upscale honeymoon for less? best suggestions?
 

hello! we are looking for the perfect honeymoon spot - every time i find a place i like i read reviews about it that make me nervous. here's what we're looking for:

blue water, white sand, somewhat interesting/romantic, either great food AI or kitchen where we can cook ourselves, proximity to water - either beachfront, or beach view with pool/jacuzzi

is there anywhere we can do for less than $4,000 for a week (including airfare from chicago?)

somewhere a little nicer than usual, but still not outrageous?

i'm wondering if my best bet is to rent a private villa instead of looking for the perfect hotel.

any suggestions? thanks a million!!!

I am now researching St. John for a trip this April ... had to be a romantic spot because one of our couples (three going) are getting married there. There are alot of beautiful looking villa's and the island seems to have alot of lovely sounding restaurants. You have a bit of $ to play with so am sure you could get a gorgeous villa. Am not a AI person so can not help you there. We will be renting from Seaview homes, (Southern Cross Villa) but there are a lot of other property rental agencies mentioned on this board. Also check out Trip Advisor, VRBO, or just google Caribbean Islands and you'll get a ton of info. I find this can be overwhelming unless you can sit for hours and search!
We go to Puerto Aventuras on the Mayan Riviera (Feb/Mar)for a couple weeks and love it. You can find all the information you need for this location on Locogringo.com
This area, from Playa del Carmen down to Tulum has ocean front villa's, AI's etc. Lot's to do, great beaches and good restaurants, grocery stores etc. From Chicago should be a short and relatively inexpensive flight. I would rent a car so you can explore.
Congrat's and have fun wherever you go, but keep us posted!
B

okay - up too late last night - i forgot to mention that we're trying to go end of may/beginning of june for 7-10 days ...

yes, beckie - i have spent a ridiculous amount of hours staring at a computer screen as you can probably see from the time i made my last post!!! but it's fun!!

i've looked at a number of villas on st. john that look fabulous - maybe that's the best option for the money. i'll check out puerto aventures - thanks!!!

What about the Secrets Resorts? They are all-inclusive, adults-only romantic resorts in the Dominican Republic and Riviera Maya. They are newer resorts and have gorgeous oceanfront properties with lagoons, beautiful landscape, but lots of activities, including cooking classes.

Best Regards,
Julia

You may want to check out Turks and Caicos. Will meet your beach/water requirements. There are also several romantic restaurants. Most hotels are condo style with Kitchens. Several to choose from including Somerset, Grace Bay club etc...

thanks for the responses!

i'm a little wary of secrets after reading some of the reviews on trip advisor.

turks & caicos sounds great and the beaches are stunning - somerset and grace bay club are a little out of my league - any other suggestions for nice, interesting hotels there?

Check out Royal West Indies and/or Alexandra Resort on T&C (I would not call these interesting though...just nice resorts on a great uncrowded beach). For something more interesting check out Virgin Gorda...though the resorts are limited and on the pricey side (biras creek, bitter end is more reasonable.

We stayed at Coral Garden on T/C in May 2005. It was wonderful. It is the only hotel with a snorkeling reef right off the beach. We saw turtles everyday and also a large sting ray just 20 ft from shore. The hotel is nice with a Very good cafe right on the beach. We had breakfast and lunch there everyday and went out to dinner each night. A wonderful vacation.

Last year we went to St Croix and stayed at a guest house called Suite Birds of Paradise. We had a charming apartment to ourselves. Pool, hot tub with ocean view, and the hosts Dan and Margarita were such a wealth of information and pointed us to the best snorkeling beaches and things to do. They have optional meal plans too if you don't want to cook and eat out all the time. St Croix is wonderful because it is not a crowded tourist destination. It has more of a small town feel and the beaches are wonderful.

The mayan riviera is a good value for the beautiful beach, great resort value - however, if you have the money St. John or the British Virgin Island are gorgeous!! My favorite beach of all times is Cinnamon Bay on St. John. Not crowded either!!!

You might look at www.romorabay.com, it's off season and the prices are good and the food on site is great. You would have your own villa overlooking the ocean and pool.

Have a great trip.