Monica

My husband and I (we're in our mid-30's)are looking to travel to the Caribbean in late April 2001, and are trying to decide where to go. We've been to Cancun, Aruba, Dominican Republic. We like to be in the sun all day and spend our money on nice restaurants at night. Any location / hotel ideas? We're not interested in all-inclusives.

Eileen

Barbados is nice -- Glitter Bay and Royal Pavilion are highly recommended and Barbados has lots of great restaurants. The rates for both resorts go down in late April so you could get a $500+ room for about $275 a night. Check them out at www.fairmont.com

Joanne

I love St. Croix. Many excellent restaurants, historic sites, diving and snorkeling. While I stay in a small hotel in town to have easy access to shops and restaurants by foot, hotels range from the Carambola, Buccaneer and Divi Carina Bay (with casino) to many nice smaller hotels like the Cane Bay Reef Club and the Hibiscus. E-mail me if you would like more information on restaurants and things to do, as well as a list of web sites.

rich

Depends on your price range. If you don't mind $$$--St. John, USVI is great (Caneel Bay for privacy or the Westin-more "big resort" like). Anguilla (Cap Jaluca/Mallihouna, etc.) Don't take any "meal plans". All are premium resorts on nice, relatively quiet islands with lots of good restaurants to try at night. We like to do the same things (sun/snorkel and eat well) when we go away. Since in April you are on the "shoulder season", prices will be soemwhat better than winter season. (May starts the summer season and prices then drop quite a bit). But these places will still be high $$ relative to Aruba or Cancun. However, it is a totally different experience. Depends what you are looking for and whether the "upscale" nature of these places/islands is worth the price to you. We think it is.

keri

St. Maarten-affordable, excellent beaches, lots of different foods to choose from(Antoine's, Old Captain, Greenhouse especially good). Pelican Resort!! Rent a car for the week - go to any beach! The locals are exceptional! You'll not find a better place at any price! Unless you want to spend a lot of money on a lot of commercialism!

Brian

I have a small beach-front hotel in Antigua with a wide choice of restaurants within walking and a short taxi ride. Mail me for further info.

Sandy

Monica,
My husband and I just returned from St. Barth's (6/14 to 6/22). It was our first trip there and is now on the top of our Caribbean list. We've been to St. Martin, Guadeloupe, Turks & Caicos, and Nevis. St. Barth is the absolutely the best. The island is very beautiful and during the off season it is just right for us in terms of crowds. People are very friendly and we felt very welcome. The restaurants on the island are touted as the best in the Caribbean. It is certainly one of the most expensive islands to visit, however,it is worth a try. We stayed at St. Jean Hotel - which is not the top luxury hotel on the island, but their terrace cottages all have very beautiful views of the St. Jean bay and their pool area was one of our favorite places to hang out during sunset with a bottle of wine. If you've been to the South of France -- St. Barths has a similar ambiance.

mahobeach

has anyone have any idea whats going on with the rebuilding of this great hotel?
are they rebuilding/when completion due/
how about pizza-pasta behind the casino
is that opened also cherries

A. Snow

Dear Monica:

I would personally suggest St. Maarten/St. Martin (Fantastically French & Delightfully Dutch)...Great beaches, shopping, nightlife, casinos, over 300 restaurants, watersports, and more.

I actually represent a luxury boutique resort on St. Maarten, Princess Heights. The property is located in the prestigious Oyster Pond area overlooking Dawn Beach. We are located just 10 minutes away from Downtown, Philipsburg - the capital of duty free shopping and a few minutes away from the French border.

Just to give you a vision of our accommodations...The 1 & 2 bedroom suites all overlook the warm Caribbean Sea and are beautifully decorated with marble floors in the interior, large living/dining area, spacious bedrooms, Italian clay-tiled terraces, fully equipped gourmet-style kitchen with granite topped counters and lavish bathrooms with whirlpool bath tub in the master bath.

We highly recommend you to visit our website www.pheights.com where you will find detailed information, numerious pictures and floor plans of Princess Heights. In addition, you will find all kinds of information about St. Maarten/St. Martin including activities, day excursions to neighboring islands, restaurant recommendations and more.

If you would like to inquire about additional information, you may call us at (800) 441-7227 or send us an e-mail.

felix little

i suggest you check out www.caribbeanway.com for some excellent properties. We have booked with them for the past couple of years and their young attituedes and excellent service make it all worth while

Paul

You can't go wrong with St. Barts. It has one drawback - it's very expensive. Other than that, it has four or five gorgeous beaches, some of the best restaurants in the Caribbean, a great main town (Gustavia), a friendly crowd, and is virtually crime-free. French is the predominant language (much more so than St. Martin) but unlike Guadeloupe and Martinique, English is quite common too and you'll have no problem if you don't speak french. It's a classy island!

John

My wife and I just returned from St. John, It was our 2nd trip this year. We rented the most beautifull Villa we have ever stayed in. We found it thru www.islandgetaways.com. The name of the villa is La Te Te Rouge, $1900 a week. check it out although pictures don't really do it justice

BillK

I concur with the views re: St Barths - 21 beaches, over 80 dynamite restaurants, friendly people, no crime and NO TIME SHARE

Johann

Many excellent suggestions here, with the exception of St Maartin. We found it to be filthy dirty, dangerous (driving conditions, loiterers, etc.) and overall, under-whelming. With so many nicer places, I wouldn't risk St Maarten.

Enjoy your travels!!

Lonnie

You've got to go to St. John US Virgin Islands. Try web sites
www.stjohnusvi.com and www.stjohnisland.com for hotel and guest house suggestions. St. John has the greatest restaurants, and I own two of the best, Stone Terrace (romantic and elegant) and Fish Trap (fresh fish and family friendly). good luck