traylove

Hi everyone! This is my first post. I was looking for some advice as I have been researching on the internet where to have my honeymoon for days and its driving me crazy. I will give you the basics and hopefully you guys can give me some suggestions. We are getting married September of next year. We want caribbean. We want few or no kids. We prefer all-inclusive. We are travelling first week of September so I gather I need to stay clear of the "hurricane belt". We would love to do a Sandals but I don't think there are any away from the belt....any suggestions are welcome..thanks!

Kimberly

Please email me and I can give you some information on Sandals Resort. We have been to just about all of them and they differ as far as what you are looking for in a resort. I hope to hear from you. (Kim) [email protected]

SSypniewski

IMO I would look in to other options, besides the Sandals resorts. To me, they're too much like a chain. I prefer resorts that have a more unique look. I would start researching islands that are farther south. You can look at the ABC islands (Aruba, etc.) or also look into Grenada. (Never been to grenada but I always find positive reviews - look into La Luna, La Source, Spice Island Beach Resort (AI)) For Aruba I hear good things about the Radisson, Hyatt and Bucuti. Also St. Lucia is farther south and look into Ladera or the Jalouise Hilton. Just some more options for you and congratulations - Susan

traylove

Thanks for replying. I guess my fiance and I love the fact that Sandals is for couples only and although we do want to do some stuff on the island, we want to enjoy quiet time by ourselves, as well. The Sandals resorts seem like something we would really enjoy. We went to Grand Cayman last month and LOVED IT--stayed at the marriott grand cayman beach resort. It was beautiful (also where he proposed!) but there were many children. We would like adult atmosphere for our honeymoon. I will email you soon Kim!

Tracy

travleis

One other issue to consider: the AI's like Sandals are poor values versus many nicer non-'chain' resorts (unless you're an absolute fish when it comes to drinking alcohol). The food is decent but not as good as you'd find in a non-AI, the accommodations are OK but not luxurious, if those types of things matter to you. For what you pay at a Sandals type place you can have top shelf non-AI vacation (and you'll find that the more expensive the resort is, the fewer the kids; if there are kids they tend to be well behaved).

traylove

Do you have any suggestions for places such as these for September? We contemplated Barbabos...we are HUGE turtle lovers and there seems to be an abundance of them there (as well as the Caymans where we went last month). Any luxury suggestions for Barbados? We just dont want to pay a TON of money just to stay at a PREMIUM place and then have to pay for EVERYTHING else...we are probably looking to spend between $5-6k. What does everyone think?

travleis

September is the cheapest month of the year in the Caribbean due to hurricane risk. And many resorts and restaurants close altogether. The best way to limit your risk is to stay south and east from Barbados and Grenada around to Aruba.
Your budget will buy you a really nice Caribbean vacation that time of year, but all the places I'd recommend for your desires are farther north in the hurricane belt. If you are willing to take a chance on one of the higher risk islands, where the actual likelihood of being affected by a hurricane or its weather system are around 2-5% per week, then there are quite a few good options.

traylove

I would love to hear about any you know of from Barbados and also from any other island that is less heard of but worth mentioning. thanks!

ejcrowe

Congrats on your honeymoon. There are lots of great places in the Carib where you can stay in September without breaking the bank.

FWIW, I'm pretty anti-Sandals, so keep that in mind when reading my recs. I would look into LaLuna on Grenada for a place with a very romantic feel. Spice Island or La Source are two AI options on Grenada. Bel Air Plantation, La Sagesse, and Twelve Degrees North are all nice options that aren't quite as pricey as La Luna but still offer a great value and good regional feel.

Of all the islands in the southern region, Aruba is probably most like Grand Cayman, so if you loved GC you might want to heavily consider Aruba. Like GC, it's mostly flat with an unimpressive interior with miles of gorgeous beach, beautiful water, and a good risk during hurricane season. If I were to go to Aruba, I would choose the Bucuti because I prefer smaller, intimate places with local charm. But there are tons of large resorts there if that's more your style.

I love Barbados, but the only personal rec I have there is closed in September. If you truly want the bustle of a Sandals-type place, you could try looking at Breezes on Curacao. Hope you have fun deciding--let us know what you choose!

TomCayman

Why not go back to Cayman, but do it differently.... in September there will be very few kids indeed anyway (they are in school), the island is quiet, which makes staff more able to give you our famous Caymanian hospitality.

Yes, there is always the chance of tropical weather, but you could also get hit by a bus crossing the road... besides I know at least one resort that offers a Hurricane guarantee (no prizes for guessing !)

millemar

Hi! I have a recommendation for an awesome place to spend your honeymoon - Petit St. Vincent. It's located in St. Vincent & the Grenadines, just north of Grenada. It's a private island resort, owned by an American couple who live on the island. Beautiful, remote, extremely private, and the service is the best I've ever seen (and I have traveled all over the world). Every question we asked received the answer "whatever you want." We went in 1998 for our honeymoon and went back in 2003 for our 5 year anniversary. Something like 70% of their business is repeat so they must be doing something right. They do have sailboats and kayaks but the atmosphere is not like Sandals. If you want a more "fun" environment where you will socialize with others and get points for participating in games, this is not the place for you. But if you want to relax on your own private beach area while waiters bring you lobster salad and drinks (all included in the price), go for it!

traylove

WOW! Sounds awesome! Do they have a website? Do you have any pics? Anymore info would be greatly appreciated!

ejcrowe

The website is www.psvresort.com and if you're not already familiar with Scubamom's Caribbean travel recs, you should check out her website, too, at www.scubamom.com and follow the links for the Caribbean. I had narrowed my honeymoon down to PSV and Guana Island (a private island in the BVIs) largely because of Scubamom's terrific reviews. I ended up choosing Guana because I found a great deal on it, but it was neck and neck for awhile. PSV is a little out our monetary reach for now but we'll do it for an anniversary in the next few years. Again, though, from your original post, if you have your heart set on a Sandals-type atmosphere, you probably won't be happy at PSV or anyplace else of that ilk.

Sunnyboy

FYI - PSV is usually closed in September and early October. Also, for what it is worth, my experience at PSV was far different than the other posters on this thread. My wife and I were very disappointed with the level of service - the staff seemed somewhat unfriendly and inattentive and we are by no means demanding guests. It seemed like they were just going through the motions. The food was only so-so. Pretty much the same thing every night with different name -rack of lamb on Monday, lamb chops on Tuesday, lamb madallions on Wednesady, followed by rack of lamb again on Thursday - don't get me wrong I like lamb but you get the idea! The presentation looked good but we never once had a hot meal. All our dinners were served luke warm as if they had been cooked and plated at 5:00PM and kept in a warming oven until served at 7:00 dinner. Aside from the weekly Manager's cocktail party the owners never once acknowledged our presence during our entire stay even though we saw them numerous times. The accomodations were comfortable but rustic and no where near as nice as other similar private island resorts I've been to. To be fair while we were there we met another couple who had returned for their 7th visit and they seemed to think everything was just perfect. They kept raving at how wonderful a resort it was. My wife and I just couldn't see where the attraction was. We've been to many upscale resorts (some several times) and in our opinion PSV just didn't live up to our expectations. We won't be making a repeat visit. I'm sure others will disagree with my assessment.

traylove

Sounds fair enough. Do you guys have any Barbados recommendations? I hear good things about Coral Reef Club...