Honeymoon
 

I am looking for a Carribean resort for a honeymoon trip. He wants lots of beach activities and I want hiking, a spa and no children under 12. The room must have A/C. I know some rooms only have ceiling fans.

All inclusive would be nice, but I've been to Sandals and I don't like being treated like cattle. A package deal would be great or I will use frequent flyer miles for the air portion of the trip.

Swept Away in Negril.

I wanted to suggest that you look at Jalousie on St. Lucia.
The hotel is situated between the bases of the Piton mountains on the
southwest coast of the island. Very dramatic and stunning landscape--perhaps the most stunning landscape I've ever seen--two lush green mountains rising steeply on either side of a white sand beach, with beautiful indigo water whose depths reflect the mountains' height. Most of the rooms themselves are actually free-standing cottages, each with its private plunge pool. Property is over 300 acres, rising up the mountain side, so the views are stunning. There's a spa at the top with tennis and a small pitch-and-putt golf area. Hiking trails are found on the property and are available throughout the rainforest on the island.

Rooms have A/C, private pool area with wet bar, large bathrooms with separate
bath & shower, and some have a separate sitting area as well.

The beach itself is not technically private, as all beaches must be public on the island, but since it it only accessed by water or a long drive through the property, it is effectively private. Most beaches in St. Lucia are dark sand, but the Jalousie imported white sand to make their beach stand out. There's a lovely pool area down by the beach as well.

4 Restaurants on site. One is only open for breakfast. One is only open for
lunch, and two are only open for dinner. There's a beach bar that offers
beach service--just wave down an attendant if you want a pina colada. Also, very good snorkeling just off the beach. Hotel offers full water sports
service--the island is known for its very good snorkeling and scuba.

They offer an all-inclusive option that I thought was a little pricey, but if
you're there for your honeymoon than chances are you won't want to be
thinking about costs much anyway. There's also a funky little restaurant next door that offers a Wednesday night jump-up with fun entertainment and free rum punch with the dinner. All other restaurtants you'd have to take a cab to and from.

The only downside (for your criteria, that is) is that the resort is not
exclusively for adults. I visited Jalousie in July 2001 and saw only one child who was with her parents the whole time--she looked to be in the 11-13 range and was exquisitely behaved. It's not a great place for kids anyway--I don't imagine that most of the time there would be a lot of them--but depending on the time of year you're planning to honeymoon, you could probably hedge your bets.


Another plus about Jalousie is that it offers a helipad for its guests, which
means you can cut your time in a cab transferring from airport to hotel--a
drive that can last 90-120 minutes each way, if you're arriving at the American
Airlines airport in the north of the island.

Please let me know if you have any questions. I think the website is
www.jalousiehilton.com
Another plus for this place is that you can earn airline miles for your stay
since it's a Hilton.

St. Barts. The ENTIRE Island a resort, and it's prettier than perhaps any other, pristine beaches, excellent French dining, sexy, but no casino or tacky all inclusives.

Hi,
look into La Source Grenada;superior all inclusive resort, on a nice beach with one daily spa treatment included. Also, LOTS of beach activities included in your all inclusive package such as waterskiing,hobie cats, scuba diving and snorkeling among others. All rooms have a/c, marble floors and baths and four poster mahongany beds. Best of all no kids under 16 allowed.

Grenada is a great Island to go hiking, many tours have rain forests walks or hikes to waterfalls etc.Even a trip to town will afford you a hike up and down those hills :D

http://www.lasourcegrenada.com/index.htm

Thanks fore the ideas. I've already been to St. Lucia, so I'll skip that one.

Any others??

I'm thinking perhaps I should visit several islands in one trip, but I don't know any travel agents who can book vacations like that..I want to use FF miles for the airline tickets.

If you really like hiking and beautiful scenery, I have to suggest Saba. There are 18 very well maintained trails that go through various eco-systems including an elfin forest and rain forest atop a beautiful volcanic peak.

If quiet, quaint and romantic is what you're seeking, it's Saba. If you want beaches, discos and noise Saba isn't the place. There is a day spa on the island run by Sallie and some nice honeymoon-suitable hotel/resorts.

I can give you more info as I've moved to Saba recently.

I hate to sound ignorant but I've never heard of Saba..don't know where it is..or who flies there..

Claudette,

Which airline miles will you be using. AA for example will allow you to stop over in PR (either direction) and then visit another island without any additional points.

Continental One Pass miles

No worry, Claudette, a lot of tourists haven't heard of Saba and that's ok with most of us ;-)

Saba is a small volcanic island 28 miles south of St Maarten. There are no beaches here, so no tacky time shares, casinos, or cruise ships. If you know any serious scuba divers, they've heard of Saba because it ranks with Bonnaire as one of the most spectacular places on earth to dive and snorkle. It's also a haven for hikers and eco-tourists. Saba is a Dutch territory and there is no crime or poverty here. The people are friendly and enjoy visitors.

Planes to Saba arrive only via St Maarten, so flights there from North America and Europe connect to WinAir for the 12 minute flight to Saba.

There are several small, quaint hotels -- all of them overlooking the ocean -- that would take very good care of you and your husband on your honeymoon. Btw, one of them just won *another* Wine Spectator award.

I was thinking Aruba might be a better choice for us, since we do want some nightlife, we like to go out dancing. Seems like the other islands (except St. Thomas) don't have much of a nightlife.

I know everyone has their favorites, so this is just mine, but Aruba is probably my favorite. Great beach, good restaurants, some nightlife, including casinos, and perfect weather year round. That being said, the top hotels are the Hyatt, Radisson and Marriott and I don't believe any of them have spas, and there will likely be children under 12.
I suggest you look at the Mayan Riviera on the caribbean coast of Mexico. The Royal Hideaway is one of the top resorts--spa, great beach, etc. It is all inclusive and recognized to be probably the best AI around--good restaurants, not buffets as many other AIs. It also has a spa, and no children under 16 are allowed. Check it out at royalhideaway.com, and you can do a search in the Latin American forum==there are many posts about it.

thanks for your replies..we still haven't decided on an island..too many choices!! I thought about doing a combination of 2 Carribean islands, but not sure how to book that. Any suggestions?

A good travel agent that's has much experience with the Carribean should be able to help.

I know this isn't the Carribean, but did you consider Hawwai? h

Check out Peter Island ,nice beach on private island,mostly upscale yuppy honeymooner types(white collar criminals to be exact)great food.Checkout the beachsuites

Hello Claudette,

My vote would be to split your honeymoon between the two St. M's and
Anguilla - with most of the time in Anguilla. The islands are vastly different from one another but the combination would satisfy your every need. The beach in front of Cap Jaluca
is absolutely breathtaking!!!

We used Delta FF miles to get to PR and then used AA FF to get to St. M's. Re: all inclusive... just about any nice resort is willing to put together a dining plan. But Anguilla is truly a dining mecca and you wouldn't
want to limit yourself.

Have fun doing the research!!!

ML