Caribbean Wedding - Sorry, I posted this in the US section first...
 

Hi - A family member of mine is planning a wedding in the Caribbean. She's looking at early June 2005 and one thought of a location is Lambert Beach Resort on Tortola. I was wondering a)if anyone has had any experiences with this resort, or b)if anyone has any suggestions for an alternate choice - it doesn't have to be tortola. She is price sensitive, and wants as many invitees as possible to be able to attend, so someplace like Caneel Bay, which would be gorgeous I'm sure, will be too much $$. June is coming up soon, so any help would be greatly appreciated!

How about Long Bay on Tortola. It's a big resort with several restaurants and room types. It's got a nice beach, several pools, and is convenient to other areas.

Lambert is out of the way. We tried to find it when we were on Tortola in May and the road was closed from the rains.

Good Luck, Greenie

We stayed at the Sugar Mill Hotel last year and while in Tortola visited The Villas of Fort Recovery Estates. When we toured they were setting up for a wedding reception and they also have had weddings on the property.
The units are fully-equipped Caribbean seaside villas built around a 17th century Dutch fort with masses of oleanders, hibiscus etc. They have 1-4 bedroom units-- packages include a snorkle trip from their small dock, jeep rental etc. Pam, the manager, was very friendly and helpful--views were wonderful and the breezes from the suite were refreshing. Located very close to the West End Marina in Tortola where you can take water taxis to other islands.
You can read more information at fortrecovery.com
Sugar Mill was wonderful but a little pricey for the better units.

How many people will your family member invite to the wedding, and how many can she expect will attend? It's possible she might want to consider renting an entire small hotel for only the wedding guests. She also might want to consider the cost of flying into Tortola versus other islands that can accommodate larger jets and therefore usually have cheaper airfare. (Then again, guests can fly to St. Thomas and take a ferry over to Tortola/Beef Island.)

Last summer my husband and I got married in Antigua at the Long Bay Hotel (www.longbayhotel.com) with about 40 other guests. The hotel gave us a great per person rate and we had the entire place for just our guests. The hotel also worked out special rates for larger families rather than a per person rate. We were there Friday-Monday, held the ceremony on Saturday, and all of us chartered a catamaran cruise on Sunday. Wonderful, relaxing, and far more economical than we thought it would be when the notion of getting married down there first occurred to us, and we thought would be a pipe dream.

Agree with a previous post. Lambert beach is a bit out of the way--a fairly good drive from other hotels, restaurants, etc., but on a really beautiful beach. Long Bay is pretty nice too. We stayed there about 5 years ago.

If $ is a concern, I'm not sure Tortola is the choice. We thought it was a little pricey compared with similar locs, especially for the food which we thought was generally below par. But it's really beautful island!

As to other island choices, it's hard to say without knowing what kind of "experience" she's looking for. Good beaches? Good food? Nightlife? Resort-style hotel or small? Familiar or "foreign" language, customs, food., etc. All-inclusive? Sports activities? Lush conditions? Etc., etc.

Another consideration if she's trying to maximize invitees: some islands accept only small planes (a few years ago, Tortola was one, but not sure if that's still the case), and some of the invitees might shy away from those places.