lastorry

My husband and I are planning a trip in late August to St. Martin. We're interested in eating well, snorkeling and relaxing. That said, I recently purchased Fodor's '04 Caribbean guidebook and am quite perplexed. We planned to stay at Le Meridien for some solitude.. and the Fodor's guide states that "... it is simply the island's finest resort." Then to my surprise, most fodorites left scatheing reviews regarding all aspects of their stay. What gives?

travleis

The reasons that forums like this can be much more valuable than printed guide books are numerous. Among them: guidebook reviews can be thrown together from PR info and brief visits by reviewers who never actually stay at a hotel/resort, there is a give and take relationship between some guide books anf the hotels/restaurants they review (read: not impartial), and guide book info is almost invariably both dated and superficial. Also, how often do yu see a negative comment in a printed guide book? That's a problem. They make every place sound good, when in fact we all know better than that.
While you'll see that there are often disagreements at online boards like this one, the amount of personal and recent detail you can get here is much greater than you'll get from any book which sent its copy to press a couple years ago (but is dated 2004).

I'm not a big fan of St. Martin, but I think you'll find most people will rate La Samanna higher than Le Meridien.
And if your goal is great food and great beaches, nothing on St. Martin will come close to several of the resorts on Anguilla, just a short ferry ride away.

lastorry

Travleis, thanks for your informative reply. I guess I shouldn't pay so much attention to the guidebook's ratings. A valuable lesson to be sure!

We have actually been entertaining the idea of Anguilla. Just can't decide if we should spring for CuisinArt or try something a touch more economical like Frangipani. (CP and Malliouhana are booked when we're looking to go.) What hotel (regardless of cost), has the best beach/snorkeling? We' d like a place where we can snorkel right off the beach.

MaryD

Best beach -- hard to say as there are 33 & many of them are spectacular. For snorkeling off the beach, tho, you may want to look at Shoal Bay East (Shoal Bay Villas are nice).

travleis

If you're not locked into going to St. Martin, and your priorities are food and beaches (snorkelling isn't spectacular on either island, but is OK) I would suggest you take a careful look at Anguilla. I find Anguilla dramatically better than SM for my tastes. While there are some very good restaurants on SM, few can match what's available on Anguilla for overall qulaity in dining experience IMO. The beaches on Anguilla are top notch and typically very uncrowded (only about 45000 tourists per year visit Anguilla, a fraction of the number on SM).
Another really big factor for me is the safety/crime issue. Anguilla is one of the safest, most comfortable islands in the Caribbean. And it feels very uncrowded and untouristy.
Anguilla's by no means perfect, though. If you want lush beauty and beautiful plantings, Anguilla's not the place. And it's expensive. But most people who have been to Anguilla don't complain much about the price considering the upsides.
I don't know what your budget is, but for me, I'd stay in a back room next to the kitchen at Cuisinart before I'd stay in an ocean front suite at La Samanna...because I enjoy the island of Anguilla so much more than SM.
But that's just me. Everyone's desires are different.