Think women-only packages are yesterday’s trend? Think again. Eleven resorts on Grenada alone are offering them. As for guys, the golf getaway is no longer the only game in town.
CHIC, but Naughty
The Just-a-Little-Bit-Naughty Girls Getaway package ($199) at Royalton’s CHIC Punta Cana includes pole-dancing and a martini tasting with “sexy CHIC men,” but the It’s a Guy’s World package features things that can’t get the guys into too much trouble: VIP treatment at a sports bar, a surfing lesson, golf, and a discount on ziplining. Probably a good thing.
CHIC Punta Cana offers other women’s and men’s packages, too (minimum four guests), and a guest need only pay the package rate once. Say you booked Jan. 20-24 for four friends: If each has his/her own room—e.g., a Luxury Junior Suite—this would cost $1,629 pp plus the package price, and no taxes are added. If they share two Luxury Junior Suites, the cost is $1,093.50 pp dbl, plus the package price.
(855) 744-8371; chicpuntacana.com or chicpuntacana.com/en/professionals.aspx
No Boys vs. The Mancation at Acoya
Acoya Hotel Suites and Villas’ No Boys Allowed Island Getaway includes a 2-bedroom suite for four (upgraded to a suite with private pool if available), a welcome bottle of Champagne, a luncheon at Restaurant Season, beach bags, cocktails at Lotus Spa, a bath and scrub treatment, a massage, and a wine tasting. Acoya has a pool but not a beach; a shuttle takes guests to Mambo Beach and to downtown Willemstad.
The No Boys Allowed Island Getaway costs $1,286 per night ($322 pp) for a minimum 3-night stay for four guests, plus 17 percent taxes/fees. A twosome would pay $1,030 ($515 pp) plus 17 percent. Blackout periods: Sept. 1-7, Dec. 10-Jan. 10, Feb. 5-9 (Carnival), and March 24-28 (Easter).
Acoya’s Viva la Isla Mancation, featuring beers upon arrival, Cuban cigars, an off-road adventure, and a guys luncheon at Restaurant Seasons, costs $1,081 per night ($270 pp) for 3-night stay for four, or $955 ($477 pp plus 17 percent) for two men.
(855) 552-2692; acoyacuracao.com
Escape to Saba
Queen’s Gardens Resort’s Girlfriends Getaway makes for a lovely add-on to a stay on St. Maarten ($150-$170 roundtrip air from SXM). It covers airport transfers, two nights in a suite with a jacuzzi, a massage for each guest, and full breakfasts for $750, including taxes. queensaba.com
Party in Antigua
Sugar Ridge is offering a deal for singles, a rarity in the Caribbean, so friends can have private rooms—with plunge pools, too, plus breakfast. Sugar Ridge sits upon a ridge (d’uh), but it has shuttles to nearby beaches where guests can meet and mingle at beach bars. Antigua also has some rockin’ party scenes at English Harbour and Shirley Heights. Back on campus, there are yoga classes, bicycles, a fitness center, party nights, and two top restaurants. The capper(s): The $165 low-season rate goes up to as little as $220 in high season, and the commission is 15 percent for bookings made by Aug. 15. (866) 591-4881; sugarridgeantigua.com
Friends with Private Rooms, Part II
The legendary Nisbet Plantation Beach Club (Fanny Nisbet’s husband was Lord Admiral Nelson) on Nevis has a special for men or women: a single room per pal, breakfasts, a daily 25th-anniversary toast, daily afternoon tea, and 3-course dinners as well as use of the fitness center, bicycles, tennis courts, and watersports for just $291 per night, plus 23 percent taxes and service fee. The resort closes for a refresh Aug. 16-Oct. 19, after which the deal resumes until Dec. 19. (800) 724-6008; nisbetplantation.com
Pampered Gal Pals on Provo
Here’s why the Girlfriends’ Getaway at hip Gansevoort Turks and Caicos is a good off-season value: In late January it costs two friends $979 plus 22 percent taxes and fees for three nights (additional nights, $875), but in October it’s $529 a night and $425 for additional nights, plus the 22 percent. Moreover, the price is even lower if four women share a Spa Queen Suite. This package includes transfers, accommodations, breakfasts, one dinner for two at Stelle, a body treatment, a Mind + Body class, and spa discounts.
(888) 844-5986; gansevoorthotelgroup.com/hotels/gansevoort-turks-caicos
Bahamas Fishing Fling
Deep Water Cay’s Blue Water Adventure is not officially a guys or gals package, but it works for anglers, and it’s valid for Christmas week. Guests get two nights in an Ocean View cottage with all meals and choose from flats or reef fishing, scuba diving, or snorkeling (from $2,487 pp dbl). Peak here means peak fishing, and that’s reflected in the a la carte rates for homes with kitchens: $1,624 thru mid November, but $1,523 through February. Agents earn 15 percent commission for travel from Oct. 1, 2015, through Feb. 15, 2016.
(888) 420-6202; deepwatercay.com
Sailing with the Moorings
Eight reasons why a Moorings skippered yacht in the British Virgin Islands is ideal for guys’ or gals’ groups: The yachts. The chance to be a yachtie without owning a boat. A new and different island each day. Calm-as-a-lake water. Stops at fabled beach bars. The snorkeling and kayaking. Cocktails and conversation on the topdeck. The sheer beauty of it all, from sunlight glinting off the sea to the starry, starry night.
A 4-cabin sloop Nov. 8-15 would cost $11,170 for four men or women; $13,266 Jan. 24-Feb. 1. Add about $150 for mooring fees; optional add-ons include kayaks ($20 a day for two) and provisioning (the $26 pp Easy on the Cook package makes sense because passengers will want to eat some meals at restaurants and beach bars). The skipper’s tip is $25-$100 a day, and The Moorings arranges transfers from St. Thomas. (888) 996-3620; moorings.com
Grenada’s Girls Getaways Binge
It’s a small island, yet 11 hotels are offering packages. The elegant all-inclusive Spice Island Beach Resort offers the girls 15 percent discounts plus a Swedish massage pp through Dec. 15; booking code Pure Grenada 15. Radisson’s 5-night deal (10 percent off best available rate plus a room upgrade if available) is actually good through Dec. 30; booking code GGGR. La Luna, an Italian/Balinese, 16-cottage art hotel with a serious spa, offers a 3-night Girls Getaway featuring a cottage suite with a plunge pool, daily breakfasts and dinners, daily yoga, and a choice of three spa treatments pp. From $2,465 pp dbl, through Oct. 14; $2,615 through Dec. 19. Other participants include Calabash Cove (booking code GGG15), Mount Cinnamon Resort and Beach Club—and the beat goes on. Hint: If you try to books a “Girls” getaway for some guys, it’s unlikely that they’ll turn you down.
(561) 948-6925; puregrenada.com/grenadagirlsgetaway
