Holiday Advice - Caribbean

Good evening!

We've recently taken a lot of city breaks and the next 2 trips we have planned are Florida which won't involve too much R&R.

So...I'm looking into beach destinations for next May time - 2 weeks of sun, sea and sand!

My questions:

1. Firstly does anyone have any recommendations of good mid-range hotels in the Caribbean (I'm flying to VS routes only) that have really stood out for service? I love the beach and that's the most important thing for me.

2. Has anyone gone self catering in the Caribbean? If so, how was it? Were there affordable options where you went?

We've always gone All Inclusive in the past and found that we've ended up eating out where we can to enjoy the local cuisine rather than buffet!

Destinations we are looking at are St Lucia, Barbados, Tobago, Grenada and maybe Cuba.

Any thoughts/advice would be great!

Luke

The caribbean is never really cheap which makes the "all-inclusive" option popular with travellers. Personally, I hate the concept and have done it once, which was once too often.
I (like a few others here) love Barbados .
I've stayed here numerous times in the private residences http://www.thecrane.com/ which are beautiful and fully equipped.
Location wise it's my favourite place in Barbados primarily because of the beach (fabulous) ^) and because it's away from the glitz of the west coast (but which I like also ). It has become quite large now though which has impacted on the tranquility of the place.
Buying food in supermarkets in Barbados (I use the term supermarket loosely ) can be VERY VERY expensive as most things (except rum ) are imported. Likewise eating out at the nicer restaurants can be wallet breaking :0 .
DL

I knew I could count on you DL - you've been everywhere!

The Crane does look very nice and very expensive for 14 nights, will keep that one noted in my holiday book.

I do hear a lot of good things about Barbados, I do have concerns at how expensive it would be to self cater for 14 nights.

1. Firstly does anyone have any recommendations of good mid-range hotels in the Caribbean (I'm flying to VS routes only) that have really stood out for service? I love the beach and that's the most important thing for me.

My favourite remains the East Winds Inn on St Lucia, but I'm not sure it's mid range. Worth the money though, smack on the beach, swim up help yourself bar and and never a need to eat out....

We've always gone All Inclusive in the past and found that we've ended up eating out where we can to enjoy the local cuisine rather than buffet!

Destinations we are looking at are St Lucia, Barbados, Tobago, Grenada and maybe Cuba.

I'm not sure I'd be looking to Cuba for any kind of cuisine , particularly outside of Havana.

I can give you my 2 cents on Grenada! I'd say that for beaches, absolutely amazing with an unlimited range of small coves and unspoilt beaches that seem to go on forever. But if you are one of these people that still enjoys something to do whilst on holiday I would certainly not recommend Grenada.

Having visited twice yearly for the past 4 years (not for vacationing purposes but visiting family), I can assure of you of the pure beauty of the island but I have to emphasise that it has not yet been dominated by the tourist industry and therefore there is not a large selection of restaurants or activities to take in. Albeit, this is not a bad thing in the slightest if you are someone that enjoys a holiday of pure tranquility and taking it easy; they sure know how to do that well. y)

To repeat what DL has said, the prices of goods in the supermarkets are sometimes astronomical! :0 I've spotted many a goods that have the Waitrose branding on them in Grenada's supermarkets (no wonder they are slightly on the pricey side... ): ) and anything that the island does not produce is usually imported from either the UK or USA, resulting in inflated prices. Saying this, if you find yourself a nice local cuisinery then there are definitely some bargains to be had and a fantastic opportunity to sample some local dishes, but if you are after 5* restaurants be willing to pay the price for it. Grenada has 2 main restaurants that I would consider to be of high quality; The Aquarium and the Rhodes. With a beachfront location The Aquarium has not long been refurbished and serves top-notch grub with a fantastic service from the staff there! (I would 1000% recommend the conch frittas! y))

Whereas the Rhodes provides more of an exlusive venue also relatively near a beach in Lance Aux Epines, located within another hotel resort which the name escapes me of. From speaking with friends that have dined at the Rhodes, they said the food was nice however not outstanding for the price. Personally, although I would feel 100% comfortable with venturing into St Georges at night, do not believe that there are any decent restaurants in town from my experiences. Lots of nice fast food, but on the sit down side very limited.

I know the Grenadian Rex is a very popular choice for an AI hotel in Grenada, less than 5 minutes from the airport it is one of the largest (if not the largest) resorts on the island and holds a 5* rating.

Sorry for the essay, hope it was of some help in your decision making!

Thanks pjh and MrSquare - really good advice.

Very comprehensive info on Grenada, that really does help thank you!

Hi Luke
I can recommed Coco Reef Tobago - were you could do all inclusive or B&B only. It has a nice beach. La Source Grenada its all inclusive including 1 spa treatment per day. The Jalousie Plantation St Lucia set between The Pitons a UNESCO designated World Heritage Site with stunning scenery.If you are travelling as a couple any of The Sandals in the Caribbean they all have A La Carte dinning in the evening. We stayed in Sandals Royal Hicacos Cuba last November and had a fantastic time and Cuba its self was fascinating. Sandals also have a 2for1 offer on until 15th June.In Barbados I liked Crane Beach it tends to be mostly B&B. It has a pink sand beach, its used for a lot of glossy magazine shoots. The caribbean can be very expensive to eat out. If you are going self catering you will need a hire car to get to the local supermarkets. Hope this helps.

Kind regards
Daffodil

Thinking of the places we have stayed recently, Settlers Beach on the west coast of Barbados is a small collection of nice villas with great kitchens and right on the beach, but Kings Beach Villas are also decent for self catering as well - though no longer right by the beach because of development down that end of the island. Settlers is right next to The Sandpiper Hotel, whose restaurant is excellent and not that expensive considering the food and where you are. In St Lucia the roads are pretty steep and windy so getting around the island to eat out can be hard work - Tobago is easier to get around, but it does not have so many good restaurants. Coco Reef is a lovely hotel, but the area around it is not that great. Personally I would recommend Tamarind in Barbados - stunning west coast beach, lots of great restaurants within walking distance and a superb hotel.

As DL has pointed out self catering can be expensive in Barbados, we did this 2 years back, granted we did have 2 kids with us. Eating out is also not so cheap. If you can get a decent an all inclusive package that meets your budget then I would recommend that.

Barbados is the most developed of the islands, however my personal favourites are Antigua and St Lucia. Tobago is small and still relatively under developed as far as shopping goes.

However it all depends on what you want to do.

Safe bet is Barbados

Iain

If its of any use luke we went this march to barbados mainly because it seemed like the best carribean island to start investigating and it helped that vs have been using a lhr config 747 with vport and we got 12h&k which imho are the best seats to have.
We stayed at the hilton there which was surprisingly good "i didnt expect much" the beach was very nice, food and alcohol was cheaper than most restaurants outside, plus its a stone throw from Bridgetown and 10-15 minutes taxi to st lawrence gap where night life and eating out is in abundance, plus its not old and it was rebuilt some years back after raising it to the ground.
We also got triple hilton points thanks to RedVee who told me about the offer and i bagged 140k points - nice! plus upgraded with free breakfast if your gold.
Would i go back, I probably would about april-may when hotel prices are much cheaper then I would try the Fairmont Royal Pavilions which is more me, but they wanted £550 per night in march which is not up my street.

cheers

alex

Different Strokes For Different Folks

Hi Luke, as you can probably guess I join Mr Square in the Grenada camp. I have had good to great holidays on other islands (Barbados, Antigua etc) but Grenada is the one to which we return.

It is the least commercialised of those I have visited and that is part of its charm. There are things to do, sights to see etc but it isn't somewhere you will find much paragliding or jet skiing. It is also an excellent base to explore the Grenadines (just wait until you are over 50 because Saga do an interesting looking tour of the islands - APPARENTLY) ):

And, should you visit other islands you simply do not know who you might meet!!!!!!!!! ii) ii) ii) ii)

Next spring for us it might be St Lucia (I blame pjh) or Tobago (to watch the turtles hatching) or you know where - my plans to have three holidays being modified following my failure to win the Euromillions last night. y)

The Aquarium and the Rhodes. With a beachfront location The Aquarium has not long been refurbished and serves top-notch grub with a fantastic service from the staff there! (I would 1000% recommend the conch frittas! y))

Whereas the Rhodes provides more of an exlusive venue also relatively near a beach in Lance Aux Epines, located within another hotel resort which the name escapes me of.

Two good recommendations - the Aquarium Sunday afternoon BBQ is renowned for the music (a local band Roots) and food, what can be better than seared tuna, so FRESH that a decent vet could probably save it! Rhodes, at the Calabash Hotel, is excellent providing you can get your head around the "you pay more for getting less" concept. y)

We stayed at sea breeze in Barbados last year. We nice served it's purpose AI but wouldn't go back.

Antigua is my favourite island. Biased because I got married there but have been back since. Galley Bay it's amazing. Also stayed at Cocobay nice but preferred GB.

We were going to do Grenada his year but opted for Chicago city break and Portugal instead. Was going to stay at Coyaba Beach Resort.

I love the Caribbean and we always go all Inc I am lazy on holiday and it's just easy but you have to get the right hotel.

I personally love Barbados, and can highly recomend the Turtle Beach resort near St Lawrence Gap - in the south.

It's a moderate to good resort that is all-inclusive, and right on the beach with pools, 3 restaurants, gym etc etc - and a great kids club if that is of interest to you.

I was very nervous of all-inclusive, but my experience at this resort was extremely positivie.

They have guy in a hut on the beach that works for the hotel, and will take you sailing, boogie boarding etc, and generally gives advice and keeps everyone safe.

If it's any recommendation, I booked to stay again 2 weeks after returning home last time!

Both Barbados & Antigua, especially the beaches in Antigua, they're beautifu. Can recommed the Verandah resort in Antigua, although its all inclusive, the rooms are layed out in villas, across hills, some quite far from the main pool area, giving you the feeling of being more isolated or away from everything going on a round the main pool area.

Hope this helps! y)

For me its got to be Cuba wonderful people best in the Caribbean hotel all inclusive best in Cuba people go back year after year
http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowUserRe ... .html#TOPC

Another vote for Turtle Beach in Barbados for me - although not been there for several years, it was a touch above the average AI experience in terms of room and food quality.

Slightly cheaper, but what I (subjectively) would put in the 'reasonable mid price' bracket, would be the Almond chain - they have a few in Barbados and one in St Lucia. The beach club and spa is the best option if you're not encumbered with children, and the Almond Beach Village up in Speightstown is better as the family option.

For all of these, one critical factor for me is that I'm not stuck with buffets for lunch/dinner - I like someone to come and wait on me at least once a day when I'm on holiday...

Incidentally, the Rex Grenadian is 3* rather than 5* as mentioned above. Not a bad place either, and certainly very inexpensive, but limited restaurant choice and there were too many buffets...