vsa

WOWOWWOWOWWOW just got back from Palm,,7 nights in #43 treehouse north side of the island,,,,is was great,,not only being my honeymoon but the island and my bride loved it as a suprise. We flew from Toronto to Barbados( short stop in Philly) and stayed in Rostrevor hotel in the St.Lawerence Gap in Barbados. Nice quite place, clean room, friendly staff (but then all Bayjans are very friendly) simple room,,no AC or TV, we stayed for 2 days here,,,,rented a car went to Bridgtown and then up to Harrisons cave,,nice but only have to do once.. Now on to the good stuff,,,you take a little puddle jumper (18seats) from Barbados to the Grenadines, if your lucky its direct to Union,,if not its a stop at one or as many as 3 other islands...Bequia,Canuia,and Mustique(spelling i know),,we recieved the full tour,which I enjoyed, then a quick 8 minute boat ride to Parridise..
Palm Island greets you at the dock with the Manager of the island and rum punches that punch,,they then give you a quick tour and take you to your room...deliver all your bags in a short while as you and the rum settle.
Since we were there during the off season, there were only 20 other guest sharing "Our" island, but the service was not cut back,,the food was great,,my wife is a very picky Greek,,and she didnt have one bad meal..and have as much as you want,,I have to confess that one lunch I ordered 3 plates of the smoked salmon because it was so good,,,the next day we had it delivered to a hammock on a private beach on the other side of the island,,,while there we witnessed a wedding which was beautiful and all were invited. I have to say that I'm normally a jeans and t-shirt type of guy but I had no problem putting on button down shirts and long shorts or pants for dinner,,,it was a nice touch..
This is truly a place where they cater to all your whims and if you dont like something they will do their best to change it...one night we were all wishing that they had Grey Goose vodka for our drinks,,,the next day theres a case for us to have,,
If theres anything to complain about its that it was in the 90s all week and im from Canada where i like my snow...but it wasnt that bad,
theres even a fresh water pool to go into after swimming in the ocean all day to quickly get that salt feeling off
I know I've rambled a bit so if theres any direct questions I will do my best to answer them

Patty

Thanks for your trip report! I'm bummed I only got to bid on the Palm Island auction once (didn't win) and luxurylink hasn't offered it since

Did you go on any day trips from Palm Island?

vsa

stay strong Patty,,it comes up about once a month....so the only day trip we did was to the Tobago Cays,,,great time,,we went aboard the PinkLady,,the islands sail boat,,it sails right there and back leaves at 10am and is back by 3pm $50 each max 6 people and includes drinks and a nice bbq at one of the islands in the Cays,,,there was another that people took that went around psv and a few others and ended up in the Cays, but thats one of those big Catamarangs(sp) and they have lunch on board and its more $,,, i think we liked our choice better

good luck

tanya18

Visited Palm island just off of the coast of Cariacou Island in the grenadines. Small island but very very pretty. think we are talking about the same little island.

Lisager15

Palm Island is relatively unknown gem. Gerry and were there in January and we are planning our next trip.

wahayden

We leave Saturday. We're excited, but WAY behind on our packing/preparations. What else is new? 3 quick questions:

1) Could you please detail what we should bring for dinner clothing, both male & female? I'm a little perplexed from the info we've gotten so far.
2) Did you see any snakes there? My wife is highly phobic, so truthful answers only please. Lizards and frogs are OK.
3) Just curious, what was the nationality-makeup of the guests on the island?

vsa

never saw a snake,,,wife saw an eel but i missed it...dinner wear,,as long as you have long pants or long shorts,,and decent shirt,,its ok,,,dont need the full formal,,its relaxed,,,we were the only Canadians,,the rest was almost 50/50 US and English...but were only talking 30 to 40 guests max and thats when we left,,when we arrived there was only 20 guest total
yes tanya its the same island...
sorry ladies can wear skirts but just not shortshort ones,,,just think semi-formal,,,,dont pack alot you can probably get away with 2 1/2 outfits that mix and match,,since its only dinner that you need to dress for,,all other meals are fine with tshirts and swim shorts or ladies with a wrap
any other ?s just ask,,,but enjoy the time its great and the flight into and out of is WOW get a good camera,,,those instant ones cant do justice

famouschinesec

VSA; thanks for the trip report. My husband and I leave in 2 weeks. Did you experience any problems with any bugs? I read reports on another board that said the no-see-ums were very bad. Also did you have to pay island departure tax out of Barbados and Union Island(St. Vincent and Grendadines) and if so how much was it? Did the TIA flights seem to run on time even with all the stops? Thanks.

vsa

they did spray for noseeums,,,but every island has them,,,but Palm provides every room with your own can and you can get more if need be so dont bring down with you,,,,some people did get bit,,my wife had a couple,,,i was fortunate i think i had one bite the whole week,,,if you are spending less then 24 hours in Barbados there is no departure tax,,at Union i think it was $13us each ,,,i know it was less then $20
hope that helps and have a great trip

BeachGirl247

Just returned from our trip to Palm in December. I wish I was as excited as VSA. We were not overwhelmed. Food was good, not great. Small portions. Bar was nice but the music at night put us to sleep. Young and old (i'm 42) had same comments. Rooms on beach are nice but so close to each other and the sidewalk. Beach area is beautiful but people were all over from the visiting boats coming in and those of us from the property (didn't feel very private). Beaches are public property so any boat can stop and lay on the beach with you. Just can't use the loungers. People were very nice. Rooms do have an a/c but this is not a true a/c so don't get excited - your room will still be warm. And the BUGS!! The no-see-ums were so horrible!!! It must have been worse than normal since we all had to carry the "off!" wherever we went. Used 3 cans in one week. They were terrible!!!

Overall, I don't know that we would go back. We've been to other private island resorts and this one fell short of the mark. We bought it at the auction and glad now we didn't pay full price. Its has a lot of potential but needs to improve in places to be a luxury resort.

Lisager15

Your review is really surprising. As it relates to visitors on the beach, we did not experience this at all. There was a security person who did not allow visitors beyond a certain point. The a/c in our room was just fine. The food was better than most Caribbean resorts. I agree that there is no night life, but Gerry and I expected that when we went. As far as the no-seeums, we never had one problem. We were there in January so maybe that made a difference. Anyway, our experience was excellent and we are very fussy. We are off to the Jamaica Inn in Ocho Rios next month. Should be interesting!

donaldo

Hello vsa, you make it sound great. We, my wife and I, are going in April 2004. We have booked a plantation room, good move ???? From reading the threads we need not take bug spray as it is available, but most comments are from other months, anyone been in April before???? We were going to book Le Grand Couraln on Tobago but some comments about this resort were not very pleasing to read so blew it out for Palm Island, hope we made the right choice. Read you soon. Hope married life suits you.

vsa

your going to love it,,,,but i would recommend trying to get the treehouses at the north end #43 or the one beside us 42or44,,private and great view looking out towards the tobago cays,,,plus i belive there the same price so if you can switch ,,switch,,,but have a great time,,the bugs didnt bug me but others there did get bit,,,,its the carribean they're there,,,use the spray but dont let them spoil a great place