We moved onto Carlisle Bay for 4 nights, after spending 7 nights in the average St. James club. I can't speak highly enough of Carlisle Bay. It was absolute luxury and the staff couldn't do enough for you. At breakfast every morning you were greeted with a lovely smile and made feel very much at home. On the day we arrived, one of the managers, Andy, showed us around and made sure we were looked after very well. All the staff knew we had just arrived and that we were on honeymoon and it was such a lovely touch, especially being called by my new married name! I was a little bit worried about the food before going to Carlisle Bay as some reviews on Trip Advisor said it wasn't varied enough and wasn't of good quality. They are WRONG! The food was wonderful and while there aren't 100 things on the menu, the dishes that are there, are done to the highest of standards. We ate in East, the Asian Fusion restaurant for 3 nights and had a different and gorgeous dish each night. On Friday nights, there is a BBQ on the beach. I was expecting to be handed a few sausages on a plate while standing...I was in for a lovely surprise. They had brought all the tables from the Indigo restaurant out on to the beach at the waters edge with only candlelight to eat your dinner over. There were two bonfires at either end and a brilliant kettle-drum band playing...it was the true Caribbean experience I'd been hoping for! And, the food at the BBQ was absolutely delicious.
Overall, Carlisle Bay was the perfect end to our honeymoon and we're definitely planning on going back for a wedding anniversary at some stage!

Although we stayed at this hotel more than a year ago, I use this site regularly and feel I should be better about communicating my experiences.

My husband and I have three young children. Once per year, we travel to someplace warm without our kids. We have stayed at the Ocean Club (Bahamas), Las Ventanas (Mexico), La Luna (Grenada) and last year at Carlisle Bay. Typically we are looking for a quiet, small, luxurious hotel on the beach. Carlisle bay delivered on many accounts. The rooms are beautiful. We loved the espresso machines in the room too! And, we'd recommend the top floor suites for privacy. The rooms are a little modern/minimal which we really like. Room service was great. And, the food and service were great. Our biggest compaint is that you pay $200 for dinner and there are kids next to you playing gameboys or watching a movie on their portable dvd players. I guess if you are paying $1,000/night plus for a hotel, I would think people wouldn't bring their kids to this quiet hotel. But, the hotel has opened a kids club and they are making this a focus. So, if you are looking to get away from the kids.. be forewarned that they are around and welcomed everywhere. On all other accounts, the hotel delivered for us.

This was our third visit, and there will be a fourth for sure.

The hotel remembered us with a 'welcome back' and a bottle of Ruinart + canapes : very nice touch.

The main differences from the early days are :

(i) The staff are so much more confident and seem happy and eager to please
(ii) they have made tangible improvements to the infrastructure e.g. their kids' club is awesome, really world class, and they have a kids' buffet in the evenings which is complementary.
(iii) activities are great
(iv) gym is amazing - best equipment I've ever seen
(v) food is really excellent. Very inventive with top ingredients.

The only real negative is the beach : it is not the most beautiful on the island, more like a lake than azur waters you would expect. But that is a minor quibble. For couples with young families, I recommend this over almost all hotels in the Caribbean (particularly if flying direct from LGW).

Having just come back from the Carlisle Bay Hotel after a weeks R and R I thought I should share my experience with you. What a beautiful location, with lush tropical gardens, beautiful calm uncrowded beach, picture postcard stuff really nice.
Having visited many Caribbean islands in the past and there hotels I would say this is one of the nicest I've stayed at, I booked mainly because it came highly recommended in one of my Trip Advisor emails that I had received back in February enticing me to seek out the Caribbean sun. Upon investigation it had everything anyone could want on holiday, good food, nice surroundings, it's size- small by hotel standards meaning it wouldn’t be crowded or noisy, just peaceful which is what I wanted.
There's a beautiful large, warm uncrowded pool right next to a bar, sort of hidden away in the tropical gardens between the accommodation and the reception area. My room was magnificent right on the beach on the ground floor, just open the large glass sliding doors and there it is in all it's glory just like a postcard/ magazine absolutely stunning surroundings you could not want for more.
The beach is mostly hot, white sand with a gentle surf from the bay lapping up on the shores, very secluded and serene, lots of palm trees for shade, loungers scattered all over but not too many just enough, it was never really busy or noisy just enjoyable, they bring you bottled water and fresh fruit, towels and drinks all day long absolutely great. No one disturbs you- bliss.
There’s all sorts of non-motorised boats to use, snorkelling equipment, wind surf boards etc. if you wish to use it- free of charge.
We just chilled out for the week, had breakfast by room service every morning out on or porch, food choice absolutely amazing, all prepared fresh, even home made French toast which is to die for. If anything too much food, I must have gained a stone or two.
We had dinner most evenings by room service too as it seemed the most peaceful and relaxed way after a hard day sunning ourselves. We did eat in the Indigo on the beach restaurant one night but preferred the room service menu as it wasn’t as noveau- cuisine. All the food was great no complaints and room service is 24-7.
We stayed in an Ocean suite which is to a very high standard of fit and finish and large for 2 people. Very comfortable and pleasant.
Each night one of the maids comes and turns your bed down, puts out bottled water on a little cotton coaster, a cotton floor mat on either side of the bed so you don’t have to step out of your warm bed onto the cold ceramic floors, they also sort out your bathroom with fresh towels etc, top up the ice bucket etc. Great service, you feel like royalty. The only thing they didn't do was put toothpaste on your toothbrush for you, amazing service nothing was too much trouble.
I also liked the touch of everyone you speak to remembers your name and it's little touch's like that, that make you feel like a VIP. The attention to detail is great.
We hired a car at the airport which gave us the freedom to explore the island as I can only do so much sunbathing and the cab fares from the hotel into town were a bit on the pricey side, if you plan to trip out more than twice it's cheaper to hire a little jeep but be warned the roads are very bumpy and potholed with no road signs or logic to them, expect to get lost everytime you venture out and look out for all the livestock roaming on the roads, goats, cows. donkeys, chickens etc. really neat and always an adventure.
We checked out all the tourist spots we had read about prior to our holiday, Nelson's Dockyard - not much there just some over priced shops, St. John's small shopping district, lively and interesting, we managed to venture there twice to explore some more, no real parking mind you and busy full of crowded one way streets, Devil's Bridge- Hard to find, it's off a very bumpy dirt road on the right before you get to the dead end on the main tarmaced road, not touristy in the least. Stingray City- On route to Devil's Bridge again very hard to find down twisty one lane dirt track trough a strange sort of housing estate, did not have the bottle to swim the stingrays’ though- chickened out. Jolly Harbour not far from the resort where there’s a local supermarket and some neat places to eat.
Visited Shirley Heights on Sunday night for the BBQ and rum punch, what a great atmosphere, a bit crowded but a good night, take a taxi from the hotel as you'll never find your way back in the dark and obviously don’t want to drive after all the rum punch.
All in all a great holiday, my only real gripe is the cost of the mini bar in your room, where do they get off charging 25-30 USD for a half bottle of average wine, 6 USD for a local beer etc. It's cheaper to walk over to the bar or order it delivered to your room at least the wine selection is good, alternatively stock up at the local supermarket at Jolly Harbour.
I had one issue in the bar in Indigo on the beach where we had drinks prior to dinner one night whilst waiting for our table, you have to remember that everything they bring you, you have to sign for on your room tab, it's great when on the beach etc. as you never need to carry/ find a place to stash your cash etc. they are always waving little pieces of paper in front of you for signature almost like being at work, it becomes somewhat annoying, anyway on this night we both had a drink each, and then another both of which I signed for separately, we then went and had a lovely meal overlooking the torch lit beach al-fresco really nice, with the ever-present wind the candle on our table had extinguished itself and I reached for my lighter as I smoke, only to remember I had left my cigarettes on the table near the bar some 5 minutes earlier, so I went over to get them to find they hade been cleared away, so I asked the wait staff where my English cigarettes had gone and no on knew anything total denial, I was shocked as I'd only just sat at the table 5 minutes earlier and it was no where near busy, we were about the only ones there, I put it down to experience but was a bit put off by the staffs attitude given the wonderful service everywhere else, I said to my partner one of them probably smokes and I'm sure the odd free pack of cigarettes doesn't go amiss it's a bit like a tip/ fringe benefit of the job and I doubt they earn vast amounts of money, anyway, we had a bottle of wine with dinner as you do, when the bill came I noticed that they had added on the drinks we had previously, the ones I'd already signed for, so I spoke with the maitre-de, who spoke with staff and after a bit of an exchange, ie: me refusing to sign for something I hadn't had/ twice for the same thing, the bill was amended, but under great protest and it was almost as if they were calling me a liar/ insinuating it, quite rude infact, the maitre-de even tried to say they had lost the previous bills and I need to sign again which I refused to, I took the opportunity to re-raise my concerns over my cigarettes going missing stating that it was impossible in such a short space of time, she asked me to ID the person/ persons involved unfortunately I was not really paying that much attention as to who served me and could not. Anyway about 10 o'clock that evening I had a knock at the door and low and behold my cigarettes had miraculously turned up, very strange.
Oh and those drinks were on my final bill at the end, something to watch when your always signing for stuff and not fully checking the bill and given the somewhat high prices, well I'm sure larger parties are more at risk of this sort of thing and I guess it's another way for staff to make money if that's what's going on. Just be wary, it was another reason why I preferred the room service, I didn't want another encounter like that as you have to show yourself up a bit and others around you must wonder what's going on. A bit embarrassing.
Anyway that’s a very minor issue overall, but I felt I must share my experience.
That said you have to expect that you get what you pay for in this life and the service, surroundings, atmosphere and sheer peace is worth every penny. And yes I'd go back tomorrow if I could afford it, one of the best holiday's I've had and it will take some beating.
Well done to One Aldwych you have got it almost spot on sheer Caribbean paradise