we've done both mexican coasts, hawaii, etc. looking to go caribbean, but probably in the $750/night and below max (all inclusive).

I guess that's middle of the road.

Pretty hard to beat Iberostar....

when we were at JB, the "mogul" was visiting to check out the development... i

t was hilarious, he'd been in the magazine distribution business pedaling software magazines like Byte and Computer Gaming World. then Larry Flint (his wife started the conversation with "tell them about Larry!" came up w/ some novel distribution system for his stuff that shifted the risk to the lower levels but bumped their upside potential. well, this guy's network was in place, so he just switched products and - bam - now lives at JB, has/had a house in Santa Barbara w/ a symphony hall, and apparently digs his congnac.

For those that stayed in St. Lucia, can you suggest any excursions or off-the resort activties to do on the island? There's a lot offered but would be nice to get someone's point of view.

cc

I urge you to look into this place

http://www.karismahotels.com/resort/el-dorado-maroma-beachfront-resort-karisma

My wife and I went there two weeks ago, and it is incredible. Service was amazing and the place only has 78 rooms. 45% occupancy when we were there. Food was excellent, including the sushi place where I ordered 8 orders of tuna sashimi for dinner one night. Guy thought I was crazy, but it was extraordinary.

Yeah, the guy I'm thinking of liked the King Louis cognac. Whatever comes in the expensive crystal bottle. I think he was involved in importing Red Stripe to the States. I went fishing w/ a guy who, like me, was a mere guest, but had been invited back to the mogul's house to drink one night. Said it was a pretty crazy scene.

The guy also liked to wrestle w/ the young men who were on staff there. Kinda weird, if you ask me. . .

I'm leaning towards Aruba, and this place
http://www.bucuti.com/

Small, private, on the quiet side of the island, kids frowned upon, killer beach, few/no locals using/selling on beach, nice looking rooms.

Wife won't go to Jamaica. I'm too cheap for the Peter Island style suggestions.

just my ten cents, but we found Aruba to be highly overrated. Feel the same way about Atlantis.

I would be looking at T&C or some of the other recommendations in the US or British Virgin Islands.

kwammer,

What was it about Aruba that you found "overrated"?

I'm just curious since my wife and I have been there 4 times and enjoyed our visits quite a lot. We never did an all-inclusive because there are some good restaurants on the island that we like too much to go all-inclusive. We stayed twice at the Wyndham (now Westin) and twice at the Hyatt, which we really liked.

Is there anything to go see besides beaches there? Not really. If you like beaches, halfway decent snorkeling (there are definitely better snorkel and dive islands), casinos and good restaurants on a low crime island, then I don't see what's not to like.

cclearman,

I know you asked for all-inclusive, but for a bit less than your per night budget, you could go to St. Bart's for a week, rent a private villa with a swimming pool and eat and drink plenty (on your own of course). You would need to rent a car to get around, but that's part of the fun in my opinion.

Our trip in May where we did this has sold us on pretty much not going to Aruba or most anywhere else down there anymore. There are several stunning beaches, some of which are practically deserted at any given time. The scenery within the island is stunning. No casinos if you are into that. It's French, so if you hate the French this isn't for you.

No, we've kind of moved off of all inclusive. We were really only doing it so I wouldn't "worry" about spending the money while there. I thought it would be nice for a change

But there are downsides to all inclusive as well, and considering that we're both kind of foodies and my wife barely drinks, we aren't making it mandatory.

I'll check out St Bart's.

Ahhh, forgot to mention that I'm using Continental Miles to get there...makes St. Bart's a no go apparently.

And almost no matter where I go if I'm trying to fly on a weekday it's nearly impossible to either get there or get home on the same day - overnight required somewhere. Bummer.

Makes me just want to go back to Playa...

as it relates to Aruba, as mentioned in my post, there are simply much nicer islands and resorts all over the Caribbean and beyond. Aruba is fine in the same way Cancun is fine. If I was given a free trip, I would not turn it down.


If you get the chance to go around the Caribbean and are willing to spend the money, as the OP is, I think you might find the same thing.

I guess my bottomline is: if money is not a huge concern, then I would skip Aruba.



[This message has been edited by kwammer (edited 9/24/2010 3:48p).]

Will second Iberostar Grand in the Dominician Republic.

cclearman,

I assume you were looking at flights to St. Maarten or San Juan, PR? None of the US airlines fly into St. Bart's. You have to take a commuter flight on a local airline from one of those places to get there.

Turks and Caicos - Villa Renaissance, check VRBO for a good rate

Direct flights from houston or dallas basically means what?

Puerto Rico
Jamaica
Mexico

I mean where else can you get direct? I think Nassau has occasional dates, but not daily non-stop.

I'm considering the Couples resorts next year. I think the demographic there skews older, but no kids is a plus. Sandals/Beaches/Ritz type resorts have kids all over.

I used Continental miles but flew US Airways to get to Punta Cana, DR. The stop was in North Carolina. There was about an hour between flights. It was not too bad but I was in first class.

We are about to book Iberostar Grand DR. Get a lot for your $ there. Looks like we will use conti miles to either Miami or San Juan, and pay for AA flights to Punta Cana. The conti flights with miles are a mess with crazy stop overs and overnight flights.

Yea, I guess it depends on where you are flying from. I flew out of Houston to Charlotte, NC then to Punta Cana. It took a while to get there but we only had a 1 hour layover. Not too bad. If you want more info or some pic of Punta Cana let me know.

Want nice?

Here you go....

http://www.parrotcay.como.bz/

I've been there. You will like.

That's pretty over the top. Love the $25k / night Donna Karen house and the $10k / night spread with 10 night minimum stay during Christmas.