Cottage 7 is not available. Which category of rooms would provide us with the most privacy and quiet, and the best location for getting to a quiet beach (i.e.,fewer children)? I understand some rooms have been renovated recently; I would be interested in knowing about these, also.

Thank you!

Caneel's website. www.caneelbay.com has a rooms guide in their "travel details" section. Probably greatest privacy/quiet is in some of the Cottage Point rooms (54-63), but you have to walk a couple min. to Scott Beach. The rooms on Scott Beach (67-86) are quiet and mostly private, but are at ground level, so people walking by at the edge of the beach can see in. Upstairs rooms on Hawksnest Beach (118-129) are the most private, are right on the beach, and pretty quiet.

I agree that the Hawks Nest 2nd Floor is best. We stayed there 3 or 4 times and for some reason found less children there than Scott or Turtle based on walking/snorkeling around.
You should still ask to be wait listed for Cottage 7 but DO NOT ACCEPT rooms A or B upon check-in. Trust me. They are in a poor location in the cottage. We stayed in C & D a few times and found them just perfect. I assume E & F are also good.
You can request nicely in your reservation for an end room on the 2nd floor of HN but it t is just a little bit quiter, but not much really.
Enjoy

Just got back from Caneel. We stayed in a courtside the 1st night (awful, babies crying, paper thin walls, don't stay there) Then we stayed in a garden view, room 35, that was very quiet! I will be posting pics of the view soon.

Caneel policy states with the exception of peak holiday dates-children under 16 are not permitted to stay on Scott or Paradise Beach. It's also "requested" that children
under 12 not use Scott or Parades.

However, I've stayed on Scott Beach and did encounter children- so I'm not sure the request is actually enforced.