My husband, three kids (13, 10 and 7) and I returned a week ago from our second trip to BEYC. Two week stay. We had a great time, again, and will continue to recommend this resort for active travelers.
The trip got off to a good and bad start. Flights from the West Coast were flawless and we arrived at Tortola on time. Immigration at Beef Island was a nightmare! Really...I can't say enough about this. I'm quite familiar with "island time" and I don't have unreasonable expectations about efficiency. That's not what I'm really looking for. But this was really ridiculous. One American Eagle Flight from San Juan took the Beef Island Immigration more than TWO HOURS to process!! Customs was a breeze, but because of the delay in Immigrations we missed the first North Sound Express and had to wait on the dock another hour plus and arrived at BEYC several hours later than we had hoped. Given that I had three kids in tow and we had taken the red-eye from the West Coast, we were pretty wiped out. Arrival at BEYC went smoothly and I was able to get the room I requested. While we waited for them to set up our room (I had requested a change from what they had planned to give us), we had our first of many painkillers and the kids had virgin daquiris. Suddenly, we were all relaxed!
Beachfront rooms at the North End of the property continue to be our favorite despite the lack of A/C. I really don't think you need the A/C and I much prefer the view, the sound of the wind, water and birds. We spent our first couple days reaquainting ourselves with North Sound. Took out a couple Boston Whalers and went over to Prickly Pear and out to Oil Nut Bay (lots of little sharks!). Took out Hobie Waves...flipped a couple times until we got our skills back...then had a blast zooming around. LOTS of JELLYFISH, but mostly the harmless kind. Our first visit to BVI had been in June...no jellyfish. But it July, it was a different story.
Went out on BEYC excursion boat the Corinthian for day trips to the usual spots: The Baths, Fallen Jeruselam, Anegada, Norman Island, The Indians. Had bad weather the Anegada day and found Loblolly Bay choppy and cold. The Baths were crowed, as usual. Loved Fallen Jeruselam. Norman Island and the Indians remain our favorite...lots of fish. Kids had a great time on these day trips. Lots of other families on board and they have fun jumping off the top of the boat into the water below. Lunch cooked on board is yummy.
Took advantage of some day sail options in our Admiral's Package for stays of 10 days of more. Took out a Bradley 22 power boat with a captain for a day trip for our family to Jost Van Dyke. FABULOUS! Also did a half day and a full day sail on a Freedom 30 sailboat with a captain. Great experience for us as we are not sailors. Captains provided by BEYC were knowledgable and fun and made the days very special for my kids.
Food at BEYC remains good and plentiful. Certainly not gourmet, and after two weeks you're pretty much tired of it. But really, I can't complain. I love that it's included and I don't have to negotiate between the five of us where we're going to eat. They can all find something they want on the menu and I like it just fine. Service is good. Mostly staff are cheerful and helpful. Every once in awhile you get someone who seems a bit "burned out"(might be that it's late in the season), but the others more than make up for it. Watersports staff is really a credit to the place. Great young folks, both native and college kids from the States, who arranged activities and oversaw the small boats, windsurfers, etc. They were such fun and really took my kids under their wing. My daughter cried when we left about leaving these people! Kids programs include a daily morning "kids sail" for three hours and an afternoon "arts and crafts" group a couple days a week. In the evenings there are kids movies shown.
The Puerto Rican holidays fell during our stay this time. This meant a HUGE contingent of Puerto Rican power yachts arrived to moor at BEYC for about a week. They were a fun group, if a little noisy at times. BEYC accommodates them by providing a supplemental menu in the restaurant of Puerto Rican specialties prepared by a visiting chef. It was nice for us to get some of this more "ethnic" food and the yachts kept my 13 year old busy as each one was more powerful, luxurious and flashy than the one before it! They took up an awful lot of mooring balls, making negotiating the Sound in a small sailboat challenging, to say the least. I think I would avoid the last two weeks of July in the future...although it was not that bad.
We love the Bitter End. It is a wonderful place to go for active people who want to explore, get out on the water, snorkel and meet other like-minded people. It is not for those looking for total peace and tranquilty (although you can get this by going to the North End of the property or taking boats to other beaches in the area). It is an easy place to stay, with all your basic needs met without having to take out your wallet every ten minutes. The guests tend to be repeat visitors with lots of memories and history with the area. The location is perfect, so much to see in a small, easy to access area. The staff is knowledgable and friendly and really go out of their way to get to know you and personalize your stay. The excursions to other spots in the BVI to snorkel and explore are all INCLUDED and well worth the time.
At the end of two weeks it was hard to leave! We had made friends and really relaxed (I recommend two weeks for this reason). We felt at home in our little beachfront rooms and dreaded the flights back. But we made it safely (no delays again---we are truly grateful!), and we can't wait until our next trip to the Bitter End...we're planning it already!
