Best island on which to use Marriott points
 

My husband and I are planning to go somewhere (?) with our Marriott points in the middle of June. The question is which island?

To tell a bit about us, we are in our late 40s and leaving our 8-year-old with the grandparents so we can recapture some of that old romance for a week! Islands we have enjoyed in the past - more or less listed in order from favorite to least favorite - are St. John, Grand Cayman (been to GC twice), Virgin Gorda, Tortola, and Aruba.

We enjoy good snorkeling, but it's not going to be the focus of the trip. More important will be relaxing and enjoying each other's company, a nice beach at the resort (where we'll swim, sun, and read lots of books), great restaurants to choose from on the island (not just in the hotel), frozen drinks, one day poking around stores and shopping for souvenirs, and some island exploration. Nightlife is not important. My husband golfs and if there's a course, he may do that one day. We'll definitely rent a car when we get there and keep it all week so we can come and go as we please and leave the resort for most meals.

We're not really "resort" type people (would probably rent a villa or condo if we weren't using points), so we really don't want a super-duper high-rise resort if we can help it. However, at the moment we're pretty open with everything and consider ourselves fortunate to have the points to use!

Also, we're not limited to the Caribbean if anyone has another idea. We are toying with staying at the Marriott on Costa Rica - whichever one it is that is on a beach.

If you have any suggestions based on the description of us, they would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks in advance!

With your terms and conditions, you would love Curacao! It is an ABC island, but not at all like Aruba. The Marriott has a nice big beach as well as a nice pool area and tons of great restaurants all around the island. I'm not certain about the availabilty of frozen drinks as I tend to prefer the watermelon on the rock type of drinks, but there is shopping to be found. We liked the linens and local artwork. You won't cheap prices though. I don't recall any golf. Absolutely rent a car. All you need is your driver's license and you can rent directly from the hotel, if you want.

Defintely Curacao. it is the best marriott property in the Caribbean.

The Marriott on St. Kitts gets good reviews on tripadvisor. We are going there in April using Marriott points. It is a larger resort (which is not your preference) but is newer with nice rooms. The island is not known for snorkeling but my research tells me that there are some snorkeling spots and some people have snorkeled off the Marriott beach. The resort has a golf course and beach bars within walking distance. You can also take the ferry or a catamaran trip to Nevis. Just another option to look at...

Hi, I have been to Aruba Marriott, Curacao Marriott and Marriott St. Kitts. All have their strengths and weaknesses but for your requirements I agree with a previous poster that you should choose Curacao, we loved that resort and thought it was a good value (and we paid actual $$) so if you can go on points go for it. Aruba and St. Kitts are just mega-resorts with 1000+ rooms each (Aruba is actually three resorts in one, the hotel and two timeshares -- way too much people for the size of the beach). St. Kitts is less crowded and has a larger beach area but it is huge. Curacao is much smaller (less than 200 rooms I believe) and low-rise, very open air and just overall a wonderful resort and service. Also, Curacao has more personality/charm than Aruba, the town is like a little Amsterdam and lots of great restaurants. Also, better snorkeling in Curacao than the other two. If you can purchase/use points for an upgrade to a beachfront executive room on the first floor I think it's well worth it. We had a room on the left side of the resort (as you face the ocean) and we were steps from the water and because the foliage is low it was a terrific view.

We're staying on points at the Marriott on St. Thomas this summer, and we plan to spend about 1/2 of the time on day visits to St. John and also visit Jost Van Dyke via the ferry.

We thought St. Thomas would give us the most flexibility of visiting other islands.

Carole

Thanks so much for all your feedback!

I have been reading a lot of good things about Curacao and so was thinking about it.

A couple questions, however.

What's the deal on the refinery? I take it this is not a detractor?

Also, is Curacao windy like Aruba?

I did not find Curacao windy at all compared to Aruba and Turks & Caicos but it may depend on the time of year. Honestly, I didn't even notice the refinery the first three days I was there -- I didn't see it until I walked all the way to the end of the beach and looked back down along the beach and the you can see it in the distance. I couldn't see it from most of the Marriott's beach or any other areas of the resort. It was a non-issue for us.

As a Marriott Rewards member, I know a bit about using rewards.

First, you mentioned you'd be open to other ideas, so let me tell you what I'm thinking...

I'd recommend that perhaps you think about the Marriotts in the Spanish Mediterranean islands. In June the weather will be warm to hot, sunny, and dry with zero chance of rain and beautiful scenery, which in my opinion is better than the random thunderstorm chances on many Caribbean islands. I'd recommend Mallorca "Marriott Son Antem Golf Resort & Spa" to fit your husbands golf needs and your relaxation needs. There's also Marriott's Club Son Antem on Mallorca as well.

If you want to stick to mainland Spain, Marriott's Marbella Beach Resort is quite nice and offers sun and beach experiences as well.

Now, if you insist on the Caribbean, I'd have to agree with the consensus on Curacao.

The advantage of Curacao in June is that, like Aruba, it lies outside the "hurricane belt" and thus doesn't have the storms that other islands have. Also, the dry conditions are much more pleasant than other islands. It's definitely the place to go with Marriott points in the Caribbean.

Topping for m2schwab.