Spending a Day at Sugar Beach Resort in St. Lucia
Sugar Beach is one of the most beautiful beaches in St. Lucia (in my opinion anyways) and I think it’s definitely worth a visit for anyone visiting the island. Sugar Beach is a beach located at the Viceroy Sugar Beach Resort; however, all beaches in St. Lucia are public beaches, so you don’t have to be a guest of the resort to enjoy the beach. This post is going to give you all the ins and outs of spending a day at Sugar Beach, even if you aren’t at a guest of the resort.
Without further ado, here is my guide to spending a day at Sugar Beach Resort in St. Lucia
Disclosure: My posts may contain affiliate links. If you buy something through one of those links, you won’t pay a penny more, but I’ll earn a small commission. As always, I will only include links to products I actually use, love, or recommend.
How to Get to Sugar Beach Resort
Depending on where you are staying on the island, there are a few ways to get to Sugar Beach. The main entrance to Sugar Beach is located off Laborie Vieux-Fort Highway. There is also a back entrance located on a road that I don’t know the name of, but it’s the same road the Gros Piton Nature Trail is on. Helpful, I know. We used the back entrance because it was closer to where we were staying in the Choiseul area of St. Lucia.
Google Maps works really well in St. Lucia, so just type in “Sugar Beach” and it will lead you straight there.
If you end up at the back entrance, don’t be alarmed. There is no parking lot and it’s located on a steep (downward) gravel road that ends at a guard shack for the resort. We parked in a little makeshift parking spot on the side of the road. The guards are very nice, just tell them you are there to purchase a day pass for the beach and they will call a shuttle to come pick you up.
Do You Have to Pay to Access the Beach?
The short answer is no, you don’t have to pay anything to visit the beach. As stated above, all beaches in St. Lucia are public beaches and can be accessed by anyone. But, there are a few “perks” that come along with paying for a day pass versus just enjoying the beach for free.
Day Pass Cost + What You Will Have Access To While Spending the Day at Sugar Beach Resort
As you will see below, there are two different options when it comes to cost, should you decide to skip the free access and splurge on a day pass.
Without Beach Chairs
The basic day pass rate is $50.00 (USD) per person. This rate includes access to the parking lot (if you come in the main entrance off Laborie Vieux-Fort Highway) and a shuttle down to the beach and back to the parking lot when you are ready to leave. You get to apply your $50.00 day pass fee toward food and drink (alcohol included) at either Bayside Restaurant or the resort’s beach service. You cannot use the credit at both places, you must pick either the restaurant or beach service.
With Beach Chairs
For an additional $50.00 (USD) per person, you can purchase access to the resort’s beach chairs (the very back row is for non-guests). You also get all of the perks listed above. This is the route my husband and I took and I would recommend it to anyone. We spent a total of $200.00 (USD) for both of us to spend the day at Sugar Beach, but $100.00 (USD) of that we were able to use as a credit on food and drinks.
We opted to spend our food and drink credit with the resort’s beach service instead of going to the restaurant and I thoroughly enjoyed sipping pina colada’s on the beach all day.
Is It Worth It?
Absolutely! And without a doubt I would do it again in a heartbeat. Considering rooms at the resort go for upwards of $500.00 per night (some are even $1,000+), I think splurging on a day pass with beach chair access is a total steal. The staff at Sugar Beach are amazing and very attentive and we both thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.
Know Before You Go
- Hold on to the day pass because you will need to show it when you arrive down to the beach and also when it’s time to close out your bill for any food and drinks. The pass will ensure your $50.00 (USD) credit (per person) is applied to your food and drink bill. Anything you spend over your allowance, you will have to pay out of pocket for.
- Access to the pool is completely off limits. You are allowed to use the restroom facility located by the pool, but not the pool itself.
- You cannot pay cash for the day pass or the beach chair rental, so don’t forget a credit card.
- Arrive early, especially if you want a beach chair. We arrived around 9:30am.
- The Day Pass is valid until 6:00pm.
If you’re interested in more Caribbean + beach destinations, you may like these posts:
SPENDING A DAY AT SUGAR BEACH IN ST. LUCIA
PIN ME!
Great info. Thanks!
Thank you so much for this info!
Author
You’re welcome! I am glad you found it helpful!
Such good info
Can you use the yellow floats in the water if you buy the $100 day pass?
Author
Yes, you can!
Can you use the spa? I would think not since the pool is off limits.
Author
I am honestly not sure. It was never mentioned and since we weren’t interested in the spa, I didn’t think to ask.
Great info! If you don’t get the beach chairs where can you eat and drink?
Would you know how much it would cost for a taxi to get there
Author
Unfortunately, I don’t. We rented a vehicle during our stay.
Thanks for the info
How much do they charge for an alcohol beverage ($50 might not be enough for a whole day in the sun) also can you purchase food ? Lunch /snacks if so do they charge a lot for that ?
Author
You’ll pay the difference for any food/beverage purchases over the allotted $50.00. On average, I would plan on spending $20.00-$30.00 for an entrée and probably around $10.00-$15.00 for a drink. The Sugar Beach website does have a menu for the beach service, with food prices, if you want to check it out to get an overall feel for pricing.
Hello! How do you purchase a day pass from the hotel?
Author
There is a guest parking lot you park in and a shuttle will come pick you up, but I would recommend calling the hotel in advance just to confirm everything.