soxfaninnyc

Hi - I am traveling with my family (wife plus kids 16, 15, 11) this summer (July) and we love high end resorts with beautiful beaches and within walking distance to shops and restaurants. I would love to hear peoples top recommendations in the caribbean.
For the record, my wife and I LOVE Anguilla but that is too quiet for the kids and anyways we think of it as our special place without the kids.
Thank you everyone who posts. I appreciate the comments.

emcash

I don't think you can get more high end than sandy lane in barbados. I don't think it's walking distance from shop though. Although the Ritz in Puerto rico is in isla verde, you would still need a cab or car to go shopping in san juan. I don't think the RItz in PR can even compare to sandy lane though. Maybe Regent palms in Turks and caicos?

Gunnar_Myhre

When I go to Puerto Rico, I always stay at the old converted monestary El Convento, in old town. Close to all the shopping and all the great nightlife. Great rooms, good service and just a romantic place. You'll love it. No better place in SJ!

bajangirl

There is plenty to do with your kids on Barbados, and yes, Sandy Lane is a very high end establishment - you could walk to the nearby shops, etc of Holetown in about 10 mins. The island has great beaches, a zipline adventure, the outstanding Harrisons Cave. In July there will also be all the leadup activities to Kadooment - carnival, so a great time to be visiting the island.
You can find lots more info on Barbados and the rest of the Caribbean here:

http://www.destinationcaribbean.net/index.php

Enjoy!

travelgirl56

I've been to Barbados, and it is indeed a beautiful island, without much/any "fears" of weather issues. (Very nice plus!!) You might want to look at: The Crane Resort, very upscale, very nice aqccomodations, delightful service, and a goregous "private beach". And no matter what anyone says, RENT A CAR!!! Yes, taxis are "a dime a dozen", BUT YOU WILL PAY DEARLY!!! What you might pay to take a taxi to a restaurant, shopping, etc., & back to ANY hotel will cost you almost what it would've cost you to rent a car for a day!! This is true for most of the caribbean. So keep your money for yourself, put the wife and kids in a car, and take a beautiful drive around the island. It'll be something you'll be glad you did. (And no worries about driving..it's easy enough to do.) Hope this helps.

http://www.thecrane.com/

qwovadis

www.maho.org St John #1

Puerto Rico or DR www.puntacana.com La Romana

great values... www.luxurylink.com www.cheapcaribbean.com

www.spirit.com good connections down

Barbados more expensive to fly to nice but more $$ less value

Aruba flat deserty eagle beach nice but small kind of boring

for me except for beach the Hyatt Eagle/Palm beach

my fav there... for safe pretty family experience

for me overall St. John .. Happy Hunting,

qwovadis

www.caneelbay.com

and Gallows Point and the Westin

(good deals www.betterbidding.com)

best St John higher end resort deals

if you do not want to do family condo villa.

riverbirch

Been to most of the islands and just got back from Grenada. Would highly recommend staying on a high end resort on Grand Anse Beach. Walking distance to shops and restaurants and uniquely different from other Caribbean islands. Friendliest islanders we have ever come across. There is a US Med school on the island so lots of students in the area.
My other choice or safe choice would be Aruba. Great resorts, beaches and scenery. Good snorkeling and you can have a fun day in a jeep exploring the island. Hard to go wrong with Aruba.

Lois

In Barbados "all" beaches are public (even though the Crane's beach may seem private, there is public access to it).

Barbados offers lots of stuff for all ages to enjoy as mentioned above.

Have a look at these resorts for easy walking to shops, restaurants and cinema: The Sandpiper, Coral Reef Club, and also Settlers Beach Villas. All 3 are in the same general location and easily walkable (5-10 minutes) to Holetown. New in Holetown is Limegrove Center -- lots of high end shops, restaurants and cinema. Also in Holetown you will find lots of other restaurants. I think this would be a perfect location.

Definitely rent a car/van so you can easily come and go as you please - you will save a lot of money compared to taxis. You can still drive over to The Crane for an afternoon. It's a great place, but it has air-conditioning problems, and it is on the east coast (the Atlantic side), so there is rough sea and strong undertow -- good for boogie boards and pretty to look at though. The pools there are great. From this location it is so far to get to the south and west coasts where lots of things are. To the south coast you are a good 30-40 minutes depending upon traffic, and to the west coast you can definitely plan on an hour.

Chris_Shaw

Cayman's is the best water of any island out there. If your kids view swimming, snorkeling, diving, beach as something to keep them active then this is by far, your best dive island. Rum Point and Seven Mile Beach are two top 10 beaches in world on one island. If high end resorts are your thing, then 1) RITZ CARLTON GRAND CAYMAN and then 2) WESTIN GRAND CAYMAN are your top choices. This is also a super safe island where you can easily rent a multi-million dollar home or high end apartment in the RUM POINT or SEVEN MILE BEACH area easily right on the ocean.

Your activities downtown aside from swim/snorkel/dive are 1)shop 2) turtle farm 3) skateboard park 4) butterfly farm 5) stingray city where you can wade with stingrays (top tourist activity) 6) golf 7)fish.

I don't think of the Cayman's as lively though so I don't want you to think it's CABO- I'd guess it's quieter than Barbados and Puerto Rico but also safer.