WHERE SHOULD WE STAY ON TORTOLA??
 

I'm trying to decide on a hotel/resort on Tortola but can't make a decision.
Priorities in order are:
1) Beachfront
2) good snorkeling
3) decent beach
4) kitchen-at least decent size fridge
5) affordable
6) restaurant/bar onsite

Any help would be greatly appreciated!!

I'm not sure that any one place on Tortola will suit your needs. The lowest-category rooms at the Sugar Mill are what I could consider affordable, but the rooms are across the street (a quiet one) from their small beach. Rooms have a mini-bar with fridge, and there is decent snorkeling on shore. Great restaurant on site.

Long Bay Resort is arguably on the best stretch of beach on the island, but no snorkeling from shore. You're a long walk or short ride away from Smuggler's Cove here, and the hotel does fulfill allof your other requirements. The lowest category rooms are what I could consider affordable.

Sebastian's is also a possibility. Again, no snorkeling from the beach, and I'm not sure about the fridge. But it qualifies for the other items on your list.

Since Tortola is so easy to get around, it would be a better idea to pick the hotel that is most affordable and suits you and then use a rental car to get yourself to the beaches and snorkeling.

If you want a kitchen I would suggest Cane Garden Bay cottages, just set back from the beach, CGB is basically a small town, with its own grocery, etc. restaurants are right there. Beach is really nice (although not as nice as it was 30 years ago :) ) You can book through purple pineapple rentals. We have rented those cottages a couple of times. Again, not a hotel, just a few cottages. I am not sure what your definition of affordable is, but CGB Cottages are not expensive. They are not super fancy or anything, but I loved the time we spent there. GL

That's true--I keep forgetting the Cane Garden Bay area! Probably because when I was researching for my trip I knew it was an area I didn't want to be in, as it's now the busiest area on Tortola. But nam1026, it could work well for you. There is also Myett's, a small inn across the street from the beach, and there are a handful of beach bars and restaurants right on that beach. No snorkeling to speak of, but there are plenty of good spots on the island you could drive to for that.

Read my post called "Which Tortola Small Inns or Resorts?" I got some really great info. We decided on a Junior Suite at Sebastians on the Beach. Leaving Friday. I can tell you about it when I get back, if you like...

tewels, hope you have a great time--I"m looking forward to your trip report!

I'm actually between Sugar Mill, Fort Recovery and Frenchmans now after reading reviews on Trip Advisor. I also prefer to be on the calm water side. How are the beaches at all 3 of these resorts? More interested in snorkeling than sitting on the beach. Thanks!!

What time of year are you going? Apparently the north shore beaches are rough in the winter months. But they were all as calm as can be in July when I visited.

I had also considered Ft. Recovery, but after arriving in Tortola I was glad I hadn't. It is conveniently located to Road Town, but other than that, it didn't have anything over the north shore locations. The beach is small, the view overlooks the Francis Drake Channel (some folks like this--I prefer a line horizon. Just a personal thing.)

It's true that the beach at the Sugar Mill is small still, but there is some snorkeling there. The best snorkeling from shore on the island is, in my opinion, Smuggler's Cove, Long Bay East (at Beef Island), and Brewer's Bay, in that order. You're a lot farther away from them staying at Ft. Recovery.

I don't know a thing about Frenchman's Cay, other than its location.

Even better than the snorkeling from shore on Tortola (which I would rate as very good, but not great), is the snorkeling from the various daysails--like Cooper Island, the Indians, The Caves, and the Dogs.

You're basically going to be stuck driving around to the better snorkeling locations on the island, and for that, a northshore location (Sugar Mill, Long Bay, Sebastian's, etc) will give you a shorter drive.

Then again, that's just one poster's opinion. I'm sure you'll get more...

We'll be going in January-that is why I wanted to stay away from the north side but we'll also be going out to dinner every night somewhere different so how far a drive would it be to stay at Ft. Recovery?? Would Sugar Mill's beach be really rough in January??

Sugar Mill's beach wouldn't be rough then, I shouldn't think, because it is a small beach and it is protected on three sides. To the left and right are rock wall breakwaters. And opposite the beach is a reef that comes in very close to shore--maybe 50-75 feet from the waterline. We were there in July, which I understand is calmer than January, but the water was still like bathwater inside the sheltered area. The beach at Sugar Mill is very small--that being said, there were never more than 5 people there, so we didn't feel crowded. January would probably be different.

Ft. Recovery is about a 10-15 minute drive from Sebastian's, Sugar Mill, and Long Bay, which are all right together along the north shore road.

We stayed at Fort Recovery in Feb. We had breakfast at Sebastian's twice. If we return, we will definitely stay at Sebastian's. I am sure that the villas there have refrigerators if the hotel rooms do not but I would take the hotel room if it does. It is soooo close to the beach! The beach there is not a swimming beach but there are so many beaches nearby that it wouldn't matter. The pelicans dive on the beach there which is great to just sit and watch. The food was excellent and it looked very clean and well maintained. Fort Recovery was a bit closer to town but not much. Our rooms were noisy and did not have enough hot water. They were not well maintained. They did provide one dinner which was excellent and a free snorkeling trip which was also very nice.

I stayed in a beachfront room at Sebastian's last year - it does have a little refrigerator. And it was a great little place to stay - small patio and literally 20 steps to beach. The beach in Little Apple Bay is nice, a little rocky close to shore, more of a surfing beach than a snorkeling beach. It was very affordable and great to hear the waves at night!