By  JANEEN CHRISTOFF From Travel Pulse

While this Caribbean island has some ties to the French and the British, it’s worth noting that — apart from it’s volcanic similarities and stunning beauty — Saint Lucia has a very distinct culture.

It’s fascinating history is reason alone to visit St. Lucia and it’s stunning beauty — often said to be the prettiest island in the Caribbean — is just the icing on the cake. 

“Today, the 27-mile-long, 14-mile-wide island is a member of the British Commonwealth, but with strong French ties. Tourists are usually happy to find that English is the island’s official language (although St. Lucians also speak in their own creole, which for most outsiders might as well be a mix of Turkish and Botswanan). French is often spoken (along with creole) in the smaller cities,” writes Bob Schulman for the Huffington Post. 

The Pitons are what draw comparisons to other exotic islands such as Bora Bora as they jut right out of sea, creating stunning vistas from infinity pools at high-end hotels. 

“It’s no wonder that some of the island’s most exotic hotels – and St. Lucia has plenty of them – offer eye-popping views of the Pitons. A resort named Jade Mountain for example, features 24 suites known as “sanctuaries” facing the peaks from a nearby mountaintop. Perhaps you’ve seen this place on the covers of the travel magazines, or maybe you saw a neighboring resort called Anse Chastanet where guests can ooh and aah at the Pitons from rooms on the lower hillsides and along the beach,” Schulman writes. 

Intrigued? Discover more about St. Lucia — past and present — here. 

PHOTO: Jade Mountain Resort (courtesy Jade Mountain Resort) 

For more on this story go to: http://www.travelpulse.com/news/destinations/is-st-lucia-the-bora-bora-of-the-caribbean.html