My husband and I are planning our 3rd wedding anniversary for June 2004. The last 2 years we went to Cap Juluca on Anguilla and Jumby Bay. We're considering returning to Anguilla but would really like to find a new spot before repeating destinations. We are looking for a place that is similar to Cap and is also fairly easy to get to from Washington, DC. We prefer quiet, beautiful pristine beaches and good food. Please help!

How about one of these on Turks & Caicos:

http://www.gracebayclub.com/home.html
http://private-islands.caribbeanway....Cay/island.asp
http://www.pointgrace.com/

Or in Bermuda:

http://www.thereefs.com/reefs/home.html

Or Harbour Island which is a little bit of a challenge to get to be absolutely gorgeous:

http://www.besthotelsresorts.com/pinksands.htm
http://www.islandinns.com/45.html

Or St. Barts, even little more diffciult to get to:

http://www.isle-de-france.com/html/frame_intro_us.htm

Ooops, forgot one but it's not on the beach. The hotel/suite decor and restaurant are exquisite with a price tag to match:

http://www.letoiny.com/eng/welcome/index.html

If you do have an interest in St. Barts go to www.sbhonline and read the forum. If you go to St. Barts and don't stay at Le Tiony, make sure you go to the Sunday Brunch, everyone raves about the food and the views from the restaurant.

Have a wonderful 3rd anniversary!

Thanks Karen. I will check those out!

Check out Cayo Espanto in Belize.

Okay Bubbs, it will be hard to top where you have been already. What are going to do when you get to 10 years? You will have done it all. But seriously, seeing as you obviously want the best of the best: here are some other possibilities:
Little Dix Bay
Biras Creek
Peter Island
Petit St. Vincent.

Also suggest you check out www.scubamom.com for reviews of these resorts.

You might want to check out Laluna in Grenada. We went there in February. Flew nonstop from Philadelphia--US Air on Saturdays. Cottages are terrific. Beach was nice--not as silky as Anguilla. Food was okay at resort, fantastic at Gary Rhodes restaurant at the Calabash (they provide transport). Not particularly cheap anywhere. Many other restaurants to try. The island itself is beautiful. Terrific tour of the island and sailing trip. Check out laluna.com.

FS Nevis.

Bubbs,
I am currently planning a honeymoon and have narrowed it down to three choices (two of which are Cap and Jumby)...do you mind sharing a bit of your experiences at both places. Would you recommend one over the other for a honeymoon?

Thanks! Good luck with your trip this summer!

Again, thanks to all who have provided feedback. This site is always helpful.

August 04: Cap and Jumby are very different.

Anguilla is a small, "scrubby" island - not tropical and lush but it has some of the best beaches I've ever experienced. What I most loved about Cap was the wonderful beach and your proximity to the beach - you literally walk steps out to the ocean from your room. Cap has a small but very nice exercise room and of course, you have full use of non-motorized water sports. The food at Cap was pretty good (I'm a tough food critic because I live near DC where there are some excellent restaurants). Some people rave about Pims, but I didn't find it to be that great, and the beach BBQ is definitely NOT worth the price. If you go to Cap, don't get the meal plan because there are so many GREAT restaurants on such a small island to try. We only rented a car one day to go to Scilly Cay - the rest of the time we just took taxis to restaurants (Altamer was my favorite). My husband and I both loved Cap so much that we are considering going back this year even though we've always said we won't repeat locations....just yet...

Jumby Bay. At first I was disappointed with Jumby Bay because it looked nothing like the pictures on the web site. The island had experienced a drought so it was very brown. I think my expectations were pretty high for the "private island." I was expecting to have the beach proximity that we had at Cap. We stayed in a rondavel which was only a few minutes walk from the beach but not ON the beach --just so you know. There are townhouses on the beach on another beach on the other side of the island if that is important to you but that beach is not as good as the main one. The island grew on us and we really enjoyed ourselves there as well - primarily because we met some really fun couples and we loved riding bikes around the island. The exercise room is okay - not as nice as Cap's. The resort is all inclusive so you do eat at the same restaurants all the time. The food is pretty good for an all inclusive (only been to one other AI and the food was awful, so I'm not a good judge of AI's). Finally, I can't forget the starfish. The crystal clear water was full of beautiful orange starfish. A little bizarre at first for me but they grew on me too - they don't hurt you!

Both islands are places to go to relax. If you're looking for adventure, these are probably not the spots for you. Of course you could always take a day trip to St. Martin or Antigua for that. We never did as we were content to remain on the resort. If you have specific questions, I would be happy to try to answer them.

bubbs -- we are also planning cap j for our HM in June 04 and have booked a luxury suite -- would you mind providing me with some insight to the rooms -- would you recommend upgrading to a junior suite (even though non are available at this time). also, we are in DC as well, what is the best way to get there?

for your third anniv -- point grace or parrot cay in T&C maybe?

Bubbs,
Thank you for the helpful information! Let us know what you decide for your next trip.

Good luck!

Bubbs,
That's quite a list you've got going. I would like you to go to Le Toiny on St. Bart's so you can present us with a nice compare/contrast report upon your return! Other considerations could be
Cobblers Cove on Barbados or Nisbett Plantation on Nevis. Please let us know what you decide, and please provide one of your great reviews upon your return.

You may want to look at Carlisle Bay Hotel in Antigua www.carlisle-bay.com. I have never been but it is a fairly new hotel that looks great.

Once you have been to Cap, its hard to find its equal the whole Anguilla island experience is so wonderful. Thats why we go back!
We adore Jumby, and its very different than CJ. Another repeat for us!

We have tried Caneel, and love it. The snorkeling is the best. Dining in Cruz Bay is lots of fun. We also liked Little Dix Bay, and now they have a new spa.

Just spent a few nights at the new Carlisle, nice spot. Excellent open air restaurant-Indigo. Beautiful open air lobby. Modern rooms are fun, and different for the caribbean.

Bermuda is our home away from home, but not one hotel comes clost to the above.

Places on my list-Parrot Cay, Pink Sands, and maybe the Ocean Club. I have ruled out Peter Island, as I have heard from friends its lovley but the lovely beach has way too many boaters.

Snapple,
I think we stayed in a luxury room - not a junior suite and it was fine (we were in villa 16-4). We spent most of the time on the beach or on the patio. We were on the upper level which I really liked because of the fabulous view we had from the nice patio. Some prefer the lower level because you are on beach level. There was a room on our level that had a concrete patio versus the porch style that we had. Ours was definitely nicer/more private. Those guests were kind of in a fishbowl - when we left our room we had to walk right by their patio.

Cap Juluca was my first time staying at a small luxury hotel versus the large chains of the world, so I was shocked at first to not have a key for my room (don't need it at all - the island is so safe. You do have a deadbolt, so you can lock your door when you sleep and there is an inroom safe for valuables). Also, our room had louvered/shuttered doors that opened onto the patio, so when you arrive you find lots of bug repellent stuff in the closet - a little weird to me at first but we really didn't have too much trouble with bugs.

I think there are about 20 villas (1 being the closest to the main part of the resort). We liked being further down the beach (16-4) as it was a little more private. Also, Carol (our beach waiter) was very nice and always brought us extra ice cream on his afternoon sorbet runs since we were at the end of the line!

Travel from DC: we flew American Airlines from Dulles to Puerto Rico then from PR to Anguilla. Got a great internet rate on aa.com for about $595/pp (for coach seats). They pick you up at the airport and take you to the resort for a welcome punch, warm wash cloth, etc, while you check in. Again, the inner part of the island is not much to look at, so don't be disappointed when driving to the resot because it's not lush. The beach will make up for it all!

You can always fly to St. Martan and take the ferry but I prefered flying straight there.

P.S. - We are considering Parrot Cay this year - just have been so busy working haven't had a chance to think about it in over a week or so!

Hi All.

I noticed Parrot Cay has been tossed around? Have any of you been there? If so can I get a general description. It is one of my options for our honeymoon this summer and we haven't spoken to anyone who has been there. Thanks!