cap juluca trip report 6/05
 

I outlined a couple of points...

MELLOW
Cap Juluca Is a beautiful resort but VERY VERY quiet.
If your really want to get away from it all this is the place to go.
I definitely was ready for some R&R but I had no idea how low key this resort is.
The resort was also totally full of honeymooners and I can see why, it’s a very romantic place. This is not a place to mix and mingle with couples or enjoy any type of nightlife. After dinner the resort seemed pretty dead.

Age Range
I would say on the young side... (mid 20's early 30's) Very few family's. Two that I can count. A handful of people 40+.

Beach
Out of this world, better than any beach in Hawaii that I have been too. Also, can't beat the beach side service! Can't say enough good things about it.

Rooms
We stayed in a Jr. Suite on the ground floor. We requested the 2nd floor w/ roof deck (according to all the posts that seemed to be the best)...they were unable to accommodate us and we stayed on the ground floor. It ended up to be quite nice. We found that we actually preferred being on the ground floor because of the direct access to the beach. It was so convenient. I noticed on other posts that they mentioned a noise issue. We really did not hear anything from the other rooms. However (and it was mentioned on another post) you may hear moving of chairs on the balcony above you (if you are on the ground floor) that can be loud. Fortunately for us it was not that bad.

I hope this was helpful...

Mrsizzy:

Did you get to Anguilla via St. Martin? I'm considering a trip for next summer to Anguilla and was informed by Fodorites that STM is cheaper.

Also, did you have a chance to look at the Frangipani Beach Club? If so, what were your impressions?

I have many friends getting married this year, and you have no idea how many people want to go to CJ. I think every travel agent pushes it, but it seems to have the goods to back up the hype. One of my sorority sisters got back from a trip to CJ this month and she said it was unreal. What did you think about Cuisinart?

Well, we took a boat cruise and saw the frangipani beach club from the water. It looked quite nice. It is also on the western side of the island - meads bay (awesome sunsets). If my husband and I came back we said we would like to stay on that side. I really do not know much about the resort though.

I had friends that have stayed at Cuisenart and loved it, comparable to cap juluca. Apparently they have a really nice pool which makes it stand apart from Cap. Caps pool is not great.

If you want a honeymoon atmosphere I would go to Cap.

As far as the flights go. I would fly into St Martin and take the ferry over if it is cheaper. We flew into San Juan, had 2 hr lay over. then flew into Anguilla. I have never done the ferry route. I'm not sure how much time it would save but It may save money. We took a day trip to St. Martin and the ferry takes exactly 30min. NICE!

Frangipani is lovely (& actually on the northern side of the island -- the Atlantic; CJ & Cuisi are on the south side -- Caribbean), small & intimate. Just 8 enormous suites with full kitchens, washer/dryers, a/c. It also has the best pool on the island & is on a gorgeous beach. We love it there!

Frangipani does look great. MaryD: What type of room have you stayed in? Since it will just be my husband and I, I think that the superior deluxe is sufficient. Is that correct? Or is the quality of the room that much nicer from superior deluxe to one bedroom suite?

We don't cook on vacation so we're not interested in spending more for a kitchen, but we would be if the quality of the room itself, including decor, view, etc., is better in the more expensive rooms.

The super deluxe room is really an extra bedroom to one of the suites -- they use it to configure the suites into 2-3 bedroom units. The suites are enormous -- the one we last stayed in had 3 balconies & 2 full baths. We use one of the packages listed on the web site (Sun, Sea & Sand or something like that); $1575 plus tax in the off-season & it includes a lovely continental breakfast. I think it's the best deal going. There's a floor plan on the web site as well -- one of the super deluxe rooms has a balcony overlooking the beach & one does not (can't remember the #'s). Also, there's a huge "junior suite" that isn't advertised on the rate page but is a real bargain. You might want to inquire about it.

Malliouhana is also a gorgeous resort, I would put that on top of my list, over CJ.

mrsizzy - apart from the boat excursion, did you explore the island by car? Where did you lunch and dine?

mah1980 - the airport code for St. Maarten is SXM, I think STM is St. Thomas.

I have a question regarding Frangipani. We have stayed there 6 times, the last time in November 2004. At that time we thought the rooms really needed to be fixed up and also found that with the apparent divorce of Valentine and Shelia, that Valentine was not there as much and seemed distracted when he was there, which seemed to have a negative impact on the staff. As a result, when we went back last week, we stayed a Cap and really loved it, espcially the beach and the staff. So how do the rooms look now at Frangipani, is Valentine still running it and has the new construction next to the property caused any problems? Thanks for any feedback.

By the way, last week Cap was also full of young honeymooners -- my husband and I were sure we were the oldest ones there, but that sue didn't matter to us.

Apparently Frangipani has been sold, there is a recent post about it on www.anguillaforum.com