Which Island/Resort would you choose?
 

My husband and I are looking for a quick (4 night) getaway for our 10 yr anniversary next year (either Aug, Oct or Nov). We have limited time due to kids & babysitting issues.

We are flying from Philadelphia & would love to use USAIR FF miles. Seems like our choices are Puerto Rico, St. Lucia, Bahamas, Bermuda, Grand Cayman, Montego Bay, Santo Domingo, Punta Cana, St. Thomas & St Maarten. Not sure if those will all be available for flights though.

We would love a tropical island feel with a luxury resort/hotel. I imagine something with villas or cabanas (not necessary though). Romantic & relaxing with gorgeous scenery would be nice. We don't scuba dive or golf, so those things aren't important. Our budget isn't HUGE, but I would be Ok with about $3,000 (not inc flight) for 4 nights/food/drinks.

We are also considering a short cruise, but I'm not sure I'm thrilled with our choices for the 4 night options.

Thanks so much!

US Air also flies to Provo, Turks & Caicos. Check out the properties on Grace Bay----Gorgeous.

Darn..the Provo FF flights are all booked for our dates in Aug. We can't do a full week & that is the only option they have. They won't let me look at Oct or Nov yet. Aug would be easiest for us, since we are both teachers.

Thanks for the suggestion though. Any others thoughts?

Bermuda is beautiful! It is one of my favorite islands and UsAir should fly direct from Phili.
That would be my choice for a quick nonstop getaway for romance and relaxation with good food. Best times to go would be Aug or Oct.
I would check out Elbow beach hotel.

You mentioned St. Lucia as a possibility...if it really is, check out the Jalousie Plantation on the southwest coast of the island, smack between the two Pitons. Nearly all of the rooms are in individual villas with plunge pools, and they're scattered around the hillside property with a beach and pretty good snorkeling below. It's the most gorgeous setting I've ever seen, and though the food was neither more nor less than typical resort food, I would go back again in a heartbeat for the romantic location alone! There are really good packages that can be had for the Jalousie at www.luxurylink.com, an online travel auction site.

I was wondering about a couple of things based on your post:

1) How much time are you willing to spend traveling? Everyone is different about this, but for a four night trip, I would look for a nonstop flight and/or a place where the resort is close to the airport.

2)What is your definition of "tropical island feel" and "gorgeous scenery"? Some people envision a more lush island as tropical, and some people really want the island to feel different from the US or whereever is home. Others focus on great beaches and beautiful water.

Your list of places includes a variety of different types of islands.

For a beautiful, lush, island, St. Lucia is a good choice, but it may be a long travel day if you cannot get a nonstop flight, and some resorts are 60 - 90 minutes from the sourthern airport, UVF (this is the one that USAirways uses).

If you are open to a little more travel time and the idea of a more rustic style of luxury resort is appeaaling, St. John and Caneel Bay might be worth considering. You would fly into St. Thomas and take a ferry to St. John. I haven't been there, but from everything I have read, St. John is a good choice if you want a lusher island with beautiful water/beaches. Caneel Bay seems to be a place that people love or hate.

I have only been in Puerto Rico (San Juan) and St. Martin on day trips/layovers, and while I am sure there are places on both islands that are more romantic and relaxing, they are much busier islands with crowds, traffic, shopping, etc. I believe the same is true about St. Thomas. If you are considering Nassau or Grand Bahama Island in the Bahamas,these also tend to be busier islands.

Bermuda and Grand Cayman are worth considering if beaches and water are the most important thing, since these are not lush islands. Both will offer some choices for luxury resorts.

I'm not familiar with Jamaica, and most people who visit the Dominican Republic tend to go to all-inclusive resorts. The nicer resorts tend to be in Punta Cana v Santo Domingo.

Each of the places mentioned have differing +/-. If it were me, I'd likely go w/PR simply because of time & variety, but it DOES depend on what is important to you. Stay in OSJ, spend a day in the rain forest, tour the rum factory & forts, some great food & beaches as well. Bermuda is pricey, too me. US Air may make the decision for you, I'd check there first, & immediately.

We did a quick 4 day trip from NJ to Bermuda last year and it was perfect. I think the fligt was an hour and half or so.. I think it will likely meet all your requirements. We stayed at Pompano and loved it. Its a beautiful island and there are many dining options. It was perfect for us for 4 days.
The St John suggestions is also a good one I think but will involve a little more travel time.

Just wanted to chime in quickly on St. John's/Caneel Bay. We went for a 3 day/4 night trip from the DC area a few years ago. The island is beautiful and the resort is nice, although not as luxurious as I would have expected for the price.

The real downside is that it does take nearly a full day to get there. We took USAir from DC through Charlotte to St. Thomas, with just an hour layover. You then take a van almost across the island to catch a ferry to St. Johns. Left DC at 7 am and didn't get to Caneel Bay until 6 pm. I'd recommend looking elsewhere for a fairly short vacation.

Thank you all SO MUCH for your replies! As one poster mentioned, I think that USAirways flights have pretty much narrowed down our selection. Some places take too long to get to or they only have flights once a week. Our options seem to be Bermuda, Bahamas (Freeport or Nassau airports), Jamaica or PR. Right now I am leaning toward Jamaica & The Caves resort. I fell in love with the photos of that place! Bermuda would be the easiest/quickest/least miles, but it doesn't have that "lush & tropical" feel to it. Not that I NEED that, but it is just what I am imagining.

Some of the places in St. Lucia seem ideal to me, but it won't work with flights:( Maybe someday.

If you are going to The Caves, are you able to fly directly into Negril? Otherwise it is quite a distance from the airport in Montego Bay.

Don't forget about Aruba! US Air offers direct flights there -- about four hours in the air.

We did a 4 night vacation to St. John & although it is a bit more involved to get there, I would do it again in a heartbeat. Stayed at Caneel Bay. As previous poster said, it is a bit more rustic than you would expect for the price but you are paying for 8 PERFECT private beaches. We rented a car but turned it in after 1st day. The beaches at resort were more perfect than anything else we saw on island. Easy to take taxis into town for dinner, etc. Very relaxing & tropical feel to the place. I'm dying to go back!

I just checked Aruba & it doesn't look like there are any direct flights using FF miles for us. That would make it just too far:(

I called The Caves & they said that the Montego Bay airport is about 1.5 hours away...does anyone know that this is correct? If so, that doesn't seem so bad to me. The flight there is just under 3 hours, so the ride to Negril doesn't seem too bad with the short flight.

Right now, I am going back & forth between Negril & Bermuda.

Bermuda would be very close & easy to get to. It also would require less points. On the other hand, the photos that I see don't look very "tropical" to me. I am sure that it's gorgeous, but it seems very beachy with little other kinds of natural beauty. I could be totally wrong about this, of course, but it's just my impression from photos. Maybe I'll start a bermuda vs. Negril post to get opinions on that. Thanks to all for so much invaluable advice for a newbie!

The Caves is beautiful and fits your requirements perfectly. The is an airline that does 15 minute flights from Montego Bay to Negril and The Caves will pick you up for free at Negril Airport. I forget the name of the airline. It was recommended to us by The Caves. We left Boston around 7am and were at the resort in time for a late lunch

What about Cap Juluca on Anguilla or its cheaper resort, Hotel Ku? Beautiful beaches and water and excellent food on this island.