From: Rob & Shawynn, soxfanrz@yahoo.com
Date: 4/22/03 9:42:42 PM
Remote Name: 64.107.145.109
My wife & I just returned from our honeymoon on St.Kitts and we made the BIG mistake and stayed at Ottley's Plantation. Very nice grounds and extremely helpful staff however, the owners have to be the most pretentious people on the island. If you aren't interested in spending $75/person/day on the 4 course gourmet dinner in their restaurant, they have no interest in talking to you. Maybe it was just us, but we felt very out of place and probably would be more comfortable staying at the Marriott. $15 for a cheeseburger? Give me a break! I can understand hotels/inns charging a premium for food & drinks, but they are taking advantage of people. Some of the locals we talked to even agreed with our feelings about the owners. Hopefully they read this board and get the message because I'm sure the better run hotels like the Marriott will negatively impact their business.
Other thoughts about our trip:
Taxi island tour - This has to be the best value for the money. We had Sargent for a driver and he is very accomodating and let us set the pace of the tour. We visited Batik, Brimstone, black rock & lunch at Rawlins. Definitely do this instead of the train which doesn't stop anywhere.
Spirit of St Kitts Cat. - Also an excellent value & lots of fun. Very attentive crew, good drinks & food.
Volcano hike - This is a very strenous hike and expect to get dirty. We made the mistake of going with the "Duke of Earl". Seemed like he was running a marathon up the volcano. We started around 9:00 & returned around 12:30. Also, we were supposed to get lunch but all he provided was a couple pieces of fruit & an egg. Go with Gregs Safari's.
Restaurants - Ballahoo, Circus & Sunshines were very good. We didn't think Stonewalls was anything great however, we don't eat seafood which seems to be their specialty.
Overall the trip was average. One thing that really was disappointing was all the garbage strewn alongside the roads. Everywhere you looked there was garbage, discarded appliances and we even saw a burnt out car on one of the smaller beaches. The residents of the island are the friendliest I've met on any of the islands I've visited. They really appreciate tourists.