My husband and I travel extensively and therefore it was hard to think of where we should spend our 10th anniversary. He had heard of Discovery as a romantic spot and among the Leading Small Hotels of the World group. It lived up to every expectation one has for a romantic getaway. It was small and classy. The room was very comfortable, romantic with netting that housekeeping lowered each evening and the bathroom was full of amenities including suntan lotion and insect repellent. They have several water taxis and a speed boat to take you to their beach locations, we highly recommend the trip to the Pitons beach, but pass on the other destinations. Their bay beach is fine for half a day, however, the pools were so nice we mainly used them. My husband ordered a romantic breakfast on our anniversary and it came with a bottle of champagne and cake. They have a tree house (replicating the original "Dr. Doolittle") where we had our intimate anniversary dinner with all the privacy one could wish for as well as excellent food. Book it the day you arrive as it books quickly because only one couple can use it each evening. There are a variety of restaurants within the bay that are also available and accessible by the hotel water taxi which is free. This hotel is 5 star at its best with exceptional staffing, wonderful ambience and special touches. We loved every amenity and moment on the property.

As far as hotels go the Discovery is pretty much as described in the various descriptions I read, we had a bay view room in the “Carib” block. Of the room itself pretty much my only criticism would be that it was quite dark in the evenings which made it difficult for my wife to do her hair and makeup (a major catastrophe as I’m sure you can imagine!) The bathroom was nice and bright but had nowhere to plug in a hairdryer and straightners.

Depending on the location of your room there are indeed a lot of steps and steep inclines to walk up so I would agree that this may not be the best location for any who find walking/ climbing stairs difficult. There are absolutely no elevators, escalators etc etc.

I think, pretty much without fail, every member of staff we came across was polite and very helpful. As mentioned in previous entries, the concierge is only there between 9am and 5pm but I didn’t think this was too much of a problem. They are all very helpful and we had no trouble arranging most of our activities with them. Generally speaking everything to do with the hotel was great. The free mini bar went down particularly well.

One thing worth noting, situated right by the hotels two restaurants is the internet enabled computer for guest use. By the computer they put a board with the daily activities organised by the hotel, pretty much all of these are free. Also good to note – the hotels complimentary snorkel/ beach trips can only accommodate eight people per trip so if you want to go on one it is best to book it through the concierge as early as you can.

We rented a car for the week which may not have been the best thing to do in the end. I booked it online through Sixt but they use Drive a Matic on the island. WHAT A HUGE NIGHTMARE!!!! With only one exception all their people were very unhelpful, the car was a skip on wheels and we had a thoroughly horrible experience with Drive a Matic which is still ongoing. If you want more info on that contact me through the trip advisor website.

The breakfast did get a bit “same old” by the end of the week but was still very nice and the ladies in the restaurant were helpful, friendly and very attentive. As for the Hurricane Hole – good food but a little expensive. Of the other restaurants around the bay the hotels boat The Gingerbread will take you to any of them for free. When you are done with your meal have the restaurant call the hotel and they send the gingerbread over to come get you – very nice.

The Rainforest Hideaway was very nice. I would say it is the more upmarket of the venues on offer. They charge a set price (EU$ 120 per person for two courses when we went). We had a main course and shared a dessert and still had to pay the full amount. It is very small and so very unlikely that you would get a table without a reservation. Chateaux Mygo has a happy hour every night – 2 for 1 cocktails. We thought their food was nice although nothing special. One night we went they had a great band playing so we enjoyed it.

JJ’s is also just across the bay and accessible via the Gingerbread. My wife enjoyed the vegetable stir fry but my pork creole was a little too “ethnic”. We didn’t eat there twice.

If you are going to get food from the Hurricane Hole I would suggest using room service. It takes about the same amount of time but we were able to chill in our room whilst waiting for our food. For chocolate lovers the Choc shock brownie should not be missed!!! Wherever you eat they add a 10% service charge to the bill.

It is worth bearing in mind that as a general rule the service is going to be slow so the quicker you settle into the island time frame the better it will be for you.

As far as activities go we enjoyed the scuba diving best. Neither of us had been before and the wife was quite nervous. We went with Dive Fair Helen conveniently located behind JJ’s. The staff were friendly and very helpful. They gave us a briefing showed us all the equipment and we were off. Some of our group were already PADI certified, others were taking their certificates, we were the only two first timers. We had two 40 minutes dives, were fully supervised just about every second and had an amazing time. They were a little pushy trying to sell us a PADI course at the very beginning but once we had convinced them we only wanted the day trip they were fine (USD $125 each). We went on a kayak trip with them the next day too which was a lot of fun. They picked us guava, mango and other fruits as we went along. The hotel does have free kayaks you can use but the local knowledge was, in my opinion, well worth the money.

I think the hotels main drawback is its location. Whilst the marina is very nice and there are a number of difference places to eat, once you leave the hotel complex activities are somewhat limited. The hotel has no beach of its own so book the speed boat early if you want to go to the beach. Also there is no “night life” in the immediate area. Basically, other than the hotel, marina and a few restaurants, there is little of anything in the immediate area. This is a great hotel for lazing by the pool, various water sports, and going to the beach (if you book early). Other activity choices are somewhat limited and a little expensive.

Currency – the official currency is East Caribbean Dollar but everywhere we went accepted US dollars as well.

I think I’ve said way too much! All in we had a great trip. If you have any questions feel free to contact me.

We have just got back from an amazing holdiay at Discovery, and cannot say enough praise.
If you are looking for a relaxing holiday in a stunning setting, with extremely friendly and helpful staff, then this is the place to go!
Our room was just perfect, with a bay view and minimalistic stylish decor, which we loved.
There is a complimentary speedboat that takes you every morning to Jalousie beach, about 15 min. away , set between the Pitons, but you need to sign up for it as only 8 places. It is well worth it, and we went several times.
The food is excellent, as is the service.
We would definitely go back!

On arrival at the car entrance, we left our cases with the guys and were taken by a golf buggy to the reception. We were given cold flannels and offered a drink whilst we filled out a form. Then were escorted to our room where our cases were already there. We had a 1st floor bayview room near the car entrance and just had to go down about 4 steps to enter the room block then down some further steps to the room. The bayview was actually partially restricted by trees across the gardens so could only see some of the bay and boat masts but was ok for us. You would need to be higher to really benefit the views. The room itself was simply lovely. Very contemporary, clean and well appointed. A lovely huge bed, which was sooooooo comfortable I wanted to take it home!, with mosquito nets tied back, side tables with drawer and lamps, clock, a table at the foot of the bed, a desk, wardrobes(with plenty of hangers), safe in one with shelving and an iron and board in another, a sideboard unit with the tv, coffee machine, kettle in drawer and mini bar. Drinks in the mini bar were complimentary and topped up daily of coke, water, cans of juice and piton beer. The ensuite was big with a shower over the bath, two basins and loo and bidet. Plenty of towels/flannels and hairdryer by the mirror. Small bottles of shampoo, bodywash, teeny sunscreen, insect repellant, cotton wool, earbuds, sewing kit, emery boards and tissues. Also supplied were two types of robes and flip flops. The air con worked well and also the ceiling fan. Insect curtains and heavy curtains across the patio doors to a wooden balcony with table and two chairs. With the evening turndown service they let the mosquito nets down etc, placed the flip flops beside the bed, replaced towels and put a bottle of water and a glass on the bedside tables.Breakfast was included which consisted of toast, cereals, muffins, bacon, sausages, eggs, beans, croissants, juices etc. Only continental breakfasts were available for room service. Requests for newspapers were available for an extra cost. The pool is a good size with plenty of loungers/parasols and small tables. Sun lounger towels and pools towels are collected, or brought to you, at the swimup bar. Drinks can be ordered whilst in the pool, the outside part of the bar or ordered whilst on your sunlounger. Food can also be ordered from the pool bar. There is a shallow kids pool under a sail shade and another pool on the next floor down. We never ate at the restaurant in the evening but did at the casual Hurricane Hole bar. The meals were things like barbecue ribs and fries, burgers, fish cakes, baked potato, salads, paninis, bagette etc, a kids menu and also made up purees for babies. The resort itself is very clean and well cared for. Being hillside, there are either stairs or slopes which were steep in some places. There were some babies there with pushchairs but with wheelchair users it would really depend on who was pushing and if some rooms had no steps? Although i'm sure the staff would help out here and the golf buggies can take you around. We found all the staff friendly who always acknowledged you when passing. The marina itself had plenty of lovely boats to gaze over and although the hotel's solar ferry was not working, another boat was available to take you to other restaurants or the beach. When going to the beach you are given towels and he will try and find you loungers as well. In the marina village there is a supermarket open til 7pm, a bank, a handful of gift shops a bakery which also makes up bagettes, hot drinks and ice cream. We never used room service or had any spa treatments so obviously cannot comment on these. There was a meet the staff cocktail party one evening and a letter was put in the room about this. They also spray the hotel grounds against mossies and again you are given a letter informing you when and that it does not contain any pesticides etc. Overall the hotel was lovely and a welcome treat for us in fact the nicest hotel we have been in. Scenic location, stunning rooms, friendly staff, nice pool area and relaxed atmosphere. Highly recommended:)