thereadbaron

Hello - I can't decide btw the Mount Nevis Hotel and Ottleys. A few questions:
Mount Nevis is decidedly cheaper - but which would provide a better view?

Plus - which island has more opportunities for eco-tourism (or at least, better opportunities).

Also, for day trips - is it easier to get to say, St. Barts for a day from Nevis or St. Kitts?

Thanks!

A_Traveller

Depending on where you stay in St. Kitts you'll get a view of St. Eustatia, Nevis or the ocean. From Ottley's I believe you'll see see the Atlantic ocean several miles in the distance. On Nevis (from the Mt. Nevis Hotel) you'll see views of St. Kitts's southern penninsula. From other places on Nevis you'll see different parts of St. Kitts and if you are on the Caribbean side sometimes the top of St. Eustatia and a faint outline of Saba. If you go to the southeastern side of the island on very clear days you can see Rodonda, Antigua and Montserrat.

You can dolots of rain forest hikes or climb the volcano on both islands (best use a guide for this) and there are lots of old ruins to explore on Nevis.

You cannot easily get to St. Barth's from either island for a day trip unless you go by private air charter or are willing to spend the night on St. Barth's. To fly commercially you have to go through St. Martin and schedules are such you'd only have less than an hour on St. Barth's before you have to catch the return flight.

cw

readbaron,

The Mt. Nevis Hotel and Ottley's Plantation Inn are two very different types of properties. Comparing them is like comparing apples and oranges, which also accounts for the considerable price difference.

What they do have in common is that they are high up and not on the beach. If you are ONLY concerned with distant views, I would say that the view from the Mt. Nevis Hotel is more interesting because you look out over Nevis and towards the Southeastern peninsula of St. Kitts across the channel. From Ottleys, the view is of the Atlantic.

But "better views" are subjective. Ottley's has beautiful grounds and gardens.

I believe the only way to St. Bart's from either St. Kitts or Nevis is by flying through St. Martin and onward to St. Bart's. Not sure if the timing of those flights works out for a day trip. An expensive alternative would be to arrange a charter flight.

cw

cw

Whoops--agree with A Trveller. Posted at the same time.

thereadbaron

Thanks for the info. I'd heard of daily charter flights to st. barts. Is St. Martin a closer day trip? If going for 8 nights I'd like to get in a day trip to Nevis and one other place.

Leaning toward Ottleys. Can someone tell me the distance to the beach? And, did you mind not being right on the beach while staying there?

Our caribbean adventures have been limited to bermuda - which tecnically isnt even the caribbean. but we stay at pink beach and love opening our terrace onto the atlantic.

Nisbet has rooms - but start at 600 a night, and frankly, they dont look so nice for the money (this is for xmas time...)

cw

It's probably a 20-30 minute drive from Ottley's to the best beaches (Southeast peninsula) and to restaurants. Having a rental car is a definite plus.

I'm interested that you found Nisbet significantly more expensive than Ottley's. Do check to verify what meals are included.

I have visited but not stayed at either Inn. Recently returned from Nevis where we stayed at the Hermitage. We had lunch and drinks at the beachside restaurant at Nisbet. Lovely spot. It is a beautiful property. Did not go into the rooms.

I suppose if you really want two off-island trips, St. Martin or Antigua might be the most accessible but I'm not sure you'd have a significant amount of time to spend there. Maybe you could tack on a night or two at the end of your trip and go to another island.

We spent a week in Nevis and didn't get to do half the things we wanted to do. We did take a day sail for snorkeling, and took the ferry to St. Kitts. And Nevis is a significantly smaller island than St. Kitts!

Christmas in St. Kitts--sounds heavenly.

cw

thereadbaron

Well - indeed, breakfast, tea and dinner are included at Nisbet. plus the 50 dollar "resort fee." hate that.

so it's 488 vs. 600, but with meals.

20 minutes to a beach - eek - that is a bit much - and yet the rooms are ocean view.

the lovely lady on the phone told me to reserve a rental car as soon as you book as they are limited. Now I know why.

Decisions decisions...

A_Traveller

Yes, there are charter flights to St. Barth's but not necessarilly every day. Most flights are arranged by the Four Seasons for their guests using Carib Aviation and leave from Nevis. Occasionally they have room for one or two extra people. It's going to be a bit pricey since cost is based upon the number of people going on that prticular flight. My recollection is the flight costs around US$1,200 to $1,500 and the plane holds 6 people. You can do the math.

You can fly to SXM on Winair (go to www.fly-wina.com for schedules and fares) from either St. Kitts or Nevis. There are several flights a day. It's a 20 to 25 minute flight, at most.

Ottley's is about a 10 to 15 minute drive to the nearest beach. There are several nice beaches on St. Kitts so staying at a resort that is not directly on the beach is "no big thing" as you'd have to drive around the island to visit them anyway.

ejcrowe

Just wanted to add my bit of info about Mt. Nevis Hotel. I've not visited St. Kitts, but I can tell you that it's not at all in the same league as the nicer plantation resorts on Nevis, such as Montpelier in terms of atmosphere, food, and cost.

That said, it's in a great location on the island--less than 5 minutes away by car from Nisbet's beach and about 15 minutes away from the establishments on the west coast. The views are stunning from just above every vantage point on the grounds. The food is pretty good--not as good, but then again not as expensive, as the plantation restaurants.

The rooms are more modern--we stayed there on a 5 night package bought on Luxury Link so our room was their highest room category. It was more like a suite, with a full kitchen, a nice sitting area with a full couch and two chairs, two balconies, a large tv and either a dvd or vcr, plus a large comfortable bed. Central a/c.

Mt. Nevis is very nice and quite comfortable. It's not as special in my opinion as the plantation inns (but it does edge out GOlden Rock), but then again, it's price point is much lower than those places. I guess it just depends on what you want for your vacation. I would not hesitate to stay there again, especially if I got my phenomenal price from the auction, but next time I will probably opt for Montpelier or just get a villa.

A_Traveller

Oops! That should be www.fly-winair.com Sorry, fingers weren't working right!

CW is right there's so much to see and do between St. Kitts & Nevis that taking a day trip to SXM or Antigua (the two next closest islands that you can get to for a day) may not be your best use of time.

Since you are planing your trip for Christmas time I'd book your car rental as soon as you decide where you are staying. Christmas week is the busiest time on both islands and car rentals ge in short supply.

cw

I'll just add that because Nevis is small, no matter where you stay, it is be an easy drive to good restaurants.

So, if you did stay somewhere without a meal plan, you would have many options available in different price ranges.

sunshine7

We recently returned home from ST. Kitts and Nevis. Between the 2 islands, while hiking is great on both, the beaches are nicer on Nevis. We stayed at the Mount Nevis Hotel, and had one dinner there. It was fairly good. We had dinner one night at Montpelier, and it was just ok. Because of their reputation we were disappointed. Definitely not worth double the amount that we paid at the Mt. Nevis.

We loved the view at the Mt. Nevis, and it was a mile from the beach. We saw Ottley's and liked the grounds, but the view was just open ocean. I liked the grounds at Rawlins better than Ottley's, but the location was too far from the beaches.

If we go to St. Kitts again, we'd probably stay at Ottley's. But I doubt that we'll go again, preferring Nevis. And we'd stay at the Mt. Nevis again.

Knowing

We returned from Nevis not quite two months ago and we really enjoyed the superb views of the island period. Additionally, the wonderful dining opportunities were everywhere. There was something about Nevis that just had that special something because of it's smaller size, and yet it offered all kinds of activites. I would always choose Nevis over St. Kitts.

iw

I haven't stayed at Mount Nevis or Ottleys, but we love Nevis and will return this summer. Both islands have so much to offer! We split our stay between the two since they each have a different "feel", IMO. A day trip to St. Kitts would be well worth it. Last time we flew, but we will take the ferry this year. We loved our day at Turtle Beach. Have fun!