Hey guys, any recommendations for a nice beach resort in the Caribbean for a couple? May get the chance to escape with my wife for 3-5 days without kids and she loves the beach and white sand.
Any recommendations?
Thanks a lot

Golden Eye in Jamaica

Golden Eye is located in the parish of St. Mary in Oracabessa Bay, just 20 minutes outside of Ocho Rios on the north coast of Jamaica.It features 52-acres of air-conditioned facilities including Ian Fleming's historical villa, which sleeps ten people, 13 one- and two-bedroom villas, and six 'Lagoon Cottages' in addition to two restaurants, poolside dining and beach bars, a bistro for fine dining, a spa, two pools, and private beaches and coves.

First off, keep your search to private all inclusive resorts. Beaches that are not fenced off by a resort are not safe places to be.

I have really enjoyed my three trips to the Atlantis resort. Make sure your departure is NOT on a Sunday, give yourself an extra day or two. Sunday out of there is a lost cause with unbelievably long lines and many people, perhaps most, missing thier flights due to the poor service at that airport. Graft and bribes are the only way to get out of there other than arriving four hours early to MAYBE get on your airplane on time. The long lines and waiting can just ruin the relaxed feeling you had until that day.

Sandals resorts and others where you pay one flat amount for accomodations AND meals etc are the way to fly IMO. BTDT several times when I was healthy and working.

Good luck and have a wonderful time!

Safariman, my sister just booked Atlantis, and wants me to bring my family. I got sticker shock from the Tower prices (she's using miles, they generate a on of from her husband being a pilot).

Comfort Suites across the street gets really good reviews, for 1/2 the cost. They have a deal with Atlantis, and you get full access. They also are supposed to have a good breakfast each morning, which would save quite a bit over a week.

Just curious if you had any experience/thoughts?

My wife and I stayed at The Jamaica Inn, located in Ocho Rios. It is a quintessential Caribbean resort, built before the mega all-inclusives. If you want quiet and romantic with a pristine, private beach, this is it. It is Old World Class, frequented by many Europeans.

The beach is guarded by two sets of coral cliffs on each side, there is some snorkeling available right off the beach or you can pay "The boat guy" to take you out to the reef.

We never saw more than 6 people on the beach at one time.

I should qualify my comments by putting forth that I have not been to the Carribean in several years. 4 or 5. I had not heard of that resort but if staying there still gets you into the attractions and beach at Atlantis, no reason not to save the dough IMO.

Turks and Caicos is my favorite. The Alexandra resort is not new so its cheaper but still nice and clean- the best value IMHO. If you want to spend more money go next door to The Regent Grand, it's very nice.

My wife and I stayed a week at Atlantis and loved it. A guy that works for me stayed at the Comfort suites a couple of weeks ago. Overall he enjoyed it and the access to Atlantis. But he also said next time he would go to Atlantis "for the experience". There were some specials that would have allowed him to stay at Atlantis for roughly the cost of the Comfort Suites.

Thanks guys. Jim, I'm just not seeing any specials, is the problem. I see $350 for Atlantis, and $200 for Comfort Suites. I figure breakfast for the family there makes it close to 1/2 price.

If you run across a special, please feel free to link it, or PM me.

Thanks
Bob

I think the special was on "Living Social" or a similar site. I will see him tomorrow or the next day and let you know if I find out anything that might be helpful.

Thanks, that's a site I don't check often enough.

Mark... You need to stop posting on topics like you are an expert.
I've been down there more than a few times. Probably over twenty times and that's a conservative guess. I can say with a certain amount of confidence that you are wrong because those folks down there are in the service business 24/7.

Boca Paila. The owner, (Javier Gonzalez) also has a 6-place Cessna floatplane for quick trips to Belize. (The 2nd largest barrier reef in the world).


DMc

I will not ever go to Atlantis again. Way over priced. Unless you like to burn 100 dollar bills, go somewhere else. the last time I was in Jamaica, you were told not to leave the resort. If I wanted that I could book a room at the county jail.
I would take Aruba anytime. The weather is always mild with a nice breeze. What happened to Natalie Holloway happens daily in the US. I walked everyday, all over the island. no worries. Friendly people. If you do go, stop by "scott's brats", in front of playa linda. Great brats, nice people.

I will tell you 2 places to stay away from..... Nassau in the Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos.

Unfriendly staff, poor service everywhere, and prices for everything-outrageous.

I have been there several times, used to go there a lot on company paid for reward excursions. I learned early about the Sunday rush to get out. I qualified my Statement with the provisio that I have not been down that way in 4 or 5 years. When I did go, the Nassau airport was horribly understaffed. I was told they do this on purpose so that the ticket handlers could make extra money by giving priority to the outbound passengers who knew to walk to the front of the line with some green attached to thier itinerary and ticket. They well may have cleaned that up since then. I hope so.

Fair enough, what kind of company gives those kind of perks, what kind of work are they rewarding?
Our public transit system gave me a little 40 year pin, I think a trip sounds a lot nicer.

Insurance companies are very good about trips to be earned. Where I was it was based partly on new policies sold/production, but your 25th month retention i.e. clients staying with you (From good service and being happy with the product they purchased) was a heavily weighted part of the equation. Unless 90% of your clients still had their policies or annuities in force 25 months after taking them out, you were out of the running for trips or quarterly bonuses. Only about the top 10% of agents in any company typically earn a nice trip once a year.

Last I heard, Sun Life of Canada was a really good Canadian company if you wanted to give that career a shot.

Used to babysit for one of the top men in that company, he always said he could advise me on making later life better for me, he lived near us and of course we all knew each other back then.
Wish I had taken his advise.
His father in-law got me in where I am today, forty years later.

I sure loved my career. Every week I meet people here who tell me how much better I made thier lives. Very rewarding. When I get a new Kidney I may go back into it. My former colleagues and manager are anxiously hoping I will, per conversations and messages even just last week.

Might not be too late to start a second career for you! Give it a look-see. I have mentored a few folks here at the 'fire who are still doing well with their careers in insurance. I will try to give you a hand up if you give it a go.

Thanks so much for the info. Jamaica Inn was totally booked off for the dates I have. Dominican Republic has a lot of options and some relatives and friends have had good experiences there. Prices are about the same for Cancun, Jam and DR. Will depend on flight schedules, as time is short I would rather pay up front for the whole package and be done.
Departure to and from wont be on a weekend, but I agree that many of these countries live and depend on tourism and service, with major airlines from all the world coming and going, according to flights we saw. I bet the airport people ate up to snuff on it.

I would look into the US Virgin Islands, St. John/St. Croix and Grand Cayman. You will find what you are after there and you won't have to worry about your safety.

I have been to Jamicia 20 plus times in the last ten years and Couples Sans Souci is one of the best.

http://couples.com/sans-souci/

Thank goodness that you were JUST told that and didn't have to deal with it at several airports all over the Caribbean.
You should also take into account the credibility problems that have been plaguing you before accuse anyone of graft.

Look on the Living Social and Groupon getaways. I bought a 5 day all inclusive at RIU Palace in Negril for two for $864, I think. We'll be there in January. Jamaica will not be luxury as a rule, but you won't be sitting in the hotel anyway. Samsara is a decent cheaper place, and its sister hotel Legends, is on the seven mile. They will be about $100 a night for two. We have stayed there as well.

Mark me and the wife have US Air Priority Boarding and never stand in long lines and have never had anything but great service at the Airport. Coming back through US Customs and Immigration is where they puck with you the most, regardless of where you decide to travel outside the US Borders

My Caribbean experience was all on my own sailboat and covered three years and was also long enough ago that many parts of it won't be relevant anymore. However, staying away from the main tourist destinations is a good choice. There is a reason Yachties call Nassau Nasshole. Nasshole includes Paradise Island.

Give Cozumel a look. We stay at a place called Hotel Cozumel. Not fancy but clean and friendly. The last independent place on the Island. 10 min walk to town. Great snorkeling ( free)and if you happen to dive, well you can't beat it for the cost.

Sponxx:

You might consider U.S. possessions in the Caribbean. I've been to Puerto Rico and to St. Johns Island in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Both were pleasant surprises. Everyone speaks English and most people are bilingual. You feel safe on any beach or on any street. On both vacations, we rented a car to see more of the island.

On Puerto Rico there are resorts called Paramors, which are endorsed by the government. They are a very good value, high quality, reasonably priced. Visit downtown old San Juan for great shopping, the Club Chico in the San Juan Hotel, El Yunque National Park, and Iridescent Bay.

We did not like St. Croix and St. Thomas Islands. They are over-developed and most of the land is private property that is not accessible. We loved St. Johns Island because two-thirds of the island is a national park, which is unspoiled and beautiful. Take your passport and visit the British Virgin Islands while you're at it.

I've heard horror stories about Jamaica. It's been a den of thieves and pirates since the 16th century and things are no different today. If you decide to go to Jamaica, you must stay in a walled compound, some of them are beautiful. But you can't really enjoy anything but what's offered by the resort. Leave the compound only on a group tour with armed guards.

Don't cut your vacation short. Plan on a day of travel to get there and another day on the return. Then at least four days and five nights. More would be better.

Costa Rico is another wonderful place to visit. It's not in the Caribbean but it's as beautiful as you can imagine. Completely safe and most people speak English. The country has no army. In 1948, they disbanded the army and started spending that money on free health care for everyone. They are allies of the U.S. and they figure that we will protect them from foreign invaders, which is probably true.

KC

Guys,
Thanks for the info and tips. We have been to the Bahamas with some friends on their yacht and Nassau was not appealing at all. That was ruled out quite easily.
KC, this is somewhat of a vacation and some "forced" time. I have 3 floating days to take off or I loose them by Dec31. I work in an ICU, so still work on Federal holidays, etc, so I get a day to take off each quarter. They expire at the end of the year, but I will be working in late december, so can't take them then, plus we don't have family here and one of my SIL is coming to take car of the kids.
Language wise we are native spanish speakers, and out english is quite decent, so we would get by pretty much anywhere that creole or flemish are not the only languages spoken.
We have been to Puerto Rico too, and years ago when I was a swimmer I went to Guadaloupe (French territory)
The reality is, this would be our first trip without kids since our oldest was born 5 years ago, so relaxing will trump tourism this time. All inclusive saves complications and you can forget about everything while there.

Belize, Cancun, Punta Cana have some direct flights from Houston, so that could help instead of bouncing around in the air instead of laying in the sand (or diving in the reefs).

don't you just love first world problems?

where to go on vacation?


happy for you, hope it's all you dreamed of wherever you land

Yep,
First vacation without kids in over 3 years!
I lived in the 3rd world long enough to appreciate the first one

I've been to "all-inclusive" resorts a few times. It doesn't seem worth the added cost unless you plan to overeat and drink excessively.

I have not been, but friends of mine went to Bonaire a couple of times and really liked it, especially for diving. I've texted them to get their input.

Bitter End Yacht Club- british virgin Islands....

There's always GITMO, I loved my time there. Decent beaches, good recreation, great fishing and diving, plenty of sun, Hard to get to, though, you need to be cleared, related to someone on base, or a terrorist.

http://www.sandals.com/main/grande/gl-home/

take the private bungalow option

Was in Bonaire in 2012. It is a top notch dive destination but if you don't dive, you won't find enough to do for a weeks vacation. Bonaire is built around the dive industry.