Author Topic: Carribean Islands (Which One?) Master Thread (Read 202110 times)

JEWDA · « **Reply #60 on:** February 28, 2012, 10:00:42 PM »

Has anyone been to The Westin Resort & Casino, Aruba ?
Any information will be great.
And are there any desserted beaches in the area?

David B · « **Reply #61 on:** February 28, 2012, 10:13:45 PM »

Quote from: jewda on February 28, 2012, 10:00:42 PM

Has anyone been to The Westin Resort & Casino, Aruba ?
Any information will be great.

Not been there...but FYI there is a Pesach program there (run by Booky), so you should be able to get some feedback here or elsewhere in the Oilam

azhoopsfan · « **Reply #62 on:** March 06, 2012, 05:31:54 PM »

Already thinking ahead to late Winter / Spring 2013, and want to take the family (kids ages 2 and 5) to the Caribbean from California. Definitely need a 1 bedroom suite and am considering either the Hyatt Aruba (33k points per night), Westin Grand Cayman (24-32k points per night, 5th night free), or a hotel/resort in the Turks/Caicos where I think I could get a 1 bedroom suite at a decent resort for ~$300/night and I could use the balance of my Capital One Venture points.

I've only been to USVI and am looking primarily for aqua/turquioise water that's calm enough for my kids. I've heard the Turks/Caicos have the nicest/calmest beaches.

Those seem like the best options since I can get there on AA or UA pretty easily from SAN (spending the night in DFW or IAH on the way) and getting back to SAN in one day. But, I am open to other ideas as well.

Dan · « **Reply #63 on:** March 06, 2012, 05:45:55 PM »

Going all the way from SAN to the Caribbean? Why not just fly nonstop from SoCal to any Hawaiian island?

azhoopsfan · « **Reply #64 on:** March 06, 2012, 05:56:58 PM »

I love Hawaii, but I loved the warmer aqua water of the Caribbean.

I want to go back to the Hyatt Kauai when the kids are older and we can do more of the activities (so I figure I'll be there many times in the years to come). The Kaanapali in Maui is okay, but doesn't get me as excited. I love Wailea but there are no legit options for me there (I have Hyatt, SPG and Hilton points) -- the Grand Wailea would cost too much to get a suite. Waikiki is probably the best bet with kids but it feels less like a tropical vacation and more like a city visit with a beach.

Bora Bora would be great (maybe a bit too far) --- but can't figure out how to get 4 of us there w/o spending too much money on the flight (or burning all my Cap One Venture points for the flight).

azhoopsfan · « **Reply #65 on:** March 06, 2012, 06:01:42 PM »

Thinking about Punta Mita (the St Regis there just went down to Cat 6) even though the water is not the right color. But I'm not sure I can talk my wife into flying into PVR with the kids.

Dan · « **Reply #66 on:** March 06, 2012, 06:03:05 PM »

Fairmont Wailea often has specials and is all suites and the water there is fantastico.
Hilton Waikoloa also should have beautiful water on the kona side of the island and takes points.

azhoopsfan · « **Reply #67 on:** March 06, 2012, 06:08:27 PM »

Quote from: Dan on March 06, 2012, 06:03:05 PM

Fairmont Wailea often has specials and is all suites and the water there is fantastico.
Hilton Waikoloa also should have beautiful water on the kona side of the island and takes points.

I love the Fairmont and would love to stay there with the kids. I'll keep my eyes open for deals but I'm not sure I'd feel right spending money for a hotel when I could swing the Grand Wailea in a few years when the kids are older and we can share one room (when there are no more naps and later bedtimes).

I haven't looked into the Waikoloa, I imagine that I'd have to do connecting room as opposed to a suite, but that may work. Have you been there, is there a nice beach?

Dan · « **Reply #68 on:** March 06, 2012, 06:13:11 PM »

Quote from: azhoopsfan on March 06, 2012, 06:08:27 PM

I love the Fairmont and would love to stay there with the kids. I'll keep my eyes open for deals but I'm not sure I'd feel right spending money for a hotel when I could swing the Grand Wailea in a few years when the kids are older and we can share one room (when there are no more naps and later bedtimes).

I haven't looked into the Waikoloa, I imagine that I'd have to do connecting room as opposed to a suite, but that may work. Have you been there, is there a nice beach?

The beaches in that area of Hawaii are supposed to be the nicest anywhere, but I have yet to stay on the Kona coast.

The Fairmont kills the Grand Wailea, which generally has terrible reviews. Maybe sell the HH points if you feel guilty though...

moisheo · « **Reply #69 on:** March 12, 2012, 09:20:54 PM »

anyone ever stay by the sheraton in Nassau? is there any kosher food around there?

Fan of Dan · « **Reply #70 on:** June 02, 2012, 11:57:19 PM »

Plan on spending an afternoon and night in Port of Spain. Anyone been there? Ideas what to do?

JEWDA · « **Reply #71 on:** June 06, 2012, 02:45:56 PM »

A friend of mine wants to rent a car in Aruba and is 21, he claims that all the rental places say you must be 23, anyone have experience or knows a company?

moisheo · « **Reply #72 on:** July 11, 2012, 08:09:47 PM »

any one have any info of nassau,bahamas? any info regarding kosher food,anything to do ?thanks

ShlomoR · « **Reply #73 on:** January 10, 2013, 11:14:18 AM »

I'm looking to spend a few days in the Caribbean at the end of January with my wife and 1 yr old.
What island is the best one? I'm mainly looking for a very nice beach, and somewhere fun (we are in our 20's).
What points are best to use? I have around 50k BA for flights and 28k SPG for Hotels..

Any help is appreciated!

henche · « **Reply #74 on:** January 10, 2013, 11:26:12 AM »

I did Belize several winters ago.

The main attraction is the barrier reef; the second longest in the world. The beaches are not terrific, since the reef stops the sand from building up.

Belize city is a half hour-45 minute boat ride from the reef. It has a Hyatt.

Most people stay on the islands off the coast, which are closer to the reef. There are no brand name hotels on the islands. The islands are called "Cayes", which is pronounced like "keys". (Like the florida keys.)

There are two main islands, the rich one and the poor one.

The rich one is called Caye Ambergis. It has more people, is more expensive, more nightlife, more expensive tours, etc.
The poor one is called Caye Caulker. It has less people, cheaper, etc.

We stayed on Caye Caulker and totally roughed it, but had a mean good time. We got a room in a "hotel" for 12.50 a night, which had a shared bathroom in the yard (hard to describe, but the bathroom was a building with a door for each stall).
But, you can get nice rooms also in places, american style. Think 50 a night or so, I think.

Snorkeling trips to the reef cost about 50 bucks a day. Scuba diving is like 100 bucks, but you need training and whatever. Trips to the "Blue Holehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Blue_Hole" are a bit more, but you should do it especially if you are scuba diving (we didn't, we were cheap).

At night, you should make a BBQ with some fish or stuff you bring, and drink the local rum-One Barrel Rum. It's delicious. There's karaoke and stuff, or just sit on the docks and watch the pelicans.

On the mainland, there is all sort of stuff. There is parrots, and jungle, and caves, and wildlife refuges, etc. We did that for a day.

The local language is English. The currency is Belize Dollar, with a fixed exchange rate of 2-1 (2 Belize=1 dollar).

You should buy fresh fish from the fishing people, and cook it. We did.

ShlomoR · « **Reply #75 on:** January 10, 2013, 12:21:59 PM »

Thank you for the all the info, but I'm looking for somewhere in the Caribbean..
A few places that I would prefer going are Grand Cayman, Paradise Island(bahamas) or Turks and Caicos. Even though I dont know much about these places, I've heard great things...

henche · « **Reply #76 on:** January 10, 2013, 01:06:33 PM »

Belize IS on the Caribbean.

Fan of Dan · « **Reply #77 on:** January 10, 2013, 01:10:35 PM »

Quote from: henche on January 10, 2013, 01:06:33 PM

Belize IS on the Caribbean.

+1, he probably means a carribean island not a central american country which sits on the carribean.

dhalpern1 · « **Reply #78 on:** January 10, 2013, 01:17:33 PM »

Quote from: ShlomoR on January 10, 2013, 12:21:59 PM

Thank you for the all the info, but I'm looking for somewhere in the Caribbean..
A few places that I would prefer going are Grand Cayman, Paradise Island(bahamas) or Turks and Caicos. Even though I dont know much about these places, I've heard great things...

GC and T&C are both very nice, cant go wrong with either of them- except for the fact that they are both pretty expensive. (GC has more chain hotels if you have points). The Atlantis hotels takes up a good portion of Paradise island.

If you have British Airways miles, i believe its only 20K RT per person (from ny), but very tough to find availability.

elibeli2 · « **Reply #79 on:** January 10, 2013, 04:25:11 PM »

Quote from: dhalpern1 on January 10, 2013, 01:17:33 PM

If you have British Airways miles, i believe its only 20K RT per person (from ny), but very tough to find availability.

\

To where?

Islands	Kosher	Points Hotels	?	Notes
Anguilla	??
Antigua	??
Aruba	Chabad	Marriott, Ritz Carlton,...etc
Bahamas	Chabad	Atlantis-Marriott, Baha Mar-Hyatt		Weather forcast always says rain but in reality mostly nice weather
Barbados	Chabad
Bermuda				Colder, and Bermuda Triangle....
Cuba	??
Curaçao	Chabad		Hyatt
Cancun	Kosher Restaurants, Chabad	St Regis, Hyatt, Westin...etc		Not Carribean but close enough
Cozumel	Chabad +			Not Carribean but close enough
Dominican Republic	Chabad + Year Round Kosher Hotel	Westin
Grand Cayman	Kosher Frozen Food at the Ritz and Chabad	Ritz, Westin..
Jamaica	Chabad	Hyatt, Hilton
Martinique	Chabad
Puerto Rico	Chabad +	St Regis x2, Ritz Carlton, W...etc		~~80% of the Island doen't have power~~ All restored now
St Barts	Chabad
St Kitts	Supermarket Carries many marked items	PH
St Lucia	Chabad
St Martin	Chabad
St Thomas	Chabad	Ritz Carlton, Wyndham, Westin on ST John
Turk & Caicos	Chabad

Topic Wiki

Author Topic: Carribean Islands (Which One?) Master Thread (Read 202110 times)