TravelTalkOnline Forums Trip Reports (Read Only) BVI Trip Reports and Photos BVI Trip Report - Long Bay Beach Resort 3 weeks

<br><br>Here we go then:-<br><br><br>This is a trip report following a 21 night trip to Tortola. I have not followed the usual diary format but split the report into different sections.<br><br>Location<br><br>We stayed at the Long Bay Beach Resort, even though we were slightly concerned at some of the comments on this board. This place was magnificent – we stayed in a Deluxe Beach Front which was spacious and had all the amenities we needed. The room was yards from the beach and had an excellent view. Nice little extras made the stay fantastic – like fresh flowers in the room every day, a bottle of mineral water in the fridge each day and the provision of ‘Off’ - the mosquito repellent. <br><br>The beach at Long Bay is beautiful, some previous comments re the rocky beach are correct, but there was excellent swimming at the west end of the beach and opposite the beach café was safe enough. The snorkelling here is OK with the highlight swimming with 3 nurse sharks just off shore.<br><br>The restaurants are fine but expensive – take the meal plan if you plan to eat at the hotel.<br><br>One main comment I have seen on this board is that the staff are unfriendly – from our experience this could not have been further from the truth. We had an unexpected experience in the restaurant one evening where the steak I had ordered was not right. I sent it back to the kitchen. The waitress was very apologetic, the chef came out to apologise and then the catering manager paid us a visit. All food and drinks were complimentary that evening. The next day the manager called our room and apologised for the problems in the restaurant the previous evening. He then invited us to be his guest the following evening. We had a free meal and drinks and I spoke to the manager about some of the comments from this board about the unfriendliness of the staff. His reaction was that ‘if some guests have a problem with the unfriendliness of the staff then he is sorry but his staff have a major problem with the unfriendliness and attitude of their guests! Some people make unrealistic demands on his staff and demand everything to be done immediately, the key word being demand. If guests were more civil then they will be treated as such – the moral is : treat others how you expect to be treated<br><br>My job is quite intense and we chose this place because we had to go somewhere that was completely relaxing – We chose correctly - We spent most of our time relaxing at the pool or beach. My wife had some treatments at the Spa which she says were well worth it.<br><br>Days Out<br><br>We went to Road Town to shop and take a look around. Great market for cheap souvenirs and T-Shirts. We walked round and ended up at Pussers for lunch. A cruise ship arrived later on and the place became quite crowded so we headed back to the hotel.<br><br>Sopers hole is a good place to chill out and have a look round some shops, we went there 4 times to watch the boats coming in and out. We ate at Pussers each time – the 25C chicken wings are excellent.<br><br>As we were in the BVI it would have been mad not to have some excursions on the water. We hired a power boat in Cane Garden Bay for a day. We had great fun and just cruised round to Beef Island and back, followed by a trip over to Jost. The sea was quite choppy and we were thrown about a bit which was great fun.<br><br>We also went on Patouche II for a day sale over to Norman and Peter – this was fantastic and one of the highlights of the trip. Their catamaran is spacious and comfortable – what made it even better was the fact that there were only 7 of us on the trip. It was quite a rough day so we all got quite wet on the trips between the islands – great fun! <br><br>We got taxis to some other beaches during our stay including Smugglers cove and Can Garden Bay – all are beautiful beaches and there never seems to be many people on them.<br><br>We went up to Skyworld for a snack and to enjoy the view. These roads are crazy.<br><br>Other Islands<br><br>We visited Jost Van Dyke and Virgin Gorda.<br><br>Jost is wonderful – a real Robinson Crusoe island. If you want the ultimate rtreat ‘away from it all’ this is the place. We went over to Jost on a power boat so we started at Sandy Cay and worked our way round to all the bays. We visited Foxys and the Soggy Dollar Bar for the obligatory painkillers. We then sat on the beach taking in the view of Tortola and the USVI. The day was exceptionally clear and the views were breathtaking.<br><br>We went over to Gorda on Speedys ferry out of Road Town. I’ve never been on a ferry like this before – we went over on a Sunday and we were the only tourists on the boat. The locals were dressed up and visiting family and friends on Gorda – all in their Sunday best.<br><br>We visited the Baths while on Gorda – wow! The trail is good fun and takes you through some amazing caves and pools. This place is awesome, great snorkelling and a great bar. <br><br>Bombas Shack<br><br>We were lucky to be there for the full moon party on 5th July. FANTASTIC – do they know how to party!! The bands were great, the people friendly and the drink flowed. There were probably about 500 people there, and all were having a great time. <br><br>We visited other nights as well which were obviously quieter but the atmosphere was always excellent – everyone just having fun.<br><br>Snorkelling<br><br>We both enjoy snorkelling and found some of the best we have experienced. We had a couple of hours snorkelling over at the caves near Norman. This was fantastic! We saw rays and turtles along with all the usual suspects. The water was crystal clear and the reef was in great shape.<br><br>We also snorkelled at Smugglers – just off the beach. I have never seen so many fish in such a small area – the painkillers from the bar on the beach are well worth it here.<br><br>The Journey<br><br>We travelled Virgin form London to Antigua with a connection to Beef via St Martin on Liat – no problems or delays. The journey home was again without delays or problems – apart from the fact we did not want to go home. We got lucky on the jumbo back to London because we were upgraded to 1st so that was a nice way to finish our trip off.<br><br>Conclusion<br><br>We have travelled all over the Caribbean and this is by far the best place we have visited and will be back next year.<br><br>Very friendly people, weather was perfect and the location could not have been better. I would highly recommend the BVI to anyone who wants paradise!<br><br><br>[img]/images/icons/cool.gif[/img]<br><br><P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by Administrator on 7/23/01 01:08 PM.</EM></FONT></P>