Off-season Savings: Bahamas & Caribbean
by Candyce H. Stapen
Turquoise waters, sugar soft sands, reefs with rainbow-colored fish plus a laid-back attitude are just some of the reasons to head to the Bahamas and the Caribbean. With rates dropping as much as 20 percent in the off-season—April to mid-December—spring and summer bookings get you more vacation for your money. Yes, it’s hot, but likely not much more so than your hometown which may not come with sea breezes, palm trees, clear, cool waters, and spectacular beaches. Even though the official hurricane season runs from May through October, more storms tend to appear August through October.
Here are some good choices from the bustling Atlantis to the laid-back Long Bay Beach Resort and Villas to the Almond all-inclusive properties.
The Bahamas
Atlantis, Paradise Island
 Atlantis was always big, but the Paradise Island mega-property just got bigger. In March the resort added the Cove, 600 suites that push the total number of rooms to more than 2,900. With the March opening of AQUAVENTURE, the resort debuted 63 more acres of water fantasyland in addition to the original 34-acre playscape of swimming pools, snorkeling lagoon and waterslides. With 97 acres of wet fun—and that’s not counting the oceanfront beach—Atlantis floats to the top as the largest water-themed attraction in the world. Plus for parents the property still has the largest casino on the island.
When the Mandara Spa opens mid-April, you and your teens can challenge yourself on the rock climbing wall and relax afterwards with treatments, including special facials geared to teens.
AQUAVENTURE’s Dolphin Cay offers close encounters with 17 friendly bottlenose residents. The new river ride comes with rapids and the Abyss, a wicked waterslide, drops daredevils a gut-wrenching, nearly vertical 50 feet into darkness and through a waterfall.
For tamer fun browse the outdoor aquarium, a favorite element of Atlantis. Walk through the shark tunnel, admire the stingrays and turtles in the lagoons as well as the tanks of jellyfish, lobsters, piranhas, and seahorses. Splashers, the children’s water play area, provides kid-sized slides, cargo nets and rope bridges for climbing and a bucket that dumps 320 gallons of water on youngsters.
The Discovery Kids Adventure camp offers mini-challenges and beach Olympics for ages six to 12 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. With Morning Escape, youngsters ages three to five take part in a Junkanoo parade, create a sand sculpture or do other activities from 9 a.m. to noon. ‘Tweens and Teens congregate at Club Rush, open from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. for six to 12-year-olds and from 8:30 p.m. to midnight for ages 13 to 17 (800-ATLANTIS; www.Atlantis.com).
British Virgin Islands
Long Bay Beach Resort and Villas, Tortola
 The signature photo of Tortola, the one with the mile-long, white sand beach lined with palm trees, is taken at Long Bay Beach Resort and Villas. Lounging, sandcastle building and strolling are prime activities.
The 157-room oceanfront property rises from the sea, stretching up to a wind-swept peak. Choose from beachfront and poolside rooms, two or three bedroom villas, timeshare units with kitchen facilities as well as several hillside estate homes.
A Tortola favorite, Long Bay Beach Resort recently hired Peter Hamil as their new executive chef. His cuisine is among the island’s best, an imaginative and flavorful mix of classic favorites with island flair. Be sure to sample the duck foie gras with strawberry compote as well as the avocado and lobster salad.
Since the resort does not offer a kids’ program and the surf can be rough at the beach, the property works best for families with ‘tweens and teens interested in boating and snorkeling. The BVI’s more than 60 cays and islets, many with abundant, fringing reefs, make it the sailing capital of the Caribbean. Dive Tortola, on property, arranges day outings and offers dive and lodging packages. The villas and estate homes offer extra space plus the convenience of kitchens. The rooms tend to be oversized and comfortable, despite small showers and, in some units a tired decor. Renovations should be completed by the end of 2007.
For a spectacular lodging, book Sundial, a hilltop estate with a private pool, a panoramic view, four bedrooms and contemporary furnishings. Family adventure packages are available (800-345-0356; www.EliteIslands.com).
Barbados and St. Lucia
Almond Beach Resorts
Almond Resorts, a family-friendly, all-inclusive chain, debuted its second property on St. Lucia in February. Almond Smugglers Cove Resort, with 357 rooms, sprawls on 60 acres fronting a bay on the island’s northwest coast, eight miles from the capital city of Castries. Like Almond Morgan Bay, St. Lucia’s first Almond property, and the chain’s popular Almond Beach Club, Barbados, Smugglers Cove offers lots to do. Sailing, snorkeling, waterskiing and windsurfing are complementary and the resorts offer kids’ splash pools and air-conditioned children’s facilities. The nursery, caring for infants to 24 months old, and the Mini Kids’ Club, for ages two to four, are open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Both the Kids Club, targeted to ages four to seven and eight to 12, and the Teen Center geared to ages 13 and up are open daily 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Kids participate in nature walks, cooking classes as well as golf and tennis clinics. For kids younger than four, there’s evening babysitting for a fee.
Almond Casuarina Beach Resort, another family-friendly resort, opens on Barbados in summer 2007 (800-4ALMOND; www.almondresorts.com).
| |
|
Great Places, Great Deals
|
| |
|
—Arizona: Fairmont Scottsdale Princess, Scottsdale
With the Dive-In Days package, get a deluxe room, a $100 per day dining credit and complimentary access for ages five to 12 to the Kid’s Club and for teens to the Hangout. Rooms start at $249 and the offer is available from June 15 through September 11, 2007 (800-344-4758; www.fairmont.com).
-Vermont: Basin Harbor Club, Vergennes, VT
The Basin Harbor Club, a 700-acre family-friendly property on Lake Champlain, tempts families with Vermont’s lakeside scenery, good food and children’s programs for ages three to 17. Come June 5 to 8 to build and then launch your own boat. The boat building package includes accommodations in a two-bedroom lakeside cabin as well as breakfast, lunch and dinner daily for a family of four. The package starts at $2,222 (800-622-4000; www.basinharbor.com).
|
|
| |
|
*****
– Candyce H. Stapen is the author of
27 books, including National Geographic Guide to Caribbean Family
Vacations.
|
