Honeymoon on Anguilla and St.Barth
 

Hi,
We're plannning our HM in November, 2004. We want to go to Anguilla for 5-7 days and then to St. Barth for 5 days. We narrowed down the choices of hotels on Anguilla to CuisinArt and CapJuluca. So which one should we choose? I read that CJ is beautiful but service is bad. CA has a pkg w/dinners at Santorini included. Basically, we're looking for a romantic, unforgetable and relaxing HM. Which one should we pick?

Also, I have a question about logistics. We want to go for a day trip to ST. Martin one day. Is it easy to do? What about getting to St. Barth? Are there ferries available or do we have to fly there? Also, do we need to rent a car on Anguilla to go sightseeing and dining out (we're not doing all inclusive)

I know it's a lot of questions to ask so I apologize for it. Any help will be greatly appreciated.
Thank you.

Service at CJ is BAD?
Hmmmm....not sure where that comes from.
In general service at the better Caribbean resorts is not on par with the best American business hotels, but it's not catually bad.
My one stay at CJ the service was fine, and better than at most Caribbean resorts.
Regardless, the service at CuisinArt isn't better. So that wouldn't be a reason to choose one over the other.

Day trips to SM are easy to arrange, cheap, and relatively quick. All the details about cost, times, etc are in the archives here.

I'm sure you'll have a great time on the islands you've chosen, regardless of where you stay.

Service at Cap bad? Been there many many times its actually very good. Same thing at CuisinArt so it comes down to your personal preference as to which hotel. I would skip the meal plan, or limit it, as the magic of Anguilla is its wonderful little beachfront restaurants--too many good ones to chose.
A day trip to St. Martin is easy, as the ferries run every 30-40 minutes, and its about a 20 minute run.
Taxis are readily available, but I would rent a car. Enjoy its a great island.

penny and travleis, thank you for your replies. I read about bad service on tripadvisor.com, it's a releif to know that it shouldn't be a problem when we're thinking to pay $450 for the room. So here's my big question. CJ is $450 p/night and CA is $275 p/night. This is our honeymoon so we're not being stingy but i just want to know if CJ is worth the extra $$.

Thank you,
Anna

Not to confuse you but there is another resort in Anguilla that needs to be looked at and that is Malliouhana. I have visited both CJ and Malli and both are beautiful. CJ was nice , dramatic and the beach was nice. Malli sits on a bluff overlooking a beautiful beach,the rooms were spacious and everyone seemed friendly. Malli has a romantic package with upgrades,dinners, sunset cruise...service seems fine, but I have yet to see, my husband and I both loved Malli for the day so we booked our first year anniversary there, so we'll let you know!You can find all three on the Leading Hotels of the World website: www.lhw.com

My wife and I stayed at Cuisinart last year after planning a trip on very short notice and finding Cap Jaluca booked.

We had dinner at Pimm's at CJ twice, and CJ appeared to be a much nicer resort. Cuisinart wasn't bad, CJ just seemed to be that much nicer.

One thing we found at Cuisinart was that the beach was very windy...so windy that reading a book or magazine was impossible and you were being peppered with flying sand. As a result we spent much of our time by the pool, which imo defeats the purpose of going to the islands.

The beach at CJ seems to be set into a bit of a cove with a row of low buildings that should help block the wind.

As for service, we found the service at Cuisinart to be on par with our other experiences in the islands, which is what it is, but definitely not what I would consider "bad". Service at Pimm's was likewise on par with our other experiences.

Tastes vary, of course, and no one resort will best suit everyone.
The only comment I'd offer with regard to anuta's last question is that Cap Juluca has often been rated the top resort in the entire Caribbean.
From my experience there I can see why.
Not that it's the be all and end all. But it's a special place, no doubt about it.

I am a big fan of CJ as the villas are spaced further apart than the villas at CuisinArt. Yet when I met honeymooners a few years ago at CJ they personally loved it, happy with their choice, but felt CuisinArt was appealing. Its really a matter of personal choice.

When CusinArt first opened their rates
were the same as CJ. Remember this is a newer hotel, building up their repeat clientel so the $250 price is a really good deal. Its not a lesser hotel at all. A fine spa, glorious beach, well
appointed rooms, TV etc. It has more of a hotel feeling than Cap.

Both are outstanding places. No really wrong choice!

thank you, all! Looks like CuisinArt is a great hotel and the fact that the rate is cheaper there is only a plus. Should we rent a car on our own or through the hotel? Also, for the second part of our HM we're going to St. Barth. Any recommendations for how to best get there? Should we fly to St. Martin from NYC, then get on a ferry to Anguilla, then from Anguilla ferry or flight to St. Barth, then from St. Barth, ferry or flight to St. Martin for the flight back?

Thank you for your help,
Anna

Renting a car is easy, I usually do it through the hotel. I rent a corolla, (I use Island Car rental)a jeep is not necessary.
As far as getting to both islands, I would probably opt to fly non stop to SXM. Take a the ferry form Marigot to Anguilla, or a private boat charter direct from SXM ($285 one way). I would get a flight from Anguilla to St. Barts, fly home St. Barts-SXM-NY. Hope this helps.

Penny,
Thank you for your suggestions. I found an airline company called Winair but it seems that they only fly out of St. Martin. Do you know if there's any airline that flies directly from Anguilla to St.Barth?

Thank you.

Hi Anna, I really do not know what airlines fly from Anguilla, not many, not American eagle, not winair, might be Tyden. I would inquire at the hotel, or if you use a travel agent, or go over to caribbean on line Anguilla forum, post your question over there. There was recently a thread about the Voyager ferry from Marigot,St. Martin over to St.Barts. The Deluxe ferry that goes from Anguilla to St. Barts is very unreliable, as they tend to do last minute cancellations.

not sure if I am too late to help you... but we had our honeymoon at malliouhana on anguilla and guanahani on st. barts... we LOVED everything about malli... went to cap for our one yr. anniversary, both are lovely, but malli is very special. smaller, owned by brits, gracious staff, quite beach - which is MUCH smaller than cap... both are great.. depends what you want. there are MANY great dining choices on the island.. have fun with that, including a trip to scilly cay.. We didnt care for st. barts as much.. it's hard to top anguilla...also stayed a nite at francois plantation, which was lovely.

Anuta, Winair flies between St. Barts and Anguilla. Here's the website:

http://www.fly-winair.com/

Cap Juluca must do one heck of a business. That and CuisinArt is all you hear about on this board/

We have stayed at least dozen times at Anguilla and St. Barts. They are our two favorite islands. Should be a great honeymoon! I would look into the Isle de France at St. Barths. Very nice property with spa, and directly on the beach. We have always stayed at Cap Juluca at Anguilla. We toured Cuisinart, but felt it was not the same caliber as CJ. Also, Malliouhana is very nice and classy. In fact, this year, someone has booked Cap Juluca for the entire week that we wanted to book there! We are staying at Malli instead. I am looking forward to our stay there, and compare it to Cap Juluca. You can't go wrong on either island, they are truly the BEST!!