Marion,

In reply to your post on the Aruba Restaurant post

You should only see the circles I'm going round in We are selling our UK house but we now don't think we need to go back for that - we visited T&C last August with our son and while we liked the 'vibe' it was a little too quiet for us, we were ready to come home after a week.

We have 2 weeks vacation but only want to be away for 11 nights I have found so many nice places but nothing seems to quite fit the bill. We have only just begun to explore the Caribbean, what have we liked so far?

Aruba, we stayed at the Bucuti, wonderful room in a small quiet resort (no children) a good beach, easy to get to restaurants and bars. Didn't like the High-rise area, too cramped and loud - even off-season.

Idle Awhile, Negril - wonderful room in a small quiet hotel, beautiful long beach, easy to walk to restaurants and bars.

My DH is the kind of person who gets bored after a while and loves to walk along the beach and stop for a drink or something to eat but we like to be on the beach (we don't need a sea-view) we like small hotels/resorts that don't appeal to families but generally these hotels/resorts have a dress code for dinner (we liked Jamaica Inn but he has made me promise that he only has to pack shorts this vacation ) He wears shirts/trousers for work and wants to totally relax for 11 nights - plus it'll make packing easier for both of us.

So we're looking for a small intimate hotel, on the beach in walking/easy distance of restaurants/bars (especially for dinner so we can have a couple of drinks without having to worry about driving or getting a cab) with some snorkeling nearby.

I'm looking at Isla Mujeres - Hotel Secreto but they don't have availability for our dates, we'd have to delay our vacation for a week and then book somewhere for a couple of days beforehand (on the island? Somewhere else in Mexico?)

Oh dear, well at least the circles are getting smaller - I did look at Nisbet, it looks wonderful but a little too quiet for DH.

I do hope the wedding plans are coming together, not too long to go now until Nevis

Try Casa de Suenos on Isla Mujeres.

hi, alya. yes, my brother and future SIL are starting to get excited about Aruba and your suggestions were very helpful. I think they'll find that they'll have a wonderful time, despite the fact that it wouldn't have been their first choice.

How nice that you have 11 days to fill for vacation next month. I know I haven't been there yet but I'm starting to feel that I have because of all the reading I'm doing, but what about Grenada? I'm told that only a handful of restaurants there require long pants for men, and many of those are the hotel restaurants anyway. Grand Anse Beach is a nice long stretch of sand with some beach bars scattered along the way. And some restaurants even offer complimentary one-way or roundtrip pick-up so that you can get out and enjoy some local spots and indulge in the Carib or rum drinks without having to drive or worry about the high cost of cabfare. The Flamboyant on one end of the beach fronts the beach but is built up a hillside and it has very reasonable prices.

Diana is down there right now and she just got a fantastic deal on one of the travel sites at either the Rex Grenadian or the Grenada Grand--something like $80/night with a free one category upgrade--I know you said you prefer the smaller inns (and I do, too!) but those prices sounded pretty good to me to be right on the beach and to have all of the ameneties of a big resort like a pool with bar service.

You've been to a wide variety of places and had a good time, which makes me think that no matter what you choose you'll end up having a great time. Will your son be with you this time? Is the walkable location with a variety of beach bars the most important criterion?

Good morning Alya,

Yes I asked and then I abandoned you (for American Idol ;-) )

Diana is very familiar with both Isla Mujeres and Playa del Carmen, but I'm not sure when she's returning.

I share EJ's fascination with Grenada, especially after a recent post from "Marigold". One of the places that appeals to me is Bel Air Plantation, but it may be too isolated for your DH.

Have you considered Anguilla ? Not CJ or Cuisinart....but one of the smaller places right on Shoal Bay. Ku is getting some good reviews. HowardC wrote a great report on his recent visit. I'll top it for you.

Hopefully others will post with some great suggestions for you

Marion

Marion, I was strongly looking at Bel Air for part of my stay in Grenada. I ended up with a sweet little villa for the first 7 nights, and no doubt I'll like it very much. But after sending in payment for the villa I saw a couple of auctions for Bel Air where the winning bid was something ridiculous like $75/night including all auction taxes. I almost had a moment of buyer's remorse, but then I looked at the website for my villa again and was cured of it!

Which is all just to mention to you that if you ever decide to break away from Treasure Beach, you could find a great deal at Bel Air.

How's the wedding stuff going? Are you counting down your days until Nevis?

Thanks friends

I'm busy researching your suggestions.

I do remember that Diana is in Grenada - she probably thinks I'm stalking her since our trip Jamiaca mirrored hers - we both stayed at (and loved) Idle Awhile and Jamaica Inn- totally different resorts.

When I was originally researching the trip she did mention Isla Mujeres as being a good place for snorkeling and she was also right when she agreed that T&C might be a little to quiet for us nice for a week but not 10 days.

Anyway! Onwards and upwards!

cmcfong - have you stayed at Casa de Suenos? It looks beautiful but I'm worried about construction.

Alya, my cousin stayed there within the last year. She did not mention any construction so I cannot advise on current conditions. Sorry. It is a great adult oriented inn.

Hi alya!

No, I don't think you're stalking me!
We must just like the same places, that's all.

We've been traveling to Caribbean Mexico for about 10 years, and just love it, but we have had to kind of move around since the place that we just loved - Cozumel - has been a bit overrun by cruise ships over the last few years.

Since you have 11 nights, you could easily split them up between or among 2 or 3 places. We have done that quite a few times, and it has worked well for us.

Look at: (ranked from quietest to busiest)

Puerto Morelos
Akumal
Tulum
Isla Mujeres
Playa del Carmen

This past year, we did it Isla first, then PDC, then Tulum. (We had two weeks.)

You could take one of the two busiest places - Playa or Isla - and one of the quieter ones - Akumal, Tulum or PM. Or whatever you wanted...

A great resource both for research and photos of the area is locogringo.com

Secreto is a wonderful place to stay, but there are several other nice places on Isla as well. I think Isla reminds me the most of Negril of anywhere we've ever stayed.

Based on what you said, I think Playa del Carmen and Isla Mujeres would be great choices for you both.

Ok, So finally we are booked and leave in less than 2 weeks

Since we've left this til the last minute we didn't quite get everything we wanted However,

We have taken the advice of posters here on Fodors that over time I have come to respect and after a post by Marion a few months ago I was really drawn to Nisbet Plantation (we both, Marion and I, loved the Jamaica Inn and this sounds like the same kind of place) so, we have booked 6 nights at the Nisbet Plantation - 2 nights in a Premier room and 4 in a Deluxe.


The only negative about Nisbet was the dress code but DH decided that that wasn't a big deal and we decided that Nisbet would be good since we both feel that we will just crash out for the first few days and the one thing I would change about our vacation last year is that I would have stayed at the Jamaica Inn and relaxed in that wonderful atmosphere then we would have had the energy to do all the trips I had researched from Negril.

We are then going to spend a night in San Juan (hotel to be decided) mainly because the layover was going to be 6 hours which just seemed like a total waste of a day and we don't mind the packing/unpacking. I'm looking for a hotel near Old San Juan and then the next day we are flying to Aruba and staying 4 nights at the Bucuti Beach - we've stayed here before and loved it but due to the many times I have plugged the Bucuti here on Fodors, while we are staying in a Tara Suite (we booked the last available) we won't be on the ground floor - Ah, what the heck? We'll enjoy it anyway.

The flights are also good, one connection on the way to Nevis and the rest are all direct flights.

Next year (or later this year) we'll visit Isla Mujeres - too much research to waste

Ooops sorry - that's 2 days in a Superior and 4 in a Deluxe room

Nisbet is wonderful - you won't regret it! We stayed there years ago and still have very fond memories of this place, esp. the wonderful restaurant and bar! Don't worry too much about the dress code; it's 'normal' (to me anyway!) - no shorts or bathing suits at dinner, but it's not a 'stiff' or stuffy place at all, very informal with wonderful staff. Have a great time!

Carola,

thanks for putting my mind at rest - the 'long trousers' were the only downside to the resort but we bought some cream linen pants at the weekend - he can dress them up with a his casual collared cotton shirts and stay nice and cool. I think he was worried that he'd be wearing his work clothes

Wee hee..... only 7 1/2 more work days

Well Alya, "wee hee" for a flexible and agreeable DH

From all that I've read, and that's a lot, I think we will find a very similar relaxed atmosphere re *dress code*, as we did at JI...especially in the off season.

And since your DH is packing trousers, that means you could treat yourself to dinner and maybe a tour of Montpelier Plantation Inn.

I hope you were able to take advantage of some of the special rates that Nisbet has offered right now. I'll look forward to hearing your reaction to their newly opened small spa.

Maybe you should start a new post, asking for Nisbet/Nevis info. I'm sure there will be lots of responses.

You might also explore www.nevis1.com. Lots of great information, and written with a great sense of humor.

The combination of Nevis and Aruba seems to answer the needs of you both...a lovely concept....compromise

As a personal aside, I have not yet found my WEDDING frock...please send some thoughts of compromise in this direction !

Marion

Alya,

I couldn't resist, after I reread your post about your DH and his cream linen trousers ;-)

There is a recent thread here about Coral Reef Club in Barbados and Brits wearing linen trousers on the beach

So, now you have another place to go where you'll be appropriately dressed ;-)

Marion

Marion,

I'll search for that post

It's a compromise alright! He dresses so smartly for work (think pinstripe trousers and long sleeved shirts) out of work he tends to wear shorts and t-shirts (sublime to ridiculous, I regularly arrange to meet him after work so I can enjoy the 'smart' outfits

We did look at Barbados but since every review we read commented on the fact that it was so popular with Brits and perversley this turned us against the island