Which do you recommend? St.John, St.Thomas, St.Lucia, St.Martin
 

My husband and I are looking for a relaxing beach vacation next May to celebrate our anniversary. A great beach with warm clear water and clean shores is a definite must. We don't need a lot of activities to keep us occupied other than the ocean and a pool, occasionally we like to explore the areas we are in but it isn't a must have. We prefer upscale luxury hotels, big or small doesn't matter. We want a quiet laid back resort that isn't a party place. We have been to the mayan riviera, Puerto Morales, and are considering returning this time to Playa Del Carmen but want to consider some alternatives and thought the virgin islands might be a good choice. Any thoughts?

St. John would definitely fit your bill in terms of great beaches and clear water but the island doesn't have any big luxury hotels. In fact, there are only 2 real resorts on the island--Caneel Bay and the Westin. Caneel is quiet, very upscale, and has outstanding beaches but it's not a marble bathrooms kind of experience, if that's what you're looking for. Check out their website at caneelbay.com and you'll get a better sense of what I mean. Good luck!

Caneel Bay, St. John. If you like condos, try Secret Harbour on St. Thomas.

I've been to St. John and St. Lucia, and I agree with the previous poster, St. John is not what you want. If you would consider an all inclusive, Sandals in St. Lucia is great. I stayed at the Sandals Grande, but would recommend Halcyon for a quieter stay. Good luck, what fun!

I really think if snorkeling and swimming off the 7 beaches is in your plans Caneel in a Premium Room-Hawks Nest or Turtle Bay sections on the second floor of only 2 floors is desirable. You might want to go in very early May for while there will be children at any time (they have about 175 units and a kids camp) the nearer you get to May 20-25 the private schools end in some areas and you get the Memorial Day crowd probably as early as May 22-23, 2007.The rooms are very understated but whistle clean and in all our visits the furniture was in excellent condition. Some people like it a bit fancier and they are right but the landscaping and waters/beaches off-set those concerns in our opinion. Also, you should know some people discuss a lack of a friendly atitude. We have not had that experience to any great extent. Also, the food I hear has improved (it was great in the early 1980-about 1998) and taking the MAP is probably worthwhile but it is not Four Seasons quality dining, in my opinion.We usually took MAP for 5 days and went off for last 2 days and had dinner in Cruz Bay. Not much better than Caneel but different.The duty free in Cruz Bay has a limited selection and not great prices other than if you wanted to purchase a bottle of liquor for your room.
The pool is a 5-7 minute tram ride away (they go aroundthe resort every 10-15 minutes in the "shoulder season" (rates ~25% lesss than "high season") when you are going and the pool is near the tennis courts if that is of interest to you. They also provide snorkel equipment at no charge based upon our several visits.They have one of the nicest gift shops of any resort we have visited with prices to match.Enjoy.

hi yellowdaisy, my first thought is the st. thomas ritz http://www.ritzcarlton.com/resorts/st_thomas/
beautiful location, great views, gorgeous pool, nice beach with service. easy flight. located near (under 10mins) red hook ferry to st. john for day trip if desired. taxi to charlotte amalie for duty free shopping is 30 min ride. some history around if you seek it out. st.thomas has numerous outstanding restaurants. ritz has a stunning sailboat the lady lynsey, and a dandy spa to boot. to top it all off may is in low season so prices will be a bit lower.