Tim

I have read some very negative comments on here regarding Caneel Bay. I have aslo been to their website and Caneel Bay looks amazing to me. So what's the big disaapointment? Has anyone had a good experience there?

Mike

Go to the Travel and Leisure site and see how the Caribbean visitors rate Caneel and other properties. Still gets good reviews and ratings from discenrning travelers.

Dawn

Tim,<BR>I think the people who are disappointed with Caneel are expecting something they don't get. Caneel Bay is an old style Caribbean resort. Very simple but beautiful furnishings, no marble in the bathrooms and no big screen tv's (no tv's at all actually) in the rooms. There are no phones in the rooms but the resort will loan you a cell phone if you request it. The star of Caneel is the location. There are 7 stunning beaches on the beautiful grounds. The restaurants are good, not great but very good. The service is excellent in my experience.<BR>Someone who is looking for a bustling, glitzy resort will be disappointed, those of us wanting gorgeous surroundings, excellent service and peace and quiet will love Caneel Bay.

JD

Ditto Dawn's accurate comments above. Caneel is not Sandal's. It is one of the premier properties in the Caribbean and offers a wonderful opportunity to get away from it all.

linda

It's been 13 years, but my sister was married there and it was fantastic. The beaches incredible, snorkeling is amazing. Very quiet in the evening, which was a bummer 13 years ago, but I would love now ;-)

janet

My husband and I had a wonderful experience at Caneel Bay. We had a beachfront room on Hawksnest; 10 steps to the sun and surf. We were there in mid-November, had the beach to ourselves most of the time. We visited most of the other beaches on the property; snorkeling was excellent. Ate most of our meals in Cruz Bay, so I can't comment on the restaurants.<BR><BR>No phones, no TV, no radio, no dataport, no slot machines, no disco! I guess that could be a disappointment to many, but it was pretty heavenly for us.

nyc

Caneel Bay is wonderful. I stayed on Scott beach and had a great time. The beaches are terrific. The issue for me is price. Both Four Seasons resorts in Hawaii are cheaper than Caneel for both peak and shoulder seasons. And for the same price or less, you get better food, more attentive service and really deluxe accomodations. Caneel has a great setting and great ambience but it is not a good value compared to some other top notch beach resorts.

islands

when you are the only game in town you can charge pretty much what you want but you are paying for a wonderful property that is beachfront. That's only one of the pluses and there are no other resorts that offer a wonderful beachfront property. (The Westin is a typical hotel with a manmade beach and their price reflects you pay for what get!). Caneel is definitely high end, luxurious and offers lovely accomodations. Visitors can be disappointed when they find out that luxury doesn't mean marble bathrooms with gold faucets and jacuzzi and the lastest electronic wizardry and room service. It is a Rosewood property and they are not known for budget accomodations. If you want Hawaii and Hawaii cut rate prices head there. If you want luxury places in the Caribbean be prepared to pay for it.

Gordon

I want the best of all worlds.<BR>--great beaches<BR>--secluded local area but access to city<BR>--choice of several good restaurants within a few miles of resort<BR>--luxury accommodations<BR>--electrical amenities including &gt;25 inch TV, DVD, etc<BR>--great bath/shower<BR>--nice pool(s)<BR>--no cheesy feel or 'glitz'<BR><BR>Not many places in the Caribbean measure up on all these levels.<BR>For me, Caneel falls short in some key areas. But many people don't care about keeping up with world news, financial markets, sports etc on vacation, and many people don't care about luxe accommodations.<BR>People who don't like Caneel usually don't like it for those reasons.<BR>Some key things missing for the $$ they charge. I can find them elsewhere for the same price.<BR>

Tim

Well, "Islands," this statement of yours is really a crack-up: "If you want Hawaii and Hawaii cut rate prices head there. If you want luxury places in the Caribbean be prepared to pay for it." ANY property in Hawaii would be FAR SUPERIOR to Caneel Bay, which is nothing more than a summer camp for adults--and not a very luxurious one at that!!

scottbeach

Camp? now I understand. you are referring to Cinnamon Bay and have Caneel mixed up with that. Nothing like the sandals non-stop planned activity or summer camp atall. You do as much as you want or don't. You can do the Self Center with yoga, massages (all that stuff yuppies are into) or you can lime on one of the wonderful beaches with NO ONE to disturb you. Take trips or not. It is the refined attitude of the guests that add to the ambience and it's not a free for all like so many places with kids screaming in the pool on the beach and drunks standing in the water drinking from sun up to sundown. All depends on what you want.

Jen

I saw this message thread which had just started the night I returned from Caneel Bay last week -- but I was way too tired (and relaxed!) to reply then.<BR><BR>We had a fabulous time! There were some things that were not perfect (and I'm going to write a letter to management to say so), but all in all it was a wonderful experience. I think, as many have said, that some people are understandably expecting perfection for the $ that Caneel Bay charges. If perfect for you is relaxation, no TV/phone, only minimal interaction with others, etc. then Caneel is the place. If you want cable TV, room service, spa facilities, etc. then you would be happier at the Westin (if you have children or don't mind lots of them) or probably at the Ritz St. Thomas.<BR><BR>The weather last week was MUCH hotter and more humid than everybody says is typical, so that did detract from the experience. But we had a great time snorkeling, the restaurants in Cruz Bay were great, and the residents of the island with whom we dealt were very pleasant and helpful. I would go back in a heartbeat, but as I said to my husband, if we don't get the chance to go back, that's OK -- this was my first experience in the Caribbean and if it goes down as my *only* experience in the Caribbean, that is OK too -- since it was a wonderful one!