Curtain Bluff, Jumby Bay, or Caneel Bay
 

My wife and I have planned a winter vacation at Curtain Bluff with our 14 and 11 year old daughters. However, the more I read, the more concerned I have become that CB may be a little too "clubby". Also, a beautiful beach and good snorkeling are priorities for us, and I have read conflicting views about CB in this regard.


In turns out that for the week in question we could still reserve a beachfront villa at Jumby Bay or adjoining rooms at Hawksnest Beach at Caneel Bay. I know this question gets debated often, but I would appreiciate any feedback on comparisons of these three resorts, keeping the beach issue (and ease of access to the beach) in mind.

Thanks. Neil

If you want a beautiful beach, and in this case beaches, great from the shore snorkeling, Caneel is the place.
We love the beaches, and whole ambience of the hotel. Its a great snokeling destination. I also like dining in Cruz Bay, at fun spots, plus the little beach bar terrace at Caneel. The more formal yet lovely Turtle Bay house is one of our favorites for breakfast, with 14 and 11 you might prefer the Pavillion at Caneel Beach. We use to go to Caneel every January for a total of 4 trips.
We now go to Jumby, as we prefer the total ambience. I must say the villa will give you lots of space. Jumby can be relaxed, you can bike around the island, the main beach is like a bath tub, lots of starfish, but really no snorkeling. The villas have their own beach area, I have walked it, its very nice. You also have the main beach at Jumby, plus Pasteure Beach, its empty,
but very rocky.
I honestly think you would not go wrong with Caneel or Jumby. If snorkeling is a top piority Caneel wins.

The beachfront villas at Jumby Bay are very nice and quite spacious. The downsides are that the beach over there is not nearly as nice as the main beach (it's not what I'd call a destination beach) and the villas are very cut off from the rest of the resort (about a half mile away). This is a plus for some. But you also don't feel part of the resort. Just depends what you want.
The beaches at Caneel are unquestionably the best of the 3 places. The rooms there aren't nearly as nice as the villas at Jumby. The snorkelling there is significantly better than at Jumby or Curtain.
I don't care for Curtain Bluff. It's rooms aren't nearly as nice as Jumby's, the beaches are decent but not great, and the location is less than ideal. Overall it doesn't compare favorably with Caneel or Jumby IMO.

Thanks for the comments. We have decided on Caneel Bay.