aliciaf1

Hello,
We are looking into honeymoon destinations in the carribean for August...We know all about the hurricanes and Aruba... but we both have there before and are looking into somewhere different so we are planning this with hurricane chances not being an issue to us.

We are looking for somewhere exclusive, where as there won't be many kids/families running around, and also all-inclusive if possible. Would like the option for some water activities, cool hikes. Not too interested in tours. We do not want to go to Mexico or Hawaii either.

If you have any suggestions of places that you think we should look into, please let us know!! I am looking for a place to start my research...

eileen

Well, it's not outside the hurricane belt, but you might want to check out Galley Bay Resort in Antigua. It's an adults-only AI (but not your typical AI, more upscale with all a la carte dining). We have been twice and it is a great place for a honeymoon. In August, if you don't choose an adults-only resort, be prepared for lots of kids! Jamaica Inn is also a nice adults-only resort with an AI option. You also might check out Anse Chastanet in St. Lucia, I believe it may also be adults-only.

aliciaf1

Thank you! I will definitely look into them and keep you posted

Knowing

What about Curacao? The Marriott there does offer an A/I plan and has nice accomodations and amenities. It is located on a gorgeous beach.
It's a fun island with it's own sense of adventure.

KVR

The Marriott in Curacao is not adult's only and will probably be quite busy with familes/kids as it's one of the most recommended hotels on Curacao. Look at the Kura Hulanda. I beleive they offer an AI plan. There are 2 resorts, the lodge and the hotel. The lodge is quite secluded and the hotel is closer to town. Not sure about the kid factor, but they are quite pricey, so not really a good option for families.

I don't think Barbados has much issue with hurricanes. The Almond Beach Club & Spa is adult's only.

On St. Lucia, check out Ladera, The Body Holiday Le Sport, Jalouise, Rendezous and of course 3 Sandals properties if you're looking for that type of honeymoon.

In Jamacia, there are several Sandals resorts, Royal Plantation and 4 Couples Resorts. Also, Sunset at the Palms in Negril. It's not adult's only, but children are discouraged.

Most of the adult only AI resorts are in Mexico, Jamaica and the DR. There are a few Islands that hotel offer an AI plan, but it's more difficult to find adult only/adult oriented.

Knowing

Barbados is unlikely to be hit by hurricanes, but I would never recommend the Almond Beach club, which is why I didn't include it in my initial response.

I like some of the Sandals properties but not all are created equal. We just returned from Sandals Whitehouse in Jamaica 3 days ago, however, and it was a great time! The staff was wonderful and really went out of their way to make sure you were having a good time. The food was great, as well as the drinks and nightife. Jamaica does lie in the hurricane belt and August is hurricane season, but you would be more likely to get heavy rain as a result of a hurricane elsewhere in the Caribbean than you would actually get hit by a hurricane there. I don't recall Jamaica being hit very often. The Sandals in Antigua is also a nice property.

Anther thought is Palm Island in the Grenadines. Out of the hurricane belt and an A/I. Trinidad and Tobago are also pretty much hurricane free

The chance of any one island being hit by a hurricane is very slim. So, I wouldn't be too concerned. Travel insurance is a good idea, though.

KVR

Knowing, why would you not recommend the Almond Beach Club? We've not been to Barbados, but have been looking for a future trip. I only listed because it's an adult's only resort on an Island that hurricanes would probably not be an issue. Other than that don't know much about it.

I have found that many hotels in Barbados that state they are AI are really a modified EP plan as they don't include alcohol. Have to check carefully.

I agree with your comment about Sandals. We've been to two and was booked for Sandals Dunn River in July, but they are closing that resort within 3 weeks of our scheduled arrival, so we canceled. I don't think I would ever spend the money on a Sandals again when the resorts in Mexico are so much nicer and less expensive. However, the New Emerald Bay in the Bahamas looks tempting. Maybe if we win the lottery. The Whitehouse in Jamaica seems to be the favored Sandals resort.

Though we liked Jamaica, we prefered St. Lucia. Though it's really far to get to and air is expensive. It's set farther out than Jamaica, so a hurricane possibly might not be an issue as much as Jamaica. For topography both are quite similar.

xkenx

Barbados is very rarely hit by a hurricane and is a wonderful island for anything you might want. The class act there is Coral Reef Club. It is low-rise, plantation style, family-owned for nearly 60 years, and the caring shows(kept updated). See www.coralreefbarbados.com With the abundance of great dining on Barbados, both in hotels and independent, and entertainment options, you are better not doing A.I. Coral Reef's MAP includes an option for dinner at other participating hotels nearby. You might also be away at lunch time.

Knowing

KVR, the reason we don't recommend the Almond Beach Club is that it needs to be renovated, things in the rooms don't work, the food isn't very good and the staff tends to be on the unfriendly side. By all means, I highly recommend Barbados. There is so much to see/do that one could easily spend two weeks there. But it is not an island that offers a lot in the way of AI's and it is one of the islands that you truly miss out on too many good restaurants if you were to do an A/I anyway. Because Barbados is the most British island in the Caribbean, they do list things very traditionally and you do need to read the fine print carefully.

I read in a previous post that you had to cancel your Dunn's River in July. There was a fair amount of talk about it around WH as it is such a popular Sandals. For us, my husband won't go to Mexico even though it would be so easy to fly there. And every vacation there's always someone who says "We'll never go back to Mexico again!" So, I have the Caribbean or Hawaii. Not that I'm complaining!!! I feel so blessed to be able to travel. Emerald Bay does look nice. They had the brochures out at one of the parties and I was glancing through it. WH was fantastic. My husband is very interested in returning next winter. I want to go back sometime, but I'm thinking Maui or Costa Rica for next winter.

It's interesting how opinions vary among people. We love Jamaica and really disliked St Lucia. One of the best perks about Jamaica, too, is that it seemed like it was nothing to fly back and forth now that Delta has taken over NW in MSP.

KVR

Thanks for the info. We are still debating on where sto stay in Barbados. The flights are expensive. There are not many AI's to chose from and I've looked at several menus and the prices are higher than many of the Islands we've been to. We are wanting to do day trips to the Grenadines and Grenada as we could never just go to those Isands separately, which adds on an additional cost. It will be a couple more years. I hoping we will eventully get enough miles for the flight.

I agree about opinions. We really disliked Hawaii and would never return. Have you ever tried Mexico? It is our favorite destination beacause it easy to get to, relatively inexpensive compared to most Caribbean Islands, has the nicest AI hotels for the price and has so many things to see and do off the resorts. We thought the same about Jamaica until we went. Though it's not our favorite Island we still want to get to Ocho Rios someday. I'm hoping whoever takes over Sandals Dunn River will lower the price so we can eventually stay there. I'm itching to get back to Aruba. We loved it there.

Knowing

Flights ARE expensive to Barbados. Have you looked at someplace like the All Seasons Resort Europa? It's not an AI but it won't break the bank. They have a pool but it's not on the beach. Not a big deal if you have a car. There are so many awesome beaches to try on Barbados anyway. And, you probably won't spend a lot of time at the hotel anyway. Again, food is also expensive and I don't really know how to get around that. Even the grocery stores are expensive. The locals have told us that it is difficult for them to live there as it is so expensive. Adding on the Grenadines is a great idea as it is a great way to get more bang for your buck. The Grenadines are my favorite.

May I ask you which Hawaiian islands you were on and why you disliked them? Jamaica is not our favorite island, but it is one we like. One of the staff people at WH told me that they think Sandals will re-open Dunn's River, but it wasn't a manager, so I'm not sure I beleieve it. I just think that Butch is going in a different direction and that he doesn't want to do major renovations on some of the older properties. So, who knows who will end up with it. One interesting thing we heard from our helicopter pilot was that the Riu wants to put in a place next to WH. Apparently, the government had gone back on their word to Butch to fix the road to WH. I have to believe that Riu will use that as a bargaining chip and WH will benefit from it.

KVR

We went to Maui and did a day trip to Oahu to see the Pearl Harbor exhibit. We went in a February, which was a horrid time. We were thinking tropical and it was cold and rainey. We had to go to Wal-Mart to buy jeans and sweaters we were freezing. The beach at the Kaanapali Hotel was cold and rough. I braved the waves and ended up with a bathing suit full of sand. DH had much better sense to stay out of it. The water was cold, dark and full of waves. Beaches chairs were $20 to rent at the hotel and the food/drinks were very expensive. I don't like my food tasting like grilled pineapple either. We were wanting back in the Caribbean at an AI hotel with warm, crystal clear water and included everything. It's too expensive and too far for what is offered. People who think Aruba is Americanized has either never been to Hawaii or don't have a clue. If we ever won the lottery, we might go to Kaui since it looks a lot like St. Lucia. Yes, we are glad we experinced it and DH loved the Pearl Harbor exhibit, but would not return.

My TA is a Sandals specialist and she tried talking us into keeping our reservation at Sandals Dunn River. She also thinks Sandals will eventually keep control of Sandals Dunn River. I really liked Sandals Royal Bahamian, but didn't think we got what we paid for after being to Mexico. Sandals Grande St. Lucia has to be the worst hotel experience we've ever had next to the RIU Tropical Bay in Negril, Jamaica. We paid $5,000 and definatly did not get what we paid for. Service was horrible and the food just as bad. Worse than any 2* - 3* we've been to in Mexico. For that price it should have been much better. We could definatly see the favoritism to the many Sandals returnees.

From what I've been told, Sandals is trying to update all of their hotels to "Ultra Luxuary". That includes all butler service, upgraded amenties, swim-up rooms, private plunge pools, ala cart restaurants, the works. Of course the price to update all of their existing hotels, build new ones and take over existing hotels and upgrade comes at a price which they are more than happy to pass on to the consumer. Too rich for my blood plus I don't need or even want many of the additional things they are charging for. Most of what Sandals makes consumers pay for in upgrades are in the standard price for many hotels in Mexico. Sandals Dunn River is a small hotel on a small beach and it would be easier for them to dump it then upgrade it to their new standards. Personally, I was not willing to pay $3,000+ for iffy and bailed. Plus I had miles for domestic air so we chose Key West. We booked a cute B & B pool side room for less than half of what we were going to pay Sandals in their lowest catagory room. Granted it's not an AI, but restuarants are quite abundant in Key West.

I personally don't like The RIU chain. They remind me of an opportunist organism. The infect the Islands that descend on with their low budget family oriented AI hotels. There have been may issues of them not following local laws when building or upgrading their hotels. The RIU Tropical Bay in Negril was the worst AI we have ever stayed in. They would definatley have to show much improvement for us to ever try them again. I feel quite sorry for the Whitehouse if RIU builds one of their hotels next to them. I think that's one of reasons of the Sandals Dunn River demise. If you're paying that kind of money to stay at Sandals do you really want to be next to a party-hardy family oriented hotel like the RIU? Not me.

We'll eventually get to Barbados. Maybe when we decide to go we'll find the hotel we're looking for.

Knowing

KVR -
Wow! I am so sorry and saddened to hear about your Hawaiian experience. It is never fun to have to buy jeans and sweatshirts on what you are expecting to be a "tropical" vacation. Pearl Harbor is worth seeing, but I am NOT a fan of Oahu. Maui is less busy, but not quiet in the area you were in and the northern parts of the islands do tend to be a little cooler. Typically nowhere close to what you are describing, however. How horrible for you that any hotel would "rent" chairs. That's just wrong. I think I get the picture. I sincerely hope that you will try Kauai someday - and that you will stay in Poipu. There are reasonably priced restaurants there and it is the only place that makes me cry when it is time to leave. BTW, I have been to Aruba and find it very commercial - just as I do Oahu, and the Kaanapali area of Maui. Thank you for sharing your feelings as I understand what you were saying now.

Interesting that your TA also feels that Sandals will keep control of Dunns River. Our Royal Bahamian experience was like your jeans and sweatshirt experience. Beautiful property, but we didn't like anything else about the place. Sandals St Lucia is not a place we will ever return to either. After six Sandals trips, I have never felt like we were treated better, so again I am shocked at hearing that. The butlers vary depending on what resort you are at. I think the swim-up rooms might be nice, but the plunge pools don't interest us.

I will be looking forward to hearing about your Key West trip. I was supposed to go a couple of years ago with a friend, but couldn't fit it in my schedule. I've never been to KW and look forward to visiting someday.

I am also not a fan of RIU. I just don't like the idea that the government said they would fix a road and then go back on their word. But, you make a valid point. I guess I don't much care for the idea that they would build next door to WH which is a quieter place at night. We do want to go back their again.

Thanks again for sharing!

beagles

I know you asked about the Caribbean but August is a perfect time to visit Bermuda. The Reefs and Pompano Beach Club are both great places and breakfast and dinner are included. The Reefs is more upscale but Pompano has a great beach for swimming. It is a safe and friendly island and you can do as much or as little as you want. Plus its a short 2 hour flight from almost all east coast cities.