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Hello all- anyone who can give input is greatly appreciated. Here is the deal:
In 28 yrs old and married, no kids...trying to help plan a carribean vacation for 1 week late March with my parents, and sister ( myself and husband). We have gone on many carribean vacations, when we were younger, most recently to the Aruba Hyatt...which was good.
My father who this trip is mainly for, loves warm weather, good beaches, golf and or casino, both would be ideal...understand there arent many island that have both gold and gambling.
We like nice resorts, but aren't going to stay at a St. Regis property at 3500 a person...Aruba Hyatt level property is just perfect enough...BUT we have been to Aruba 10 times. It can only be a direct flight destination to an island for my father from NYC...my options were:
San Juan- Ritz Carlton
Montego Bay- Ritz Carlton/Half Moon ( stayed there for my honeymoon) was pretty good, husband got the flu...so has bad memories
Paradisius Palma Real- Dominican Punta Cana
Weve done bahamas and arent interested in Atlantis....
My father doesnt like small and quaint, rather enjoys having several restaurants on property and bars and a nearby golf course...casino is a plus but not mandatory...
Trip will be 7 days 6 nights....I am afraid Paradisius will contain us to the complex all week, but Jamaica Ritz and San Juan dont get the best reviews. San Juan has Old San Juan City with plenty of restaurants and things to do...not too sure about Jamaica, but I just love Jamaica, in my opinion.
What do you think? I need help? Am I missing an island? Has anyone been to all 3 that can recommend something? Please help, need to book soon. I have been researching like crazy..there are pros and cons to each property...beach is a plus, bars are a plus and if we can get off the property and go to good restaurants and gold is a major plus....
Thanks!
Andrea - Boonton, NJ
Need Help ASAP...San Juan vs. Jamaica ( Ritz )vs. Punta Cana ( Paradisius)
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Also...we dont want to be cheap and are okay with not eating at a hotel restaurants....just want to choose the easiest location to get around to places...
www.puntacana.com probably your best safe choice with parents
Prettiest beach golf amenities and convenience.
MoBay and San Juan more dodgy city vibe ok but not as great.
Happy Journey,
Hi, I have been to PR a number of times (but not stayed at the Ritz) and also have been to the Ritz Jamaica, I can see why you hare having difficulty because due to the direct flight requirement I think you are missing some better options (my husband is an avid golfer and a good beach is important to me). Out of your suggestions Half Moon is a good choice and if really good golf is important to your Dad, the White Witch at the Ritz is right next door (one of the best courses in the Caribbean according to my husband). However, I don't recall casinos there but could be wrong. Regarding your criteria of nice resorts, good restaurants off site and nice beaches I was going to suggest two other places but they probably don't meet the direct flight criteria (although if you are flying from NYC maybe they do) -- St. Kitts Marriott (they have a casino, good golf course, and lots of good restaurants nearby, beach not the nicest in the Caribbean but it is very wide with nice views and you can walk a long ways which is nice), the new Hyatt Curacao (since you like Hyatt properties -- I do too, our all-time favorite was Hyatt Dorado Beach in PR, closed now -- they have very good golf, I believe a casino and Curacao's beaches are very pretty and lots of good restaurants, although the resort is located quite a way out of town) and finally, one more suggestion, Turks & Caicos -- spectacular beach, lots of good restaurants, good golf and I believe there are casinos. I would not choose San Juan Ritz, it is basically a city hotel and golf is far away (have you looked at the Gran Melia or the Wyndham Rio Mar?) the Ritz Jamaica was nice but the beach is not that great, next time I go there I'm staying at Half Moon, DR also have lots of good choices but you'll be totally resort bound there.
You can fly non-stop to St. Kitts from NYC on Saturdays and Wednesdays. It's a beautiful island.
Thank you. I actually had an idea...that my father was ok with. Fly to San Juan for one night, let him get the casino fix, go out to eat and take another morning flight to an island that has golf...
Was researching St. Croix, Bucaneer.
Anythoughts? Im all over the place now.
That's a lot of effort and trouble for one night, two trips through the airport and we all know what airports are like these days . . . I would encourage you to look at St. Kitts since there are direct flights, there's a casino right at the Marriott, and if you wanted a change of scene you could take the ferry (45 minutes) over to Nevis one day and play at the Four Seasons Nevis course which is a wonderful course (contact them ahead of time to make sure they are accepting outside guests that day, some times when they are really busy they only take resort guests). We've been to St. Croix, Carambola is a better golf course than Buccaneer.
I guess it's a personal choice but for me *no way* with only 6 nights would I try to do 2 islands!! That would waste so much time getting to and from airports, waiting for flights, checking in and out of hotels twice, etc.
I think your father may be bored in St Croix as there's less options for activities and the casino isn't grand at all. Saying that I've been three times for relaxation and have also rented a house and taken my family there for holiday and it was good for about four or five days.