Where to go? I know this has been asked a million times, but....
 

I am looking for a great destination for my husband and I (early 30's age range). In the Caribbean, we have been to Mexico numerous times, Grand Lido Braco in Jamaica and I have also been to Nassau and Grand Cayman. Looking for an island with the following:

1) Great Beach and Nice Hotel
2) Nightlife---doesn't need to be Cancun, but somewhere with fun bars to hang out at
3) No rental car--We'd prefer an island we can navigate by taxi or by foot
4) We love meeting fun new people on vacation but are kind of tired of the all inclusive because we never leave the resort. The problem is that we like nice accomodations with good service and find that the AI vacation usually suits us.

I was looking at Antigua, Anguilla and St Maarten/Martin, but it seems I'll need a rental car in many of these islands so I am reconsidering, so I am looking for suggestions from all of you out there. Thanks!!!

Before I even read your 3 choices, I was thinking St Maarten for you.. I was there in the spring and had a great time. We stayed at the Sonesta Maho Beach Resort which was great b/c it was close to all of the nightlife-- we were able to walk everywhere. However, to get to the french side you would have to rent a car. The hotel does have a shuttle to Orient Beach but we decided to rent a car anyway b/c they weren't flexible with days and times for shuttling the guests. We found it fairly easy to navigate the island so no worries there. St Maarten has some wonderful beaches but, unfortunately, the beach at the hotel isn't the greatest.
Aruba also has a lot of what you are looking for also. You may want to rent a car for the day to explore but otherwise you can walk to a lot of restaurants now and there is also a bus to downtown from the bigger hotels, which is, I think $2 per person.
I've never been to Antigua or Anguilla so can't help you there but from what I've heard, you won't find much nightlife on either of those islands. Hope that helps!

To me, your post has "Negril" written all over it--great beach, nice vibe, plenty of choices for moderate nightlife such as beach bars or live music. Negril is divided between the Beach side and the Cliffs side. For stylish accommodations, take a look at Idle Awhile on the beach (www.idleawhile.com) or the Rockhouse Hotel on the cliffs (www.rockhousehotel.com). The cliffs are a short taxi ride away from the beach and vice versa, with plenty of food options in both areas. Also take a look at The Caves on the cliffs side, which is a boutique AI run by the Island Outpost folks. Not sure of their website. But you can find out lots of info about Negril in general at www.negril.com.

Thanks for the suggestions. Would you say renting a car is essential in SXM? I am looking into Negril as well. I am still just torn about where to go...so many islands, but I want to pick the one best for us :)

Renting a car in SXM is not a musy but we felt it was the easiest way to check out the island. I stayed on the Dutch side and we could have taken a taxi to go shopping in Phillipsburg and I assume you can taxi it over to the FRench side. We wanted to do it all in one day and felt like it would be more flexible just to rent a car.