goddesstogo

Hullo,
I'm feeling a little blue and am going to try to convince my SO that we need a short sunny mindless vacation. We haven't been to very many all-inclusives and it's been a billion years so I'm not up to date on what's available. If we go, it will be during the third week of February. Here's what I'm looking for:

- 4 nights
- all-inclusive
- not Dominican Republic or Mexico
- 3-star or better; preferably better
- hot, sunny, beachy
- Cuba would be good but I don't think I can get 4 days there.

I don't care much about sports except maybe snorkling. I just want to go, laze around the pool, read trashy novels and drink.

Any suggestions?
gtg

suze

Negril Jamaica?

otto

aruba? barbados? where will you be traveling from?

RoamsAround

Honestly you can find sun, sand and slushy drinks on just about every island (I can only think of 2 or 3 that don't have any beaches to speak of) and every island has it's share of resorts/inns/hotels - while some of those may not be AI's you can always find ones that offer meal plans. Personally I avoid AI's like the plague but that's me - others think they are great places to vacation. Many people choose AI's because the perceive them to be a bargain but I've found you can usually travel just as economically without going AI.

By eliminating Mexico, and the Dominican Republic you've effectively eliminated over 70% of the AI's in the Caribbean. Be that as it may you'll find some AI's on Antigua, St. Lucia, Jamaica, Aruba, scattered throughout the Bahamas Out Islands (although these may be a bit cool during February), and perhaps Barbados.

Keep in mind that the 3rd week in February is "President's Week" and in the middle of "High Season" so expect to see some of the highest room rates of the year. Also, because it's a popular week for tourists you may have difficulty finding seats on the airplane (for example, my son's family is flying to the Caribbean on Sunday, February 20 and their flight is fully booked and has been for months). You may find some hotels/resorts are already fully booked for that week so it pays to be flexible in selecting your accommodations.

If you told us where you are traveling from, what you budget is for rooms, food and airfare, how long you are willing to travel, where you are traveling from from, etc. t would help us steer you in the right direction.

goddesstogo

Ah, sorry -- I didn't give you enough info. I'm traveling from Toronto and the trips I'm looking at would include airfare. I'm hoping for 4 days, all-inclusive including air for well under $1,000/pp. As a Canadian, I can go to Cuba which I'd like but I haven't seen anything shorter than a week there. I'm really just looking for recommendations for all-inclusive companies. I don't know any of the new (to me) ones. There's something called Paradisus? Sandals? Almond? Others?

I didn't realize it was also a US holiday week so maybe this won't work unless I take a really last minute thing.

sassy_cat

Avoid President's Week is excellent advice. If you find anything last minute let me know... seriously with this horrible winter everyone I know is hoping for a late deal the 3rd week in Feb.

goddesstogo

Sigh...well, this might not happen then. That's the only week we can go.

Todd_Ruggere

I would reccommend the Carribean. Dont go to Jamaica or Aruba.

Todd Ruggere

sharona

I agree that it might be tough to find accommodations for that particular week at this late date but all might not be lost. I agree with RoamsAround in that eliminating the Dominican Republic and Mexico you have eliminated a large chunk of the islands where all-inclusives are prevalent.

If it were me I would head as far south as possible. The more northern islands can be a little cool for my taste during the winter months (and I live in Boston so I'm used to the cold weather). You might want to check out Le Sport or Sandals on St. Lucia. We have been to a couple of all-inclusives and one of them was Le Sport. I would rate it a 3 star with quite good food and a daily spa treatment thrown in for the price. For the most part it gets very high ratings on Trip Advisor but I think those ratings are a tad inflated and optimistic. In my book it is definitely no more than a 3 star but it was still an enjoyable visit and the spa treatments ranged from okay to excellent. That was our first AI and we were pleasantly surprised at the quality of the food. We went a few years ago and the place needed an update. I don't know if it has had one.

I know that Aruba has a couple of AIs but Aruba is hugely popular with Americans so I doubt there is a hotel room to be had on the island. Maybe an island that isn't so frequented by Americans would still have availability. I haven't been to Bonaire nor Curacao but there might be availability on those islands. I know there is a Divi resort on Bonaire, which is AI, although I don't believe it's located on a sandy beach.

Have you looked into Granada? I think there might be at least one AI there: La Source, I believe. Also, Puerto Rico might be an easily reached destination from Toronto. Not sure about any AIs there though.

You might need to check with one of the large travel agencies. They often have blocks of rooms that don't show as available on web sites.

Good luck!

suze

I would not give up looking, just because you need to travel that particular week. And if you were willing to change your mind about Mexico (or even DR) would open up loads more options, and the kind of places that might have specials.

fishee

I like Suze's suggestion, I hear there are AI's in Negril which was blazing hot in March so it should at least be warm in late Feb. If you're not going to leave the resort, Montego Bay would prob work just as well. There can be great deals with tourism still being relatively slow.

suze

Yup, that's why Negril popped into my mind when I 1st read this question. I was there last summer for 10 days. There are all kinds of AI's these days, along the beautiful 7-mile beach there. It's a very interesting place and perfect for this request. Even for a short stay I think the trip from MoBay (it's a pretty 90 min drive along the coast and costs only $20pp) is worth the time and effort.

goddesstogo

Thanks, everyone. I've gotten out of the habit of talking to a travel agent but I do think that's a good idea. Will check Negril, Montego Bay, Puerto Rico for sure as well as the others mentioned. Sharona, was the Le Sport you went to on St. Lucia? A good three-star would be fine and the idea of daily spa treatments is very appealing. Very!

I haven't approached SO with this idea yet so I'll have to see how that goes.

This is exactly the kind of info I was seeking so thanks so much!

sharona

Oops, goddesstogo, sorry for not getting back to you. Yes, Le Sport is on St. Lucia. Just be aware that it is not luxurious if that is what you're after. The food was good, however, and those spa treatments were pretty nice. The week we were there they had a master level guest instructor teaching 2 classes a day. He was great and I managed to sometimes take both classes. I've never worked out so much on vacation in my life! After we left Le Sport we went to another hotel on the island for a few days just to have some R & R.

If you haven't already done so you might also check some of the airlines' flight + hotel deals. www.aavacations.com is one. (I don't know which airline is best out of Toronto to the Caribbean.) I once booked a great deal through AAVacations. Sometimes you get lucky and they have exactly what you want.