It's always a connection with one overnight stay I guess. Same problem here with some interesting destinations.
By the way they told me they change the menu. I guess they should change something else, should be possible to get people to Anguilla who can cook properly.
Fascinating is, that people from outside visited the restaurants. Well, if you need to burn money and like mediocre food - great choice.

What is still missing is the Belmond La Samanna. I was very much looking forward to this, but the result was unfortunately sobering.
Let's start with the room. Our One Bedroom Suite was nice and close to the beach, but could have had a bit more privacy. What bothered me more, however, was the furnishings. Our sofa was made of polyrattan and looked more like garden furniture. Everything was a bit older, there was a thick layer of dust on the fan - disgusting. Once the bed sheet had a blood stain thanks to the dear mosquitoes, it was nevertheless just put back on like that. The bathroom was also rather basic. This is just not enough when I take prices beyond $2000 per night.
Service was quite good, with exceptions at the top. A few staff members were really class, also the GM endeavored.
The beach is not quite as nice as at Cap Juluca, but still very nice. The snorkeling was even better. Unfortunately, the beach is very popular, it anchors constantly party boats. Can the hotel nothing for (the time in which you could use guns against unwelcome guests are over), but still sucks.
The restaurants were different. The French restaurant was very expensive, but also really good. The Italian was quite OK.
The breakfast was good.

Here are the details, especially the photos of the room speak volumes.
General
Suite
Garden
Pool
Beach
Sunset
Beach
La Spiaggia I
Breakfast
BBQ
L'Oursin I
L'Oursin II
La Spiaggia

I have only just discovered the wonderful rabbit-hole within this forum called 'trip reports'.
Can not wait to dig into this particular Carribean voyage, herr Offerendum.

Hope you enjoy

Really love CJ.
We never did Cip, but had no issues with the food at Pimms or the other restaurant.
Best meals ever? No, but i'm not aware of many, or even any, hotel/resort in the Caribbean where food isn't a (comparative) 'weakness'.
I've had one or two slightly more 'special' meals on St Barts, Barbados....i.e. insanely expensive haute cuisine that likely melted a few glaciers when they flew everything in.....But I don't think F&B is in the top 5 reasons most people visit this region of the world.
Ergo, I think calling CJ's food a 'weakness' might not be as instructive as saying it's not a strong point.
(We found the meals at Pimm's to be more enjoyable than dinners at Malliohana, Viceroy (now a FS), and at least as good as a few celebrated local places like Blanchard's.)

Interestingly, there used to be a super-glitz, not-at-all-for-us resort next to CJ called Cuisinart.
Yes, owned and run by the food-processor outfit.
Last time we were at CJ, we saw it had closed or become a country club/golf course or something.
But the food at that place was really quite exceptional, and for anywhere.
The design of the hotel was ultra-garish, gleaming, gauche, yet we had two dinners there that were pretty amazing.

We just returned from Malliouhana a couple of weeks ago. Stayed in the Turttle Cove Suite. The villa was fantastic with tons of privacy. We loved Malliouhana but the food was average. We went to Cips at CJ one night and it was awful. We also had dinner at the FS and a had a very nice meal but the resort is too large and I wasn’t crazy about the Miami feel. The best restaurant on the island was Jacala. It was very good.

Sorry you had to make this experience. It's their weakest restaurant.

Not sure if people here are interested but I wanted to take a look if Caneel Bay is finally back and it actually more looks like it's dead forever. The website has this blurb:

"
Planning for the Future
Save Caneel Bay Resort

The Virgin Islands needs Caneel Bay Resort rebuilt NOW – the historic crown jewel of the Virgin Islands tourism.

As one of the Virgin Islands’ highest ranked resorts, Caneel Bay was a source of pride for the Virgin Islands, welcoming thousands of guests per year, bringing in millions of dollars in direct spending in the Islands, and providing well-paying jobs for hundreds of local employees.

Rebuilding Caneel Bay Resort as it once was, is imperative. And we need it rebuilt NOW!

But the National Park Service does not want

to bring back Caneel Bay Resort.

The NPS has proposed either building nothing on the land, or only building a smaller, non-luxury hotel. What the NPS is not telling you is that if it decides to rebuild the small hotel, it will not generate the economic benefits our Islands desperately need, and nothing will be built for many years. The NPS must go through litigation, several levels of government approval, and a bidding process under federal government rules. It will be a decade before the NPS has anything built on the Caneel Bay land, which is likely its preferred result.

You can help save Caneel Bay Resort.

EHI has operated the Caneel Bay Resort since 2004 and is ready to rebuild now and restore Caneel Bay Resort to its former glory as a five-star luxury resort. EHI has committed to donating the Caneel Bay land to the Virgin Islands people. This can only happen if the NPS agrees to stop litigating and negotiates with EHI to immediately rebuild Caneel Bay Resort.

Please sign this petition to support rebuilding Caneel Bay Resort now. "


Sad, this was the only luxury option on St. John (aside from the private villas @ Peter Bay)

I'm thinking of doing this exact thing this fall. Obviously worried about hurricane season, especially as most places have 3 week cancellation - obviously too far in advance for a hurricane forecast... did you end up doing this trip? How was it? Anyone else have thoughts on St. Lucia in the fall, weather-wise?

My partner and I spent four nights at Belmond Cap Juluca in November. We had a great time, and given how many in-depth reviews there are on this forum, I’m not sure I can provide any new insight (TL;DR, loved it, will go again), but I do think I can contribute in another way: a weigh-up against a comparable resort in price and reviews, Rosewood Little Dix Bay on Virgin Gorda. Hopefully this will help someone deciding between the two!

We did four nights at both - Virgin Gorda in February 2022, and Anguilla in Nov 2023.

Price: Tie
Pretty comparable. At both resorts we were upgraded to a junior suite from the highest non-suite category. We booked LDB through FHR, and CJ through our Virtuoso agent. Both got us an upgrade, though LDB didn’t have the upgrade available until our second day. IIRC we got the Rosewood on a stay-4-pay-3 deal at the time through FHR.

Pre-arrival communication: CJ
The Belmond did a great job preparing for us, staying in contact throughout the lead-up to our arrival. This may have been influenced by booking through our agent rather than via FHR.

Rooms: Very slight edge to CJ
Junior suites at both. Bathroom at CJ wins; comfort of non-bed furniture at LDB wins; bed at CJ wins. Outdoor sitting area at CJ wins by a good margin. Size of both junior suites was about the same, LDB maybe *slightly* larger, but smaller outdoor space. LDB had an outdoor shower, which I love, while CJ did not. Better views in general from room at CJ. All rooms at CJ are beachfront, so this may sway some, though rooms closer to the restaurants have less privacy than those farther down the beach, whereas most rooms at LDB have pretty good privacy (which necessarily obstructs views of the water on the ground floor rooms).

Hard Product: Tie
Both were quite well appointed, and very clearly high quality. Belmond’s public areas felt a little more sumptuous, especially their lobby spaces. The style in our room at CJ tied together quite well. Cap Juluca is an older resort (though it has been recently refurbed, particularly the rooms, which you can tell), so some parts of the resort are starting to show their age. Things weren't quite as "fresh" feeling as they were at LDB, but still very beautiful.

F&B: Tie
We much preferred the bar at LDB, but Pimms (main CJ restaurant) and Reef House (main LDB restaurant) were both fantastic. Both are right on the water. Pimms is slightly more fine-dining-y, while Reef House is a bit more "barefoot luxury" feeling. Taken together, food was great at both! Food at Uchu at CJ was underwhelming for dinner, but the live music was always fun. Breakfast I think was equal, though LDB had some slip-ups charging us for breakfast when it was free through FHR.

Beach: Really depends on your preference. Both are similarly well-protected bays, and similar lengths of beach. Both have enough chairs for all guests, and everyone gets a front row view. Maundy's Bay at CJ is technically public, but it's far from things; so while you see non-guests walking around, it's never really noticeable. There is a small jetty in the middle of LDB beach, where boats take guests to/from the resort. Not an eyesore by any means, but it’s there. The other thing I'll say: LDB's views from the beach are a little more dramatic and interesting. Anguilla is quite flat, so you basically just see the resort from the beach; while on LDB's beach, you can see some of the hills and famed Virgin Gorda boulders. Otherwise:
LDB: a little more narrow from water to trees; trees offer some shade to lounge chairs, sand isn't quite as perfect as CJ, but it's still very soft.
CJ: sand wins - sugar white, power soft, truly beautiful. Wider (but not as wide as many reviews here suggest - it’s maybe 15-20 meters of sand, depending on the tide; really not that dramatic).
(FWIW: My partner preferred the beach at Cap Juluca, I think I preferred the beach at Little Dix Bay.)

Service: CJ
Not even close, IMO. The butler situation at LDB was completely useless, and we ended up going straight to concierge to book things like a boat day. That said, we spoke with other guests at CJ who’d also been to both, and they had the opposite experience, believing LDB’s service superior. Our friend at CJ, Maury, was great - he even went off campus to get us Advil one morning, which they did not have at the resort.

Sense of Place: LDB
This is more important to me than it is to my partner, but I love to “feel” like I’m in the place that I’m visiting. Here, LDB wins for me. It feels more genuinely Caribbean, and - while beautiful! - the Greco-Moorish architecture at Cap Juluca doesn’t have the same feeling of Carib villas.

Others:
Spa: we did not visit the Arawak Spa at CJ, but we LOVED the spa at LDB. Can’t compare, unfortunately.
Pool: CJ but barely. Neither pool is particularly impressive. LDB's was...tiny and not good. These are both beach resorts - not pool resorts.
Island/off-campus: There’s just more to do on Anguilla. Visiting the Devil's Baths and the Bitter End on Virgin Gorda were both fun, but Anguilla has a bit more local character, at least that's what we found in our time there.

Overall: tie, maybe slight preference to CJ, but that could just be because it's still fresh in my mind

I have to concur! CJ especially after Belmond did all the renovations. They may have the nicest beach in the Caribbean and the food on AXA is amazing.

When I was growing up, in the late 90s and early aughts, my family went to Caneel Bay almost every single summer. My dad was obsessed with that place. I have many, many core memories on St John. I even still have a duffel bag with the Caneel logo stitched on the side from maybe 2003 lol.

Thanks for posting! The memories came flooding back. I really hope they can revive it; I’d love to bring my kids there one day.

Somehow I missed something.

Any followup reports on the Goldwynn? The prices are pretty reasonable (other than the resort fee) and reviews look excellent. It looks like it may be a good option to combine the convenience of getting into Nassau but being a bit away from the hubbub of larger resorts.

I'm in a bit of a pickle. I've had a... pretty debilitating health issue that looks to FINALLY be getting better to the point that I can travel after 3 months of nonsense and I need a couple days off to recuperate and lie around in peace and quiet. Watersports or hiking are out of the questions, as are any other nature activities. I really just want to lie around and enjoy the view and eat good food (... very important). I don't need a wheelchair or assistance or anything, I just can't exert. Based on non-stop flight availability from Boston I've narrowed it down to the Dominican, Bermuda or Jamaica, everything else is either too far or only has weekly flights and would be too long of a trip.

Dominican the choices seem easy (Eden Roc or Sanctuary), Bermuda too (Rosewood, but pricing is very unattractive compared to the other two) but I am wholly unfamiliar with Jamaica. Any insights? If you needed a place to unplug from the world for a couple days among those three places (or somewhere else within a 4hr direct flight from Boston that I forgot ) where would you go?

It wouldn't have to be a beach, but Amangiri/Canyon/Lenox pricing is out my range unfortunately.