blb3

Planning a 7 day trip to little dix bay end of January and am trying to decide if we should get the meal plan and if that many meals at one place would get old. We wont have a car so it may be a pain to try to find other restaurants. Any suggestions?

beachplum

Not a pain at all to go off property for meals but maybe you'd reconsider renting a vehicle rather than paying taxi fares at least for a day or two to explore the island a little. The fares are not unreasonable unless you headed to Gunn Creek to go to Biras or Leverick Bay. Most of the restaurants are convenient. At one time LDB did allow you to be on the meal plan for part of the time but I do not know if that is still true.

Dianebridles

Normally, I am usually not a meal plan person; however, onduring my first stay at Little Dix this past April, I chose the meal plan and found it to bbe well worth while rather than do ala carte. It was nice to order from the menu with disregard to price. I thouroughly enjoyed all of my dining experiences, and since there are three restaurants from which to choose, I did not fine my choices to be repetive or boring. Meal plans also include the picnic lunches which I loved on the boat drops.

Sheckyd

Hi, we just got back from Little Dix Bay, 4 night stay. arrived Oct 4th, left on the 8th (to Caneel). We did the meal plan at LDB and it seemed to be well worth it. You can show up for breakfast, lunch, dinner and pick whatever you want off the menu without thinking twice. We even had a packed picnic lunch one day and room service twice (all included). Also, an 18% gratuity is included in the plan so you can essentially show up, sit, eat, stand up and go without thinking about money or tips! If you really liked your server you can always ask to add in a few extra bucks, we did that for one awesome waitress we had. Other than that, 18% covers the service.

**PS beer and mixed drinks not included in the meal plan price**

We did travel into Spanish Town, didn't see much, it is the off season so it was dead quiet. We headed back to LDB and didn't venture out after that. If we would have been there longer, I would have rented a car for one of the days to explore the island more. Taxi from LDB to Spanish Town is $8 each way I think it was, usually $4 per person each way. So, for an entire day of travel, renting a car makes more sense.

Food was very good, but we were tired of it after 4 full days to be honest, breakfast lunch and dinner at the same same three dining spots can get somewhat old. But, to give LDB credit, it was very good food at all the meals, we were impressed.


Breakfast is at the Pavilion, casual, usual breakfast choices buffet style.
Lunch is at Pavilion or The Beach Grill, again both casual, salads, burgers, sandwiches..
We had dinner at the Sugar Mill, (more dressed up, men slacks and collared shirt)
or at the bar, casual with burgers and pizza and that type of thing
and room service one night.
The Sugar Mill is a nice restaraunt right on the beach and the menu is very good.

Also, if you do the meal plan, you can request dinner on the beach. It is an $75 extra charge.
But it's great, you get a personal server that sets up dinner right on the beach in front of your room complete with candles and tiki torches! You get the Sugar Mill menu to choose from for that.

Anyway, to make a long story short, do the meal plan, well worth it especially if you think you'll spend most of your time on the resort grounds.

Have fun!

StanKase

The food at LDB is very good. I usually take the MAP vs. FAP only because I eat too much at lunch on the plan. I order a lite lunch and the cost is same as FAP but I am not stuffed.
Having said that, the food at Biras for dinner only is very good but I would not eat lunch there. So if you wanted a change you could go off the plan the last day and have dinner at Biras. They don't let you go on and off then back on at any of the fine resorts in my travels, but I could be wrong.You will not save by going off but if you go to Biras you will really enjoy it. Request a table with a view when you make the reservation (2 days in advance). Make sure it is not the beach barbeque, it's good but the sit-down dinners are best, not near the kitchen entrance.Enjoy.

beachplum

If you do head to Brias during the day rather than for dinner, the Fat Virgin is a good lunch and they also offer dinners but the Pavillion is definitely the spot to go for dinner. If you want to check Brias out, the staff will even take you on a tour in a cart. Just check the launch schedule from Gunn Creek.
Guess the on-and-off again is a no no now - maybe that was before Rosewood took over and the "new" RockResort group had it. They also offered the same at Jumby Bay when they were managing the property there

owa

sheckyd, I'm curious. How were the meals at Caneel? I read they have a new chef. Thanks

Sheckyd

Hi there, let's see Caneel, I have been meaning to write about our visit to Caneel. Basically, we got to the room, spent two hours in it and on the beach, checked out and moved to The Westin. So, I can’t comment on the food there!
Quick venting….. Yes, we were fully prepared from reading these forums that the rooms were not going to be luxurious, and that you're paying for the property and beaches, ok, I'm cool with that.
But at least give me a Quality Inn caliber room, or a Howard Johnson. Our room was dingy, smelled funky, bugs crawling in under the door, and we could hear the people next to us loud and clear through the doors. And these were recently "remodeled"? Pathetic.
For $600+ per night, I want something that is better than those rooms.
Maybe we were spoiled by going to Little Dix Bay first (Rosewood Junior Suites are worth every penny), but the rooms at Caneel ruined it for us. I know people will disagree and say that's what you have to expect at Caneel, but for that much money I need something more than a dingy room with donkey's walking past the window.
Anyway, I’ll vent about Caneel some other time. Food at Little Dix was great!

owa

Caneel certainly isn't for everyone. What room did you stay in. If it was premium oceanview, I agree about hearing the next door neighbor. Bathroom habits to be blunt. This summer we stayed at Hawksnest. Loved it. Actually, we will always go in summer now. The summer rates are the way to go.

MP07950

I'm also curious about the room. We always stay in tennis gardens and are looking forward to seeing Caneel's definition of renovations!

StanKase

I assume you were not checked into Hawks Nest or Cottage #7 (rooms C thru F). The only rooms that have had a problem at times where the ones right on the water near the dock. The seaweed and pollution creates stagnant water that attract bugs/ants that got into the rooms. Further, they may have been on-schedule for refurbishment if you were there in the shoulder of low season. In any case, it is a surprise to me having stayed here 7-8 or 9 times and always found the rooms furnished minimalistic but in fine condition and well coordinated though small. But with 170+ acreas of beaches and lawns we found the property had enough room.Rockerfeller had donated the land and funded the landscaping with the idea that it would remain simple. Actually until about 8-10 years ago the rooms did not have A/C, something he would not have wanted but Rosewood put them in when they took over managing it from RockResorts.
It is not glitz but we would go to the Atlantis for that.

Sheckyd

It was premium oceanview. (Scott's Beach I think) I would have liked to see some of the other rooms for comparison before I left, especially so I could come back and comment on Fodors! Hawks Nest or the Cottage would be two types I would want to see for comparison. I know it is a park and they can't get to fancy with the rooms or have any new contruction, I understand that.
It's just a matter of opinion, but we were hoping for rooms that were a little nicer, especially after seeing Rosewood in action at Little Dix. That place is fantastic! anyway, just our two cents on Caneel rooms.

Oh and by the way, other than the rooms, I give Caneel credit for the property itself, Rosewood does a professional job on running a property. The property is nicely kept, beaches seemed nice for the 2 hours we were there, tennis center was recently re-done they guy told us on the way by, and the trails and restaraunts are lit up with tiki torches at night, looks cool. Checkin was a breeze and bags delivered to your room.

beachplum

Just a bit of history - Actually before they put a/c in - and it was in the original agreemet with Rockefeller that there be no a/c or pool because of the ecological restrictions and there were very limited utilities available on the island, the rooms did not have windows but floor to ceiling louvers with screens - where there is glass now was screens and louvers. On Hawksnest, there were louvers on both sides of the rooms! Only one time in multiple visits was there a problem with "noise" from a group of people. Little Dix has been rebuilt since it was destroyed in a hurricane (we were at the auction when the auctioned off anything that was salavagable) so it is definitely more "modern" but before it too had only the screens and louvers (as did Carambola the other RockResort on St. Croix). I think that premium oceanfront are Scott's and the ocean view may be at Turtle Bay (and maybe some at the far end of Caneel Beach and Hawksnest - they've changed a few of the designations so not positive). To put it mildly, Caneel is not for everyone. People love it or hate it. We got a super deal at the Westin years ago and tried it once. It is a beautifully manicured property but once was more than enough! You might have heard my venting then even tho I knew that the beach was manmade and had lots of live-a-boards in the bay! I understand that they are in the process of switching over to more timeshares so there is a lot of work being done there too and the rooms show their age. The room there was smaller than Caneel's, the tiny balcony was blocked by a solid wall so if you sat down you could not see over it, and even the balcony door slammed shut to keep the a/c in - took some propping to keep it open for fresh air - and the noise at the pool - day and especially nite (with the TV at the pool bar) was not condusive to vacation! Am curious about the progress on the reconstruction of the Caneel beach restaurant and the refurbishment of the rooms. And I must add that I always preferred Little Dix - before it was rebuilt "bigger and better"

StanKase

Louvers bring back memories. Our first visit had that set-up and I though without A/C I was going to be very uncomfortable. But Hawks Nest gets a very nice breeze and it was pleasant. It still is on the beach compared to Scott in my opinion.Thanks for the memories.