Celebrated my birthday with a short three night getaway to the FS Nevis. I've been to probably every other Caribbean island, and always wanted to visit the FS Nevis because of that awesome pool photo on their website.

Travelled from (NY) JFK through San Juan, PR on American Airlines. Going down to Nevis was flawless, returning was another story (more on that later). We were met in Nevis by a FS rep. and taken straight to our cab (pay through the hotel $60, get it on your own probably cheaper). A short 15 minute cab ride and you arrive at the FS Nevis. A large and lush property, with a beautiful golf course, very Caribbean.

Check-in was a breeze. Your met with a signature rum punch, and cool towels. Check-in is done while you unwind on the open air lobby couches. We booked the cheapest 'mountainside" room, "Discover Nevis" $100 credit a night @ $335 a night package. The add-ons on this rate total $73.65 (room tax, service charge, and environmental levy (whatever that is). The hotel adds a service charge to your bill for every service (restaurants, room service, pool service etc.) good for some of the service, bad for others. I personally don't like when a hotel does this because some service can be spotty.

We were upgraded to a second floor ocean front room #823 in the "paradise section". If your intention is for peace and quiet, try and book a room in this section in the southern part of the resort near the "adult only" infinity pool, Very nice! Our room had the standard FS flair. Very clean, and had a recently upgraded feel. Flat screen TV, very comfortable bed, and large bathroom with L'Occitane toiletries. The pillows were a little soft for my taste. The hotel had a nice fruit plate and fantastic chocolate birthday cake waiting for me in the room. Very thoughtful.

Neve for breakfast was very good. A very large selection of breakfast delights, with a cook-to-order omelets station. Service was very attentive, since the resort was at very low capacity. We actually loved the coffee, is was very tasty and hot. The buffet breakfast runs for about $75 for two.

We spent most of our time at the adult only pool, where Kelvin took care of our every need. Kelvin even surprised me with another birthday cake poolside. He and another staffer even sung happy birthday to me. Thanks Kelvin! That was very special.

Room service was good, with usually a 30-35 minute wait time.

The Dining room for dinner was very good in my opinion, contrary to others reviews. Excellent cocktails and wine list, wonderful atmosphere and very attentive staff make it a dining pleasure, Thank you Jeanette. We dined on Dover Sole, and Lamb Chops, very delicious. Since we were full, we passed on dessert, but another birthday cake (3rd.one) was sent to our room after dinner. WOW! The FS Nevis knows how to celebrate a birthday!

The spa was another wonderful experience. We had massages that were very good. The spa itself had a very "Zen" feeling. A long cold plunge pool, a waterfall jaccuzi hot tub and the gorgeous landscaping gave it a very tranquil feel. The two massages will set you back about $250, but worth it.

A shout out to Clyde for the rides around the resort. Thank you for your efforts on our "monkey" trips.

Be sure to take a walk down the beach to Sunshines. We strolled down there on a drizzly day, and had a fantastic lunch of lobster tails, rice and cold Heinekens. Sunshine and the guys are great, and the service is purely Caribbean style.

We visited in Oct. a generally slow time in the Carib (because of hurricane season), but it was perfect trip for R & R. Our weather was 50/50. As Caribbean resorts go, the FS Nevis delivers on every aspect of service, quality and premier beach front location.


***Travel note***Our return to NY was delayed a day because of the weather. Our flight from Nevis to PR was unable to land for a few hours so we missed our connection in San Juan. Kudos to American Airlines for putting us up at a hotel, with meal vouchers for the night. You may want to opt for the direct flight to St. Kitts from JFK, and take the FS boat over to the resort. But this route also has its share of problems.

We were staying at another "resort/hole" on Nevis and were very upset on the accommodations at that establishment. On our first day on Nevis, we were driving down the road to explore the island and saw the entrance to The Four Seasons (FS). We decided to see what they had to offer and if the hotel was within a price range we were going to change resorts. We were traveling the first week of October which is the very end of the off season so booking a room was easy. The reception offered us a decent rate (more than what we were currently paying at the other place) but given the atmosphere, accommodations, and all the amenities they had to offer we thought it was well worth the extra money. I cannot compare FS to any of the plantation resorts on the island as they were closed for the season but I can say if you are considering another hotel be careful where you stay and do your research.

Because it was the slow season, FS offered to check us in at 9 am day of arrival and we could check out as late as 2 pm day of departure. There was enough staff on hand to help you for just about any request we had. I immediately visited the spa where I had a wonderful 80 facial and my husband headed to the tennis courts where he had his private lesson with the young, good looking, tennis pro. We both felt both services exceeded our expectations, I saw an immediate improvement to my husbands tennis game (especially his serve) and recommend taking lessons or participate in the group lesson if you play tennis.

The cost of the food at FS was more than we had budgeted. I estimated that if we each had three meals a day at the resort we could pay well over $300 each day (this would include dinner drinks). Because our budget did not allow that much money for meals we rented a car and visited several restaurants the concierge recommended. Although the off-site restaurants did not have the ambiance or quality of wait staff we did have some wonderful meals off the resort.

I spent a small amount of time using the kayaks and snorkel gear, I would have enjoyed taking one of the single person sail boats but I do not know how to sail and I was a bit intimidated to take the challenge (now I wish I had). The snorkeling is ok, Nevis is a volcanic island so the sand is a dark brown/ black coarse sand and the water is not the crystal clear blue that you see on coral islands. I purchased two bottles of insect (mosquito) spray before we left the US and I had to purchase a third and fourth bottle on Nevis as I lost one bottle and going without insect spray is impossible. The cost of bug spray at the resort was $12 for a 4 ounce spray can that we used in a day and a half. I had a hard time finding the bug spray off the resort but was fortunate to find a few bottles at a small shop in the city that cost around $9. There is not much the resort or island can do about the mesquites, FS does spray but I strongly recommend that you bring or buy several bottles for your stay on the island and keep it with you at all times.

I would definitely recommend The Four Season’s, good luck with your choice of resort.

Had a reservation for a one week off-season honeymoon to the Four Seasons Nevis. This website helped a lot in selecting our vacation spot, so I wanted to pass along some info.

Most Importantly, Hurricane Omar hit the property on October 15th/16th. The resort sustained extensive damage, reported by the locals to include a washed out beach, a flooded first floor and air conditioning/power troubles for four days. The property is closed until November 1st, but they gave me three different dates for reopening, so I would not recommend reserving until the resort is confirmed open with all amenities up and running.

On a separate note, the hotel's main restaurant was scheduled to be closed periodically in mid-October. I would confirm with the hotel directly to confirm its status.

Important note for traveling to Nevis: Confirm with the Four Seasons how you plan on getting to Nevis. They expected our small WINAIR flight to land in Nevis, and were unprepared to bring us to the resort via ferry once we diverted into St Kitts for weather. (I would doubt it is a rare occurrence) The Hotel personnel at the St Kitts Airport were accommodating to get us booked at the Marriott Resort in St Kitts for the evening. But it wasn't the perfect start to a honeymoon that I had anticipated.

Overall, check with the resort before you book. And if you are already planned your vacation and are in need of a suitable place to stay, the Marriot St Kitts was fully open for business, with a nice beach and plenty of rooms.

I just returned back from this property and wanted to write my review as soon as possible. Like some of the others who have written reviews, I was disturbed by some of the extremely negative reviews of this resort that have been posted on this site. I try to be open minded, but I tend to be fairly critical when I stay at a four seasons that in my mind does not live up to the four seasons name. This resort in every respect lives up to the four seasons brand name with a few caveats that I note below. I generally like to travel and see different places, but I would not hesitate to re-visit this resort if the price was right and I had a few extra vacation days to use.

Service:
I will start with service, since that seems to be the big complaint with most guests. Overall, I found the service to be great. I was very pleased that they upgraded our room without our even having to ask. The resort was probably not even 30% occupied while I was there and they automatically upgraded us - as they should have (because obviously this made a big impression on me). This is much better than when I visited the Jackson Hole property (which I love) in the off season. They were about 20% full and they still stuck us overlooking the loading dock and I had to basically beg for a different room due to the noise (not acceptable).

The front desk, housekeeping staff, pool service was all great. Yes, it sometimes appeared that there was no one working at the pool huts and the service in the restaurant Neve was very spotty. I will comment on the restaurants later. A few times I even got my own towels, but to me that is no big deal. This is a vacation and there really is such a thing as "island time" in the Caribbean. Everyone was so friendly that I am not going to nitpick in this area. If you want blow yourself away service, then you should try going to Asia or the Four Seasons in Costa Rica, or top resorts in Mexico. That being said I do think it meets Four Seasons standards.

Rooms:
We may have lucked out here with the updgrade, but I thought our room in the 700 building was terrific. Our view was to die for, and all of the furnishings looked up-to-date and modern. I can't complain about anything with respect to the room, except that I wish they would move away from all of the down products (comforters and pillows). I have a serious allergy to down and this drives me crazy, but they are always accomodating.

Grounds:
This resort is simply beautiful. It really feels much more like a Hawaian resort than a Caribbean resort. Now, I went during off-seaons and so there was hardly anyone there, which added to the peacefulness of the place. The beach was terrific. Not the powdery white sand that you find in places like the Turks, but soft nonetheless. The water was placid and I enjoyed swimming in the ocean every day. I especially love those water trampolines. Since there were almost no children there when I stayed there, we got these to ourselves and who knew they could be so much fun.

My big pet peeve with the resort, besides the food, was that there is not enough shade. Another guest told me that she had complained about this during her stay also. They really need those little beach cabana things that they have the FS resorts in Costa Rica and Hawaii.

The pools were terrific and although I don't golf we walked around the course and it looked very nice.

Spa:
The spa was great. Was it the best spa I have ever been to, probably not (I reserve that distinction for Parrot Cay and maybe the Grand Wailea). I got a massage and it was perfectly fine. I did enjoy the Sala Pool and hot tub at the spa. I found that no one really sits there and if you need some shade during the day this is a good place to get some.

Restaurants:
This is where I think the work is needed and, honestly I would probably rate the resort a 4.5 if that option was available due to the food. I am by no means a foodie and I live in NYC so I am used to the prices that they charge. Food at any Four Seasons is never cheap and I don't expect it to be, but by the end of my five days I honestly thought that if I stayed any longer I would lose weight. The food was just so bland and at times almost inedible. Now, some of this might be attributed to the service in the restaurant. My first night they brought me the wrong pizza and my being completely exhausted from travel I just did not have the energy to wait for them to make me a whole new one. At other times, there seemed to be a lot of people working in the restaurant but no one around to get a check from or seat you.

I find that with the more Four Seasons I go to that food is consistently coming up as the weakness. I tend to go to the resorts and I understand that the urban locations have better food, because they tend to attract the better chefs, but I seriously wonder what the Four Seasons can do to fix this. Cruise ships seem to have food prep down to a formula for way more people than stay at a single Four Seasons. I wonder if there is not some way for them to improve the overall quality of their food across all of their resorts. I ran into this same problem at the Costa Rica property where I felt like I wanted to go into the kitchen and just cook for myself.

We did have the opportunity to go offsite on two nights. In the offseason there are apparently few offsite places that are open. We went to Bananas and Montpelier Plantation. Both failed to wow me, but my travelling companion actually got really sick from her meal at Bananas and I found my food there to be not very good either. Montpelier is a beautiful place to visit and the experience itself is fun, so I would recommend going to that one just to get off property for a night and try something different. One thing to keep in my mind is that taxis to either of these places from the FS are $40 US roundtrip. So keep this in mind when you are comparing relative merits of staying on property vs. going off property.

Transportation to and from St. Kitts:
Almost forgot to note that the transport to and from St. Kitts airport could not have been more seamless. I was worried about this because I tend to get seasick and people kept complaining about how awful this ride is and how it takes 50 minutes. Not the case for us. It was 25 mins max with a 5 minute taxi ride from the dock to the St Kitts airport. I am thinking that the people who said it took 50 mins maybe hit bad weather. On the way down we flew through San Juan, which was noneventful and on way back we flew direct from St Kitts to New York.

Overall:
So enough with my ranting about the food, this place is terrific and for the off season rates it is worth every penny. I can see where during high season they might be challenged with the service and having a lot of children around, but I have to think that they would just increase staff. I would rank this FS up there on my list of favorites and I have been to quite a few. So don't hesitate, just go!