ray1022

This looks like it could be a great property, on par with Jumby Bay, etc. Definitely charging rates that make it seem to be a truly lux go-to property in the Caribbean. I've been reading a lot lately in various publications about the new opening in October.

Interesting history about the past/current ownership and revamp of the island/property (Rosewood, Raffles, etc). The Citation CJ2 jet transfer seems to up the ante for connecting flights. I do find the website a bit lacking, with little detailed text aside from the "more info" button on the bottom right of various pictures. Any thoughts or info from those on this forum or some of the agents on this forum?

http://www.luxurytraveladvisor.com/l...and-grenadines

http://www.luxurytraveladvisor.com/s...-october-17224

Interesting history:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/lauriewe.../#65464ce13be4

pricesquire

Interesting property; don't know a ton about it now, but I will before the weekend is out! (My best friend's dad is the pro behind their golf program - he built it, runs the course, and lives on the island teaching lessons there until they get 100% up-and-running, so I'm going to ask him what the deal is when we have dinner this weekend.)

ray1022

Thanks pricesquire - maybe you can snag an invite to their travel agent preview which is later this month. Or convince them to let some of us flyertalkers to come down to visit. Joking aside, if the service and food is stellar, this could be a great property given its location and private nature of the island, but that's a high bar for a Caribbean hotel.

pricesquire

I'll see what I can do

I do think this will be a premier property for the Caribbean, especially those who don't like your 'typical' Caribbean environment.

Kagehitokiri

jumby all-inclusive, nothing else on island, suites arranged differently
(personally, guana seems pretty attractive to me, especially its size)

rates for next summer >

Pink Sands Club (54 BR)
suites, built on fairly small plot of land
clearly not all suites are groundfloor
$1400 20 1BR "beachfront"
$2500 2 1BR Penthouse "beachfront"
$2800 4 2BR "beachfront"
$____ 6 4BR villa
villa setting allows minimal if any privacy

Canouan Estate canouan.com/canouan-estate/
$1250 2BR (attached) / $1900 3BR / $2500 4BR (2 layout)
$7000 5-6BR (of which there are 5, each different design)
there are also private rentals, and some not rented at all

Tamarind Beach Hotel 39-room upcoming

citation jet details unclear >
vs those current low season rates, aman is less for pavilion, and not much more for pool pavilion

anyone looking at the villas might also keep in mind that there are going to be private rentals of some of the handful of private residences (not branson's) on richard branson's moskito island, which has common areas (and no hotel)

Mickidon

I hope three (or is it four?) time's the charm for this property. We have considered going several times over the years, but something about the reviews always makes me pause and decide to wait for the next management iteration.

Kagehitokiri

i see sandy lane owner is back out, after having come in to help develop new hotel

raffles/fairmont managed from 2005 to 2010, was said to be a 5 year contract
at one point food was considered very good for caribbean, perhaps under raffles

flights can be an issue, and i heard there was a problem relating to that (with canouan/owner, after raffles out) in past
hopefully if attempting higher profile now, even without luxury hotel management company, would handle better now

Epicura

+1

Had this on my potential list for last July but decided for Cayo Espanto.

It's in the LHW portfolio by the way.

Kagehitokiri

yeah, canouan is not the same kind of private island

uggboy

Interesting article in regards to ownership, investment, local tensions and expansion of the Pink Sands Club:

http://www.irishtimes.com/business/d...pers-1.2800754

It's good to know IMHO. Even "The Donald" Trump was involved at the resort at one stage, but this wasn't a success the article seems to suggest.

Cheers & Safe Travels. ^

Kagehitokiri

owner owns (leasehold) most of island including golf once branded trump
casino was similarly brand/management only, not owned by trump
owner seems to prefer maintaining control and equity ownership
rosewood contract was only nov 12 2000 - feb 20 2002
rosewood and raffles both ended during down economy
travelandleisure.com/articles/an-island-reborn
interesting reading media reviews from ~2000

tom-schmitt

We stayed at the Pink Sands during easter time this year. Previously booked the Canouan Resort via Leading Hotels, then upgraded to the Pink Sands Club.
At this time the Hotel Section of the Canouan Resort was closed and Pink Sands had a soft opening.

The Hotel is fantastic, one of the best "hard" products I ever had. As we were the only guests at the hotel, the service was very good.

Fc912

travelgirlcanada

We spent two weeks in Canouan in December 2017 (we go to T&C every year and were just in Anguilla for a couple of weeks in December 2018), I highly recommend all of these locations for beach but they are all very very different in overall flavour and vibe. Canouan is VERY quiet - almost noone there. In fact, my husband had the golf course to himself almost the whole time we were there. I can answer whatever specific questions you might have if you are interested but very high level thoughts are as follows:
I think T&C has the most expansive gorgeous beaches with a good balance between active/non-active activities and great food on the island. We actually go every year for a couple of weeks.
Anguila has a lot of beaches with amazing food options but very busy (at least where we were at the Four Seasons). We like it but don't LOVE it like many people do and would choose Canouan or Turks over it in a heartbeat (although the food was exceptional everywhere we ate...)
Canouan has a couple of beaches but the main draw for us was the exclusivity and service on the property (butler service, golf carts to get around, very quiet) and the remoteness/uniqueness of being there - but there is really nothing to do there but relax.....the main beach (the one the hotel faces - Godahl Beach) is similar to Grace Bay but very tiny in size....other beaches are very small and a short golf cart ride away. One of the other beaches has some 'weediness' (a small one that the owners of the villas frequent) where they serve cocktails and lunch. Overall we loved it since it felt like it was our own private island and the staff and service was fantastic. I think it will become one of the more coveted luxury vacations in the coming years so I say visit now. We happily will go back. I will say that Turks and Canouan are two of our very favourite places to vacation and we have been to most of the islands in the Caribbean at some point. Happy to answer any further specifics.

Fc912

Thank you for the very detailed comparison! We're happy to just relax at the hotel so Canouan being quite will not be an issue. It looks like you found the service to be excellent - how was the F&B at the hotel? I assume there aren't many places to eat at outside of the hotel. The rooms look modern and new but has a little bit too much marble for me, how did you find them?

We've been to T&C twice (Parrot Cay and Amanyara) and loved the beaches there. In Anguilla we'd be looking to stay at Cap Juluca and all the pictures of the beach there I've seen have been beautiful. Looks like the beach at Canouan is still great but not as beautiful as these two destinations? Just for comparison sake, how would you rank St Barts vs. Canouan for beaches?