We need help planning our 2004 vacation - the one we have dubbed "The ultimate 5-star beach/snorkel experience". We want to go somewhere fabulous and far away but are finding the options difficult to choose from. WEATHER is a major consideration, as is a 5-STAR accomodation. We don't care about nightlife, activities other than snorkeling & diving, or shopping.

Please help us decide between the following:
- Four Seasons Maldives and Island Explorer yacht (December)
- Amanpuri Phuket with sailing excursions to Phi Phi and Krabi (November or December)
- Hayman Island Resort & Lizard Island Resort on the Great Barrier Reef (October)
- Banyan Tree Seychelles with excursions to neighboring islands (September or October)

Your insight is greatly appreciated!

Why confine yourself to one place? Have you considered a charter? All kinds of options available.

I have only been to Hayman in your liste, and must say I was realy realy dissapointed. I had been upgraded to one of their penthouse suites (Leaders club)which was quite nice, but the hotel itself was awful, staff unfriendly (most unusual in Australia). The pool filled with a convention group playing ball, the beach was very poor and dirty. For room service, you have to wait over an hour to get cold food. The chinese restaurant was great, but that was it realy. Walked arround the island to the other beaches (even worse). A deffinit no no for me. I have always found inodnesia great value for money and the greatest choice in luxury 5* + hotels. Oberoi Lombok pool vilas are increadible. Aman do some great 5/7 days snorkel/dive trips to Komodo island, a great experience.

Thanks for the recommendation Bungus. As luck would have it, Indonesia (Bali) is our trip for 2003. In about 2 wks., we'll be leaving for Amankila, the Four Seasons - Sayan, and the Ritz Carlton Singapore.

OK. I'm having crazy thoughts now.

In order to go to the Banyan Tree Seychelles, we would need to fly into Johannesburg. WHAT IF we spent some time at Londolozi or Singita, and then went on to the Seychelles? Who knows if we'll ever be in South Africa again! Of course, we'd only have about 4 full days at each place...which is where the crazy part comes in.

Ericka, if you are looking to seriously snorkel, I would recommend Soneva Fushi in the Maldives over the Four Seasons. The lagoon around the Four Seasons is leargely bereft of coral and very light on fish (although the tidal plains under the water bungalows offer great fish viewing, albeit with strong currents). Also, while the service is solidly Four Seasons, the way the hotel and landscaping is set up, you will definitely be aware of the other patrons around you. At Soneva Fushi, there is great snorkeling literally right outside your door, and the hotel provides a couple of off-island snorkeling trips daily (as does the Four Season), all of which are within a short boat ride.

Don't get me wrong, I thought the Four Seasons was very solid, but Soneva Fushi was in a whole different class.

Wigstheone, thanks for the Four Season's info. What I've read supports your info about the snorkeling on-site. But the Island Explorer yacht can take you to all of the very best snorkeling places, so its not a concern for us.

Our concern right now for Maldives is weather. We'd end up going in December and the weather is not guaranteed. I can't imagine snorkeling in rain or clouds for any length of time.

Since I just returned from South Africa and Botswana, I highly recommend going to either Singita or Londolozi for a few days. We did our safari in Botswana but a lot of people we met were also doing Kruger and they loved the S. Africa lodges for the luxury and the game viewing.

I have to agree with Bungus about Hayman...it is by no stretch of the imagination anywhere near a 5* operation. They do charge 5* prices, but, in my opinion the only reason to go to Hayman is the G.B.Reef-that was great! The resort itself is about a 2-3 star, the food sadly is about 1 star. I found the staff to be very friendly, but in a camp councellor kind of way (they are mostly very young and green).

When did you visit Hayman?

We last went there in 1999 and it was starting to go downhill with new management. Before that we have had excellent service but haven't returned since 1999. We have been 4 times and stay at the French Penthouse for 10 days each time. Has it really gone down hill?

Thanks for the info on the Hayman... was considering this place - but opted out. Also even though the GDC/CRS systems showed availibility for mid-Oct, their reservations folks via email when I inquired about lagoon facing rooms said the resort is FULLY sold out

I can still see rooms availible on Leading Hotels of the World's website. This leads me to believe these guys overbook or have NO clue who is booking what.

Since you mention snorkelling as a major attraction of the trip, you might want to bear in mind that in many parts of the Indian Ocean the coral has suffered badly from overly warm ocean temperatures. My brother was in Seychelles recently and was shocked at the degradation of the coral, and I hear the Maldives have also suffered; not sure whether this also applies to Mauritius. However, if considering Seychelles I would also consider Lemuria resort - looks fabulous, and I've read good things about it.

In the Pacific, there is great snorkelling in parts of Fiji (Taveuni, southern Vanua Levu) but this might fail on the 5* front. On the other hand, French Polynesia has lots of 5* accommodation but I'm not sure whether the snorkelling measures up.

bagold-

I stayed at Hayman a year and a half ago and was also in a Penthouse (California) for some inexplicable reason they had upgraded nearly all the lesser catagory rooms but not the Penthouses. Our room was very spacious, but had torn curtains, heavily faded bedspreads and worn furniture. When we complained,they did comp 2 of 4 nights but I would have much prefered proper accommodations.

We had a very good experience at Hayman this summer. We were quickly upgraded to the Italian Penthouse after reservations acknowledged making some mistakes on our booking. The Penthouse itself was beautiful, clean and had an amazing view of the water.

The resort's restaurants, while expensive, were generally very good, with the Oriental being a real stand-out. We also enjoyed the Beach Pavilion, which has a nice tropical feel, for cocktails and tapas.

The adventure highlight for us was the helicopter flight to a nearly deserted Whitsunday Beach, and to a dive platform on the Reef for snorkeling. Hiking on the Island is also fun, with great vistas everywhere. In the evenings, we played board games and read in the Library, or watched movies in the theatre.

Overall, while pricey, the experience was worth it, and we would go back.

Lizard Island would be my pick for THE Ultimate 5-star Beach/Snorkel Vacation! We spent 4 days there in May of this year, at the tail end of 5-weeks in NZ and Australia, and it was the highlight of our trip. As far as I know, it is the only resort literally ON the great barrier reef, so fabulous snorkeling was available right off our beach...which was just steps from our suite. Each morning, we took out a boat (stocked with the lunch we had ordered the night before) and visited a different, totally private beach around the island where we were able to swim and snorkle and sunbath to our hearts content in total seclusion. The suites were beautiful and spacious, the service great, and the food(all included and all at the resort lodge, since the resort is the ONLY thing on the island)was very good as well. All in all, a wonderful splurge which we would return to in a heartbeat!!