Ever dreamed about running off to a deserted island in the Caribbean, without phones, TVs or internet? It’s easier than you think… and you certainly don’t have to give up ALL the creature comforts to “get away from it all”. Check out this trip report from my honeymooners who just returned from Palm Island, in the Grenadines.
Hi Ann first of all we wanted to thank you so much — we had an amazing time!
The destination was beyond amazing! The views were out of this world with crystal clear waters. The minute you land on Union Island, the Palm Island staff was so attentive grabbing our bags and driving us to the dock where we took the 5 minute boat ride to Palm Island. As soon as we got to the dock on Palm Island we were greeted by the general manager and staff with a glass of champagne!! They walked us right to our room and let us check-in the next morning … giving us time to relax and unwind after a full day of traveling!! 🙂
The resort is only about 43 rooms but I’m sure only half were occupied … or so it felt that way. There were times where Angel and I were the only ones on the beach! It was perfect! Never once did you feel like one place was crowed. There was also a great mix of guests …there were honeymooners of course.. but there were mostly couples on their anniversary, or simply on a vacation getaway. It’s so quiet and barely no one around that I was afraid that Angel would get bored… since there are no tv’s or wi-fi (they have one really really slow computer in the rec room) … we made sure to bring a couple of books and also took bikes that the resort offers free of charge all around the island! There is definitely no night life on Palm Island …dinner is over by 9:30-10 and I believe the bar shuts down at 10:30. Angel and I were okay with that … since we were getting up early to make sure we didn’t miss breakfast! (which ends at 10am and lunch doesn’t start till 12!) The food and drinks were amazing!!!! Lunch was 3 courses and dinner was 5! I have never been to a resort where the staff greets everyone by their first names. They also put the napkins on your laps every time you sit to have a meal! (I know it silly to mention but the attention to details were beyond our expectations). The chef also greeted everyone during dinner every single night!
When we left Palm Island, I actually was missing the staff — everyone was beyond amazing! They were so personable that we built such great relationships with each of them during a short stay. They had such strong work ethics that you saw them bright and early serving breakfast and you saw the same people late at night serving dinner and never once did they complain or showed that they were tired! Our room was also nice, really spacious and clean all the time! The turndown service also really surprised us! It was really neat how they would leave a note every night on our pillows after each turndown service.
During our stay at Palm Island we enjoyed the sunset cruise on a sail boat which we loved … all the sunsets were amazing! We also had to do dinner at the well known heart shaped palm tree it was sooooo romantic! Loved it! We also did a half day excursion to the Tobago Cays where we took a sail boat, swam with turtles and went snorkeling around the reefs while there was a bbq cooking for us. What really amazed me about the staff about Palm Island was how genuine they were… I don’t know how to swim but I got to experience swimming with the turtles because one of the guys took me out! He gave me a vest and made sure he held my hand the entire time so that Angel could also enjoy himself and not have to worry about me! I was able to go to deep waters and see all the amazing turtles around the cays! I would remember that forever!
Barbados was equally as beautiful. The experience was different than Palm Island… the Hilton was huge and tons of people … didn’t get greeted by first names or by the general manager … which we knew but I was missing Palm Island and the staff. The first day we got to Barbados we headed to Bridgetown and did some shopping .. we found it a little overwhelming and couldn’t find any local cheap places to eat so we headed back to the hotel. We found Barbados to be really expensive more expensive than we anticipated. They are known for their great foods/restaurants but almost all of them had dinner prefix’s starting at 95 US dollars a person for two course meals!! 🙁 The next day we decided to stay in and do a beach day. For our last dinner however we decided to do Harbour Lights which is a dinner show at a nightclub near the hotel. The hotel provides a shuttle to and from which was awesome. Angel and I found it reasonable since it was only 85 US dollars a person including a buffet dinner and free drinks all night and the show was soooo much fun! It was actually a great time …they had fire eaters, limbo dancers, a band etc. … we loved it and it was a great way to end an amazing honeymoon!!
Again, thank you so much for all your help! All the traveling/paperwork went really smoothly! Never had a problem! 🙂
-josie-
