Anse Chastanet is one of Saint Lucia’s most characterful resorts, perched above a protected marine reserve with some of the island’s best snorkeling just off the beach. It is also a place where your costs can rise quickly if you do not understand the meal-plan options, what is truly included, and how activities are priced. This guide walks through Anse Chastanet’s all inclusive and other meal plans, included activities, snorkeling and scuba costs, typical extras, and how to decide whether an inclusive package is worthwhile for your style of travel.
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Understanding Anse Chastanet’s Meal Plan Options
Unlike large chain all inclusives, Anse Chastanet is a boutique property that layers its food and drink options on top of a base room-only rate. At the simplest level you can book accommodation with breakfast only, add a partial meal plan such as Modified American Plan, or opt for one of the resort’s all inclusive style packages that wrap most meals and drinks into a single daily price. The resort also sells theme packages such as Total Romance or scuba-focused bundles where an all inclusive meal plan is already built into the rate.
Meal plans are typically described using terms many Caribbean travelers will recognize. Modified American Plan usually covers breakfast and dinner, Full American Plan normally adds lunch and afternoon tea, and All Inclusive extends to most alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverages by the glass. The resort’s current rate sheets confirm that packages like Total Romance use the all inclusive meal plan that includes breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea, dinner, and most drinks, while other promotions allow you to bolt on AI or MAP for a nightly surcharge per person.
When comparing, it helps to think in rough daily per person terms rather than just looking at the room rate. For example, in recent promotions targeted at regional guests, the resort has advertised all inclusive pricing around 195 US dollars per person per night in lower seasons, including meals and most drinks. International guests booking standard rate plans will usually see higher figures once taxes and service charges are factored in, but the structure remains similar: you are prepaying for the bulk of your food and beverages in exchange for predictable spending.
All meal plans are subject to Saint Lucia’s VAT and resort service charges, which can add around 20 percent or more to the underlying rate. The big decision is not only whether you plan to eat most meals on site, but how much you value the simplicity of prepaying versus the flexibility of sampling independent restaurants around Soufrière and along the west coast.
What the All Inclusive Plan Really Covers
At Anse Chastanet, the all inclusive plan is built around dining at the resort’s main restaurants and ordering beverages by the glass from bar lists that clearly mark included items. In practice, this usually means buffet or a la carte breakfast at the beachside restaurant or hillside Treehouse, lunch options on the beach, afternoon tea, and multi course dinners at the main venues. Most house wines by the glass, local beers, standard cocktails, and soft drinks are covered, while premium-label spirits, fine wines, and some top-shelf cocktails will appear on your bill as extras.
Menus for specialty experiences shed light on how surcharges work in reality. For instance, the resort’s castaway-style private beach dinners published in its sample menus show a dinner surcharge of around 70 US dollars per person even for guests already on all inclusive, Modified American, or Full American plans. That fee reflects the private set-up, location, and extra staffing, and it illustrates a wider point: the all inclusive plan is generous inside the standard outlets, but it does not eliminate all possible food and beverage charges.
If you are on an all inclusive package and dine at the Indian-Caribbean fusion Apsara or the beach grill, those restaurant menus are generally included without extra surcharges beyond what you have already paid for your plan. In contrast, select wine pairings, tasting menus, or specialty dinners may add either a fixed supplement or a credit system where your meal plan covers a set amount and any balance is charged. Couples who enjoy a bottle of midrange imported wine at dinner should expect to pay that separately, while those who are happy with the house wines by the glass will rarely feel constrained.
The resort also notes that minibar items, room service, and private bar set-ups are not automatically part of basic all inclusive deals unless you are on a specific premium package. Room fridges are typically stocked on arrival with a welcome drinks selection, but subsequent refills or special requests can appear as line items at checkout. Budgeting for a small cushion above your package cost is sensible if you know you like late-night snacks in your room or sunset champagne on your balcony.
Dining Flexibility, Restaurants, and Going Off Property
One of Anse Chastanet’s strengths is the variety of dining atmospheres on a relatively compact estate. Guests can eat breakfast and dinner in open air hillside venues with Piton views, enjoy casual barefoot lunches on Anse Chastanet beach, or wander along the coastal path to Anse Mamin for burgers and grilled seafood under the palms. There is also a dedicated plant-based menu, Emerald, served in the Piti Piton lounge on set evenings, which offers a fully vegetarian and vegan experience within the same overall meal plan framework.
Dinner reservations are encouraged rather than mandatory, which gives you flexibility to decide day by day whether you prefer the Treehouse, the beach restaurant, or a themed night like Indian-Caribbean at Apsara. If you wish to dine at Jade Mountain Club at the sister resort above Anse Chastanet, however, you must book in advance and expect a surcharge if you are on any meal plan. This is similar to how many integrated resorts treat signature restaurants that sit a step above the main outlets in terms of pricing and exclusivity.
Travelers who like to explore the local food scene often choose breakfast only or a Modified American Plan to keep evenings more flexible. Soufrière is roughly a 15 to 20 minute drive away, and nearby independent restaurants range from simple coastal grills to clifftop venues with tasting menus. With entrées at many off-property restaurants running from about 20 to 40 US dollars and cocktails typically 8 to 15 dollars, a couple who dines out several nights could spend a few hundred dollars beyond the resort’s own options over a week.
Safety wise, taxis and private drivers are the norm for reaching town or other parts of the island at night, and those costs should be part of your food budget if you plan to skip the resort restaurants frequently. The steep, winding access road and rural setting mean that few guests walk outside the estate after dark. If you suspect you will mostly dine on site and are not strongly motivated to chase off-property food, the convenience of a meal plan, particularly in high season when menus are more elaborate, becomes more attractive.
Included Activities, Snorkeling, and Water Sports Costs
Beyond meals, one of the biggest value drivers at Anse Chastanet is the resort’s location on a marine reserve with house reefs just off both of its beaches. Guests on standard room rates already enjoy several activity inclusions that can offset the higher nightly cost compared with a simple beach hotel. These include beach chairs and towels, use of non motorized water sports such as kayaks, paddleboards, small sailboats, and windsurfers, and complimentary use of snorkel gear to explore the reefs from shore.
Snorkeling equipment is typically provided free of charge for resort guests, with the house reef directly accessible from Anse Chastanet beach and additional coral formations within easy swimming distance at Anse Mamin. Guided boat snorkel trips are often included in all inclusive style packages and in special adventure or romance offers, which can be a notable saving compared with booking such trips a la carte. For example, dive and stay bundles marketed jointly by Scuba St Lucia and the resort include not only meals but also multiple guided boat dives or snorkel excursions with gear, which can otherwise cost a significant amount per person if purchased individually.
Certified divers benefit from the on-site PADI five star center, Scuba St Lucia. Dive packages sold through the center include tanks, weights, mask, snorkel, and fins, while buoyancy compensators and regulators may incur additional rental fees unless you are on a comprehensive course or higher-tier package. Separate listings show that a single Discover Scuba or resort course carries its own charge per person plus VAT and service, and marine park fees are typically paid locally on top of dive rates. This structure means that for guests planning several dives, a package that bundles accommodation, meals, and a set number of dives often delivers better value than paying for each component separately.
On land, guests have complimentary access to sunrise and sunset yoga, guided estate walks that highlight the 600 acre property’s history and botany, and use of the tennis court and equipment. More specialized activities such as jungle biking in the Anse Mamin valley, sailing on the resort yacht, or spa treatments are offered at published rates with tax and service added. Many of the multi night promotional packages roll a sampler of these experiences into the overall price, which can be attractive for first time visitors who want a structured but still relaxed stay.
Excursions, Spa, and Other Extra Charges to Expect
Even on an all inclusive or romance package, it is realistic to budget for a range of extras at Anse Chastanet. The resort’s excursion brochure makes clear that off property tours are subject to a 10 percent service charge and 10 percent VAT, and that pricing can vary with group size and seasonal demand. Classic Soufrière area excursions such as visits to the drive in volcano and sulphur springs, the Diamond Falls and mineral baths, or zipline courses in the rainforest are often bundled into Total Romance style offers, but guests on standard AI plans will usually pay for them separately.
As a concrete example, couples booking a Total Romance package receive airport transfers, a volcano and sulphur springs tour, a guided plantation walk, at least one guided boat snorkel trip, a spa massage per person, and a half day jungle biking and sailing experience as part of the package rate. Someone booking a more basic all inclusive plan without these inclusions might see line-item costs for each activity, with spa massages priced comparably to high-end Caribbean resort norms and half day private tours with driver easily running into the low hundreds of US dollars for two once taxes and tips are added.
Private dining carries its own surcharges even for guests on the most comprehensive meal plans. Beachfront candlelit setups, hillside private terraces, and villa style in-room dinners show supplements on sample menus that start around 70 US dollars per person for guests already on a plan, and more if you are on a room only or breakfast only rate. Wine pairings and celebration cakes for birthdays or anniversaries are typically itemized extras as well, so travelers marking a special occasion should add a comfortable cushion for these enhancements beyond the published package price.
Finally, transportation and small daily expenses are easy to overlook. The resort can arrange taxis or private transfers for day trips or dinner in town, and those are billed back to your room with service and tax added. Souvenir shopping, tips for exceptional service, and optional classes such as advanced dive certifications or private yoga all sit outside the scope of any meal plan. Building in a realistic buffer for these elements, perhaps 500 to 1,000 US dollars for a week for a couple who likes a few tours and some spa time, will keep your stay feeling indulgent rather than constrained.
Is an All Inclusive Package at Anse Chastanet Worth It?
Whether Anse Chastanet’s all inclusive plan represents good value depends on how you actually travel. For couples who plan to stay largely on property, eat three courses most evenings, enjoy beachside lunches, order several drinks each day, and book at least a handful of organized activities, a well structured package with AI meals and built-in excursions frequently comes out ahead of paying à la carte. Guests who have booked dive and stay offers with 8 to 12 dives per person plus all meals often report that the bundled rate feels fair given the caliber of the diving and the convenience of walking from their room to the dive boat.
By contrast, independent minded travelers who see the resort as a base rather than a bubble may be better served with breakfast only or Modified American Plan. If you expect to rent a car, explore Soufrière’s small restaurants, visit cocoa estates, and perhaps spend a day in the island’s north, you might find yourself off property for lunch and dinner several times. In that scenario, paying upfront for full AI can mean subsidizing meals you never eat. A common compromise is to choose MAP so breakfast and most dinners are handled, but leave lunch for times when you are actually on the beach.
Season and length of stay also matter. In shoulder season, free night promotions often extend whatever meal plan you have prebooked to the bonus night at no extra charge, effectively lowering your net daily cost. A six nights for the price of five offer with all inclusive included on the free night, for instance, can tilt the math in favor of a package even for travelers who are uncertain about how many cocktails they will ultimately order. Longer stays also give you more opportunities to use included activities like yoga and guided hikes, which increases the perceived value of a bundled approach.
Finally, personality plays a role. Some guests simply enjoy knowing that most of their stay is prepaid so they can leave wallets in the room and say yes to a second sundowner without calculating. Others feel constrained by meal plans and prefer the transparency of a lower base rate plus itemized bills for whatever they choose in the moment. Both approaches can work at Anse Chastanet, but it is worth being honest about your habits before committing to an all inclusive offer on a picturesque impulse.
Practical Cost-Planning Tips for Your Stay
Before you book, sketch a rough daily budget as if you were not on a meal plan. Estimate a midrange breakfast for two, a casual beachfront lunch with a drink each, and a full three course dinner with wine or cocktails. Then add what you realistically spend on coffee, smoothies, and beach drinks. When you compare that total to the daily uplift for MAP, FAP, or AI, you will quickly see which meal plan comes closest to your organic spending level. If the all inclusive premium is lower than your usual daily food and drink outlay, the package is likely to make financial sense.
Next, factor in the activities you are sure you will do. Certified divers might list four to eight boat dives over a week, while non divers eye a Discover Scuba course plus at least one guided snorkel trip. On land, many couples will schedule a sulphur springs outing, a half day sailing trip, and at least one massage each. Compare the sum of those expected costs against any package that includes similar elements. It is not uncommon to find that a romance or dive package effectively folds a couple of thousand dollars’ worth of meals and activities into a premium of only modestly more than the room rate plus simple meal plan.
When in doubt, email the resort’s reservations team with a specific outline of your plans. Provide details such as whether you drink alcohol, how often you expect to dine off property, and whether you plan on any dive courses or spa days. The team can suggest whether standard AI, a tailored package, or a partial meal plan fits best for your dates. They can also clarify grey areas like which wines are included by the glass, what counts as a premium spirit, or how surcharges apply at Jade Mountain Club, all of which remove surprises from your final bill.
Finally, build in a contingency fund even if you choose the most comprehensive plan available. Real world examples from recent guests show that even with food and beverage packages, many travelers still spend on private dinners, upgraded wines, off property tours, and shopping. Approaching Anse Chastanet with a clear-eyed budget plus a cushion allows you to enjoy its hillside views, twin beaches, and rich reef life without worrying about every signature on the room charge slip.
FAQ
Q1. What is actually included in Anse Chastanet’s all inclusive plan?
The all inclusive plan generally covers breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea, and dinner at the main resort restaurants, plus most alcoholic and nonalcoholic drinks by the glass, along with use of non motorized water sports and snorkel equipment. Premium spirits, fine wines, specialty coffees, private dining, spa treatments, and excursions are usually charged separately.
Q2. Are snorkeling and snorkel gear free for resort guests?
Yes, guests have complimentary use of snorkel gear and can access the house reef directly from Anse Chastanet beach and nearby Anse Mamin. Guided boat snorkel trips may be included in certain packages, but otherwise boat trips are typically an added cost with tax, service charge, and marine park fees.
Q3. Do I need a meal plan if I plan to dive a lot?
If you plan several dives, dive and stay packages that bundle accommodation, meals, and a set number of dives often provide better value and convenience than booking a basic room plus individual dives and restaurant meals. For occasional divers, a breakfast or Modified American Plan plus paying as you go for dives may be more economical.
Q4. Can I dine at Jade Mountain Club if I stay at Anse Chastanet?
Anse Chastanet guests can book lunch or dinner at Jade Mountain Club, but space is limited and reservations are essential. Surcharges usually apply even if you are on a meal plan, so it is wise to confirm current supplement amounts with the resort before you go.
Q5. How easy is it to eat at local restaurants instead of the resort?
Soufrière and surrounding areas have several independent restaurants reachable by taxi or private driver in about 15 to 20 minutes. It is straightforward to dine out a few nights, but transport costs, rural roads, and the time involved mean most guests still take many meals on property, which is why partial meal plans such as breakfast and dinner are popular.
Q6. Are tips and service charges included in Anse Chastanet’s prices?
Resort rates and activities are subject to service charges and VAT, and some comprehensive packages already include these components in the total price. When you sign for extras on site, you will usually see that service and tax have been added, but some guests still choose to tip staff directly for exceptional service.
Q7. Is the all inclusive plan worthwhile if I do not drink alcohol?
For non drinkers, Modified or Full American Plans often make more sense than full AI, since a significant portion of the all inclusive premium reflects alcoholic beverages. If you focus on food, soft drinks, and occasional mocktails, ask reservations to price MAP or FAP next to AI for your dates and compare the difference with what you typically spend.
Q8. What extra charges should couples budget for on top of a package?
Common extras include spa treatments, private or castaway dinners, premium wines and spirits, room service or minibar refills, off property tours, additional dives beyond package allowances, souvenirs, and taxi fares for exploring the island. Building in a flexible buffer for these items keeps your overall experience relaxed.
Q9. Can special diets like vegetarian or vegan be accommodated on meal plans?
Yes, the resort offers a dedicated plant based menu known as Emerald, alongside vegetarian and vegan options on its main menus. These dishes are available within standard meal plans, so guests with dietary preferences or restrictions can usually dine comfortably without needing custom pricing.
Q10. How far in advance should I book to get the best value on packages?
Booking several months ahead often gives you the widest choice of room categories and access to free night or credit promotions that enhance the value of meal plans and packages. Last minute stays can still be rewarding, but popular categories and the most attractive promotions may be limited or sold out during peak travel periods.