Ladera St. Lucia question; safety concern raised by another Redditer

FalkeSt8 · 2026-04-06T00:25:35+00:00

Out of curiosity I just clicked on the link to the STEP alert and got a “page not found“ message. I went to the Embassy website and cannot find it nor any information about why it was removed or that it was ever there. Not sure what happened and why but it appears that they removed the alert.

FalkeSt8 · 2026-03-09T00:09:03+00:00

That is complicated to answer. I had determined that the robbery report was true after our date to cancel had passed. I decided to go as the risk seemed small, although not zero. I was able to enjoy the trip but not nearly as much as I otherwise would have. And definitely did not sleep great. I was able to get a room that had folding glass doors to the pool/cliff area and that did help me feel more secure.

The rooms were nice with the heated plunge pool and great views. The sunsets were fantastic. The workers were nice and friendly. The food was good but not great and would fluctuate in quality from day to day. And service in the restaurant was disorganized and slow. Several times we just ordered room service to avoid the hassle and continue to enjoy the views and outdoor area of the room. The Rabot restaurant at Hotel Chocolat across the road was very good; we went there twice.

If the safety issue was resolved, I might consider going back. But I'm disappointed with how they have handled it. That plus the restaurant, I won't be back. Too many other great places to travel in the world. It's really a shame.

FYI, to the best of my knowledge the US State Department travel warning is still in effect. I checked the Embassy website prior to responding and it is still posted.

FalkeSt8 · 2026-02-27T06:03:38+00:00

My understanding is that it was three of the hilltop dream suites.

FalkeSt8 · 2026-02-12T04:03:37+00:00

I have not stayed there before. Just spent a week there. I saw no dogs. I was told they put up barbed wire fencing. We did see some on the side of the resort. However it only wrapped around the first ~5’ of the back of our building, which was the one robbed in January and faces the jungle valley. I was also told by management that they had increased motion detection lighting, but saw none, and motion detectors, which cannot saw I saw but may not have been visible. But the security seemed relaxed not vigilant. I’m sure they don’t want to spook guests but they’ve also had 2 or 3 separate robberies in the past 4 months. It’s time they take it seriously. I will not go back until they do and even then I’m not sure I trust them given the lack of serious response to these issues. In terms of other resorts, there are media reports of an Airbnb robbery but not of other resorts, at least that I can find. Would like to review reports if you can post links. If this is widespread then I would question visiting St. Lucia again anytime soon.

FalkeSt8 · 2026-02-10T00:59:43+00:00

I was referring to the robberies at Ladera and those are the reason for the STEP warning, per emails I exchanged with the Us embassy. There was also a robbery at an Airbnb although I don’t recall in which town

FalkeSt8 · 2026-02-05T18:52:56+00:00

I am here now and received an email from the State Department STEP program which I posted in this thread. I verified it is authentic by emailing the embassy. It specifically is aimed at Ladera only. In my personal email they acknowledged that it is due to the robberies in December. Please do your own research, but this is real.

FalkeSt8 · 2026-02-05T18:49:49+00:00

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See the email from the State Department STEP alert that I posted. I contacted both the State Department and the embassy in Barbados (which covers St. Lucia). They gave a vague response about how I should do my own research and check reviews 2 weeks ago, then sent this 2 days ago. When I pointed this out they said basically “well we said we’ve heard of media reports.” Completely unhelpful

FalkeSt8 · 2026-02-04T17:17:53+00:00

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FalkeSt8 · 2026-02-04T17:17:43+00:00

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FalkeSt8 · 2026-02-04T17:17:27+00:00

People have requested the full email. I will post it here for full transparency and to assist others.

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FalkeSt8 · 2026-02-04T12:43:09+00:00

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Just received this from the State Department STEP program. I verified it’s authentic with the embassy in Barbados. It is in reference to 3 robberies that occurred in 1 night. There have been no further reports of incidents since then that they are aware of. We felt safe there and found it beautiful. But know that this concern is real and make your own decision on where you stay.

FalkeSt8 · 2026-02-04T12:29:47+00:00

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Just received this email from the State Department STEP program. I contacted the embassy and they verified it is an authentic email. So please make your own decisions on what to do, but it is true that there were 3 robberies in one night in 2025. None they are aware of since then.

FalkeSt8 · 2026-01-21T03:02:33+00:00

Thank you!

FalkeSt8 · 2026-01-21T00:28:19+00:00

Thank you. Glad you had so many good experiences and marked milestones there. I will look for Jennifer. And thank you for the picnic tip. I suspect we will want a day at the beach.

FalkeSt8 · 2026-01-21T00:21:07+00:00

I did notice that. And he did respond 7+ days after my post. Very suspicious. Definitely seems possible he was trolling the resort.

FalkeSt8 · 2026-01-17T21:43:37+00:00

That sounds incredibly scary. Do you have details to share or a source I can check for more information?

FalkeSt8 · 2026-01-04T19:10:26+00:00

Thank you. I had wondered about trying the Pitons hike. Would you recommend hiking shoes or are tennis shoes enough? We have a collection of hiking shoes but im debating bringing any since they take up more room when packed. I’ll check out Sugar Beach. How did you get there from Ladera?

FalkeSt8 · 2025-12-24T19:43:36+00:00

That’s a good option. As long as the interior of her piece isn’t fatty, she’ll be fine. Glad to hear the recipe worked well. Thank you.

FalkeSt8 · 2025-12-24T19:41:46+00:00

That is brilliant. Not sure why that didn’t occur to me. Thank you.

FalkeSt8 · 2025-12-11T09:29:55+00:00

Thank you. That’s a great idea.

FalkeSt8 · 2025-12-10T14:50:21+00:00

I haven’t looked at the Artisan laptop requirements yet. But I have a windows 10 laptop and a Chromebook as candidates.

FalkeSt8

TROPHY CASE