Need suggestions as to where to stay before and after an upcoming sailing trip to BVI. We have been to most of the major Caribbean islands, and BVI some fifteen times.

This April/May we are hoping to spend one night in Antigua before flying over to BVI. We have done this a few times but never been terribly successful in finding good, clean accommodation with ease to get an evening meal. Bear in mind we are flying from UK and this means entry to the Caribbean via Antigua and, pretty much having no choice of airlines except LIAT within the islands.

After two or three weeks sailing, we are looking to have a stay of somwhere between three and seven days on one of the smaller islands between BVI and Antigua. Because of flights this is most likely to mean a stay on St Martin, St Kitts or Nevis.. Had thought Anguilla could be an option but that means flying first to Antigua and then back to Anguilla, so that doesn't end up as a sensible move. We would appreciate any suggestions of good hotels on these islands. We don't necessarily need to be on a beach as we will have just had plenty of sea and sand whilst sailing. Do not want to be in a busy, noisy, city type area though. Thanks for any ideas.

For St. Martin in particular, if and when you decide on SXM, you probably should post a note on the SXM board. But if you do choose SXM, I personally would pick either Le Petit (on the water in Grand Case, a beautiful small hotel), or it's sister hotel, L'esplanade, larger, not on the water, but with a pool. They are among the best hotels on SXM and on the french side, so no casinos or nightclubs or jumbo jets close. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Smile.gif" alt="" />

Thank you Carol. That looks lovely, and just 'us' too. Will certainly bear in mind. Am a little ignorant re St Martin. Can you pass freely from one side to the other? Technically using my European knowledge I know it shouldn't be any problem. What language do they speak on the French side? Not a problem as my French is not bad,and my husband actually has a sprinkling of Dutch, but nice to be pre-warned.
We can travel out via Paris to SXM, but the airport in Paris is one of my bete noirs. We would have to have five hours there on our return after a red-eye flight, which is pretty nearly unacceptable from previous experiences. Still a possibility though.....

There is no border crossing between the two sides of SXM. Everyone at Le Petit or Esplanade will speak English. Almost everyone else on the french side will also speak at least some English and if you have some french, you should be entirely good to go. Air France is nonstop to SXM from Paris, yes. Not sure how convenient it would be, but you also have KLM from Amsterdam, non stop to SXM. I THINK that is all the nonstops from Europe to SXM.

Edit, oh and by the way, as far as Anguilla, most everyone who stays on Anguilla flies into SXM and takes the ferry over. I read in the paper the other day that they are considering extending the runway there, but that currently 90% of the people who stay on Anguilla do NOT fly in there and as far as I know, there are no other ferries going into Anguilla from other islands, so I guess most people come on the ferry from SXM.

Thanks for all your very helpful information. Head spinning here!

OK, let me know if you have any other questions. I personally don't know much about accomodations on Anguilla, but there are lots of people on the SXM board who are pretty familiar with Anguilla.

Check out Nevis. Gets great reviews. Friendly locals, quiet, beautiful scenery, plantation boutique hotels that are not too expensive. Liat flies from SXM to Nevis.

salica: Have you looked at the LIAT website ? If you are flying from Tortola, I believe there is a direct flight to Anguilla. Since everything does go through Antigua eventually, don't rule out any of their destinations. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Wink.gif" alt="" />

Sue... We second Carol's suggestion of Le Petit Hotel at Grand Case, St Martin. It's a few years now since we last stayed there but it was a lovely hotel right in gastronomic heaven.

Second all of the suggestions for Le Petit Hotel in Grand Case, St. Martin; it's a little oasis.

I often combine my stays at Le Petit with a stay in Nevis at Nisbet Plantation -- my idea of heaven on earth.

If you're interested, I've blogged about my most recent trip (November, 2014) here: Calypso's Odyssey -- this is the first of a handful of posts about the trip.

On Mike's recommendation, we've also stayed at Le Petit and had one of our best vacations ever.

Thank you everyone for your suggestions. We have now made our bookings. Due to lateness of booking airlines we have had some major issues acquiring flights and are now going to St Kitts at Ottleys Plantation. Maybe we can go to St Martin on another occasion as we certainly liked the sound of the hotels L'Esplanade especially. We ended up using a consolidator to get our flights after many attempts to do it ourselves, and the one major bonus is that we get Premium Economy seats for less than the price of regular seats. Weird, but I'm not going to complain.
Any suggestions re St Kitts, where to go, what to do, restaurants, grateful received.

OK, at least you got comfortable airline seats! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Smile.gif" alt="" /> Suggest you might want to post a separate St. Kitts thread. Enjoy your trip!

Take a day trip to Nevis on the ferry and visit Sunshines beach bar for one of his "killer bees". (only need one!) <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/drinking.gif" alt="" />

Good choice Sue. Never stayed at Ottleys but had several meals there - and a drink or two - and it is a very nice place.

Can't think of any other bars/restaurants to recommend but a trip up Brimstone Hill to the fort is enjoyable.

Ottley's Plantation is lovely. We combined a stay there with a stay a Nisbet Plantation on Nevis. Nisbet is on a beach; Ottley's is in the mountains, and rests in the shadow of Mt. Liamuiga:



We stayed in one of the cottages with a plunge pool, and our favorite pastime was watching the green vervet monkeys cavorting on the grounds at mealtimes (i.e. after dawn, before dusk).



I highly recommend renting a car and circumnavigating the island. Although the beaches aren't the greatest, the topography of the island is lush and mountainous. One of the beautiful spots is called Black Rocks, and you have a view of the sea, the black rocks, and the island of Statia in the distance.

Thanks everyone. Sounds like I had hoped it would be. Won't be needing a beach after BVIs, never liked sand in places I didn't know I had anyway! looking forward to peace, not cooking (!) and the monkeys. Will certainly go round the island. Has anyone been horse back riding there as that is something I hav done before on smaller islands, and had a fabulous insight?