Would the Majestic elegance in punta cana be a good alternative? Anyone have input on that?

Where are you travelling from and what time of year?

Travelling from Toronto, ontario canada
going mid january

I think the Coconut Bay in St. Lucia is kind of family oriented so you may have to deal with kids if you go there.

In Jamaica I would look at the Jewel Dunn’s River Beach, Iberostar Rose Hall, and the Riu Palace. These are all in different parts of Jamaica so keep mind of that when you look into them. Montego Bay is a city and will have lots of nightlife. Negril will be more relaxed but has plenty of nightlife too. Ochos Rios will be a good point if you want to do outside excursions.

If you are really interested in Nightlife (sounds like you are), you may want to consider looking into Aruba too.

Jewel Dunn’s (Ocho Rios) - http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g147312-d1881415-Reviews-The_Jewel_Dunn_s_River_Beach_Resort_Spa-Ocho_Rios_Saint_Ann_Parish_Jamaica.html

Riu (Negril) - http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g147313-d209701-Reviews-Riu_Palace_Tropical_Bay-Negril_Westmoreland_Parish_Jamaica.html

Iberostar (Montego Bay/Rose Hall) - http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g660724-d652636-Reviews-Iberostar_Rose_Hall_Beach_Hotel-Rose_Hall_Montego_Bay_Jamaica.html

great! thanks i will check out all of these

do you have an opinion on Majestic Elegance in DR?

I stayed at the Majestic Elegance last February. We had a swim up jr suite room adn upgraded to the Elegance Club. The rooms were big and clean. The Elegance Club provides free Wi-Fi..and these club rooms that you'll have access to. They are always stocked with beverages and snacks. The beach is like flour - in the Elegance section of the beach, you can have a waitstaff person bring you drinks. And they make a proper drink. Great mojitos with fresh mint. Great caipirinhas (brasilian drinks with cachaca - be careful if you drink them). The entertainment was great actually.....and outside.....the food was good. What specific questions do you have?

Coconut Bay is on the atlantic side of the island hence the reason why the beach is not great for swimming. Smugglers Cove is also family orientated. Reduit Beach has plenty of nightlife, may take a look at the Royal by Rex or Coco Palm in Rodney Bay but I would expect families anywhere where the hotel is not for couples only, esp at this time of the year (not sure about swim up bar though @ Coco Palm).

Antigua is a good option too but guess that would depend on what's available at this late stage.

I have been to Negril, Jamaica early March and the sea was a little too cold for me for swimming, so not sure about going there mid Jan. Couple of degrees more would have been perfect. Otherwise Negril would be perfect.

About the majestic, is there any bars that stay open late that are outdoors? i read that the rooftop bars are open late and adults only, did you get to experience them?

We were in Jamaica last year late February and the weather was perfect. The sea was definitely not too cold and everyone was in the water. I would not rule out Jamaica.

I haven't been to Majestic but my cousin has been there, as well as a friend. They both loved it but my cousin did say that the water was a bit rougher than she expected.

You've already been to the DR though, why not try something else?

i know, thats the thing, we do want to try something else but the 2 friends that are coming with have more of a budget to follow than me and my gf. They want to spend around $1700 AI for the week (from toronto)

$1700.00 per person or for both of them for the week? If that's for both it's going to be tough considering January is high season. If that's the case you are definitely going to be limited to DR, Cuba, or Mexico if you want to go all inclusive. You might find a deal for Jamaica but it won't be 4 star accommodations.

The Bay Garden Hotel and the Inn St. Lucia, isn't luxurious in finishes, but the service and cleanliness and finishes are nice. Plus it is in Rodney Bay close to amenities, a mall a strip of restaurants and bars just within 2 minutes walking distance, also a 2-3 minutes walk to the beach with easy access to taxi etc. The resort also offers and organises a range of excursions one of the most memorable during my last stay was a susnset cruise.

Thing is no swim up bar and though the beaches are beautiful, they aren't the blue/ turquoise waters and white sands although you can find some very close to that. Most are pretty but in a lush green sense.


St. Lucia is absolutely beautiful and I also recommend doing island tours and definitely a sunset cruise. One of the best times ever.

Nono, 1700 per person,
I'm just worried that for their first time st lucia or antigua will be too boring since they have never been to the caribbean

That is a pretty generous budget per person so if you want an island with more nightlife I'd definitely check out St Martin or Aruba. Jamaica would also be a good idea. Lots of nightlife there too. Personally, I'd only go back to DR if you absolutely loved it.

Mexico is out of the picture? Good bang for your buck there.

When I think of the opposite of boring in the Caribbean , I think of St. Maarten, Aruba and Puerto Rico . Would any of those appeal to the group?

Ya anything is an option at this point, we just don't want anything too too crowded. Its just so hard to pick somewhere ! There are so many choices!!

St Martin has way too much crime, IMO

Does anyone know how late outdoor, on site bars are open until at majestic elegance? Like the rooftop bars, pool bars and any other ones

Rooftop bars? Hmm...there is a bar on top of the elegance club that we went to for happy hour. Beautiful view. I don't know how late the bars stay open...but you will have a fully stocked bar in your room as well. Entertainment went past 11pm..that was outside and there were outside bars....hope that helps. pool bars will close, no matter where the resort is.

the iberostar rose hall in jamaica looks really nice, but pretty classy? is there a good party environment at the resort? other than discos ( i mean we will go there too, but we would rather be outside)

thanks bellaclaire, so there are outdoor bars that stay open late?

Barbados has alot of nightlife around the Gap/St Lawrence area and is much further south than Jamaica, which I found too cool even in early March (sea temps.)

CapitolJay, here is a write up I sent my travel agent when I got back. I'm middle aged (50)...but I start my day w/mimosas, enjoy cocktails at the swim up bar and beach, wine with dinner....so I made it through the entertainment til about 11 or 1130....there were still people out... (smile)...

The resort…the rooms are big and clean – the shower is a rain shower plus they have 3 sprays from the sides…I LOVED the shower…also, the toilet was in a separate room, as was the shower and sinks…so we could all be “doing” something – it worked really well.

The pools are fabulous…there were 2 swim ups…yet every pool area had a bar…each building had it’s own pool…..the drinks were top brand, the champagne flowed….what I also loved was the beach – the sand like flour, the water was aqua and clear….it was massive…the seaweed came up 1 day – in the evening, but was gone by morning…..

The Elegance Club – was fabulous…..while they said we’d have a butler, I just used the elegance club people for everything we needed – primarily dinner reservations…they also delivered a newspaper every day – which my Mom loved because she likes to do the crossword (it’s the small things ya know!)….The Elegance Club buildings were right at the end of our building by the beach/pool….they were always stocked with food, coffee, alcohol, computers with free Internet, a concierge, couches to lounge on. This worked out great because when my Mom didn’t want to be on the beach or pool with her girls – she could lounge and read books, relax in the club…it had a great patio and bar too…so really great for all of us.

The grounds are beautiful…the lobby was huge and beautiful…I’ll post some pics on facebook soon….the restaurants are all in the lobby area – they had a steakhouse, Japanese including sushi, French, Italian, and the buffet – and they also had a big restaurant by the beach that we ate lunch in a lot…..the food was average to just above average – nothing was bad……I would say it was a bit better than Sandals…..

The entertainment at night was great too. They had a spectacular Michael Jackson impersonation show…WOW –the guy was great.

We were able to lounge on our room patio bali bed, walk a short distance and be on another lounger/ bali bed by our swim up pool. I suggest getting a room in buildings 1 or 3 (closest to the beach) If you have more questions, please let me know.