DavefromCA

Ah, two weeks in the islands. One week on Anguilla and one week on Nevis.

Forgive me if I ramble - I will try to hit the highlights, which to me are restaurants and beaches.

Hotel - we stayed at Cuisinart, junior suite, second floor (room 305). These rooms are fantastic! It was a middle room and if we went back I would ask for an end room, but we really didn't hear anybody except for a baby on the first night. The service was wonderful and the concierge(s) were very helpful. We had breakfast every morning on site. The continental breakfast is included in the room rate, but Michele wanted eggs every morning. I did sneak in some pancakes one morning! The food was fine and the service was what I consider typical in the Caribbean...slower paced, but friendly. We only ate dinner once at Cuisinart...the first night at Mediterraneo. The swordfish and New York strip was excellent.

Restaurants - 12 restaurants in 7 days!

Lunches rated from best to worst (my ratings! - please don't be offended)

1 Smokey's - ribs and salads
2 Zurra - sandwiches and salad
3 Trattoria Tramonte - pasta and fish
4 Frangipani's
5 Ripples - chicken and fish
6 Gwen's - ribs and chicken sandwich

Smokey's was awesome. The food was really, really good. Zurra's view to St. Martin over the golf course was super. (Side note: does anyone ever play this course? I live in the SF Bay Area, grew up in Monterey and have played golf for over 30 years. $400? Are ya kidding? Rant over.) Gwen's was really the only disappointing lunch. The ribs were tasteless, Michele's chicken tasted fishy and the service non-existent. But, I have to say, the view is, once again, superb. Shade trees, white sand, blue water...

Dinner (Best to worst, see above disclaimer)

1 Oliver's - fish
1 Tasty's - pork and
3 Caprice - pasta
4 Picante's (Twice!) (duh!)
5 Mango's - fish
6 Mediterraneo - fish and steak

We really didn't have a bad dinner at any of the above restaurants. Tasty's and Oliver's were great - food, service and personal touches. Caprice's service was the best, far and away, and the tortelli di cioccalato was so unique. It could've been tied for first also. Mango's service was so disappointing and Michele's ahi was overcooked. The live music on Monday saved it from being the last pick. And we so wanted to like Mango's after all we've read and heard.

Beaches - there are no bad beaches on this island. We looked everywhere! We hit all three Shoal Bays, Rendezvous, Savannah, Sandy Ground, Meads and a couple I don't know the names of. Snorkeling is poor to below average, but we knew that going in. But the sand and the water and views...aahhh. Savannah was my fave and Upper Shoal Bay was Michele's.

Rental Car - We rented a car from Ronnie Bryan - I can not say enough about him. He dropped the jeep off on Sunday and we left it at the airport the next Saturday. I didn't actually meet him until Friday to sign the papers! Everything was taken care of. We took that Jeep everywhere.

Art - We purchased art at both Devonish and Savannah Gallery. We toured one day through many of the galleries and these were our favorites. Wonderful collections and very helpful, especially at Savannah.

Planes and ferries - We took the ferry to St. Martin. Wow! Now that is one busy port! We shopped and ate and headed back to the serenity of Anguilla.

Flew American in to Anguilla and LIAT to Nevis. No real problems, except the people at LIAT insisted we had *cancelled* our reservations. Michele started to steam up, but we patiently explained that there is no way that we would have done that and we REALLY needed to get to Nevis. No harm, no foul...Nevis by way of St. Kitt's.

But, Nevis will be another trip report.

iw

Great report! I can't wait to read your review of Nevis, one of my favorite places.
I am curious as to how the two islands compare in your opinion.

jacketwatch

Thank you. We are thinking about taking the ferry from St. Martin to Anguilla in May as we will be there for a cruise stop. I look forward to more of your report.

beachgirl86

Thanks! We went to Anguilla in June of 2006, and can't wait to go back at some point.

ejcrowe

Excellent start to your trip report. I love Nevis, and I have to think that combining a week there with a week in Anguilla would be about as close to perfect as you can get!

mnag

Enjoyed your report. We do have to try to get back there one of these days. We had the same experience as you at Mangoes (back in '98).