Anybody know anything about Sapphire Beach? I will check the Secret Harbour out.

Whoops! Maybe I should have said Cape Cod beaches? It may have been very nice then, but did you go swiming/snorkeling/laying in the sun? Shoot, I've lived here so long I probably wouldn't even go in the water in August ! I'm too used to 80 degree water!!

www.sapphirebeachresort.com will give you lots of good info about Sapphire. As beautiful and nice as it is, I still like Secret Harbor better.

Marty,

You seem to be the expert. You ranked previous accommodations in this order:

Ritz
Caneel Bay
Westin
Wyndham

Now, put Secret Harbour and Gatehouse at Peter Bay in this group and rank 1-6! Thanks.

Sure, Carol.

IMHO, they are:

The Gate Huose should be number one, but this is tough cuz I'm comparing a villa to hotels, so I think I might put it number one for ME, but for you, depending on exactly how much privacy you want, you might rank it differently. Here are the rest:

1.) The Ritz
2.) Caneel
3.) Secret Harbor
4.) Westin
5.) Wyndham

Thanks. I was curious where the Secret Harbor was going to fall in this lineup!

Secret Harbor is great! The units are like apartments, with bedrooms, kitchens balconies/patios, living rooms...the whole bit. And the location is awesome, super beach, incredible snorkeling. If money is not an issue, the Gatehouse, Caneel or the Ritz are wonderful, but, for the money, Secret Harbor is hard to beat!

~Marty

Sapphire Beach Resort & Marina is nice but seemed alittle busy to me. The marina at that location is where my husband and I caught both of of charter trips. And it seemed to me there were many more there.

So were does Sapphire Beach Resort and Marina rank in this lineup? Why would you put it in this position?

Sapphire is great, too, just diferent from what Carol was looking for. You can check it out at www.sapphirebeachresort.com Great beach, good snorkeling, great location, nice rooms, fun party on Sunday's. Can't go wrong there.

Thanks Marty,
I was a bit worried that not much is said on this site about Sapphire. We will be spending our honeymoon in a villa there the last week of may. Is there anything else we should know about it?

No, that's pretty much it. Oh, you might want to know aout iguanas and ducks/birds...DON'T feed them! haha! They won't leve you alone! Haha! You will have a great honeymoon there!

Well Marty -- I was leaning toward Secret Harbor until you mentioned that kitchen stuff! I can tell you that I do not plan to be in the kitchen at all on this trip -- somebody better be waiting on me "hand and foot"!

Carol: Secret Harbour is a condominium complex- while there is a restaurant, there is no room service, spa, etc. It is more a self-catering type place, so if you are serious about service, you might want to look into one of the hotels...

As I looked back at your original question, another point came up. The pool at Secret Harbour is not on the beach, but up on the hill.

I would vote for Caneel also for your needs....

Marty,

I will be going on a honeymoon during the summer of '06 and am wondering what recommendations you had for places to stay that were affrodable as in around $1000 for a week. We don't need to be waited on and are looking for the best value we can get. I am not big into spending lots of money am perfectly happy snorkeling, enjoying the scenary ,or laying on the beach all day. For this which beaches would you recommend. And also I had originally looked at the British Virgin Islands and had thought they looked beautiful especially Tortola. Are the better? More expensive? I just started looking into this so I don't know much about the islands except that the beaches are amazing and the snorkeling is too. Thanks!

Mike

Thank you! I am going to take your advice as well as Marty's original recommendation and head to Caneel Bay! I think I have done enough research at this point and just can't wait to get there! Thanks to all of you.

Carol, if you and your husband what to spend your anniversary in paradis, stay on St. John!!! I have stayed on St. Thomas once and St. John eight times!!! St. John is better beachs, is quiter, safer, etc. If you stay on St. John and wish to visit St. Thomas, for the day, it is only a 20 minute ferry ride to St. Thomas. As for where to stay on St. John, you have looked at all the "resorts" on St. John. Caneel Bay has a nice beach with some of the best snorkeling I have ever done. Last October I snorkeled several times by Caneel Bay and say my very firist octopus :). All of these resorts are $$$$ There are many villas that you can also rent. Just do some searching on the web. I do hope you decide to stay on St. John. Feel free to contact me if you would like any additional information.

Donna

$1,000 for a week will get you the Holiday Inn, and similar properties. These islands are not "the cheap seats"! Haha! The Marriott's cheapest room right now is $349/night, but drops to $171 in the "off-season", which works out to $1,197/week + tax, which will be another 8%-11%. Since you are coming during that time, there may be other properties that also have rates comparable to what you seek. I'd get on the 'net and do some research. If you aren't too picky, you could probably get something like a B&B that could be as cheap as $100/night at that time.

But you might wanna check out Secret Harbor ( http://www.secretharborvi.com/)....great beach, superb snorkeling, good restaurant, great massage therapists, nice units, very relaxing, quiet, romantic...it's what you are looking for. I just called them and their rate in July for two people is only $149/night +8% room tax: Total for a week: $1126.44 Book it! You will be very happy!

LOTS of beaches to choose from, too, but you will probably hang at SH alot, cuz it's so nice!

Tortola is great, but it's very similar to here. I mean, I can see it from where I am sitting, looking out my window! haha! Still bring your passports or B.C w/ photo ID and visit the BVI. Don't forget about visiting STJ!!

~Marty

Marty-

Great comments. Now you need to rank Peter Bay Gatehouse, Siempre Azul and Blue Heaven Rendezvous for me! Thanks!

I would agree with Marty-

1. The Ritz
2. Caneel

The Westin, I would think would have more kids.
The Wyndham- It is a nice property but very hilly and many, many steps to get to the beach. The Beach is also very small.

If I could afford it I would choose the Ritz or Caneel. I know owners at the Ritz and have heard nothing but glowing remarks. I have heard that Caneel might be a little run down for the price but I have not stayed there so I don't know.

Most of the Villas rent for a week but you might find some that have split weeks and a few days free at a discount. You can check the villa rental agencies!

Melanie