Looking for a 1 week stay at a Bungalow!
 

Currently Deployed in support of OEF/OIF. Wish to take spouse (hottie) to her dream - Carribean Romantic Grass hut over/ near the water (~$200 night/$1400 week). Looking at places like St Martin, Aruba, Antigua, St. Johns, Cancun...

ANY ROMANTIC, WONDERFUL IDEAS would be greatly appreciated. Oh yeah, to make matters worse, wife likes shopping, a bit of "modern conveinces", and nice reasonable romantic resturants. Please don't laugh/ blow me off (try not to anyway). ANY good ideas would be GREATLY appreciated. Captain Evans US ARMY

JULIA, THANKS...my 2 hour wait was well worth it! Wife HAS been mentioning CANCUN. Will check it out very hard. Trying to sharpen my pencil and come up with a certain winner post deployment in June...

CARRIBEAN RESPONSE? BEST PLACES? Best places for the money?? Considering St Martin, since flights at >=$600 pp right now. HELP!!! Anyone perhaps with a sure fire trip?

FYI - there are very few places in the Caribbean where you'll find "Grass huts over water" - they are mostly found in the South Pacific - what few there are in the Caribbean are going to be out of your price range.

I agree with Julia - Cancun and the Riviera Maya has many beachfront resorts which are among the most economical in the Caribbean. Look at some of the resorts in Playa Del Carmen or Tulum.

Beachfront properties are rare on the island of St. John (no "s") and what few there are will be very expensive as are many of the restaurants so you might want to save that destination for a later visit when you have a bigger budget.

St. Martin, on the other hand, has plenty of beachfront resorts, condos and timeshares you can rent for around $200 a night. The island also boasts 100's of fine restaurants in all price ranges so you can eat to your heart's content wiothout breaking the bank. Check out some of the smaller boutique hotels in the Grand Case area - the town, which is right on a terrific beach, is known as the dining capital of the Caribbean. Your wife will also find plenty of nearby shops and if that doesn't satisfy her you can drive or take a cab to Marigot or Phillipsburgh for some of the finest shopping anywhere in the Caribbean.

Antigua has a host of medium priced resorts, many all inclusive if that's of interest to you, some decent shopping in the capital city of St. Johns (spelt with an "s"), 365 beaches, are scores of restaurants.

Personally, I'd skip Aruba unless you are looking for an "Americanized" locale with lots of big resorts and hotels lining the beach and the same fast food/chain restaurants you can find in any city "back home".

What about Isla Mujeres, small island off of Cancun (fly to Cancun, taxi to ferry then ferry ride to Isla). Take a look at www.playamedialuna.com and see the photos of the rooms (king with jacuzzi) that look very romantic and there are "grass roofs" for that palapa effect but with modern conveniences. We loved Isla but stayed at a more modest place- liked the look of this one though and bookmarked it for future reference. You can walk to restaurants, bars and little local shops- nice walking street in the center of town with sidewalk cafes, etc. I thought it was a great place for a romantic getaway for a very reasonable price. There is a lot of information at www.islamujeres.info. You can rent a golf cart one day to explore the entire island. It is a very safe and friendly place. We had very good local fish, lobster, etc.
Thanks for all you do. I hope you have a wonderful holiday- you deserve it.

How about Bermuda?

http://www.9beaches.com/

OK and now these are thatch cabanas not over water but close....

Belize [not over water]

http://www.ramons.com/belize-accommodations.html

Tulum...

perched over cliff...thatch cabanas..private soaking tub on deck
http://www.azulik.com/villas.html
[it is clothing optional on this particular beach however so be forwarned]

not thatch but lovely in Tulum [and not clothing optional]

www.suenostulum.com
www.anayjose.com

Ti Kaye St Lucia

Cottages on cliffs...
http://www.tikaye.com/resort.htm

Negril Cliffs in Jamaica
http://www.tensingpen.com/
or
www.rockhouse.com

Hope these are close.

Enjoy! Thank you so much for serving all of us.

Trish

YA'll are great! Been SEARCHING HARD and here's my top 3 options so far:

ST. MARTIN: L'Hoste or Le Petit Hotel

ST. LUCIA: Coco Palm (best value in Carribean! OMG)

GRENADA: Bel Air Plantation Ville Resort (La Luna just too expensive at 486/nt)

Keep it coming!!! (& any one help make the choice for me, bias'd among the above mentioned?) Leaning towards St. Martin simply becase of the airfare right now...Oh yeah,

St. Martin Resturants I heard of over and over:
Talk of the Town
Le Tastvin
La Vie en Rose
Andil's Hideaway

Want to give some, not only recieve!! Thanks from middle of Kuwait! Think if I could get at L'Hoste or Le Petit I could "lock it in..?!@#"

Look at Luxury Link as Laluna is always having discounted packages that may be in your price range.

Luxurylink.com

I have also seen La Luna on skyauction. Depending on which time of the year you are going, you may be able to snag a deal.

Thank you for your service and please stay safe. I have heard that the beaches in St. Lucia aren't as pretty as on other islands. I've heard the island is beautiful and lush... but the beaches aren't as blue. Since she likes to shop and other things, St. Martin sounds like the best place for you. There is lots going on...shopping, restaurants.. and the water is so blue. Another idea would be to stay in Anguilla. You can fly to St. Martin and take a ferry over. It's a quiet island.. but the beaches are amazing.. and there are lots of great restaurants. You can always take a ferry over to St. Martin to get your shopping fix! It's less commercialized. I don't know that you'll be able to really find a hut over water.. but there are nice options in the Caribbean.
Good luck!

Bel Air Plantation on Grenada is lovely, but note that it's not on a beach. Also, travel to Grenada is difficult (but worth it), and I'm very surprised that you found Bel Air to be within your budget -- though it's great if it is. The thing with Grenada is that it's difficult to reach, but once you're there, it can be very reasonable. I think there is even a resort that has thatched roof cottages (Petit Bacaye) that is well within your budget.

I've stayed at Le Petit Hotel on Grand Case and absolutely LOVED it (though I'm surprised that it's within your budget as well). I consider it good value for the money, since you'd be oceanfront in a great location. Grand Case beach is not the best in St. Martin (though it's quite nice, not too busy, and fairly cosmopolitan), but the location close to Grand Case village is very convenient, especially if you like great food. Each of the restaurants you mention is great, and you can add L'Escapade, La California, Bistrot Caraibes, L'Auberge Gourmand, and Sky's the Limit to your list.

You might want to consider combining a few days in St. Martin with a few days in Anguilla, which has superb beaches. If you are traveling off-season, some of the properties will be within your budget. Consider Ku on Shoal Bay East, which is on a gorgeous beach. Anguilla is an easy ferry ride over from St. Martin.

If a grass hut over the water is the top priority, St. George's Caye Lodge in Belize fits the bill. The rates include all meals (because it's the only game in town). I will note, however, that while it's a very charming location, it is EXTREMELY REMOTE. No shopping, few modern conveniences, and not much of a beach.

Good luck planning our adventure!

Hi,

There ARE actually grass huts over the water in the Caribbean, but in areas where there is 0 shopping....

Take a look at Gran Bahia Principe "Cayo Levantado", we just returned, incredible property. Small, romantic, intimate, great food, luxurious surroundings....(D.R.)

do a search on flickr for great pics.

Check out the Rock House in Negril, Jamaica. It is very affordable and extremely romantic.