cfitz

My wife and I are planning a short trip (4 days) to the Caribbean in mid-march from NYC. We have found some reasonable flight/hotel packages online and have narrowed it down to the Beach View Hotel in Barbados and the Radisson in St. Martin. While on vacation we like to sit on the beach and relax during the day and go out to for a nice dinner at night.

We have been to St, Martin before. We really liked the beaches there - particularly Orient Beach because it was so beautiful, the water was warm and calm (wife is not a strong swimmer) and there are many lunch options right on the beach. We also enjoyed all of the wonderful restaurant options in St Martin. However, we did not like how impoverished the island is.

Even though we really enjoyed St. Martin and are not opposed to returning, we would like to explore another island. Are the beaches in Barbados as nice and calm as Orient beach (from my research, the west coast - where our hotel is located - is calmer)? Are there food options on/near the beach (we don't want to make and bring our own lunch - it's a vacation after all)? Are the restaurants comparable to St. Martin in terms of quality; we recognize that meals at both islands are likely to be expensive.

Finally, has anyone stayed at either hotel? Both have good reviews on trip adviser. However, I am a concerned about trip adviser ratings after we based our hotel selections for a trip to Italy on trip adviser reviews and were underwhelmed.

Kristen1206

Why don't you consider Anguilla? Best beaches I have seen, restaurants are to die for and if you stay on Shoal Bay (e.g Ku), lots of lunch spots on the beach and it is typically very calm The island is much quieter than St. Martin though.

cfitz

Kristen1206 - thanks so much for the suggestion. However, becuase this will be a short trip, we're only looking into inslands that have direct flights from NYC. Also, my wife does not do well with boats, so traveling by sea from st martin to Anguilla is not an option.

Kristen1206

Understood. I haven't been to Barbados so can't help you there. If Turks and Caicos is a direct, I would add that to your list. Flight will be very short, island is easy to get around, lots of great places to stay on Grace Bay, great restaurants and a "to die for" beach. Similar to Anguilla but not quite as quiet. Good luck!

TPAYT

After several trips to all mentioned, here are my suggestions:

1. Grace Bay, Turks & Caicos----fabulous beach, calm water, and many great restaurants. Our favorites, "Coyaba" and "Coco Bistro" amoung many others.

2. Barbados----again a calm, beautiful beach, favorite restaurant, "The Cliffs".

3.St Martin----not our favorite, but you know what you're getting because you've been there.

IMO, I'd choose Grace Bay because it is so quick to get to and has everything you've mentioned. We stayed several times at www.oceanclubresorts.com Ocean Club West. It was just our kind of place and very convenient to walk to many restaurants. The beach(and chair) situation was just perfect in every way. There are many suggestions from Fodorites for other, more upscale resorts, and when we win the lottery we will stay at them. Until then it's Ocean Club West for us.

Barbara1

Barbados is a lovely island with nice beaches.
I thinks st Maarten has prettier beaches as does Anguilla, but I think you would love Barbados. it is a great island.

If you do decide to come back to st. Maarten, the Radisson is a lovely property.
Beautiful grounds, very nice rooms, nice and peaceful surroundings.
I was just over there for the day. It's one of the prettiest areas on the island.

lenlu

I liked barbados and stayed at the Fairmont and I second The Cliffs. Outstanding.

xkenx

Beach View Barbados is on Payne's Bay Beach, which almost always has pretty calm water and is one of the nicest beaches on the island. You can walk the beach far north to Sandy Lane Resort and south way past Tamarind Cove. The small Treasure Beach Hotel at the south end of Payne's Bay has a terrific restaurant, and there are other walkable restaurants plus many just a few minutes taxi ride.
Barbados is a wonderful island--lovely people, wide range of sightseeing, beaches, restaurants. Many restaurants are as good as you will find anywhere. Much more lush and beautiful island than St. Martin. Even though you are only 4 days, try to rent a car for a day or two or taxi tour. See www.barbados.org

doug_stallings

Just keep in mind that the west coast beaches in Barbados can become very very narrow (almost disappearing at high tide). I'm not sure of the conditions of the beaches this year because I haven't been there for a couple of years, but some stretches of beach down there in the so-called "gold coast" are pretty narrow. Absolutely nothing like Orient Bay. Barbados has a lot of lovely beaches, but nothing comparable to that.

FYI: If you stay at the Radisson, which is a very nice hotel, it's pretty isolated. There are relatively few dinner options nearby so you'd have to rent a car and drive about 10 minutes over the hill and up to Grand Case. Plenty of excellent restaurants there.

But the beach at Anse Marcel, while nice, is in no way comparable to Orient Bay. If you want a beach like that, choose a place on Grand Cayman or Providenciales, as other posters have suggested.

kfusto

I have been to both several times and much prefer St. Martin for beaches, food, overall vibe of the island. Barbados is one of my least favorite islands in the Caribbean.

genio67

We stayed at the Radisson in St. Martin last March for 4 nights and really liked it. The hotel grounds and beach are very nice, the water was calm and the pool is great. You feel removed from the rest of the island which can be a pro or con depending on your perspective. The restaurant at the hotel was expensive for dinner but we enjoyed our meal. We also ate at he hotel next door ( Le Domaine) and had a great meal there too. There is another restaurant across the street, La Locanda, which was very convenient and fun as well as Le Calypso which is more of a cafe ( nice salads and sandwiches for lunch). Our best meals were in Grand Case and Sol e Luna but both areas are an easy taxi ride from the hotel. I would not hesitate to stay at the Radisson again.

genio67

Another thing to consider, given that you are going in March, Turks and Caicos can be slightly cooler than other islands, which is why I decided against it last March when we went to St. Martin. While it's likely to be warm, you could get a day or two where the high is 72 degrees and that's not what I wanted on my beach vacation.