Originally Posted by
DamoTime
I would really do your homework. I stayed at Scrub recently and it was a terrible experience. I could provide a long list of complaints. I'd go elsewhere -- the Marriott on St. John is beautiful and private.
And Scrub is a very small island so you are stuck there unless you rely on the service over to Tortola. Scrub is the base for DYC sailing charters and it also gets a lot of bare boat sailing traffic, people dock for the night and use facilities.
The Westin on St. John has recently reopened and reports on the STJ boards are all good. A few things to know:
1. the resort has transitioned to an all "vacation club" model so look into the frequency of housekeeping services.
2, the "villas" are across the road and up on the hill. This results in lovely views but a long (and steep on the return) walk to some of them. Golf carts do run regularly to ferry guests.
3. The beach isn't great. It looks good in pictures but is man made. Further, there are many live aboard boats moored in that bay. STJ does not have pump out facilities.
4. Cruz Bay has many good restaurants and is a short cab ride from the Westin.
5. Westin does offer easy transport (at a cost) from baggage claim at STT direct to the resort via private ferry.
STJ is a lovely island and one of our favorites in the Caribbean. We have been visiting for nearly 25 years.
Originally Posted by
bhrubin
The RC Reserve Dorado is the nicest option perhaps in the Caribbean, along with some non Marriott properties--but as noted, it doesn't participate in Bonvoy.
The StR Bahia Beach in Puerto Rico is overwhelmingly the nicest Caribbean property in the entire Bonvoy portfolio. It just reopened after 2 years closure and renovation after Hurricane Maria, and the new hard product is sensational. The service wasn't quite up to StR standard in February 2019 during our stay, but given another 6 months and I'd expect the hotel to be running back at StR levels. I stayed pre-Maria in Feb 2017, as well; it was phenomenal. It's a 30-40 min drive to downtown San Juan and is on a spectacular beach and only 20 min from the El Yunque Forest and areas of amazing natural beauty on PR.
After that, it's a choice between large and not as fresh Ritz-Carlton properties like Aruba, San Juan (not sure when reopens since Maria), Grand Cayman, and St Thomas, and the Scrub Island Autograph property. I realize Scrub's Cat 8 award status makes some think it will be nicer, but be careful--award category often has more to do with rates (supply and DEMAND) and less to do with quality, especially in the overpriced markets of the Caribbean (and Mexico). Technically, the Ritz-Carlton in Cancun might also qualify, though it's super dated.
The Westin St John and Westin Grand Cayman Seven Mile Beach resorts and La Concha Renaissance in San Juan might also be good options. There's also a Design Hotel Laluna on Grenada...but don't expect a lot of elite benefits.
StR Bahia Beach is on our radar. We stayed further done the beach several years back and really enjoyed it. The location is a great base for beach, boating and hiking in El Yunque. Puerto Rico has a lot to offer and is very easy to reach from Boston. We like stopping over for a few nights prior to moving onto other Caribbean islands.