Barbados/St Lucia

[Mrs Dazzle]

We've been so tied up since before Xmas looking after Darryl's mum through the final stages of her illness and then the funeral that all our holiday planning ground to a halt. But nevermind, because it's now giving me something to focus on - like mum said, life goes on

Anyway, we thought about staying in our friend's apartment in Ft Myers over the Easter 2 week school break, bringing it forward from the summer as Darryl has work commitments which will now make it difficult to get 2 weeks away then. We're starting to look into our 2 week US ski trip for Xmas (yippee ), but need something to get us all over the last painful few weeks.

The flights to Miami at Easter are so outrageously expensive that we've kicked that on the head and instead fancy a week's trip to the Caribbean in June. Katie's school have 2 dreaded inset days making a long weekend so I shall ask for permission to take Katie out for four days which, given the circumstances following mum's passing, I'm sure they won't object.

We've found Barbados and St Lucia appeal to us the most - has anyone been (David I know you've just returned from Barbados) to either of these and could recommend hotels/best areas to stay etc.

This really is going to be a week of completely chilling (or roasting, Darryl would hope ) and all inclusive sounds like a great deal to me as chief pursekeeper We would like to see some of the islands, though, so again any outings/trips of places to see would be useful.

Thanks for any advice/tips etc. as usual guys

 

[Peebee]

Hi Annie,

Sorry to hear about your problems in getting flights - the prices really seem to rocket up at that time of year, don't they ?

I can give you an opinion on Barbados - it's wonderful. DH and I got married there about 18 months ago - 27th June 2001 (see, I can still remember the date!), at a hotel named Coconut Creek on the west coast of the island. I think this area is amongst the most favoured as it's sheltered from the strong winds that hit the east coast from time to time.

The package was fully inclusive with all meals and drinks - soft and alcoholic except Champagne - included. I think the all-in option works well, as some of the restaurants can be pretty expensive.

We booked through Kuoni as they seemed to have the best deals at the time, although our arrangements were a little different as we then flew on to Orlando for an extra week of honeymoon

Coconut Creek is part of a chain called Elegant Hotels (http://www.eleganthotels.com) with four other hotels on the island, and you can take advantage of the restaurants and facilities at any of these when you like. We were only about 5 mins walk from Crystal Cove, and occasionally popped down there to use the gym and tennis courts. There was also a free water taxi to ferry guests between hotels during the day - very relaxing.

If you're looking for a total chill-out, relaxing by the pool or spending time on the beach, I’d thoroughly recommend it. Private beach as well, so no annoying souvenir sellers offering beads, etc. Most relaxing time I’d ever had, even with an impending wedding...we're sure we'll go back for an anniversary one day.

Another good source of info is a web site called Where To Stay (http://caribbean.wheretostay.com/property) - they have lots of reviews of the various Caribbean islands and hotels.

Hope this all helps - if you've got any questions let me know.

Paul

 

[richard3330]

Hi Annie

We are going to St.Lucia in a few months, and this will be our first time to the caribbean, so I can't give you any advice or tips.

However we booked through Virgin's website and there are some great deals around at the moment. (even better with the 10% frequent virgin discount!) So that might be a good place to try.

I'll be keeping an eye on this thread too, hopefully somebody who has been can share some tips about St. Lucia.

Thanks for the link Paul.



Richard.

 

[MickeyMcMouse]

Hi Annie

Although on my other thread, I gave a few things to do, apart from the beaches, Barbados is definately the place to go if you want to chill out.

Because the island is so small, you are able to do many things during one day and so free up the rest of your holiday for chilling out.

I would echo the past comments - Richard, we also booked a virgin mega deal of the internet and I still have trouble believing the fantastic deal we received. Paul, I would also have to agree on the all inclusive package. We didn't eat antwhere apart from the hotel but had heard that some places could be very expensive.

We stayed on the west coast, seems to be the best coast at Escape at Prospect Bay. Very nice hotel, only 90ish rooms and nice staff. 25 mins from airport and 2 seconds from the beach !

The strangest part of the holiday was not signing for anything. No meals, no snacks, no drinks - nothing. It felt kinda strange at first but I am sure that the next time at WDW will be even stranger, having to pay for everything again.

It felt kinda strange as well admitting to each other that we would definately go back, even after the umpteen times we've been to Florida in the last ten years - however, we secretly agreed that the perfect holiday would be a week in Barbados, followed by a week at WDW Wilderness Lodge eating an Artist Point Cobbler

Any particular questions about Barbados, ask away and I will try and answer.

David

ps - the great deal from Virgin was booked about the 17th Dec for travel on the 23rd Jan.

 

[pauldents]

Mickey McMouse.

We stayed at the same hotel (Escape at Prospect bay) for our honeymoon. Unfortunately we only stayed there for 4 nights in total (paid for 14 nights) due to being stranded at Miami Airport straight after September 11th.

We found the location on the West coast was perfect. Infact it was like something out of the "bounty" advert. The food was good and we had a lovely room (Junior suite) with a large balcony overlooking the sea.

It was nice to wind down in Barbados after all the running around Orlando. I cannot lie on a sunbed for too long (unlike DW !) so i used to hire a waverunner for an hour or go out snorkelling.

As long as you can put up with a very hot and humid (especially during the night ) temperatures and the locals trying to sell you jet-skis, aloe vera, and postcards on the beach etc this would be a perect holiday and I would highly recommend it to anyone who wants to wind down.

Hope this helps

Paul

 

[WDWfan uk]

.. if you choose Barbados, my sister recommends the submarine trip - take a look at http://barbadosadventures.com/

and this site is quite useful..... www.barbados.org for further info - it lists the following activities available :-
Biking, hiking (!!), driving a moke, hiring a Car, taking a Safari Tour through gullies and cane fields, renting a motor scooter, a Guided Tour in a "comfy airconditioned coach", helicopter above Barbados for a breath-taking view, go underwater in real submarine that glides between reefs, explore the underground caves, grottos and spectacular pools of Barbados caves.