Upscale But Not Uptight With A Long Beach
 

I just returned from a week at the Ritz in Montego Bay. We had a good time, but are already ready to plan our next trip. Here's what we're looking for in order of priority. . . can you help?<BR><BR>1) A long white sandy beach<BR>2) Adults Only (but not just couples)<BR>3) Excellent food, not just buffets<BR>4) All-inclusive (or meal plan)<BR>5) Luxurious, but casual. Classy, but not wear a suit to dinner fancy.<BR><BR>Does a place like this exist? <BR>

I recommend Cobbler's Cove on the west coast of Barbados. It's casually elegant, it's a member of the Relais and Chateaux group, and they have terrific food. All of the hotel rooms are actually suites, consisting of an air conditioned bedroom and then a huge open air sitting room and balcony. With minibar and tiny kitchenette, too.<BR><BR>Beach is nice and white sand, beautiful water. Probably no more than 3/4 mile long, but it's easy to walk to other beaches up and down that part of the coast. Plus, Cobbler's is the only hotel on the beach, there are only private villas on its particular stretch, so it was never crowded when we were there. (Construction was beginning on some luxury condos at the very far end of the beach when I was there in August 2002, so that may be completed by now, but even with that the beach is fairly secluded.)<BR><BR>Hope this helps. Email me with questions if you like, [email protected]<BR><BR>I don't know about all-inclusive, but they do offer a meal plan, which you can use for dinner a few other restaurants, which means you don't have to eat at the same place every night. (But even if you did, they don't have buffets, and the prix-fixe menu changes every night. Not sure if the a la carte menu changed each night.)The food is really good there, too. Above average for the region. <BR><BR>While children are not forbidden there, at least during the low season,there were none during my stay. It's not a place where kids would have any fun.<BR><BR>And though I didn't use them, they have some water sports facilities, a tennis court, and an air-conditioned fitness center. <BR><BR>Cobblers has a very British feel to it. Folks dress nicely for dinner, but the only requirement is that men wear a collared shirt. Afternoon tea Caribbean style was quite nice. The bar area near the pool was lovely for sharing a beverage and some casual mingling with other guests. One night I was there they had live music, but it was not intrusive at all. If you want something lively, you would have to go off-site.

Harbour Island in the Bahamas fits the bill, the beach is 3 miles long, but the sand is pink and so amazingly soft.<BR><BR>Lots of nice places to stay and several good to excellent restaurants. Alot of the resorts offer meal plans. Try this website www.romorabay.com or for a very small resort www.runawayhill.com<BR><BR>Enjoy your trip whever you decide to go.

Depending on the time of year and where you are coming from-the Reefs in Bermuda. <BR><BR>It is part of the Bermuda collection-voted best small hotel in the Caribbean.<BR><BR>Rates usually include breakfast, high tee and dinner at the Reefs or in exchange with 5 other restuarants on the island.<BR><BR>A fabulous plae on a fabulous island.

Hi, how did you like the Ritz? We are going March 22 - 29. <BR>Based on your requirements, you might want to look into Royal Hideway in Playa Del Carmen Mexico (some consider this also the Caribbean). We went last year and it is an upscale, adults-only all-inclusive. The food was incredible -- no buffets at lunch or dinner and the food was really gourmet-quality. There is also a very long beach to walk (which is the one thing I think I will really miss at the Ritz) Do a search for RH comments on the Latin-American forum, people really seem to love it. It's a beautiful resort and a fabulous value.

We just stayed at the Bucuti Beach hotel in Aruba, and it seems to meet all your requirements. This hotel does not have any activities for children and does not encourage families with children (in all fairness I should say that there were a few children there, but somehow they were so quiet that they were not heard and hardly seen). Also, it has an excellent dine-around meal plan - you buy coupons and have a choice of 11 good restuarants. And best of all it is on a huge white-sand beach. I would call it 'low-key luxury', definitely classy but not overly fancy. We loved it!

Rent an upmarket villa fully staffed and linked to private guide services and on-call masseur on the OTHER side of Jamaica, the South Coast, 2.5 hours from MoBay. 'The Buccaneer' on 3/4 mile beach virtually yours alone, is one good example. See treasurebeach.net --<BR>the community Web site/Where to Stay<BR>section in masthead. Treasure Beach is also host to the 3rd Annual Calabash Literary Festival this late May (see calabashfestival.org)...

Thanks for the suggestions! I explained to my travel agent what I was looking for and she recommended Sandals or Beaches. Not what I had in mind . . .<BR><BR>Eileen, I'll make another post with a review of the Ritz.

THat's because travel agents get a substantial kickback for every X number of people they send to Beaches or Sandals. <BR><BR>Have you looked at any of the resorts on Barbuda? It's often overlooked, and it's certainly pricey, but they have 17-mile long stretches of pink-white sand.

ejcrowe: I beg to differ with you about agents getting big kick backs. Maybe years ago that may have been the case but not today. sap115 may just have encountered an agent that was not very familiar with the other options available. A good agent will work with you based on the wish list you give them and then come back to you with several choices.

Truth be told, TAs who sell Sandals (we're neither) DO INDEED get 14.5% commission per sale and chits good toward 'x' number of 'free days' for themselves at Sandals. The problem is,few weeks seem to be ever 'available' for TAs under this plan. Unless one is on a one-hour junket. Unless you need a tan with to go with a lobotomy, Sandals is NOT a worthy holiday prescription. No matter how much commission its agents get.

This sounds exactly like the Meridian Club on Pine Cay, Turks &amp; Caicos. Here's the URL:<BR><BR>http://meridianclub.com

Wow. The Meridian Club looks fantastic.

The Meridian Club is fantastic. With only 12 rooms and a few homes on the cay, it is private with few people. At times the owners may have children or grandchildren somewhere on the cay but they do not stay in the Club Rooms. A disadvantage to some would be the lack of dining options with all meals in the Club House. For getting away it is perfect and the barefoot elegance is exactly as it is described. Daily snorkeling trips and some other excursions are included. Terrific staff. www.scubamom.com has some outstanding pictures in addition to her review of a recent stay.

I would definitely recommend Grand Lido, Negril, Jamaica...it is an adults only (16 and over) top notch all-inclusive...my husband and i went there about 5 years ago and it was beautiful. We met some wonderful people from all over the world. The beach is gorgeous, the food was very very good, the drinks are top-shelf..i drank champagne daily...the service was terrific, the rooms were beautiful and although there were a lot of people there, it NEVER felt crowded....<BR><BR>Here is the link:<BR><BR>http://www.grandlido.com/resort_negril/index.asp<BR><BR>Typically, i'm not an all-inclusive type as i've been to a couple in the past but this place just does not feel like the typical all-inclusive....i'm not bad mouthing all inclusives as i'm going to Beaches, T&amp;C, in 2 weeks w/my children...didn't have children when we went to Jamica...my, how things change :)<BR><BR>Have fun with your research!!

Oops..i'm sorry, i didn't read your post carefully enough..too early in the morn..you just came back from Jamaica!! <BR><BR>So, i've heard the Ritz in Nevis is absolutely wonderful, but obviously not adults only....Also, Caneel Bay and the Westin in St. John..again, not adults only...<BR><BR>I also wanted to add that although your travel agent suggested Sandals or Beaches, if you are looking for accomodations even close to the Ritz, Sandals and Beaches will not fit that bill so to speak. If you want the Ritz, then go to the Ritz, ya know what i mean??<BR><BR>Have fun!

Just wanted to make a small correction in Basilwat's post. There is no Ritz on Nevis. She/He may be thinking of the Four Seasons, which is indeed spectacular. Very few children or families in my experience and very upscale. <BR>I love Caneel Bay on St John too. The Westin on St John is nice but doesn't hold a candle to Caneel. You will find tons of families and kids at the Westin St John.

Thanks Mermaid...you are correct! I knew it was one of those lovely hotels!<BR><BR>Thanks :)

My travel agent is good about getting good prices, but not about recommending places to stay. I usually tell her where I want to go and she will get me prices that are below what I would expect. She doesn't seem to be the sort of person who would be intentionally steering me someplace to get a kickback. I think she honestly thinks that Sandals is the ultimate in Caribbean vacations. Which is perfectly fine. Everyone is entitled to their own opinions. We've been to a couple of Sandals and it was fun, but we're just at a different place in my life right now.<BR><BR>We really like having a meal plan though just for convenience. We like to lock our wallets away and spend a week not caring about how much anything costs. <BR><BR>Anyway, having returned from the Ritz and it's beach of screaming children, we really want someplace that's adults only.

HA HA HA HA...I don't blame you...i have 4 kids screaming in my basement right now!! Only 2 are mine though....I would think the more upscale the resort, like the Four Seasons on Nevis, the less likely there will be children around...but that is not always the case either. Definitely check out Caneel Bay on St. John and the Four Seasons on Nevis..I'm sure you can find some more information regarding &quot;kids&quot; not only on this site but others as well.<BR><BR>Good luck!<BR><BR>:)