having trouble finding the ideal luxury beach resort (that accepts kids) for the Xmas and new year vacation. My kids are off then from school so our dates aren't that flexible. Checked many Ritz locations , caneel Bay etc and all are booked. Would like a good size resort ( not too huge as my mother has some problem walking, relatively easy to get to from NY, no more than 2 flights away) with a great swimming beach. Can anyone out there help?? We looked at Casa del Campo in DR but it is looking very hard to get to and possibly too big for our needs.


Thanks so much in advance.

One of you main problems is the week between Christmas and New Years is one of the busiest weeks in the Caribbean and most of the upscale and luxury resorts are booked up to a year in advance which is why you are probably having difficulty finding accomodations at this late date. You may also run into "minimum stay" requirements (some as much as two weeks). You don't say how old your children are so that too may be a limiting factor.

Check out the following:

Cap Juluca or Cusinart on Anguilla
Little Dix Bay on Virgin Gorda
Four Season on Nevis
Carlise Bay or Jumby Bay on Antigua
Sandy Lane on Barbados

One other thought, have you considered trying to get rent an upscale Rental Villa? You might be able to find one that suits your needs.

Maybe also the Buccaneer on St. Croix, which is known to be family friendly without exclusively catering to families. Coral Reef Club on Barbados might also be good.

Perhaps if you give us a few ideas of what your minimum luxury requirements would be, we could jump in with more ideas. Also, as previous poster suggested, we need to know the ages of your children, as some luxury resorts do have age restrictions. Then again, even those resorts with age restrictions sometimes make exceptions for the weeks of Christmas and other major school holidays.

Luxury villa is a great idea, by the way. Especially if you could find one with a full staff for cooking, etc, so that it is still a vacation for the cook in your family.

Along with the above mention (excellent by the way) check out:
Somerset in turks and Caicos
Four Seasons in Exumas
One and Only Ocean Club, Paradise Island, Bahamas
Cuisinart, Anguilla

Four Seasons in Nevis

www.romorabay.com
www.islandoutpost.com
www.coralsands.com

These websites might help.

It's a big late to start planning a Christmas trip to one of the upscale resorts in the Caribbean, but the suggestions of Cuisinart on Anguilla or the Four Season on Nevis are probably the best choices for luxury resorts with kids. You could also consider the Four Season in Exuma in the Bahamas or even the Ritz-Carlton on Grand Cayman. If you're willing to accept something less luxurious but nice, I'd suggest the Ku resort on Anguilla; the resort is small, all-suites, and managed by the same folks as Cap Juluca.

The islands that are least likely to be booked with Americans are Martinique or Guadeloupe, but they are also the most difficult to get to, so flights are probably a greater consideration there.