|
|
Caribbean Travel RoundupNewsletter - Paul Graveline, Editor |
| CTR Homepage | Island Index | Search |
We departed for Grand Lido on 11/11/98 out of Milwaukee on US Airways. What a bummer to leave 50° weather. The main purpose of the trip was our wedding, but the fun, sun and bliss were nice extras. There were to be 16 in our group, including 11 on our plane. Our travel agent, Jan at Tropical Treasures, was key in putting our trip together. Her agency was one of the few that responded to our requests when we began researching our trip, almost a year ago. Tropical Treasures also provided us very competitive prices. We arrived in Montego Bay on time. There was some confusion to catch the bus to Grand Lido, but we eventually figured it out. The bus ride was long and rough, but the anticipation made it easier. As we pulled up to Grand Lido, I was immediately impressed with the beautiful gardens and the open reception area. Everyone received their room assignments without incident, except for my parents. They had paid for a beachfront room, but were told that none were available. After two hours of confusion they got their room. Our travel agent arranged for Laura and I to receive an upgrade. Chris Johnson, the Sales Manager, took us to our one bedroom suite. Chris went out of his way to make sure that our trip was going well. The room itself was nice, the typical Grand Lido room layout with a connecting door that led to a living/dining room area with a fully stocked mini-bar. On Thursday we woke to bright sunshine. I could not wait to get outside and see the property. I was overwhelmed. The main beach was expansive, with white sand. The breakfast and lunch buffets were delicious with plenty of choices. If you could not find something you liked, it was your problem. Breakfast included many of the basics; toast, French toast, bacon, cereals, fruit, cheeses, pastry, and eggs cooked anyway you preferred. The lunch buffets were just as plentiful they generally centered on a theme (Mexican, Italian, etc). I was really impressed with the different cheeses that were offered. (C’mon give me a break… I’m from Wisconsin). That night we managed to get two table of eight at Café Lido. I had the NY Strip steak, which was good. After seeing what some of the others had gotten, I wished that I had opted for something else. The beef is good, but it has a different texture than what I am used to. Thursday night is pajama night in the disco. Being the prudes that we are, I wore boxer shorts and Laura wore a nice silk nightgown. We quickly learned that we were the more conservative of the crowd. Laura and I were busy dancing when Andrew, a member of our group, walked in wearing grape tree leaves (two in the front and one in back). He ended up winning "most creative costume". Friday was another sunny day. We spend most of the day on the beach. Lounging on the beach seemed to be a repetitive theme throughout our trip. Some of the group wandered down the beach, past Couples, searching for seashells. They came across a large tent in which some locals had live lobster cooking on an open grill. Seymour, the host of the lobster tent, kept the group entertained while the lobster was cooking. At $10 per lobster, add in a couple of Red Stripes, the incredible atmosphere…. I was sorry that I missed it. Laura and I went on a couple of snorkeling trips. We saw plenty of smaller fish and some coral. I was a little disappointed that the coral wasn’t real bright, but the experience was still worth it. That night we ate at the buffet for dinner. Great as usual. They were serving lobster tails that were good, but from what I understand, not nearly as good as the ones served on the beach. We found that the shows and entertainment that occur shortly after dinner were pleasantly entertaining. It is not "an in your face" flat out party, but very entertaining. Saturday was our wedding day. The day started out beautiful, but began to rain shortly after lunch. We spend most of the day on the beach anyway. Rain…who cares about rain. Most of us were from the Midwest and it will take a cold day in hell to scare us into our rooms and we have plenty of cold days in the Midwest. We headed back to our rooms at about 2 to get ready for our wedding. I was able to catch some ESPN and watch my beloved Badger get trounced (all rooms have satellite TV). We ordered Cognac and champagne from the Timber House. Room service was more than adequate. In other posts, I had read that some people had to wait long periods of time for service, we had "no problems mon". At 3:30 the rain stopped and the sun came out. The Gods had shown upon us. The wedding was exquisite. The gazebo was set up with fresh flowers and a heart shaped table with champagne, glasses and a two-tiered wedding cake. Sophia, the wedding coordinator, did a remarkable job, she even wiped sweat from my forehead during the ceremony. Talk about going above and beyond the call of duty. After two hours of photos, our group of 16 headed to Piacere for dinner. These arrangement were made by our travel agent, Jan, who has a close relationship with the Grand Lido. As we walked to our table, the piano player began playing the wedding march. The food was incredible. I had the veal porterhouse, while others had various seafood and meat dishes. The Lobster Bisque Soup was extremely tasty. The servers fall over themselves to wait on you, including opening up multiple bottles of wine for tasting. I took them all…I have no clue on wines. On Sunday, the day after the wedding, I got up early to go golfing and Laura went diving. AHHH.. what a honeymoon. Negril Hills is an okay course with nice scenery. It is very hilly, with occasional goats grazing the fairways. Grand Lido picks up the green fees and provides transportation. Laura’s father planned a private catamaran cruise for our group on Sunday afternoon. It was one of the highlights of our trip. We indulged, okay overindulged, in rum punch and Red Stripes. The boat made a stop at the Pickled Parrot and picked up HiFi, a local musician. We sang, danced and most of all had fun. For dinner that night we tried LaPasta. We were pleasantly surprised with the quality of food. I come from an Italian background and my parents own an Italian restaurant. Obviously we have discriminating tastes. La Pasta was as good and even better than most Italian restaurants in the Midwest. MONDAY: Most of Monday was spent on the beach. That night we attended the BBQ on the beach. The spread was nice with hamburgers, sausage and chicken, etc. What impressed me was that they set up the tables with china and table cloths. Most picnics that I attend are paper plates and plastic utensils. Being a drummer, I thoroughly enjoyed the steel drum band. TUESDAY: Again, spent most of the day at the beach. What a surprise. The sax player, playing Christmas carols under the cotton tree at dusk was a nice touch. WEDNESDAY: Spent most of the morning taking pictures, talking with others in the group and winding down. A note about the nude side. Although I mentioned before that we are generally prudes, we did occasionally venture over to the nude side. A couple of times, some of the women wanted to go topless during the day and we would go nude hot-tubbing at night. In general, the nude side did seem to have more going on. People were laughing and generally having a good time. I did wear trunks during the day and people, except for one lady, did not make me feel uncomfortable. The physical condition of the beach is much better on the main beach. WISH THEY WOULD HAVE: had more music on the beach, had more direction a the airport, had additional strolling waitresses on the beach; and given poor Vaughn more help at the beach bar. HIGHLIGHTS: social directors, food (especially desserts), weddings, catamaran, and ….. just about everything.
Review Location: The location of this hotel could not be better. It is a few blocks away from the cruise pier (you can sit up by the rooftop pool and watch them all leave at night) and within walking distance of many restaurants and sights of Old San Juan. Getting there: The taxi rate from the airport was $16 per taxi/minivan plus $1 per bag. There are people at the airport who will help you arrange transportation. The fares are all set so don’t bother haggling. General description: The hotel was very nice, pleasant interior with a small lobby and a good-sized casino as soon as you walk in the door. The restaurant was located on the second floor. Although we didn’t eat there ourselves, a few people in our party did. They found it to be good but a bit on the pricey side. Sandwiches running from $10. Rooms: The rooms were clean and of average size. Nothing too spectacular there. Our city view consisted of mainly a parking garage. There were five of us in our party and they would not give us a roll- away bed due to fire regulations. Made for a tight squeeze that one night. Service: In this area, this hotel left much to be desired. They kept my parents waiting in the lobby for hours waiting for their room to get ready even though they were supposed to be on the concierge level and getting VIP service. After much prodding, they put them in a small room on a lower floor for the higher rate telling them they could still use the honor bar on the higher level. Since they wanted the concierge level for peace and quiet and not the free booze, they were quite upset with this arrangement. It was only after I complained to everyone who would listen (they people at the front desk basically ignored my parents) that I was able to get their room rate down. Our luggage was being held for us while we waited for the room and some of it was mistagged and we waited forever to receive it as they kept trying to deliver it to the wrong room all evening. On top of all that, it took three hours to receive the extra towels we requested. Getting to the cruise ship: If you are using this hotel before going on a cruise make sure you talk to the bellmen about getting your luggage to the ship for you. Some of the people in our party had transfers from Carnival and some did not. The bellman, however, took care of all of us and made sure our luggage got to the ship. We just left it with him and it magically appeared at our cabins later that evening. That bellman definitely earned his tip. Overall opinion: The Wyndham in Old San Juan definitely could move from being a okay hotel to a great hotel with just a few changes on how the hotel is run. I wrote a long letter to the hotel manager telling him/her of my displeasure with our treatment by the front desk. Hopefully changes will happen quickly. Would I stay at the hotel again? Probably, I would just assume that I could not get in my room until the later part of the evening.
(Ed. Note: Mike and Colette also visited Anguilla and their report is also published in this issue of the CTR , 1/99)
Trip 12/98 My new bride and I honeymooned on St. Barths and Anguilla from December 6-16. We were armed with info from the CTR and were determined to help those who would follow! So while the rose colored glasses of honeymooners are certainly here, we have both traveled to upscale destinations in the past, so we are more discriminating than many… Left at 6am following our wedding, via Miami to St. Marten on American, then Winair to St. Barths. Although I had read that passports are not necessary, everywhere we went, the customs people seemed to expect them—I would advise having them along for simplicity's sake. Lugging the bags over to Winair was a pain(especially given how my wife packs!), but all our transfers occurred smoothly. The steep, diving landing in St. Barths is just as advertised, although the little dog sitting in front of us didn't make a sound. We were met at the airport by a gentleman from Le Toiny, neither of us can remember his name—he took our bags and drove us the several miles to the property, explaining all the basics of what we needed to know. I was not prepared for how steep the hills really are, and how twisty and narrow the roads. Driving is an adventure—but it is almost impossible to get lost, what with all the signs pointing your way. The feel of the roads is French countryside meets the Caribbean, with the stone walls along the roads and red roofs on the houses. Truly it is the feel of the island as a whole. We arrived at Le Toiny, spent 5 minutes checking in and arranging our rental Suzuki (my two cents: don't get a Moke) and were brought up to Suite 12 (there are only 12). We have never seen the equal of our cottage, with its own private pool and the gorgeous interior (beautiful mahogany furniture including a huge bed with mosquito netting and a great bathroom), not to mention the breathtaking view of the sea below. I have been to Christiana in Vail Village, to many Four Seasons and Ritz Carltons, and Cap Juluca(details to follow), and none compare to the elegance of Le Toiny. A bottle of Champagne and a fruit basket were in our suite—and the minibar just won an "award" in the latest American Airlines magazine. Some may argue that it is lacking because there is no easy beach access, but since the best beaches require driving from any hotel on the island, we found the point moot. Everything was first class, including the restaurant Le Gaiac, which I will discuss below. This is one of the most expensive ways to do St. Barths, but you will not be disappointed.morning began with breakfast served by the pool—croissants, cereal, fruit, juice, and the NY Times fax. Additional items such as eggs and pancakes could be ordered a la carte. Although our suite was the closest to the main house, it was still extremely tranquil—we hardly heard a sound while we were there. Then we would put on the sunscreen and jump into the Suzuki. I grew up driving manual transmission cars so I had the keys (you will note my bitterness later in the restaurant portion since my wife got to have the 5th and final glass of each night's bottle of wine!)—if you are not very comfortable driving stick, make sure you arrange for an automatic. The views on St. Barts are simply amazing. Shopping is best done in the late morning or late afternoon/early evening, as most stores close from around noon to 4. Beaches: We had read that Saline and Gouverneur were the best. They are. Saline beach was our favorite, with all age groups and plenty of au naturel—it just isn't a big deal, which is why we found the law in Anquilla prohibiting topless sunbathing so amusing—if that isn't perfectly descriptive of the difference between the French and the Brits, I don't know what is! However, St. Barths is a small place, so it is not unusual to see the couple you met or saw in a restaurant the night before lounging nude on the beach the next day. We also hiked down the steep path to Columbier—although we're glad we can say we did it, I would suggest driving past Flamands to Little Beach and using the path. That is actually a good day, split between Flamands and Columbier, given their proximity to each other. However, our best pictures came from the overlook above Columbier. Many of the other beaches (St. Jean, Cul de Sac, Petit Cul de Sac, etc) are busier and have hotels and restaurants located on them—we much prefer the pristine beaches. We shopped at Match by the airport and generally brought our lunches every day, except for the required "Cheeseburger in Paradise" at Le Select. It is not to be missed, and oh, that grease!: The reason we chose St. Barths, and we were not disappointed. The first night we had room service, given the fact that we had traveled all day. I will give a brief mention to the chilled mango soup, which was excellent. The next night was Le Gaiac at Le Toiny, and we wondered why no one ever wrote about it—we concluded it was the price and possibly the location. We went all the way—chef's tasting menu, consisting of five courses: a plate of greens, warm lobster salad, foie gras, sea bass, and finally lamb, served with a souffle of apples, banana, sweet potato and cream. The dessert was a warm chocolate cake with chocolate ice cream and passion fruit sauce; the wine list was excellent, and we loved the little pre-appetizer appetizer and post-dessert dessert that most places provide. This is not the rule in the States. This was our favorite restaurant, and the poolside setting and surf sounds below were extremely romantic. Price was $330, including a wonderful 1990 St. Emilion. Le Sapotiller, next to the Church in Gustavia. It has gotten several positive mentions in the CTR and lived up to them. We started with Asparagus wrapped in pastry with a butter sauce and Pumpkin Ravioli with couscous. Main course was Jumbo Shrimp Creole and sliced breast of duck in a red wine sauce with sweet potato. Dessert was Raspberry Tart with amazing pastry and vanilla ice cream and custard. Price was $140, with a younger Bordeaux. Francois Plantation. We were torn between this and Vincent Adam, and flipped a coin. We had seen some mixed reviews on Adam as well, so decided that we were happy with the sure thing after the coin landed! Plantation was excellent, new chef at the helm so perhaps the menu has been tweaked as well. Only three other couples were dining so atmosphere was lacking, though we had a nice conversation with the couple from Miami next to us. We started with the Lobster Eggplant Risotto, entrees were Duckling with Honey and a Papaya Mango chutney, and Ostrich with Sweet Potato and Pumpkin Puree. Dessert was a Banana and Chocolate filled Pastry with island spices. Wonderful use of diverse spices, extraordinary wine list, expensive at $205 with a good Bordeaux. night St Barths, Thursday—mussels night at La Marine! They fly them in and serve them steamed with a garlic, white wine, shallot and cream sauce. Order them with the fries and get a cheap white wine and congratulate yourself on the one night you economized! Price was about $75.missed so many places, but we did have a drink at Carl Gustaf overlooking Gustavia before we hit La Marine, and I would recommend it. Have your hotel make reservations for you before you leave for the beach every day, that way you won't be disappointed later. I would suggest that ordering appetizers should be a part of every meal as well, even just one for a table. It gives the meal the proper pacing and lets you be adventurous, if you want to order something familiar for your entrée. Cuban cigars are everywhere for those who choose to indulge, that goes for Anguilla as well. And as for tipping, service is included, but the extra couple percent is appreciated in the great places. We generally found service to be quite good and we tip 18-22% in our real life, so the extra was no big deal. The prices are what you would pay in a US city for a top tier restaurant—you are eating wonderful French food, so accept it! Loved St Barths to an extent we still cannot believe—it isn't necessary to pay the $600 a night at Le Toiny (in the shoulder season, no less). Renting a house like others on CTR have recommended and only eat dinner out—or even cook dinner a few times, and it can be fairly reasonable. I guarantee it will be magical. We l eft for Anguilla Friday morning.
This is our trip report from our trip to St. Martin from November 26, 1998 to December 5, 1998. Having previously visited the island many times on cruise ships, this was our fifth weekly stay in St. Martin, staying for the second time at Club Orient. We did a full resort review on Club Orient the last time we stayed there, and that report, along with pictures, is available on our web page at http://www.jnpcs.com/ehill in the island reviews section, along with this report , without the aggravation of individual notes, or if you are reading this report on Prodigy or another browser impaired newsreader. We found very little that was any different at the resort from our last stay there, with a couple of notable exceptions. Since our last trip there in September 97, Papagayo’s has expanded the restaurant by adding on a patio, most of which is covered. This has greatly expanded their seating space. Also, they have opened up what we called “Papagayo’s II”--a small beach bar at the end of the Club Orient property, not far from Pedro's. Papagayo’s II serves drinks and at this point, hotdogs only. Supposedly, they are in the process of ordering a heater unit for nachos and cheese sauce. It appears that all the construction is done on the property, including the new additional deluxe mini-suites. The reception area has been moved to the permanent reception area, which is a nice, bright spacious area compared to the previous cramped quarters. We booked our trip all the way back in January 98, 330 days before we were due to leave, as we wanted to use AA FF miles for tickets and knew that for Thanksgiving Week, we would have to book early. We were originally planning on using FF tickets for only one of us, but after having watched ticket prices for a long time, hoping for prices to go down, without any luck, we decided to check on getting FF for both of us. Since one of us already had FF tickets, they allowed both of us to use FF, even though they technically didn’t have FF seats left both ways. Something to remember. Our air schedule was Washington Dulles to San Juan, then SJU to SXM. Our flight left Dulles at 7 AM on Thanksgiving Day, so we were up at 4 A.M. to make the flight, which was uneventful on a half-full plane. Since we had an hour and a half in SJU, we called my parents from the airport there and wished them a Happy Thanksgiving. They were surprised. We then had our turkey dinner for Thanksgiving--a couple of slices of turkey on our club sandwich! G!! Onto a another half full plane for the 1/2 hour ride to SXM--no food or drink on this flight. We arrived in SXM at 2:40 local time, just in front of another American jumbo jet, thankfully. Since we were the only plane on the ground, we breezed through immigration, had our bags and our car in a world record 20 minutes. By the way, they have moved the car rental guys into the area right next to the baggage claim area, which is a lot more convenient than their being across the street. Along with booking Club Orient through him, we rented Hertz through Jim Ruos again --$157 per week for a Hyundai car with automatic and a/c. This car ran fine, but it had seen better days, as it sported many bumps and bruises and when Eric went to put the key in the door the first day, the lock fell down inside the door. It was kind of pain, as we always had to come in through my door and then unlock his door from inside. We thought about taking it back, but didn’t. The cars from there seem to have gotten progressively worse over the years--a symptom of a bad island economy, I suspect. It got us where we were going without any problems though. As usual, we stopped at Match for supplies on the way to Club O, buying liquor, cheese, grapes, milk, orange juice, wine, all the essentials! G!! The trouble began when we got to the resort to check in. Club Orient has four basic types of accommodations--studios, mini- suites, garden chalets and beach chalets. Studios are the smallest and cheapest, but except for the beach chalets, most of the studios are closer to Papagayo’s and more importantly, to the ocean, than any of the rest of the units. Several of the studios also have at least partial ocean views. Only two of the mini- suites have ocean views and few of the garden chalets have any ocean views, even though they are the second most expensive accommodations in the resort. One thing that you should know with regard to Club Orient is that there is no such thing as booking a particular room there. Part of the reason is that most of the units there are actually owned by private individuals, who can come to the resort at any time and stay in their unit, even at the last minute. The other reason, based on our experience this time, is that they’re just too disorganized to do something like that. We observed a couple of computers in the office, but they certainly don’t use them to assign room numbers, as they assign room numbers by putting them on a large blow up chart on the wall. We had booked all the way back in January, and requested unit number 25. As we went to check in, and the gal was giving us our room key, I expected to hear number 25 or maybe 23 or 26. The lady pronounced that we had been “upgraded” to number 147. My response was “Where the heck is that??” She showed us on the diagram of the resort that 147 was very close to L'Orientique, which is about as far from the ocean and from the restaurant and bar as you can get within the resort. At that point, I went off. I stated that I had booked all the way back in January and that I wanted a studio, preferably close to Papagayo’s, and that I didn’t want to get stuck all the way down in the mini-suites. The lady in the reception area was quite taken aback by my attitude, as most people who stay at Club O I’m sure basically accept whatever room they put them in. She gave us the option of staying in 147 for the whole 9 days of our stay, staying in chalet number 39 (just as far from the ocean as 147) for three days and then moving to a studio, or staying in 147 for 4 days, then moving to number 40 (which is a very NICE mini-suite--full ocean view and right by Papagayo’s). If number 40 or 41 is offered to you, take it and run. Anyway, they gave us the keys for 147 and for 39 for us to check them out. We checked both of them out and trudged back to the office, still very angry. Just what we did NOT want to do was move halfway during the stay, so we told the lady that if there really was nothing else, that we would take 147, but we were not happy campers. About that time, Gina Brink showed up. After about five minutes and a couple of phone calls, Gina put us in number 17--a studio with a nice partial ocean view, just down from Papagayo’s. We got to stay there for the entire 9 days. I have no idea why that was such a tribulation, other than I suspect maybe it was a problem because we were coming in on a Thursday. Eventually we got what we wanted by being very persistent, but it made for a bad taste in my mouth to begin the trip. With rising so early that morning, we were not really in the mood to leave the resort that evening for dinner and had planned on eating at Papagayo’s. As it turned out, since it was Thanksgiving Day, they had a dinner buffet (only) that night, as well as a live band, which we might well have enjoyed, had we not been so tired from traveling. The buffet was $30 a person, which we thought kind of steep, since we were so tired, so we just had some wine, cheese and grapes and fell into bed about 8 P.M. Thus endeth the first day. Friday morning we slept in late, then Eric went up to L’Orientique for some croissants for breakfast and ended up snatching up the last one at 10:15. Since once again this time Match had not had any bags of charcoal smaller than 25 pounds, we again bought our charcoal and lighter fluid at L’Orientique. (This is a kind of little 7-11 there on the grounds of Club Orient. They have quite a good little selection of foods and supplies there, most all of it pretty expensive, but convenient nonetheless.) We headed out Friday morning for some sun, enjoying the beach chairs and umbrellas provided by Club Orient. For those that regularly visit the beach at Club Orient without staying there, that is one major advantage to staying at Club O--saving the $15 a day for the chairs and umbrella. This would have been particularly important this week, since it rained so much. I would have hated to spend $15 for chairs and umbrella then use them for an hour or so before the rains came most every day. Friday for lunch we walked down to Pedro’s which was busy with cruise people, and there was a live band. Eric was the only one au naturel there (I wore a pareo on the bottom) and we got a few looks from those assembled. Chicken, fries and salad and two drinks apiece was $26. Good meal. I would point out, though, that I thought the portions seemed kind of small on Friday. On the other hand, on the Saturday we left, I sent Eric down for “take-out” at Pedro’s and we got the same thing, but the take out portions seemed MUCH larger. When we had landed in SXM, I saw what I thought was an aircraft carrier at anchor off the island. Eric had pooh-poohed the notion, stating that it was an oil tanker. As we were laying on the beach Friday afternoon, we observed that I had been correct after all, as a large group of navy guys were there at Orient. Eventually, to the cheers and jeers of their comrades and the assembled others on the beach, ALL of them eventually disrobed, one by one dropping their shorts and making a kamikaze run to reach the surf. That afternoon they were having a great time, but overall, they didn’t have very good weather for their visit, as the ship stayed through Sunday, and the weather ended up being nasty for the whole weekend. Friday evening we just HAD to go to Grand Case, especially since we had just had cheese and grapes for dinner Thursday night, right?? We ended up at Le Tastevin, at a table by the water. Well, I was facing the water. Eric was facing me. He claimed that there really was no ocean there, just a big wave machine, as he didn’t get to see it! G!! Anyway, I had a lovely view of Anguilla. We opted for a price fix menu at $42 per person. The meal included 1/2 carafe of wine per person, soup or salad, entre, dessert, and coffee. We both had the lobster soup (wonderful, although very rich), Eric had the salmon (again, wonderful) and I had the pork tenderloin (excellent) and we both had the creme brulee (absolutely TERRIBLE!). The creme brulee was burnt and we sent it back. The waiter came back and said that the chef said that sometimes that happens to creme brulee. I did not consider that an acceptable answer. They did not adjust the price of the meal or seem to be at all disturbed about serving us a burnt dessert, and they did not offer to bring us another dessert. The setting there is wonderful and the rest of the meal was wonderful, but that creme brulee left a real bad taste in my mouth (G!!) and I doubt we shall go back to Tastevin any time soon. There are just too many great restaurants in Grand Case to worry about going someplace where they don’t care if they serve you something that’s not right. By the way, as we were getting ready to leave, our waiter dropped off a card with a invitation to visit Green Cay Villas and tour the timeshares there, in exchange for a free meal at Tastevin, up to $100.00 per couple. Especially in light of the weather later in the week, I wanted to do it for the free meal, but Eric didn’t want to, so we didn’t.
We returned Sat.11/28/98 from our 6th annual visit to Sapphire. U.S.Air great non-stop flight from PHL both ways, 3 hrs 45 MIN. Rented Car from Felix at Explorer for $140.00 total for the week. The Sapphire is going through some growing pains while concentrating on completing the 3rd tower. They say when this is finished they will begin re-decorating the Villa's which are beginning to show wear & tear. We still managed to have a great time. Beaches: Cupecoy near the Ocean Club was nice, however was non- existent from The Sapphire to the Cliffside Bar. The weird local cliffboy was walking around "showing off". Visited Mullett Bay and Bai Rouge, however spent most of our time at Orient which was better than ever. Restaurants: Breakfast at Zee Best in Marigot is truly Zee Best. Danny the owner dragged us in as we walked by and we were glad he did. We also did lunch there one day. Great vegetarian sandwiches on his homemade rolls. Also had great lunches at Bikini Beach, Great Caribbean fish soup",Kakao, "delicious mussels" Kontiki,"wonderful salads" and Turtle Pier."very Good Conch Soup and shrimp salad sandwiches"Lunch for 3 with 3 tropical drinks always seemed to total around $50.00 with Tip. Dinners: at Le Santel,"the most romantic Restaurant on the Island ". La Vien Rose,"the Mahi Mahi special was Superb." And La Bistro Gormand."THE islands best kept secret The weather was perfect until Saturday the final day of our trip. The sky opened up and it poured all day. The road through Mullett Bay was flooded as we drove to the Airport. I understand it rained all day Sunday too. Counting the days (354) until we return.
Beaches (A part of the Sandals family) Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Trip Report Oct. 24-31, 1998 Cost $3700 for two persons, for seven nights, including airfare for the cheapest room (deluxe) with American Airlines package. We talked with a couple that paid $7000 for themselves and children for seven nights. We apparently got upgraded to a villa since the room we got was better than described in the brochure. Possibly because there was a lot of construction going on. The brochure appears to be outdated with regard to the room types and locations. All-inclusive - you really only have to bring $15 per person for the departure tax unless you take a tour or buy something at one of the shops at the resort. The currency is the U.S dollar. This is not a couples only place. It's geared to families and groups. If you want to be among couples only and don't like being with groups of unrelated people or children you will probably be disappointed here. Arrival is painless. You are greeted by a staff person after clearing customs at the airport. They take your luggage and put you on the van to the resort - about 10-15 minute ride. Check-in is pleasant. You are seated in a lounge area and served a drink while you fill out the paperwork. You can be on the beach in minutes after arrival. Rooms - We were in the Pine Cay Villas - roomy - king size bed, Roman tub and separate shower/toilet in raised area adjacent to living quarters. Satellite TV, a/c and ceiling fan. Clean and well maintained. Ample closet and drawer space. There's a safe in the closet that you can program with your own "pin" number. This is a nice feature since you don't need to be concerned with keys. The rooms are very well sound proofed as we were in between the two pools and even when there was a lot of activity and loud music we couldn't hear it. The rooms in the main building seemed to be out of the way as far as getting to the beach and pool. Beach - absolutely gorgeous and long but not wide. In front of resort the water comes up to the lounges at high tide. If your not paying attention you and your gear could get soaked by an incoming wave. Not a lot of shade to be had - mostly palapa - straw type coverings. 12 miles long - great for long walks but don't expect to find any shells. Also no coral, rocks, debris, big hotels, crowds. Pretty isolated, little development - long stretches of just beach and sand dunes. Probably the best beach we have ever been to and we've been to a few. I compare it very much to Cancun and Playacar - that beautiful turquoise color and sugar white sand as far as you can see. There is some surf and everything is pristine. Pools: Cascade's - large size with incredible waterfall with cave behind, swim up bar. Plenty of fresh beach towels to be had. Iguana's - large activities pool, swim up bar and self-serve soft ice cream machine. Plenty of lounges at the pools but they are very close together and short on tables for your books and gear and umbrellas for shade. Kid's pool in separate children's area Scuba/Snorkeling: Reef right off the beach in front of the White House - a ten minute walk. Lots of gorgonians, sea fans and coral formations - some turtles. Not a lot of fish or invertebrates. Bring your own gear as they only supply this for the snorkeling boat trips not for "on your own" from shore. The boat trips were great since they go to a different reef every trip. On some days there was considerable current on the reefs so it was easy to drift from the boat then difficult to get back. Lift vests required to be worn in the water but inflating them was an option. This is a good deal if you do scuba since it's included and they have good facilities and two nice boats - one for snorkelers and the other for diver's. They go out several times each day. They also have a separate little pool for diving instruction. This is nice because other places we've been to do this in the community pool and can be annoying. Restaurants: Kimonos (Japanese) reservations required - we didn't go but it looked very interesting from outside. Group seating. Separate dinner seating for families and adults only Arizona (Southwestern) food was fair. Also open for lunch and snacks. Self serve soft drinks. Schooner's (Seafood) good food and friendly staff - fresh fish and features Alaskan King Crab legs. Wine selections are red, white, pink. Don't inquire any further. Sapodilla's ( Continental) excellent. Adults only - romantic, causally elegant but a modest wine selection. Reflections (International buffet)breakfast, lunch and dinner - good Good selection for breakfast - Eggs, omelets cooked to order, pancakes and French toast set out in batches. Fresh fruit, island fare, bacon and sometimes sausage. Lunch - hot chicken, meat and vegetable dishes, sandwiches made to order, pasta, soup, salads. Separate dinner seating for families and adults only. A different theme for dinner each evening - American, Chinese, Mediterranean, European and Floribbean. Elaborate outdoor buffets on Wednesday and Saturday The best part was not having to make reservations at four out of five of the restaurants. This can be a real downer. We've been to an Allegro resort in Playacar, Mexico where you had to wait in line each morning to make a reservation for dinner. If you didn't get there early enough you could get shut out by the time you got to the reservation desk. Usually you had to be queued up about 15 minutes prior to the appointed time if you expected to get into the restaurant you wanted. Who came up with this idea? It's really demeaning. Which brings up a point about management. The Sandals chain, of which Beaches is a part, is extremely well managed and it's hard to be disappointed at one of their resorts. We found it very difficult to find any fault here - as you can see I've had to really get picky to list anything negative. Grounds - fantastic - landscaping excellent, well taken care of. Always kept clean - like Disneyworld - litter doesn't hit the ground before it's picked up. The staff was very friendly and warm - sincere - not put on. They really appreciated you being there and wanted you to have a wonderful time. No attitudes here. Fitness room - not very large but a good selection of equipment. There is a spa, at additional charge, but we didn't get to see that since it's off in a separate area. Entertainment - Don't expect anything special - house band, local singer, fashion show, staff/guest talent show, etc. But don't miss the Junkanoo - a colorful, raucous (but in a nice way) parade. Expansion plans - they are adding rooms and a casino. Could be a plus for some but we felt this would spoil the place by making it too crowded with too much competition for space on the beach, pool and restaurants. The restaurants are not large and we wondered how they managed during the busy season. It was fine in late October but the resort was far from full. Tours - pass up the shopping tour - They go to several very small malls with little of interest. There isn't much to do or see on the island so if you like to do a lot of sightseeing and shopping you may want to look elsewhere. There is a golf course on the island. Departure from the resort is also painless - everything is taken care of. If you get upset by the porters at the airport taking your luggage and carrying it the 50 feet to the check in area then don't let them take it off the van. When you pull into the airport terminal they are waiting and grab your bags right away. We are O.K. with this since the people doing it could certainly use a few dollars. The airport is under construction. The worst part of the trip. The departure terminal is a disaster area. Cramped, hot, dark, dirty. If you take the Beaches Champagne Express package they do the check-in right at the resort and take you right to the plane. All in all a wonderful time. Would we go back? Yes but we'd probably do a villa instead. These looked very appealing and seem like a much cheaper option. Some final notes re: Beaches The Aqua Sports center, on the beach, is well equipped with catamarans, sailboats, kayaks, windsurf boards, pedal boats and aqua trikes. All free - no reservation needed. You do need to make a scuba or snorkeling reservation a day before. There are a few bicycles available and a nice flat road at the entrance to the resort but it passes through the poor section where you'll see the local people living in shacks . There are no traffic lights on the island but plenty of cars and gas stations. We were quite surprised to see a lot of American SUV's and trucks.
The Caribbean Travel Roundup is available worldwide via Compuserve and INTERNET and is distributed through the facilities of America Online. The official CTR World Wide Web site is http://caribtravelnews.com. Contact: Paul Graveline, 9 Stirling St., Andover, MA 01810-1408 USA :Home (Voice or Fax) 978-470-1971. E-mail via editor@caribtravelnews.com or CTREDITOR@aol.com : On Prodigy - MKWC51A
| CTR Home | << Back | ToC | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Search |