labmom

OK - I've posted a couple of times with varying ideas for a vacation spot and I am at ground zero AGAIN! UGH!

Here's the deal - want a get away for hubby, myself and 4 year old daughter. Usually we opt for the smaller rustic luxury places - ie: Little Dix - but we are building a house so we don't want to spend more than $1000/night (that should inculde everything but airfare) so I am finding myself wading through a sea of resorts and nothing is jumping out.

Must haves: a great beach, pool (s), a 1 bedroom suite (or at least some combination where we can shut a door between where daughter is sleeping and where we are sleeping).

A good kids club should the tot want to mingle with her own kind.

I am pulling up a lot of BIG resorts - which really is not our style - where are the smaller "nice" ones? Location is not that important as we plan on staying at the resort the whole time - hanging out at the beach, having a pina colada by the pool, et.

Actually location as in "ease of travel" will be a factor. I'm looking at funjet flights that offer nonstop flights from our home town - Milwaukee - my options appear to be Cancun/Riviera Maya, Punta Cana, Montego Bay, Cozumel, Ixatapa - that's where we can get in 1 flight.

Again - bigger is not better - hoping to avoid the mega resorts on crowded beaches if possible.

Thanks for reading - any suggestions?

Kimberly

Try Beaches Boscobel in Ocho Rios. Very Nice resort for kids.

TomCayman

If you are not dead set on an all inclusive, plenty of one bedroom suites at resorts in Grand Cayman...not sure about Milwaukee, but non-stops from Chicago (four hour flt)

lovethecape

I'm not sure how easy St. Croix is to get from Milwaukee. We will be staying at the Buccaneer next April and it is known to be a family friendly resort on 3 nice beaches. It has suites and is family run and has about 150 rooms. It is on a golf course but the pools are small by big resort standards.

http://www.thebuccaneer.com/

ejcrowe

well, the main restriction you're putting on yourself is being able to get there nonstop from MKE. There are tons of nice, luxury resorts on the small side where a family of 3 could stay for $1000/night all in, excluding airfare. They just don't happen to be in MoBay, Cancun, Cozumel or Punta Cana. I would strongly suggest opening your search up to other places.

Also, when will you be traveling? Low season? High season? During Christmas?

If you're going in the low season, consider www.spiceislandbeachresort.com on Grenada. If your daughter is still 4 at the time of travel, you can get a Seagrape Beachfront Suite, all inclusive, for $820-1020/night, depending on low/high season. This is a *very* nice resort with probably a higher degree of luxury than Little Dix. With kids club. 32 rooms at the resort.

Would you consider driving from MoBay to Negril or elsewhere on Jamaica? If so, you could get a two bedroom Moondance Villa on the beach in Negril for your price range, including a full staff.

In the offseason, Malliouhana on Anguilla offers a twofer deal--pay for one room, get an adjoining room free. They're not all-inclusive, but assuming you spend $500-600/night on the two rooms, that does leave a lot of wiggle room for food & drinks each night. They also have the great kids pool with the pirate ship.

Four Seasons on Nevis offers, I believe, an AI plan for their guests. They're reknowned for their child friendliness there. In the offseason your rate should be under $1000/night for 3 on that plan.

labmom

Thanks for the replies so far......

A few more details...we will be going in high season January or February - I have looked at most the the places ejcrowe listed and love them all - but alas in season the budget won't stretch that far.

Nonstop from MKE is not essential,but would be very nice.. keeping our travel time under 8 hours would be preferred.

Beaches is not our style, The Buccaneer is on the possible list.

My friend, how is a travel agent, is trying to sell me on Paradisus Palma Real in Punta Cana - it just looks so big and impersonal albeit nice.

I've poke around on the Caneel Bay site and they do have a room that hase a separate room attached for our daughter for $650/nt - but you give up a view. I am going to post a separate question about Caneel.

Any other ideas out there?

ejcrowe

Okay, so you're going in the high season. What about...some very nice, small, second tier places?

Buccaneer on St. Croix is one of them. So are Blue Waters on Antigua, Jamaica Inn on Jamaica, Nisbet on Nevis. I suspect you could get a villa suite at Jalousie on St. Lucia with an AI plan that might be in your budget. That's a really spectacular setting!

What about a villa? Would you object to one? Or do you really prefer a full service resort? Because for your price range you could get a lovely 2-bedroom villa on many islands.

ejcrowe

Also, a garden view room for a couple and child under 4 at Spice Island is $805/night in high season--would that not work for you?

labmom

Thanks for the suggestions - I'll check them out - the big problem we have is that we want a 1 bedroom or suite or something where we can shut the door to our tot's "area". While we love her dearly she simply will not sleep if she has access to us - she does much better in her own space. So that limits our choices. Love Spice Island - it is on the list for "someday" not this trip though.

We've done Villas a lot and usually love them, but as our daughter grows she really enjoys being with other kids with the activites a resort has to offer. So it's a hard find for us - Mommy and Daddy want peace and seclusion while our daughter is a social butterfly!

southshorevilla

You might be interested in looking here: www.stjohnrental.com the home is called South Shore Villa (there's a video on the site) and as you can guess from my screen name, I'm the owner.

We are located on the edge of St John's National Park with lots of beautiful views to offer.

We do have separate bedrooms including two that are located just off the main house with privacy and lots of quiet space.

Good luck in finding you perfect vacation spot. If you have any questions you can email me at [email protected]

Kind Regards

southshorevilla

If you are looking for a nice resort you could try the Westin or Caneel Bay on St John. The Westin is more family oriented.