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The Best Romantic Hotels & Resorts
More and more couples are exchanging their vows in the Caribbean. Many resorts will arrange everything from the preacher to the flowers, so we've included in the following list some outfits that provide wedding services.
Cap Juluca (Anguilla; tel. 888/858-5822 in the U.S., or 264/497-6779; www.capjuluca.com): A unique postmodern design and a thrillingly beautiful beach are the highlights of this resort. It resembles a Saharan Casbah, with domed villas that seem to float against the scrubland and azure sky. It's an extremely stylish setting for romance. More than any other resort on Anguilla, Cap Juluca affords privacy with its 72 hectares (180 acres). In a secluded villa, honeymooners can enjoy private pools and huge tubs for two. You can join other guests for meals and/or retreat into total seclusion.
St. James's Club (Antigua; tel. 800/858-4618 in the U.S., or 268/460-5000; www.eliteislandresorts.com): There are enough diversions at this very posh, British-style resort to keep a honeymooning couple up and about for weeks. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner are included, along with unlimited drinks. Among the perks is a private, candlelit dinner for two in a romantic setting. Honeymooners are greeted with a bottle of champagne and freshly cut bougainvillea in their rooms, which can be private villas, suites, or, for complete isolation, a hillside home. Unlike Cap Juluca, which promotes seclusion, this is for honeymooners who prefer an active lifestyle, gambling at the casino, taking in the beach, or enjoying the widest array of dining and drinking options of any hotel on the island.
Biras Creek Estate (Virgin Gorda, B.V.I.; tel. 800/223-1108 in the U.S., or 310/440-4225; www.biras.com): If you're eager to escape your in-laws and bridesmaids after a wedding ceremony, this is the place. It's a quintessential mariner's hideaway that can be reached only via a several-mile boat ride across the open sea. Perched on a narrow promontory jutting into the Caribbean, it's an intensely private retreat set on 60 hectares (150 acres) with a crisscrossing network of signposted nature trails. Spacious, open-air, walled showers are provided in each bathroom. Honeymooners come here not to be pampered, but to be left alone to do their thing. Entertainment and dancing enliven some evenings, but for the most part you'll enjoy utter tranquility. Its king-size beds are the best on the island. Don't come here for a lot of activities.
Peter Island Resort (Peter Island, B.V.I.; tel. 800/346-4451 or 284/495-2000; www.peterisland.com): Romantics appreciate the isolation of this resort, on a 720-hectare (1,780-acre) private island south of Tortola and east of St. John. Reaching it requires a 30-minute waterborne transfer, which many urban refugees consider part of the fun. It's very laid-back -- bring your new spouse and a good book, and enjoy the comings and goings of yachts at the island's private marina while you recover from the stress of your wedding.
Hyatt Regency Grand Cayman (Grand Cayman; tel. 800/233-1234 in the U.S., or 345/949-1234; www.hyatt.com): Hands down, this is the most glamorous and best-landscaped resort in the Cayman Islands. Honeymooners can buy a package that includes champagne and wine, a room with an oversize bed, a 1-day jeep rental, a romantic sundowner sail on a 12m (39-ft.) catamaran, and discounts at clothing stores, the resort's restaurants, and a golf course. They'll even present you with a honeymoon memento for your home.
Sandals Royal Caribbean (Jamaica; tel. 800/726-3257 in the U.S., or 876/953-2232; www.sandals.com): There are a handful of members of this resort chain in Jamaica alone (plus three others on St. Lucia, one in Turks and Caicos, and yet another one on the island of Antigua that is far less grand). Each prides itself on providing an all-inclusive (cash-free) environment where meals are provided in abundance. Enthusiastic members of the staff bring heroic amounts of community spirit to ceremonies celebrated on-site. Sandals provides everything from a preacher to petunias (as well as champagne, a cake, and all the legalities) for you to get hitched here. Any of these resorts can provide a suitable setting, but one of the most appealing is Sandals Royal Caribbean, outside Montego Bay, Jamaica.
El Conquistador Resort & Golden Door Spa (Puerto Rico; tel. 800/468-5228 or 787/863-1000): A complex of hotels set on a forested bluff overlooking the sea, this is one of the most lavish resorts ever built in the Caribbean. The architecture incorporates Moorish gardens and Andalusian fortresses. You can relax on hammocks for two on the resort's offshore private island, or soak in one of the dozen private Jacuzzis artfully concealed by vegetation throughout the grounds.
The Horned Dorset Primavera (Puerto Rico; tel. 800/633-1857 or 787/823-4030; www.horneddorset.com): This is the most elegant, intimate, secluded, romantic inn in Puerto Rico. It has private plunge pools; a cantilevered porch over the sea perfect for champagne at sunset; a fabulous candlelit restaurant; vast, well-equipped bathrooms with tubs big enough for two; sea-view balconies; romantic four-poster beds; and a discreet, helpful staff that doesn't interfere with honeymooners who want to be alone.
Golden Lemon Inn & Villas (St. Kitts; tel. 800/633-7411 in the U.S., or 869/465-7260): It started its life as a French manor house during the 17th century, but by the time its present owners began restoring it, the Golden Lemon was decidedly less glamorous. It required the refined tastes of Arthur Leaman, a former editor at House & Garden, to bring it to its full potential. Today the Golden Lemon is an authentic Antillean retreat -- luxurious, laid-back, and romantic -- set in an isolated fishing village loaded with charm.
Four Seasons Resort Nevis (Nevis; tel. 800/332-3442 in the U.S., 800/268-6282 in Canada, or 869/469-1111): Though not as historic as some of the island's plantation-style inns, the Four Seasons rules without peer as the most deluxe hotel on the island, with the most extensive facilities. Set in a palm grove adjacent to the island's finest beach, it has the atmosphere of a supremely indulgent country club. The Four Seasons offers a 4-day wedding package with a choice of ceremony styles (in a church or on a beach, with a judge or with a civil magistrate). The resort's pastry chef designs each wedding cake individually, and the staff can arrange music, photographs, flowers, legalities, and virtually anything else you want.
Anse Chastanet (St. Lucia; tel. 800/223-1108 in the U.S., or 758/459-7000; www.ansechastanet.com): Offering panoramic views of mountains and jungle, this intimate hotel is a winner with romantics. With its small size, it provides a lot of privacy and rustic charm. Its wedding package includes all legal processing, a wedding cake, and champagne, and add-ons cover everything from photography to a post-wedding sunset sail.
Petit St. Vincent Resort (The Grenadines; tel. 954/963-7401): If your idea of a honeymoon is to run away from everybody except your new spouse, this is the place. It takes about three planes and a boat to reach it, but the effort to get here is worth it, if you want total isolation and privacy. Even the staff doesn't bother you unless you raise a flag for room service. If the honeymoon's going well, you may never have to leave your stone cottage by the beach. The artfully built clubhouses and bungalows were crafted from tropical woods and local stone. The results are simultaneously rustic and lavish.
Le Grand Courlan Resort & Spa (Tobago; tel. 868/639-9667): This is the favorite honeymoon retreat on Tobago. If you want to be fussed over, you and your new spouse can attend the spa for relaxing massages, or you can be left entirely alone to enjoy the bay outside your window or the sandy beach at your doorstep. From Guyanan hardwood to Italian porcelain, the decor is refined and elegant.
The Buccaneer (St. Croix; tel. 800/255-3881 in the U.S., or 340/773-2100; www.thebuccanneer.com): Posh and discreet, this resort has some of the most extensive vacation facilities on St. Croix -- three beaches, eight tennis courts, a spa and fitness center, an 18-hole golf course, and 3km (2 miles) of carefully maintained jogging trails. The accommodations include beachside rooms with fieldstone terraces leading toward the sea. The resort's stone sugar mill (originally built in 1658) is one of the most popular sites for weddings and visiting honeymooners on the island.
Note: This information was accurate when it was published, but can change without
notice. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before
planning your trip.
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