Caneel Bay Room Types
 

I am interested in booking a vacation at Caneel Bay for next year. I don't think I can afford one of the beachfront rooms. What are the "Courtside" and "Tennis Garden" rooms like?

I have been back to Caneel twice in the past two years, and would highly recommend the resort. I have not stayed in the courtside or tennis garden rooms, I have only stayed in the rooms on Scott beach. However, none of the accomodations at Caneel bay are what many would consider ultra luxurious, but they are very functional, nice and comfortable.

The one factor I would consider is that the tennis garden and courtside rooms are a bit far from the beaches...about a five minute walk, but there is a shuttle bus that circles the property if you aren't up to the walk. If you haven't done so already, go to the Caneel Bay website where they have a pdf map of the property, and you can see where the rooms are in relation to the rest of the resort.

I have visited many resorts and islands in the Caribbean and Caneel is one of my favorites. Even if the courtside or tennis garden rooms are a bit distant from the beaches, I believe for the price it would difficult to find a nicer resort with more beautiful beaches.

Caneel Bay is beautiful. The previous poster is correct about the rooms not being luxurious. Some people are dissapointed thinking they are going to be similar to a Four Seasons or Ritz since the prices are so high. What you are paying for is the setting, the private beaches, and the solitude. A friend of mine, goes every year and stays in the Tennis Garden rooms. He says the tennis garden rooms are often actually larger in size and a five minute walk is very pleasant. He doesn't think it's worth the extra money to stay beachfront. Book the Tennis Garden and maybe you'll be lucky and be upgraded to beachfront...you never know.

I have another question about the Caneel Bay rooms. We've booked a beachfront room. Are there better beachfront rooms to have than others? Better beach, quieter, less bugs, etc. I'm looking at their websites PDF map of the property and definitely want an unobstructed view. Also, what are your thoughts on taking an upgrade to a premium (lower floor beachfront) if offered to us? Thanks!

I think that the rooms on Scott Beach are most desirable ... single level units, beautiful beach that faces west with afternoon sun. My next choice would be Hawksnest Beach (faces east; morning sun; 2-level units), and then Turtle Beach (faces north,2-level units). Hawksnest and Turtle are both great beaches, but I think there was a short path to get to the actual beach on Turtle versus Hawksnest. Less desirable (but still nice) are Little Caneel Beach ... too close to main area; too much boat traffic; and Honeymoon Beach ... not as nice as the others; more isolated from the other beaches.

Have fun ... the above poster's description is correct ... don't expect luxurious accomodations ... Caneel is more about the setting and the beaches. We stayed there a few years ago and absolutely loved it.

Caneel is about settings, beaches, nice room amenities, comfortable mattresses, nice bath gels,( not sure if they are still using Mango, but Lady primrose is wonderful too ), plush towels and relaxation.

We stayed 1st floor beachfront on Hawksnest; the room was steps from the water. There was also a nice hammock in the trees. Plenty of shade on the beach (unlike me, my husband is not a sunlover). We were there in early November; only once had other people within 50 feet of us. Hawksnest has great snorkeling on both ends; it gets some small waves, not great for laying on rafts.

Scott Beach was much calmer; other more people seemed to use it. Not as much to see snorkeling (although you may see rays and turtles here), but a great beach for just "floating"; very calm.

Either would be great; you will end up visiting all of the beaches on the property. The shuttle was quite convenient and we rarely waited more then 5 minutes.

Like the other posters have said - It's all about the setting and the beaches. The Tennis Garden rooms are quite roomy with a very large stone bathroom. They may be farthest from the beach but are closest to the pool. After a hard day of snorkeling and sun bathing nothing is more refreshing than a late afternoon dip in a pool. Worth every penny!

I myself am going to be staying at Caneel Bay the second week in October also in a beachfront room. I noticed that there are also rooms on Turtle Bay beach. How does this beach compare to Hawksnest/Scotts beach? Also would anyone recommend staying on the first floor, vs. the second floor? I did inquire about the room categories with Caneel and as far as Scotts Beach goes, only the "premium rooms and cottage 7" are on that beach. Regular beachfront rooms are not considered "premium". But if anyone could tell me more about Turtle Bay beach, etc. much appreciated!

I too would like opinions about if its worth it to pay for the "premium" beachfront, and get a 1st floor room. Thanks!

If your budget can swing it I do feel it's worth it for the premium rooms on Scott Beach, or first floor on Hawknest or Turtle Beach. But if that stretches the budget too much than just go for whatever level of room you can swing. When we were there we did splurge for a premium room on Scott Beach and ended up being upgraded to Cottage 7. However, we ended up trying out all the Caneel Beaches ... I recall that the snorkeling was especially good on Turtle and Hawknest.

I have stayed at the cottages at Scott's Beach and on Paradise Beach Point. The units on the point are not "beachfront" but are listed as "ocenview" and they are not a s expensive but are still a very short walk to the beach. I can't say what the garden/tennis rooms are like but I do agree that they are a bit away from the beach area.

In reference to the rooms and beaches, what are the pros and cons of staying on Hawksnest, Turtle Bay, and/or Caneel Bay? Also is it better to stay on the first floor or the second floor? Thanks!

TO kmfoley0816: You mentioned that the rooms on Paradise Beach Point are not on the beach. The online map of the property looks like all the rooms on Paradise Beach are on the beach. Do you know if the map is misleading?

Also, I undstand that the premium rooms are only on Scott Beach. You mentioned cottages on Scott Beach. Are the cottages considered premium rooms and do these cottages differ from cottage 7? On the map, the rooms look to be one level directly on the beach. Is this correct? Thanks for your help.

"Cottage 7" is not really a cottage in the true sense, but actually refers to what was once the Rockefellar residence (I believe) on the property. (They probably referred to it as a "cottage" in relation to their other residences!). It is divided into 5 or 6 units that are considered more deluxe accomodations. For example, we had a huge unit with a four-poster king-size bed, very large bathroom, living room area with large modular couch, large eating area with table/chairs & wetbar area, and a large patio with 2 lounge chairs and table/chairs. (We had not actually booked this unit; we were upgraded to it and needless to say we were thrilled.) This "cottage" is on bit of a point and is beachfront to Paradise Beach (and adjacent to Scott Beach).

If I recall, there is a row of premium level units beachfront on Scott Beach. Then, somewhat "behind" these units are the other units that the previous poster referred to as cottages that are oceanview rather than oceanfront ... there is only a very short walk to Scott Beach. (It's been a few years since I've been there, but this is what I recall.)

In terms of the beaches, we liked Scott Beach the best, but also liked Turtle and Hawknest ... they were actually a bit better for snorkeling. Turtle faces north and Hawksnest facing east (getting morning sun). I think that there little more of a path to get to Turtle from the units than Hawknest (but not sure on that). We also liked Paradise Beach ... although small compared to the other beaches, we usually had it to ourselves and there was good snorkeling right there as well. Caneel Beach was closer to the main area and there was more pedestrian and boat traffic in that area.

Regarding upper versus lower ... it's a matter of personal preference. The upper units may afford more privacy, but an advantage to the lower units is that you can just walk out onto the beach.

Having stayed on both Turle Bat and Hawksnest, of the two, I prefer Hawksnest - but only slightly. My preference is second floor, which offers a better view. Hawksnests rooms have about 10 - 12 steps directly to the beach. Turtle Bay's second floor rooms have more steps which go the front of the building, meaning that one must walk around to the back and the beach. Both building;s first floor rooms open directly to the beach. A pro for Turtle Bay is that it is closer to observe boat traffic, but not so close to interfere with water activity. At Hawksnest, boat traffic is much further.

The fun thong about Caneel is that since there are seven beaches, I usually swim/ snorkle at three or four each trip.