c. zanoff

I'm looking at going to Tortolla in April. Has anyone else been? Would you recommend it...where's a terrific place to stay> I'd love a nice romantic place!

Thaks!

Lynn R.

Just ret'd from Tortola-1/14 thru 1/19. Absolutely fabulous place. Great weather, restaurants, snorkeling, beaches. Most romantic places to stay: The Sugar Mill or Prospect Reef Beach Resort. We stayed at Prospect Reef this trip. Oceanfront room with large, private balcony/patio was simple but very nice:large,pretty, clean room, ize bed, fantastic views, reasonable prices. Would definately stay here again, but would also love to try the Sugar Mill. VERY elegant in a casual, Caribbean way and VERY romantic. Highly thought of by people staying there that we talked with. Imperative to rent a 4-wheel drive vehicle on this island. We took the greatest sailing/snorkleing cruise on the Patouche II: great dive sites, good prices, clean, well-appt'd boat, great owner/hosts. Can contact them at [email protected]. Wish we would have done the whole day trip instead of the half. Great fun/great snorkeling! Restaurants: The Sugar Mill is by far the best and most romantic.Well worth every penny. The Skyworld is great for a drink and snack while watching the sunset but DO NOT eat dinner hereverpriced and the food is terrible (under new management since Fodor's review).The Calaloo at Prospect Reef has a beautiful waterfront dining room. Try their curried lamb, it's fantastic! Pusser's Landing at Soper's Hole, West End a great place for lunch and shopping. Tortolans are very friendly, honest but very proper: no bathing suits in even casual cafes or stores. Dress is resort- casual, heavy on the casual, but for the best tables and service, women wear skirts or nice casual sundresses and no shorts or sandals for the men in the nicer restaurants. It Does make a difference here. Shopping: limited. Best items are beachwear, tee shirts, rum, Cuban cigars, spices and such, Caribbean art. English spoken here, American currency used, no sales tax. For a great off-island treat, take the ferry to Peter Island for one of the 10 most romantic beaches in the world. Good snorkeling, great beach, important to bring decent/nice beachwear cover-ups to wear in their beachfront cafe. This is a very nice, but expensive resort and, although day trippers are welcome, they expect you to dress nicely. Lunch service starts at 12:30. The bar is open earlier for juice and drinks. Ferry is $15.00/person round trip, which is approx. 20 minutes. Need passports or drivers licences, birth cerfificates and marriage license (to verify name change). A 60/40 European/American crowd. Not a place for fancy resort wear, but proper. You'll have a lovely time there!

Robert morton

Tortola was beautiful. My wife daughter and I stayed at Sebastian's on the Sea for several days, then stayed at a place on Cane Bay. Rent a 4-wheeled jeep and do much island exploring. The steep hills are great and the scenery breathtaking. Remote beaches like Smuggler's Cove is incredibly beautiful. When you get there, get a map of the island and ask where all the great snorkeling beaches are from the hotel manager, and visit them. We identified over 45 reef fish in less than 10 feet of water: sargeant majors, butterfly fish, file fish, a couple southern stingrays, several medium sized barracuda, yellow tangs, blue tangs, etc. etc. etc. Have fun!! bob morton.

Rick

I also just returned from Tortolla on July 29th, 2002. I unfortunately disagree with the other two people who have written you a response.<BR><BR>DON'T GO TO TORTOLLA!!!!!<BR><BR>I should probably clarify this. The only thing that's great about Tortolla is the topography of the island and the beaches. The rest of the island isn't worth it if you ask me. The restaurants aren't great, the accomodations are not very good and the worst thing is the people on this island. They have the worst attitude towards foreigners that I have ever seen. I don't think this was just because of me and my wife. The other people that live on the island that are not from there will tell you the same thing. The island is littered with abandoned cars and equipment. They are raping the land for all the minerals they can and on top of it the locals are incredibly ignorant. If I were to go to the BVI again, I definitely would not stay on this island. I probably would stay on St.Johns if it is feasible.

anon

Locals ignorant? and you would go to St. Johns if you went to the BVI again? St. John is not even a BVI. The beaches: Smugglers and Brewers are nice but rest are not particular noteworthy. Tortola is known for laid back Carib style and my choice would be Frenchman's Cay but no terrrfic spots to stay. Skip Prospect Reef unless you don't mind going all the way to the Caribbean and not being on a beach. And sharing your digs with captured dolphins. And being hit up to buy a timeshare. <BR>Look beyond Tortola or down island to some of the terrific spots the Virgins offer including the USVI's St. John.

msspell

Rick- you are incredibly ignorant . "ME and my wife?" That's what a fourth grader would say. You misspelled TORTOLA and ST. JOHN . You probably did something incredibly embarrasing for Americans to the locals for you to blast them. You are clueless. Tortola and Virgin Gorda are stunning places without the gross commercial high rises, fast food ad nauseum. People like you don't get it.

Rick

I do apologize if I have offended anyone with my thoughts on Tortolla. And please excuse my grammar. I really just wanted to get the point across that this island was a very big disappointment. I've traveled pretty extensively and I get it. I'll just say that the same things I told you in my last reply were reiterated to me by the people who live on this island that were not from there. And the worst thing about these people is that they have no pride. It is very sad if you ask me. If I've offended again, I do apologize. I only think that the person asking the question deserves an honest answer.

anon2

You only compound your ignorance. The Belongers do have inordinate amounts of pride and are far from ignorant. Might not chose the live the way you do, thankfully, but it is clear who the ignorant one is. You can dislike a destination for many reasons and Tortola is not one that I would chose but I would do my homework to avoid a mismatch like you obviously discovered. BTW, the term Belonger is the appropriate term for the citizens of the BVI.

ML

Rick I love Tortola and you did not offend me, however I do not live there and you might have offended the people that do. Everyone has their own opinions and we should respect them. Go esay on the people though, trash the resort or the beach but not the people. We stayed at Long Bay first time in 1993.<BR>Found Smugglers Cove, the honor bar<BR>and Uncle Bob. We also met alot of great people on the trip. Went back in 1999, the resort had certain upgrades and our cab driver Kelly was still doing a great job. He lives there and is a teacher during the year. Very nice man. We also always rent a car for a couple of days. You can take alot of day trips to several Islands when you stay in The BVI's a. We also enjoyed meeting the sailing crowd in Cane Bay. I will go back again some day and hope to attend another full moon party at Bomba's. <BR><BR>Food and snorkeling were great when I was there. Have Fun!!

Bob

Thank you, Rick, for a VERY HONEST report. I, for one, greatly appreciate it. And just for the record, I DON'T like St. John either!