by Andrea McVeigh

WHY? Celebs love this sunny Caribbean island. Amy Winehouse spent three months there at the start of the year, and now she's back again, while Denise Van Outen and Lee Mead flew to the island to celebrate their engagement. If it's good enough for them, it's good enough for us!

EAT: The whole island is a food-lovers paradise with menus offering everything from mouth-watering, freshly-caught, fish to succulent steaks, all accompanied by the local 'hot sauce', which is offered as a spicy addition to almost all meals.

Road-side stalls and vans will sell yummy curries and rotis (a tasty flat bread) but for some 'posh nosh', you'll find the ultimate meal-with-a-view at the end of the winding hillside road that leads to Dasheene.

Part of the intimate Ladera eco-resort, this restaurant is famed for its food as well as the panoramic views it serves up of the Pitons, the island's two famous volcanic mountains.

SHOP: You can pick up fridge magnets and souvenir T-shirts in most of the towns and villages, but each hotel and resort will also feature its own selection of shops, some of them uber swanky and offering designer gear and must-have labels.

Or you can mingle with the locals and pick up holiday trinkets along with local spices and foods at the market in Castries, which really comes alive on Saturdays, as well as during the St. Lucia Jazz festival.

There are great Duty Free bargains to be snapped up across the island, so remember to bring your passport (as proof of ID) with you when you go shopping, to avail of the offers.

DRINK: Nothing beats sipping a cocktail as the sun goes down over the horizon, and you can do this in any one of a number of swanky hotels. But if you want to jump up and get down with the locals, head to the small village of Gros Islet, on the north-west coast of this beautifully lush and welcoming island.

Every Friday night the streets are filled with locals and tourists enjoying the vibe at the weekly, open-air 'jump up' street party, which offers drinking, dining and dancing until the early hours of Saturday morning.

At the end of a long day spent sun-bathing and sight-seeing, nothing quenches the thirst like a cool, crisp Piton beer, the local brew.

SLEEP: Ms Winehouse spent most of her original three-month holiday capering around Le Sport resort, and getting papped brushing up on her trapeze skills.

DJ Trevor Nelson and former Brookside star-turned-TV presenter Claire Sweeney both like The Landings, a resort that boasts its own marina and beach near Rodney Bay and Gros Islet.

Several stars from the world of sport, including some big name golfers and footballers, have chosen to rest their heads on the sumptuous pillows in the high-end, ultra exclusive Cap Maison resort, while uber A-listers such as Oprah Winfrey love the colonial-style architecture and adjoining rainforest at the Jalousie Plantation, nestled at the base of the Pitons.

TV host and model Lisa Snowden has stayed in Cotton Bay, in Castries, while the family-friendly Windjammer Landings beach resort, also in Castries - billed as the most romantic resort in the Caribbean - is popular with honeymooners.

THE SIGHTS: From secluded bays to sandy beaches and rustic villages, it's no wonder this romantic island has been voted the world's leading honeymoon destination by the World Travel Awards for eight years in a row.

The island also plays host to a number of festivals, including the annual jazz festival which takes place in May this year, and the July carnival, which is when the island comes alive with the sound of calypso music.

Watersports are popular, with everything from diving to sailing on offer, but you can also go horse-riding on the beach or try hiking in the rainforest, which takes up most of the island's interior.

Or you can breathe in the sulphuric air (said to be good for you!) at the 'drive-in volcano' near Soufriere, in the island's south-west and take an open-air mud bath there too.

THE LOW DOWN: Virgin Atlantic and British Airways fly to St Lucia from Gatwick three times a week, www.virgin-atlantic.com . For details on the island, check out the tourist board's website at www.stlucia.org .