CHAT PLUS

During our weekly online chat (most Mondays at 2 p.m. onhttp://www.washingtonpost.com/travel), you ask and we answer your travel questions -- mostly. Here are a few we couldn't get to last week:

· From Arlington: We are thinking of treating ourselves to a January vacation at the Ladera in St. Lucia. While the Web site is impressive, do you have any opinions about this resort in the sky?

The Ladera, which sits on a pedestal by the Piton Mountains in Soufriere, constantly makes the industry's best-of lists. And it's not just hype. The resort is elegant but not ostentatious, natural but not too granola. The plein-air rooms have only three walls; the west-facing scenery stands in for the fourth side. While dining, swimming or cocktailing, you'll feel like you can touch the peaks, if not the sky. The only drawback is coming back to earth: Unlike at other resorts where you can walk into town, it takes time to climb down from Ladera's perch. (Of course, you can always hop on the shuttle.)

· From Washington: Which airlines are known to be family-friendly?

If only all airlines were like Gulf Air and employed a Sky Nanny. But parents not taking Junior to Bahrain or Bangalore can still find attentive carriers stateside. In an online poll by a family travel Web site, Southwest ranked the highest in family-friendliness, followed by Delta. Midwest, JetBlue, Alaska Airlines and Frontier also have been cited for their reasonable infant fares and for the staff's kindness toward kids.

· From Oakton: We would like to take a quick trip to Florida or the Bahamas. Great golf is an absolute must! We have over 100,000 Marriott points and the same with Sheraton, and would like to use either of them for the hotel stay.

Marriott's Bay Point Resort Village (800-644-2650, http://marriott.com/property/propertypage/PFNBP ) will score with the golfers in your family. The Panama City Beach, Fla., property has two championship 18-hole courses, the Meadows Course and the Nicklaus Course. In addition, the Hombre Golf Club, which hosts the PGA Tour Qualifying School, is also nearby. For the Bahamas, the Sheraton Grand Bahamas Resort at Our Lucaya (242-373-1444, http://www.starwoodhotels.com/sheraton/property/overview/index.html?propertyID=1456 ), which staff writer Steve Hendrix highly recommended during the chat, offers the esteemed Reef Course and the Lucayan Course as well as the Jim McLean Golf School. For a different scene, tee off at the Fortune Hills Golf and Country Club, a 17-acre Dick Wilson-designed course.

-- Andrea Sachs