purplegoose

Don't have a specific island in mind, but prefer one that has non-stop flights from JFK or LGA. We have a one year old, so club programs aren't that important, but reliable, well-run and safe nanny or babysitter programs are. Seeking off season travel to upscale hotels - large rooms, with plenty of room for cribs and refridgerators or small kitchenettes in the room. Thanks!

ccrosner

Check out The Buccaneer on St. Croix. Not a direct flight but a great family-friendly spot. Their family cottages would give you extra privacy and have a fridge. Or their Doubloons are one large, luxurious waterfront room. If you do a search on this site you will probably be able to see other details I've written about them. In a hurry right now, sorry.

marymarra

We are going to the Buccaneer in March thanks to recommendations from this site. Our daughter is now five, but when she was your little one's age, we did FDR in Jamaica which is perfect for little ones (nice baby pool, shaded swings, and, of course, the nanny which gives you a little break). The rooms are all suites and they will stock your refrigerator with whatever you would like. We also took her to Half Moon Bay in Jamaica which was great, not quite as little-kid friendly, but nice babysitters.

Happy to answer any questions.

Mary

purplegoose

Thanks to both of you! The Buccaneer sounds great, but the nonstop flight is really important to us.

Mary, at FDR are you assigned a nanny for your entire stay? How exactly does that work? I'm not a big Jamaica fan, but I have heard good things about both those resorts. However, my b-i-l had a nanny show up at his door at Hallf Moon that he swears was on drugs and sent her away. I would love to get personal rec's at both places if people have them

marymarra

Hi, sorry to hear about the babysitter at Half Moon--the woman we had was one of the housekeepers--older and we felt perfectly comfortable leaving (we were also maybe 1000 yards down the beach at the hotel restaurant.) We were not as comfortable at Half Moon mainly because families with little kids are not the primary clientele, but the playground was fun and Abby went twice to the kids' camp which was fine.

At FDR, the entire place is geared to families, you are greeted immediately by your nanny and she is assigned to you for the rest of your stay; she works all day for you (at some point she takes a break and cleans your room and restocks your refrigerator); we never used her all day, but you can; then she is available to sit for you at night for a ridiculously low rate--I think it was something like $4/hour. There is one restaurant there just for adults (it is literally at the end of a pier)so we used her for that (the food was good, too). The other nice thing about FDR is that they understand how small children eat--i.e. all the time, so you could get hot dogs, grilled cheese, cut fruit, etc. all day long. They also have a small spa with great services and my husband played golf next door at Breezes. The beach is not great, but with little kids it is perfect--it nice and calm; the pool is nice. The week we were there most of the families were from Boston or New York and England (it was half-term there) and very nice.

Hope this helps,

Mary

P.S. FDR also runs lots of specials; I remember our trip being very reasonable (we fly from D.C.)

purplegoose

Great info Mary thanks - I'll look into FDR!

CaliNurse

Perhaps Westin St John. Nonstop flights avail from NYC to St Thomas. You can take the Westin's ferry directly from the airport

purplegoose

Thanks Nurse - does anyone have experience with Westin Kid's clubs - the website says infants/babies included, but doesn't say age or what that entails.
Thanks!