Sampling Grenada’s Spice
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I was in Grenada for six nights in early November, working on a story. My husband had already been to the Spice Island with his brother, so he opted to meet me in nearby St. Vincent instead.
(Read my St. Vincent & Grenadine trip report here).
Logistics: There’s no way around it – unless you are coming from New York and can take one of the Air Jamaica nonstop flights, it’s a pain to get to Grenada. I flew out of BWI on American Airlines to San Juan, where I had a six hour layover on the way down and an eight hour layover on the way back.
This gave me enough time to go into the city and explore Old San Juan (see my report on lunch here). On my return, I toured Castillo San Felipe del Morro and bought a daypass for the American Airlines Lounge. All things considered, I would have rather arrived home earlier.
I opted not to rent a car, as I was a little nervous about driving on the left on the island’s winding roads. If my husband had been with me, however, we would have paid for one, as the buses do not go everywhere and cab fares do add up. (To read about my experience on the Grenada buses, click here).
Hotels:
Blue Horizons Garden Resort. I based myself on Grand Anse for the first two nights. I chose Blue Horizons because I knew it would allow me to access the amenities of Spice Island Beach Resort, the island’s most luxurious hotel. At $155 per night (plus 10 percent off), the price was good. But I must admit, my first reaction to the place was one of disappointment. There was nothing particularly special about the rooms, I felt. There was a kitchenette with a full refrigerator, but overall, the decor seemed tired.
I did enjoy the pool and the views from La Belle Creole, the resort restaurant (I never ate a full meal there, however). The grounds were nicely landscaped. But I didn’t want to spend any more time in my room than I had to. Which was in direct contrast to…
Maca Bana Villas. I got a great deal at Maca Bana though SkyAuction.com (to read more about my experience with this website, click here). For the price – $151 per night - this is one of my favorite hotels this year. I liked it so much, in fact, that I had to push myself to leave!
I was in the Cherry Villa, a two-story, two bedroom villa with its own, fenced-in garden and hot tub. (For skyauction winners, they close off one of the bedrooms). While the bedrooms were air-conditioned, the upper level – kitchen, living room/dining room and huge deck – were not. The place really had everything: a coffee maker, an espresso maker, a TV with satellite cable and DVD player, a CD player with disks, even a shelf full of books to read. I could have easily stayed a week and if I come back to Grenada, this is where I’ll stay.
The downside, as many people have written on TripAdvisor, is the hill leading down to the beach and The Aquarium. It really is steep, enough so that I used the infinity pool a couple of times instead of walking down. No hardship there, of course, as the pool has a gorgeous view of the Caribbean. Snorkeling is available off of the beach here, but when I went down, the surf was a bit rough.
Although the resort is close to the airport, it’s not on any bus lines, so visitors will probably want a car. The front desk is VERY proactive about arranging tours, airport transfers and other logistics – in fact, they email you itinerary suggestions ahead of time. I splurged on an in-room massage and was very happy with the German therapist they sent ($100 for 90 minutes).
LaLuna. I stayed here for one night on my way back to the States, after getting a skyauction rate ($199 plus $49 service fee). It’s a remote romantic retreat, almost tomblike in its quiet. When I was there in mid-November, there were only three rooms rented – and the others were couples on their honeymoon (the staff was clearly puzzled by my solo state). Nice outdoor covered lounge with Balinese style loungers (pool wasn’t as impressive as the one at Maca Bana). Fantastic protected beach.
The cottages here are also up on the hill, so there are quite a few steps (Maca Bana seemed steeper, however). The rooms have concrete floors and canopied king-sized beds. There’s a TV and a minibar/fridge. The bathroom is unairconditioned, and there’s an outdoor shower. Each cottage has a spacious deck as well as a small plunge pool. Great views of the Caribbean.
Despite all of the trappings, I wasn’t blown away by LaLuna. It seemed a little too pat, like a built-by-numbers luxury resort circa the mid-2000s. Yoga studio? Check. Spa with ridiculously expensive treatments. Check. To me, it seemed like Maca Bana had more personality. I did talk to one of the honeymooning couples (they were from Ireland) and they were having a blast, however. So it’s all what you are looking for, I think.
Other hotels. I stopped and looked at rooms at several other resorts, including Spice Island, the Calabash, Coyaba, LaSource, True Blue Bay Resort and Petite Anse on the island’s northern end. For the price, the rooms at True Blue Bay Resort seemed like a great deal (although sometimes planes fly overhead). And Petite Anse would be a great base to explore the other end of the island.
Tours
While you can easily while away your time on Grand Anse or one of the other beaches on the southern end of the island, it’s worth it to book a tour to Grenada’s interior. The rainforest is stunning and is one of the reasons why I’d highly recommend Grenada as a destination to travelers who are a little more adventurous. There are a bunch of hikes for all ability levels.
Full day tour of the island. I hired Chris of Chris’ Tours & Taxis to take me on a full day tour around the island.
Among the stops: the Concord Waterfall, the Gouyeve Nutmeg Processing Plant, Caribs Leap, the River Antoine Estates rum plant (see my post on the distillery tour here), and the Belmont Estates chocolate plant.
I was surprised to learn how difficult it is to grow nutmeg. Although the tree is one of the reasons Grenada is known as the Spice Island, it’s not a native plant (it was imported from Indonesia). Hurricane Ivan wiped out a huge percentage of the nutmeg crop – and it takes about 15 years for the trees to grow back. So many farmers have switched to other crops for the time being.
We also stopped at Petite Anse on the northern end of the island, and the fabulous Bathway Beach. I was very impressed with the latter; Chris said that mostly locals go there.
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Chris’ rate was $25 per hour. Because I had to see most of the island for my story, this added up. If I was going to Grenada on my own, I would divide the day into two half day tours, as I was pretty wiped out by the end. All of the stops were worthwhile, I thought – but it was a little much to do them all at once!
Overall, Chris was a great guide. He had stopped by my hotel the night before to help me figure out an itinerary and he put up with all of my questions about life in Grenada. My favorite term I learned from him: JCB, or “Just Come Back,” slang for Grenadians who earn their money in the US or the UK, and then come back and build luxury house.
Hike to Seven Sisters. I booked a half-day trip to the Seven Sisters waterfall through Caribbean Horizons. I had hoped to have someone else to split the $90 cost, but it was the slow season – no takes. My guide was another Christopher, last name McDonald – otherwise known as Mac. He was good company, and very patient as we walked down some of the more difficult parts of the trail.
The hike was a little tough in parts, but it was worth it to swim in the waterfall pool! We were the only ones there and it really felt magical. Highly recommend.
We also stopped at Grand Etang and saw one of the infamous monkeys.
I didn’t think the lake was a must-see, but it’s on most itineraries. If you have limited time, go hiking instead.
Fish Friday. The one false note in my sightseeing experience. I had arranged to use Mandoo’s Tours to go to Gouyave’s Fish Friday. For $25, it seemed like a good deal. But Mandoo sent a sub in his place and this guy was extremely disorganized. He started the evening late, forgot one couple at their resort and had to go back and was completely uninterested in answering any of our questions. But the worst was his organizational skills when we arrive. He neglected to tell any of us what time to meet him and where – which led to some of us aimlessly wandering around at the end.
To be honest, I’m not sure Fish Friday was worth the time getting there. Basically, it’s a street fair with lots of fried fish and other foods. There was some drumming (which was cool), followed by a karaoke contest (which was not). From what I understand, the event is not organic; the tourism board dreamed it up in order to attract more visitors to Gouyave.
There were some locals there, as well as a fair number of backpackers and students from St. George University. I’m glad I went once (even though my tour was a bust), but probably wouldn’t go back.
St. George’s. I took the bus into St. George’s one morning, just to walk around. The harbor is very pretty, one of the cutest in the Caribbean, I think. I toured Fort George, went to the market and walked around the Carenage. A cruise ship was in port while I was there, so I went to check out their terminal. Left when I saw a bunch of people spending their port time in the mall without exploring the island. Ugh.
Food
I was impressed with the range and sophistication of Grenadian cuisine. The lush climate lends itself to almost any kind of fruit, vegetable and plant; basically, it grows in the ground, it’s probably somewhere on Grenada. I enjoyed my roti off the street, but Grenada’s restaurants were also impressive.
This man caught an iguana to eat, but I didn’t see lizard on any menus. Make sure you try callaloo soup and lambi (conch). I wanted to try the national dish, oildown, but a breadfruit shortage (!!) meant that the dish wasn’t available. Oh well. Rest assured, you won’t go hungry here!
Boots Cuisine. I was introduced to this authentic Grenadian resturant by Kris, one of the TripAdvisor destination experts for Grenada (Fodors forum denizens know her as MyMoosie while those on TA call her Pigsterz). I was lucky to be on the island at the same time as Kris and her husband Jerry – they are a ton of fun and love Grenada! (am hoping to see them in Virginia sometime soon). They brought along their friend Tim from Lance Aux Epine Cottages.
Boots and his wife serve up a multi-course meal in their home for just $75 EC. Reservations are essential. The night we were there, the main dish was a lambi steak that was incredibly tender. Kris recommended the Big Daddy run drink – I must admit, the licorice flavor wasn’t my favorite. Never mind, they have Carib and other drinks. A great Grenadian culinary experience.
The Aquarium. My “home” restaurant while I was at Maca Bana. I really enjoyed the vibe here – a mix of locals celebrating special occasions, students from St. George University spending their parents’ money, and of course, tourists like me. There’s a main dining room and bar at night, as well as a beach bar where you can have lunch next to the waves. Everything I had was very good, including callaloo soup and curried lambi (I ate a lot of conch on this trip!) This was one of the few places (along with LaSource) that seemed to be happening, despite the low season and lack of crowds.
The Beach House. This restaurant is on the same beach as LaLuna. The area was so dead, though, that it really felt odd. There were only two other people in the restaurant besides me. Food was OK, not my favorite. They have an in-house iguana who likes to run around the rafters/wood edging.
The Dodgy Dock. The restaurant at True Blue. Kris (MyMoosie) and her husband Jerry took me here the first night we met. The restaurant overlooks the marina and I’m sure it draws quite a few yachties during the season. The food was good, but again the place was dead. They did have a band, however, and I can imagine that this would be a fun, happening place with more people on the island.
Summary. I really enjoyed the diversity that Grenada has to offer. I do tend to prefer mountainous jungle islands to lie-on-the-beach Caribbean islands, but in Grenada, you can do both. You could easily spend a week exploring the island’s interior, or you could just veg at your resort. I was also impressed with the range of accomodations – the island is good for honeymooners, or for people who want something a little more wallet friendly.
There was a lot that I didn’t get to see. If I come back, I’d want to check out Carriacou, as well as the southeastern corner of the island where La Sagesse is. (Of course if I was at Maca Bana, I might not ever leave!) Many visitors to Grenada also take the fly/daysail to the Tobago Cays which I did from Bequia. That’s an awesome daytrip – to read more about my trip to the Cays, click here.
Any thoughts on Grenada? Leave them below!
Read my St. Vincent & Grenadine trip report here.
Interested in other Caribbean islands? Read about our trip to Turks & Caicos here.
Or read about our trip to the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica here.
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