jshaw2002

Sailed through customs and was sitting in Junior's bar by 2:30 PM on Monday, May 30th, after boarding a 6:05 AM flight out of DFW. We had a Premier Ocean Front Room (#217) and we loved it. The A/C worked great, the bed was super comfortable, the room was plenty big with a large bath and a closet with tons of hangers. Nice having a small fridge and coffee maker, too. We had coffee on our patio every morning. Only improvement would be to cover the patio to provide shade in the afternoon, but it wasn't that big a deal. The beach and water were as advertised and we never tired of sitting in our lounge chairs (which we reserved every morning) and enjoying the view. Ate at Bay Bistro the first night and never found anyplace we liked better. Don't count on the Continental Breakfast that's included in your room, though. It was toast and that's about it. Had Brunch there on Sunday, though, and it was excellent. We ate lunch there most days and loved the conch and the fish fingers. We split the orders and it was plenty of food. Also had lunch at Bonnie's - fantastic and only a 10 minute walk from Sibonne - and HOle In The Wall. My husband wanted Curried Goat and we were sent there. Long cab ride, but good food. Dinners were Anacoana (great atmosphere, okay food), Hemingway's (good food, but didn't feel like a beach cafe, more like a hotel restaurant), Calico Jack's (great food, fun atmosphere, really liked it) and Tiki Hut (LOTS of food, neat to get down to the Marina). We shopped at Ports of Call and Saltmills but didn't find much to bring home. Should have made time to stop at Duty Free in Miami - spent a fortune on booze at IGA. Didn't have a car, but ended up having a driver - used the same guy all week and he was always happy to take us wherever we wanted to go and usually waited for us. Took a Native Beach Cruise with Silver Deep - the conch salad was good and we liked getting out to Water Cay. Iguana Island isn't much, though. All in all a fantastic anniversary trip. We wanted total relaxation and privacy and we got exactly that. The Sibonne was a great experience - we loved it being so small and intimate. Walked by Beaches on the way to snorkeling at Coral Gardens and thanked God we weren't staying there. Other resorts looked very nice, much more upscale than Sibonne but also more "resort" looking, if that makes any sense. We liked being able to see the water from our patio and the beach was literally steps from our back door. Thank you to everyone who posts on this board and provided wonderful information. We had a great trip.

stella39

Hello Jshaw 2002,

Enjoyed your trip report. We are thinking of staying at Sibonne in March 2006. First time to TCI.

Question for you regarding snorkeling at Coral Gardens. What did you do with your towels, hat sunglasses and beach shoes while you snorkeled?
Is it safe just leave it on the beach? I'm not talking about your keys or money. We wear those waterproof boxes around our necks for those kind of valuables.

Thanks for any info you can provide.

MuyLinda

Hi Stella - we snorkeled at Coral Gardens (Bight Reef) every day last year. We walked from our resort (Beaches) and just left our towels and sunglasses on the beach right before the Coral Gardens beach area. Early mornings we found were best for water clarity and fish variety. Enjoy!

virginia

jshaw, thanks for a great trip report. i'm glad you had such a great time.
stella, i've snorkeled at coral gardens many times and never had anything disturbed. i think you will feel very safe on provo and on grace bay beach. i took long early morning walks alone and usually only saw a few beach dogs who'd tag along for a ways.

stella39

Thank you MuyLinda and Virgina!

Glad to hear we can leave our stuff on the beach and I shouldn't worry.

We booked our trip today and I'm so excited. But it's 7 months out. We are staying at the Sibonne for 8 nights. We picked this hotel for it's location and affordability. Going peak season can be very expensive. I was shocked at the air rates from NY to Provo.

So happy to be able to get out of NY in the winter.
Last winter was horrible. (I say that every winter)

I appreciate any more tips or suggestions that you have. These boards are a blessing. You learn so much.

Thanks again.....

travelenthusiast

JShaw - Did your husband enjoy the curried goat? We always like to try local food and crried goat is on my list of food that I want to try. We plan on going to T and C in the fall and will try A Hole in the Wall. How long of a drive was it to that restautant from you hotel? How expensive was the alcohol at the IGA as compared to buying it duty free in the US? Thanks for all your helpful info!

karenfg

Hi stella,
if i have one suggestion about t&c, it's take a trip to Shell Island. Magnificent! There isn't much to do on the island, and it's not exactly pretty by land, but the water is fabulous and grace bay is especially peaceful and safe. We stayed at The Sands, next door to Sibonne. Every time i walked by Sibonne i thought to myself, "what a quaint, ideal little place." We had kids in tow so it wouldn't have worked for us, but it looks adorable. Have a great time!