The nights are also rather noisy from the jungle around you. The jungle sounds were actually an amazing part of the experience, as its not very often you get to sleep with those sounds around you, however again its because the lodges are so open that you hear them which brings me back to the air con issue! All in all a very unique hotel in an amazing location, with (almost) all thats needed for a perfect hotel and perfect holiday, but sadly disappointed us in some areas.

This is one of the best hotels / restaurant on the planet. The location is amazing in the middle of a cacao plantation. The Rooms are elegant beautifully decorated and generous in size. However you must try the restaurant. The breakfasts are to die for. the dinners are luxurious and relaxed. Try the cocktails and if you are lucky enough you get to sample some of the new line chocolates.

My husband and I have recently returned from a week's stay at the Boucan resort hotel. From our first arrival to our time of departure, we were made to feel very welcome (and this had nothing to do with the rum cocktails we were given as we were checking in!!). Our luxe lodge was lovely - huge bathroom with large waterfall shower, very comfortable bed, lots of wardrobe space and a very spacious veranda with sun loungers – a great place to catch the last rays before the sun sets each evening as you sit with an amazing view of the Petit Piton. The open aspect of the lodge is wonderful and having a morning cup of tea with numerous birds sitting beside you was great! (just be careful not to leave glasses unattended….we had one little finch taking a bath!!) As the hotel is on a cocoa plantation, it's very green (although I think the rain helps with that too!). There are numerous walks offered - we did all of them! Judy and her team were great in suggesting options including the Old French Trail, the Big Nature, or the walk to the Sulphur Springs (the hill on the way back is not for the feint-hearted!). We also took up the challenge of walking the Gros Piton. The view from the top was worthwhile but it was tough. Take determination, good shoes, a good camera and a small towel/flannel to help mop up ‘your effort’! The pool area is relatively small but beautiful and it was never crowded. The trip to Sugar Beach is good – a chance to see Soufriere and the boat trip is a highlight. We booked the underwater trip too. This was my husband’s first time snorkelling in the Caribbean – and he’s still talking about it (it’s very different to the Med, the Adriatic and esp. the North Sea!). We also took part in the tree-to-bean and bean-to-bar experience – it’s good fun, Merle was very engaging, and we’re looking forward to hearing all about our tree in the years to come. We ate in the restaurant several times during our stay and were never disappointed. The food is fantastic (personal favourites were the tuna and the chocolate lava!) and the presentation is worthy of any top-class restaurant. Breakfast was a feast in itself – with so many options and always including a fresh fruit plate. Overall this was a fantastic holiday. One of the biggest highlights are the staff who are so friendly and helpful – they will engage as much as you want them too (if you want time alone, they’re happy to smile and leave you be). Judy was so welcoming and was always happy to give you tips about what to do/where to go. Special thanks also go to Marguerite, who even managed to find a tiny screwdriver for my husband to fix his phone case! Would we come back – definitely. Next time we would probably hire a car so we could see more of the island and maybe try the dry season – NB: when it rains, it really rains!!!

We decided to return to the Boucan after enjoying it so much last year. In 20 years of travelling we never usually return to a hotel as there is so much of the world to see. So we were slightly nervous; was it as good as we remembered, would we be bored, could standards be maintained? On arrival at the hotel the answer was "Yes", "No", "Yes". The welcome was great, the view of the Pitons still stunning and the atmosphere was instant relax - very important if you are staying somewhere like we were for just four nights. We had the same luxe lodge as last year, open the door and it was like being at home. Our routine was the same - explore the estate on foot - Old French Trail, Big Nature (even better views) and Sulphur Springs (still interesting second visit), Sugar Beach - love the boat transfer, snorkeling and simply relaxing, or just sit on your balcony and watch TV (The View). This time we booked the Sunset Cruise which was turned into a dolphin watching trip, the crew were great to spot a large pod and then put us amongst the dolphins for 30 minutes or so. The backdrop of the Pitons, intense blue seas, rainbows over Soufriere, oh, and a sunset was simply magical. The food is still first class, breakfast is a real delight, the fruit is so fresh and dinners were great. The staff are so friendly and helpful. There is no stress to staying here. Would we come back to Boucan?, certainly - there is more of the island to see if you can bear to leave this fantastic bubble.

Came here just for the restaurant, and did not stay here. Food was excellent, everything has a touch of chocolate as this is an operating cocoa farm. Deserts are out of this world. If you like chocolate try the lava cake for desert it was amazing!

This hotel is famous throughout town for its rooftop infinity pool - it's awesome! It's the place to come hangout on weekends with friends with some pretty sweet views of the city. This is a very chic chain hotel with all the amenities you'd want. It's got a great location overlooking the sea and near some excellent restaurants and the nightlife. We were welcomed as a gay couple. Also being based here meant we were walking distance to the gay hangouts - at the time we visited there were just two - D8 and Le Petit.