bocconi8

Hi all,

Planning a babymoon with my wife for next March and we're looking for ideas of any spectacular hotels for our last trip with just the two of us. Criteria are direct flights from NYC (under 5-6 hrs ideal) at a beach resort under $1k/night. Current ideas are Las Ventanas, Palmilla, FS Punta Mita, Viceroy Anguilla and possibly St Barts (though may be out of budget). We were recently in Riviera Maya so we've ruled that out. Any advice / suggestions would be appreciated! We have about 175k amex miles, 100k delta, 100k starwood and 50k united, so paying for flights would be nice, but not a big consideration.

Thanks so much!

Kagehitokiri

at least one caribbean (re)opening you might watch >
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/luxur...n-vasatka.html

Ericka

Kage, you must be a man. I don't think many women would want to fly to Asia when they are heavy with child!

On a more serious note, there is also the issue of good healthcare wherever they go. Especially as it relates to peace of mind for a first time mom.

Kagehitokiri

i wasnt sure if babymoon is only used that way or not. oct > feb alone would be 5 months.

FlyingDoctorwu

How about nonstop To San Juan and the Ritz Dorado Beach? Or to Turks and Caicos and try Amanyara?

I would stay away form St. Bart's. Traveling wise with a pregnant wife it's fairly remote (at least the airport is quite small). I'm not sure how pregnant she'll be but always a consideration.

FDW

katesy

I did Anguilla (Viceroy) and St. Bart's for my babymoon, and it was a wonderful trip - both islands were heavenly with the best beaches and food. I liked the flight into St. Bart's and would advise against the ferry (which I took back and was not pleasant at all while pregnant). It's hard to get back to either island with kids so a good choice now. BTW we did not stay at a nice place in St. Bart's and although you don't need to to enjoy the island (best beaches are in undeveloped areas and it's a great island for exploring) I wish we had splurged in retrospect since we won't be back anytime soon.

I would also recommend Harbour Island in the Bahamas (The Dunmore or Rock House). The island is a really special place, also with great food and beaches, and not at all kid friendly. And you can fly to FLL quickly if you need any sort of medical care.

Cabo is far, and the beaches aren't swimable, so that would be a no for me. Have only stayed at O&O there and it was not memorable.

Turks & Caicos is easy from NYC with kids so I'd save that one for later.

Have had good(ish) medical experiences in PR so second that as an idea if that's important to you. But that's another place that's easy with kids so wouldn't be a top choice for me.

Good luck!!

gegarrenton

I had to look up "babymoon".

bocconi8

Thanks for the advice. Yep, babymoon is a new concept to me as well, though it's mutually beneficial since it gives my wife much needed relaxation and for me a good excuse to plan another vacation! Asia will be a bit far, and March is the last month she can travel.

Katesy - Glad to hear you liked St Barts. You mentioned the flight distance being a deterrent for Cabo, but isn't the travel to St Barts difficult as well (i.e. two planes including bumpy puddle jumper, then a third if you want to go to Anguilla)? Also, if you had to choose, would you suggest Viceroy Anguilla or St. Barts?

Thanks again.

juuceman

I'm going to suggest that the criteria you include for this trip are pretty similar to what you're likely to be looking for if you will travel with your young child.

Cabo is a schlep - it pushes six hours of flight time from NYC, and basically kills the better part of a full day on either end of the trip. It's pretty nice, I don't know that Las Ventanas is within your price point, but if so it's a great place to stay. The food is good, not incredible. Overall, while we loved it and returned a few months after our initial stay, we've since gone to the Rosewood in Mayakoba multiple times over getting back on the plane.

That being said, I'd suggest thinking about St Bart. The flight to SXM is pretty quick and easy and the puddle jumper over to St Bart is a quick and relatively easy transfer. It's not something you're likely to do with young children, when any additional leg is to be avoided. You're likely to do a lot of driving around to get to different beaches, which is a luxury that you likely won't have with young children.

bocconi8

All of the top hotels in St Barts are booked or over $1k/hight, Las Ventanas is well under. Agreed Cabo is a bit of a schlep, but it's at least direct and within budget...

katesy

Anguilla and St. Bart's couldn't be more different, and so it's hard to recommend one v. another. My sense is you would like Anguilla better, at least for this trip, since the hotels are better value and you will get a nice dose of luxury and relaxation there. St. Bart's is really fun, but you get poor value on hotels (I just checked, and the unpleasant hotel we stayed at is running $800/night in March, same as the Viceroy which is 10x nicer). I have heard that the service at the Viceroy is not what it was when we were there in 2009, so if service is important you may want to consider other hotels on the island (I would still go back though, as I loved the design and setting).

Re flights, JFK-SXM is easy on JetBlue. The connecting flight to St. Bart's is ~15 minutes (doesn't feel like a leg), and it's worth doing just for the exciting landing. Anguilla is even easier - we took the Funtime boat, which leaves from a dock right outside the airport, followed by a short ride from the ferry terminal to the Viceroy. Either way, door to door, much shorter than Cabo, and no jetlag.

Lovethecabin

We spent 10 days on Anguilla two years ago and really enjoyed it. The restaurants were very good. Most beaches (if you feel like venturing off property) have restaurants with lounge chairs you can rent for a couple of dollar or come free if you dine/drink.

The one thing I would have done differently is I would have flown from SXM. Both of our crossings (private ferry) were insanely rough and down right scary. Next time we will fly either from SXM or SJU.

Little Dix is worth looking into to as an opinion. They run an "air taxi" service from STT (and maybe SJU) and last time I looked, they were offering it as a comp for certain stays.

gegarrenton

The seabreeze is always substantial in season. For those not used to a roughed up sea state, I think a flight is definitely the way to go.

jologolf212

My vote is for Goldeneye in Jamaica.
Just a great place to get pampered and relax one last time as a couple.

http://www.goldeneye.com/

FlyingDoctorwu

I've been to Goldeneye... it's quite quite nice... loved it in fact.. The beach itself however isn't that nice or spectacular. And, unless you fly private, it's a good 2 hour transfer from Montego Bay.... The level of service is good there for Jamaica but that's about it...

FDW