Long beach -March 08
 

Beginning to arrange next year's Spring Break trip. This would usually be a year we would do Meridian Club, Pine Cay, but based on past March trips -cool for ocean swimming and high season prices, we are seeking a new adventure.
Priorities:
Long beach for walking
Warm water for ocean swimming
Good food (Caribbean level)
Clean pleasant accomodation-ocean view
Umbrella's or huts allowing escape from
midday sun without going inside.
In the Caribbean,we have been to Aruba-Eagle Beach,Curacao,Tortola,Cayman, Jamaica and Provo.
We are not adverse to paying high price for a lovely memorable trip, but hot weather makes a difference to us. Meridian Club is not the place to be when the weather is marginal. We do not have date flexibility.
Suggestions?

LaLuna on Grenada (www.laluna.com) fulfills every request on your list except for the long beach. the beach it fronts is maybe 1/3 mile long, but there are other beaches on the island for long beach walks. Great food, romantic ambience, and a wonderful blend of rustic luxury. LaLuna can be booked either EP or with a meal plan, but not an all inclusive option.

Spice Island on Grenada is the most expensive place on the island, but the food there is also quite good. The beach stretches for 2 miles, the beachfront rooms have shaded patios with hammocks and chairs, and there are seagrapes on the beach to provide additional shade. Spice island is all-inclusive.

Grenada is a beautiful island with lots of lovely daytrips to choose from if you want to leave your resort. It's far enough south to guarantee warm water year-round.

Thanks for the suggestion. Looking at the La Luna website, I think we would like it there, however, a daily long beach walk is part of our Caribbean vacation routine so I will check further into Spice Island for the longer beach. The other challenge will be a decent flight from the Detroit area. Is there a suggested route or one to avoid? We are not adverse to breaking up the flight w/an overnight in Miami or Atlanta or...?(Preferably just outbound.)

Yikes, flights into Grenada are a little challenging even from the east coast...

can you get to San Juan on NW out of Detroit by mid-afternoon? If so, you can then take the American Eagle flight that is usually scheduled in the 5:30-6:00pm range daily out of San Juan. Grenada is quite a pain in the @$$ to get to, but to me it's absolutely worth it! Coming back is even worse, as the American Eagle flight leaves Grenada around 6:30am each morning.

Otherwise, I believe there is a Delta/Air Jamaica codeshare out of Atlanta, but there's a stop en route in Montego Bay.

Hope you can find the perfect place for your family, either on Grenada or somewhere else entirely.

Yikes, I just researched a bit further, and read one of your (EJC) very descriptive well-written reviews of a past Grenada trip. The bit about Grand Anse being a busy beach, w/even a Sandals moving in has me a little spooked. (This trip is just for my husband and myself and we are looking for the feel of Meridian Club minus the unreliable weather we have encountered there more than once in early March.) I think you had the right idea with La Luna except for our tradition of early breakfast and a long,long beach walk each morning.)Wondering if it would be more low-key on Anguilla and still warm enough?I have read that some of their beaches are wonderful and might? make for a solid morning walk. I am not looking for an Aruba Palm Beach type trip, but I really like the hot weather. (We basically walk, read, I swim, sometimes we snorkel and enjoy nice meals and a few cool drinks.)Explore/adventure vacations we save for summer and "with the kids" vacations.
Should I reframe this question and repost it? I'm kind of a novice about asking questions on this Board though I love to read the reports and comments.

allietoo, I should tell you to take my criticisms of Grand Anse with a grain of salt. It's definitely the busiest beach on the island, but it's not a busy beach at all compared to Aruba, St. Martin, Jamaica, St. Thomas etc standards. No high rise hotels, but there are a few hotels and restaurants and guesthouses scattered the length of it.

Apparently the Sandals rumours turned out to be purely that--rumours.

We liked Grand Anse but we did prefer the seclusion of the other beaches, like the one at La Sagesse (my favorite), LaLuna (second favorite), and Magazine Beach (third favorite).

Anguilla may in the end be a better choice for you if a long beach is a non-negotiable item for your vacation.