Hi all, I have read about the different places and I wouldn't mind some input. I have been to the Aruba Marriott Stellaris and thought it was a very nice hotel. We traveled with a family to Aruba(they collect Marriott points too). We are planning to take another trip together next year. We are beach people and resort people and love to snorkel and eat good food.
Some options would be St.Thomas, Grand Cayman(there are two marriotts), Mexico(cancun)(Have been to Le Meridian Cancun), Puerto Rico(Have been to Caribe Hilton), St.Kitts and Curacao.
Now it is my understanding that Grand Cayman would offer the best snorkeling and the Marriotts there are both undergoing major renovations. Tom Cayman if you are out there, a beach report at the Marriott would be much appreciated.
Also, StThomas could be a good location because of the proximity to St. John and the BVI's.
Any input??? Thanks!!

ttt

The Marriott in St. Kitts is wonderful. The snorkeling there is not the best. Actually, the water is a bit on the rough side at the Marriott. From what I understand, that island is not known for their snorkeling. I do have to say that the island is beautiful and there is so much to do. You can take a ferry over to Nevis for a day trip. Our oceanfront room was huge! There was a bidet in the restroom. Hope this helps narrow things down.

Also, I believe that you are from Chesterfield. I live in Chester.

Yes, I am in chesterfield county in the Midlo area. I guess in the relocating to Richmond post, I had a lot to say!! We have loved it here and I think it is a great place to get relocated to!

So, you liked St. Kitts? The Marriott there looks wonderful, but I have heard the snorkeling is not that good. I think we may try Grand Cayman or possibly St.Thomas. I am leaning towards GC. We have a while to decide. This is for another year from now. I am always planning in advance!! Besides, when using points, you have to plan about a year in advance!!
Thanks for your response!

I encourage you to look at the Curacao Marriott. We went last March and it's a great place. I have also been to Aruba Marriott. Curacao Marriott has all the amenities of Aruba Marriott but it is a smaller, low-rise resort with a more informal/tropical ambience and more restaurants/public areas/bars closer to the beach and water. The snorkeling in Curacao is great and there are lots of fun beaches to visit. The beaches are more picturesque than Aruba, they are "cove-like" beaches with large rocks/cliffs etc but the same turquoise water and white sand. Lots of great restaurants and the island is less Americanized than Aruba, it's got a European/ Caribbean feel to it. Haven't been to the others but the PR Marriott is right in San Juan so it's not exactly a resort getaway. Marriott St. Kitts is on my list, it's another huge resort like Aruba Marriott but the snorkeling is not great. I did not like Grand Cayman (sorry Grand Cayman fans) it seemed so much like Florida and I was not overly impressed with the beach even though others rave about it. If you go to Curacao try to upgrade to a beachfront executive suite, you can walk right out onto the beach and are steps from the water, it's also a larger room with a sofa and a coffee table.

girlonthego: We'll be in GC in April. We won't be staying at the Marriott, but we'll be picking up our rental car from there. I'll let you know how it looks. Also, I've made it my mission to go look at the Marriot beach because I've heard soooooo much about it, from "there's no beach", to "the beach is lovely". It can't be both so I want to it see it for myself and I'll take a picture. I'll include it in my review with pictures.

The Curacao Marriott looks fantastic. The JW Marriott in Cancun is wonderful, and it should be like new next year as it is now in complete rehab due to Hurricane Wilma in Oct '05. My favorite place in the world, I'd go there every year if I could...

I would choose Curacao over GC or the Marriott in the USVI overall. However, it seems as though you are chosing more between GC and the STT. So, I would say between the two, I think the food is much better in GC than it is on STT. I only remember there being one Marriott on GC and there really was no beach to speak of.

A few questions:
Frankie: The JW in Cancun, did you ever worry about the water issue?(drinking water that is). Have you been to the Casa Magna?
Knowing: I know you liked the Curacao Marriott, but there have been reports that half of the island is an oil refinery?? And that there were Rats at the marriott?? These are recent posts and turned me off. Tell me about your view. I know you also stayed at the Wyndam in STT. My friends are going there this spring break. Did you see the Frenchmen's reef place while you were there. I have heard it is in need of updating.
I have not made my decision yet. I have a year till the trip but will need to book in the late spring. Thanks

Hi Girlonthego,
You're right, I do love the Curacao Marriott. Yes, there is a refinery on Curacao. It does not take up half the island and is not located by the Marriott. I was surprised that the original poster even mentioned this as her home state has a number of refinery's. As far as rats go, I NEVER saw a rodent anywhere in Curacao. Naturally everyone has a story about seeing rodents on each of the islands. I personally only know about them on STT. Do not allow one post to turn you off. I see many recent positive trip reports still coming back from the Curacao Marriott. IMO, you could have taken a magnifying glass and not found dirt at the resort. It was VERY clean. Actually, I did see the Frenchman's Reef. We chose between that and the Wyndham. The location is everything you could dream of - on a bluff that overlooks the harbor and the Caribbean sea. Our friends didn't like what their AI offered, which is how we ended up at the Wyndham. Frenchman's has three pools and five restaurants, so there's quite a bit of variety for dining. As far as the rooms go, some of them did need updating. If that's a major concern, and you decide on STT, you might want to go with the Marriott Morning Star instead. BTW, could you have been thinking about these two properties when you said there were two Marriotts on GC?

No there are two marriotts on GC. One is a courtyard and one is a full service Marriott. I believe the Courtyard used to be a Holiday Inn. HInn's are not my idea of a caribbean vacation(sorry if it sounds snobby). I don't really like staying them in the US either.
I will continue to look at all the options. I am the one who picks our trips and plans them. How was the food at the Curacao marriott?
Thanks

Hi, girlonthego, the Curacao Marriott is my 3rd favorite resort after the Four Seasons Punta Mita and Hyatt Dorado and rates higher to me than the Ritz Jamaica, Royal Hideaway and Point Grace, all very high-end resorts. Part of that is because I think it is a very high level of service and facilities for the price so I think it has a better price to value ratio than those other places. If you walk down to the end of the Curacao Marriott beach, you can see a glimpse of the refinery but from most spots on the beach and areas at the Marriott you cannot even see it, I didn't even know it was there until day 5 of my vacation! Never saw rodents, but they are a fact of life in the Caribbean and the place was immaculate. Also liked Curacao a lot so that's another reason I thought the vacation was great. I have paid twice as much for a vacation only half as good.

I agree, the Curacao Marriott is a nice hotel with good ambiance. Very nice pool and bar area. The beach is nice also. There is a refinery on the island but nowhere close to the hotel. Curacao itself is not a pretty island. Dry and scrubby. The town area is nice with lots of shopping and intersting architecture. Lots of good restaurants on the island. There are several beaches to explore. Overall a decent island but not my favorite. The hotel is definately nice.

The Marriotts in Cancun are very nice -especially the JW Marriott. They are actually closed right now for major repairs since the hurricane ripped the roof right off of one. However, I'm sure they will be open by next year. I think they're rescheduled to open in a few months.

Hi girlonthego, never had any issues with water in Cancun Marriott, in fact, they have their own purified water in the hotel. Haven't stayed at the Casa Magna, but it gets great reviews also, not quite in the luxury status though. But both these hotels should be in even more perfect shape after they reopen in May and June.

Hi Girlonthego-
I hadn't realized the HI was sold. So there's a second Marriott now! That would be between the seven mile public beach and the Indies suites. You don't sound snobby, I don't stay in HI's either.
As far as the food at the Curacao Marriott, they have three restaurants. I didn't feel that the continental one upstairs had much to offer, but the other two were good. The island of Curacao is a gastronomic delight.

As a snorkeler, who has been to St Thomas, GC, Curacao, and Nevis I agree that GC has best snorkeling right from the beach but Curacao is close behind. I prefer smaller hotels - thus, of your list I would hands down choose Curacao. We stayed at the Marriott there in 2004 and really enjoyed it. There is good snoreling right off the beach at the hotel. The restaurants were good, and the hotel's proximity to Willemstead makes for a short ride to some excellent dining. Also with a car you can explore other great beaches which aslo have very good off shore snorkeling (playa Kalki and Porto Marie - come to mind off the top of my head.)

I just spent 1 night (due airport closures from NE snow storm) at the Marriott in St Thomas - and found to to be way too big and crowded for me. Hard to even get a lounge chair at the pool, though the beach was less crowded. There is no snorkleing off beach at the hotel - the surf was fairly rough - though swimmable.

In Grand Cayman, can comment on the Courtyard - where we stayed for one night in 2004 on route to Cayman Brac. Agree with you that if you are looking for a resort -this probably isn't the place - the windows don't even open. The snorkeling in GC was excellent off shore, but you're right that you need to check on current conditions - even back then the beach in front of the Marriott resort was shrinking.

We stayed at the Grand Cayman Marriott Beach Resort in June, 2005. It just re-opened after being completely refurbished following Hurricane Ivan. Our room was beautifully decorated and we had a small balcony overlooking the courtyard. I do wish we would have had an ocean front. The beach is not real wide -- but was adequate for the number of people staying at the hotel. In fact, you could walk up the beach a bit and be the only people on that section. The water color on GC is lovely. What I liked about the ocean was the fact that it was calm -- I don't like crashing waves! We also saw fish right off the beach - they have an artificial reef there. Snorkeling on Grand Cayman is very good as the water is so clear. Be sure to visit Rum Point and Stingray City.

Thanks to all the responses so far! I believe Curacao is out for us. I can't seem to fly there from central VA. We would most likely fly Delta and it seems them and their partner airlines don't fly from here to there. Seems very odd, but that is the way it is.
I am leaning towards the GC. It just has most of what we would like in a vacation. (Curacao did too!).
Any more info out there, please post!