Story: Ian Stalker
Saint Lucia’s Coconut Bay Beach Resort & Spa is looking increasingly spiffed up and elevated, a trend that will increase this fall.
Natalia Greene, the resort’s vice president of sales & marketing, said during a recent one-on-one interview with Travel Courier that last year saw the property spend US$7 million redoing its 125-room, adults-only Harmony wing, a project she makes clear didn’t simply amount to token touches.
“That was not a facelift. We took all the rooms down to the studs. Some people, when they do renovations, it’s paint, and colours,” she said of Coconut Bay, which refers to itself as a ‘four-star premium all-inclusive’ resort. “I want people to know that this was a hefty investment, and that it wasn’t just a facelift, it wasn’t just slap some paint on there and change some of the linens. We took the rooms down to the studs, new flooring, new lighting, but the biggest deal was we redid the bathrooms completely, new flooring, new lighting, new plumbing, really brand new bathrooms, a very hefty investment to the tune of $7 million and so when we reopened in fall of 2025 we had a brand new Harmony wing. The rooms do not bear any resemblance to their former selves, and because of that we did all new room category names for Harmony as well, because we really wanted to tell the story that the new has no similarity to the old whatsoever.”
Notably, work is now underway to complete another US$7 million renovation across its 125-room, family-friendly Splash wing, with all of its rooms being “completely revamped” when Coconut Bay reopens in October following its annual closure in September. Half of the Splash rooms have already been redone.
“This year’s news, which is the exciting part, is that all of the Splash wing will be complete as well,” she added. “We’ll have a brand new Coconut Bay.”
Following a complete makeover of its adults-only Harmony wing, Coconut Bay Beach Resort & Spa is now enhancing its family-friendly Splash wing to the tune of US$7 million
Notably, tubs will now be found in the Splash rooms, which used to have showers alone.
“We’ve got a high repeat guest factor at Coconut Bay,” Greene continued. “We want our guests to see something new and different every time they come, especially from Canada. Our Canadian guests tend to return over and over in the winter, of course, when your climate is not as warm and friendly, and our climate is always warm and friendly.”
Greene notes her company also offers Serenity, a five-star luxury resort, with Serenity and Coconut Bay sharing the same 85 acres and one mile of beach, but operating independently. Serenity guests can enjoy all Coconut Bay amenities, but not vice versa. Both resorts were named top 1% worldwide by Tripadvisor reviewers.
Meanwhile, Greene said St. Lucia is a distinctive vacation retreat, “with so much to do beyond the beach. What I love about Saint Lucia is it has a very diverse topography, and it’s a volcanic island, so there are white-sand beaches, there are black-sand beaches, there are rain forests, there are waterfalls. You can go snorkeling, hiking, biking, zip lining, and ATV tours. There’s a lot to do beyond the beach, including hiking and surfing. You can hike the Pitons [dramatic natural landmarks that rise above the terrain], and someone who wants to soak up the sun can absolutely soak up the sun for that one day, but they can experience authentic Caribbean culture and authentic Caribbean hospitality.”
Greene conceded that St. Lucia is “not a top of mind destination” for some travel agents. “St. Lucia is more of an aspirational destination, it’s more of a romance destination. It’s become known as the honeymoon capital of the Caribbean,” she adds.
Unlike many Caribbean destinations, Greene notes the island doesn’t have 1,000 room hotels or 20-story hotels and many of its hotels are independently owned and operated.
She said the resort is aware of the Iran war’s effect on international travel.
“Our executive leadership team is paying very close attention to the circumstances because it does impact our global inbound markets,” she added. “What we are trying to do is make sure we keep our rates in line with what’s happening with the fuel costs. When necessary, of course, we will increase savings, and that’s also why we’re watching what all of the tour operators are doing in terms of their package pricing. For instance, right now Air Canada Vacations has an early winter sale, so we’re trying to piggyback on that with our resort savings to go out there to market to train it to consumers to say, ‘Hey, listen, now’s the time to book, let’s take advantage of these low airfares, these offers, because we don’t know what’s going to happen with the fuel pricing.”
Greene cautioned that those who choose to wait to book may encounter two scenarios.
“We can be sold out, or the airfares can go up really high, because St. Lucia is not a book-inside-of 90-days destination. The best deal is that four-to-six month to eight month window in advance. Right now, we’re booking well into 2027. I don’t think people are waiting for the last-minute sale anymore.”
A look at Serenity at Coconut Bay, a five-star luxury resort
Meanwhile, Coconut Bay and Serenity have announced several incentives and promotions for travel agents in this country. Of note, there’s a new Canada Agent Double Bonus program running from June 1 to Aug. 31, 2026, for travel through June 30, 2027. Air Canada Vacations also has incentives that include 4,000 Aeroplan points per 7 night stay at Coconut Bay and 12,000 for Serenity at Coconut Bay.
Meanwhile, group benefits include an 8th passenger free offer for five rooms and five nights, while agents can earn 7 FREE nights at Coconut Bay with a 10-room contracted group.
Travel Agent Booking Portals are Coconut Bay Portal: cbayresort.com/travel-agents and Serenity Portal: serenityatcoconutbay.com/travelagents. The dashboard will track bookings and commission. Advisors can also reach out to Suzanne Fleming, 416-209-2033, [email protected] for more information on incentives.
