Caneel or Little Dix??
 

My fiance and I are planning our honeymoon for May 2001, I think we have it narrowed down to Caneel Bay or Little Dix Bay, unless anybody out there can give some other suggestions which may be comparable resorts. We are looking for beautiful beach, pampering service,great rooms, good restaurants, and ofcourse a romantic setting. I would appreciate your comments on these resorts. <BR>Thanks!

Hi Jaimi, <BR>My wife and I have stayed at both places and we highly recommend both of them. They have a lot in common, but each is of course unique. Virgin Gorda and St. John also have a lot in common, but they have some real differences, too. In my opinion, there is more difference between the two islands than between the two resorts. I think LDB and Virgin Gorda are more laid back than are Caneel Bay and St. John. There is definitely more night life (really not that much on either island) and restaurant choices on St. John. It is also right next to St. Thomas, which has lots of shopping, restaurants and clubs, a good golf course, etc. VG has very few residents and far less visitors than does St. John. Both islands have so many beautiful uncrowded beaches, I can hardly stand to talk about it without getting misty eyed; and I'm not a sissy. <BR>Caneel Bay has 7 beaches at the resort itself. Little Dix Bay has only 1 beach at the resort itself, but oh what a beach! They take their guests on complimenatary boat trips to other nearby terrific beaches and on snorkel excursions to neat places like the Dogs. You can also rent a vehicle or take an inexpensive taxi ride to other beaches. Virgin Gorda has one thing that St. John can never touch, however. The Baths is one of my favorite places to visit in the world. Awesome! Like Trunk Bay on St. John, it tends to get crowded there often. But go before 10 am or after 3 pm and the crowds will have disappeared. This past June, we spent most of a Saturday at the Baths, and it was never crowded at all. I know I've probably only confused the situation with my rambling, but we love both resorts and both islands so much, it is hard to say which one is best. My wife likes St. John a little better and I like Virgin Gorda a little better. So we compromise, we always stay at both places. And that is my real recommendation to you. Both resorts offer an Island Hopper package where you stay a minimum of 3 nights at each resort and they transfer you by boat to the other one on certian days of the week. This waould allow you to experience both places and see if you leave as confused as we still do. Despite what the Caneel Bay web site says, you do not have to have a passport to go to Virgin Gorda. You need a certified copy of your birth certiificate with the raised seal and your picture ID such as your drivers license. Of course a passport is easier to use. You probably should bring a copy of your marriage certificate if one of you changes his/her last name after getting married. Both of these resorts offer everything you said you were looking for and MORE! Enjoy! <BR>Best wishes, <BR>Ray

Ray, <BR>Thanks so much for the info you gave me, exactly what we wanted to hear! We have thought about the island hopper, but don't want to be bothered with packing and unpacking. If we do go with Caneel Bay, we will definetly be taking a day trip to VG to see the baths that I've been reading so much about! <BR>Thanks Again! <BR>Jaimi

Hi Jamie:I agree with Ray that both islands are different and I enjoy them both. You really should reconsider doing both. The island hopper is a package,now they include dinner. In the past it was just breakfast. We loved the open air breakfasts and dinners at Little Dix,we felt it had a more inimate atmosphere,loved dining at the Sugar Mill and Pavillion. We felt the food and overall service was much better at Little Dix. <BR>The ferry to caneel is directly from the dock (right after lunch,)directly to Caneel(after customs at Cruz Bay). <BR>It is easy to pack I thought it would be a hassel but it was fun. We love Caneel,we have been there 3 times,could not do Dix last year beacause of Lenny. <BR>We love Scott beach,and enjoy the grounds of Caneel. We have breakfast sent to our room,in comes in an elegant wicker basket. <BR>We have been disappointed in the Turtle Bay restaurant-as it is enclosed and has limited space on the patio. The Equator at their sugar mill is too large-prefer Little Dix. We enjoy the upstairs terrace of the bar for lunch and drinks. <BR>If you decide only on Caneel,leave choices for dinner etc. We love dining in Cruz Bay. We are going back to Caneel in early December,but it was a tough choice not to do both. <BR>I hope I have not confused you-please feel free to ask questions.

Hi again Jaimi, <BR>I agree with everything Penny had to say about these two places. I'm not trying to oversell doing both resorts or trying to plan your honeymoon for you either. But the packing and unpacking really will not take that long. I just thought of one additional thing. If you don't want to eat at the restaurants at both resorts all the time, you can still stay at both places. Just don't book the Island Hopper package. You can book only the rooms and arrange with either resort to take you to the other one on the same boat that they take guests who have booked the Island Hopper package to the other resort for a nominal fee. Then you can decide if you want to eat at their restaurants or at some others nearby. We have eaten at their restaurants a few times and at others in Cruz Bay and Spanish Town other times for lunch or dinner. That is only because we like variety and like trying out different restaurants. We also love the Sugar Mill and Pavilion Restaurants at Little Dix Bay. But you really can't go wrong whatever you decide on this one. Have a wonderful honeymoon. <BR>Best wishes, <BR>Ray

To Ray or Penny (or anyone else): <BR>Do you suggest booking thru a travel agent or making arrangements on your own? (I'm coming from the east coast, NJ)...How about the rooms? We're thinking of the beachfront or premium rooms, any suggestions or insight on the decor?...Is service or the rooms any better or worse at either resort??....I love the sound of breakfast being sent in wicker baskets!!! <BR>Thanks!!

Hi Jamie-Both resorts are run by Rosewood,they have messed us up sometimes so Now I book directly thru the hotel. If you go to little dix request a room away from the childrens program ,we had 24,25,not sure but tell them your concerns. <BR>We fly from Newark to San Juan and then on to Tortola for a ferry pick up to Little Dix. <BR>We fly home non stop From St. Thomas on American to JFK,but now Continential has a non stop flight to Newark. If you have a god travel agent use them,they can request special atention for honeymoon etc, <BR>The premiunm and beachfront rooms on Little Dix are both nice,they recently upgraded some of the rooms up on stilts to premium. We enjoyed the premium rooms at Dix-and the premium rooms at Scott Beach,the rooms at Litle Dix are bigger and nicer. The service at Dix is better because it is not as large as Caneel. <BR>If you want to splurge and if rooms are important-book the rooms in the 7 complex-the old estate house,rooms are very large and have great 4 poster beds. They have gotten very very expensive,are considered the suites of Caneel. <BR>Hope this helps-Caneel now has air conditioning and that makes a difference. <BR>Do not hesitate to ask again!

PS-the donkeys roam Caneel and love to steal muffins!!

Hi - this information is so nice for us travelers who have never been there and are gettting ready to go. I have reseravations right now at the Westin in St. John. But, after reading this board, I am leaning towards cancelling them and hopping between Little Dix & Caneel. Some quick questions though - anyone's help would be great! <BR>1) We usually go to Sandals in Jamaica because we like the all-inclusive. It sounds like Caneel & Little Dix offer something similar. However, I believe it's pricey (180/day for b'fast and dinner). But - I don't know the restaurant prices around St. John and Virgin Gorda. Will I be spending just as much there? <BR>2) We are flying in and out of St. Thomas - how do I get to Caneel or Little Dix? Which one should I stay at first if I hop? <BR>3) How much to they charge to go between the two if they take you (I'm trying to decide if I want to do the hopper pkg or just do this on our own). <BR>4) Do you know how these compare to the Westin?? <BR> <BR>Thanks!

We fly into San juan-then to Tortola,where Little Dix picks you up.After a stay at Dix their ferry takes you to St. John-I think it cost us 50 dollars each(including the rum refreshments etc.)As it goes right to the dock at Caneel-you do not need a taxi etc. This only runs on Mon.Wed. and Friday,but check with the hotel. <BR>Last year we did the same flight,and stayed on Tortola a few nights,took the Native Sun,cannot remember the price either $15 or $20 dollars each,caught an open air taxi (about $8)to Caneel. <BR> <BR>Our flight home is non stop from STT-and the hotel covers ferry and taxi to airport, not sure of price. <BR>Since you are flying into ST. Thomas, you might be able to get a ferry again Native Son or another from Charlotte Amalie or Red Hook to Spanish town in Virgin Gorda,a short taxi ride to Dix. <BR>You might elect to stay one night in St. Thomas or St.John ,it all depends what time your flight gets in. Our flight leaves early am and people on our plane were catching a ferry to Tortola. <BR>I would recommend you do Dix first-the first day of travel kills almost the whole day,and Little Dix ferry goes in the early PM,unless you have a late flght out of St.Thomas this would not work. <BR>These hotels have much better beaches than the Westin,if you do a search there are alot of opinions on this board. Yet if you want to explore and I recommend you do that,St. John has one beautiful beach after another. <BR>I hope this helps-the ferry system between the US and BVI is good.

To Tara: <BR>Let me try to answer your questions as best I can. As I indicated in my two other responses to this thread, we have stayed at both Little Dix Bay and Caneel Bay. Both are excellent choices but we find it difficult to choose between them. Qusestion 1) Restaurant prices on St. John and Virgin Gorda are not cheap, but you can save lots of money by not taking the meal plans offered by these two resorts. Many people do not want to be bothered by having to go into town or chase around the island looking for restaurants when they can just eat right there at the resort and not worry about a thing. The restaurants at both resort are excellent. But there are several other good choices on both islands. 2)When we have stayed at the two of them on the same trip, we have flown into St. Thomas and then taken the Caneel Bay boat over to the resort on St. John. Later in the week (has to be on a Monday, Wednesday, or Friday), we have taken their boat over to Little Dix Bay on Virgin Gorda. Upon depature, we have then taken the Little Dix boat to Tortola's Beef Island International Airport and have flown from there to SJU then on back home. You can also do this in reverse. The Caneel Bay representative will meet your flight at STT and take you to the dock about 10 minutes away and put you on their boat and away you go to St. John. Since I know from another post that you don't arrive at STT til 7 pm and are considering staying that night at a less expensive place, then you would take the public ferry to St. John and take a taxi from Cruz Bay to Caneel Bay the next day if you did that. 3) These resorts charge $65 pp for pick up and return to the airport and they will take you from one to the other for around $25 to $30 pp. When you make reservations with them, tell them what you want to do and they will tell you exactly what it costs. 4)In my opinion, there is no comparison between either of these fine Rosewood resorts and the Westin St. John. I would much rather stay at either of the two inexpensive places I mentioned in my other post to you about 1 night only accommodations than to stay there at the Westin. There are several threads on this site about the Westin. You could do a search on this and see what others think. Service at both Rosewood resorts is excellent, but it stinks at the Westin. Service is also very good at Gallows Point, one of two places discussed in the other post I made to you today. the web sites for these 2 resorts are http://wwwlittledixbay.com and http://www.caneelbay.com. <BR>Regards, <BR>Ray