Cap Juluca

My husband and I stayed at Cap Juluca in early January 2010 and had a fabulous time. We had been there before the renovation and were curious about the refurb. The complete renovation of the reception area is spectacular and is a wonderful area to sit, shop, have morning breakfast delights, afternoon tea & treats and is fabulous for watching the sun set outside of their new very chic bar. As part of their program to fully insulate and protect from seasonal storm events they have begun a renovation to replace screen doors with full glass doors. We stayed in a junior suite, which had the glass doors. The beach chairs & umbrellas have been replace d and they are beautiful and most comfortable. Since Cap Juluca has recently traded  'hands' the mission is to accomplish further refurbishments incrementaly.  The food and the staff were excellent. In fact, my husband was not feeling very well one evening and after having asked where the nearest pharmacy might be, although I was about to jump in a taxi to get some medication, the management organized for someone from the hotel to get the medication for us. They were unbelievably kind and concerned for him and went back to the pharmacy again the next day (without us ever asking). Although we did think that our room/bathroom could use a little updating, it is not enough for us to consider not returning and, again, they will be doing more every year. Just to be clear, there are biting bugs in the evening but the resort sprays frequently and they offer cans of "off" in every room. I am very sensitive to bites and did not find the bugs to be a concern afterall. The spa area offers great treatments but the designated spa and workout room area has not been refurbished yet. If that is a major concern then the very nearby 'Cuisinart Spa' is available and I heard it is fabulous. Oh, and how can we not mention the two beautiful soft sandy gorgeous beaches - which have not changed!
Hope this helps!

Cap Juluca was one of our most disappointing Caribbean trips. Several things to be wary of:

Ask first whether there's a big group at the resort. We stumbled into a wedding party that had taken over a substantial portion of the rooms. Our requested 2nd floor room was not available because the wedding party had commandeered the desirable rooms. Several dining venues were shut down at various points for the group event.

Avoid the package meal pricing. On our pre-departure statement, many of the meals were individually charged to our account (in addition to the daily meal plan). We phoned to request a correction. When we went to check out, only some of the changes had been made. It took the clerk 30 minutes and many surly stares to make the corrections.

Find out if your room is within easy walking distance of the dining venues. This resort is spread out along the beach and they provide golf carts to travel to/from rooms. However, some guests are told to keep the keys to their carts, reducing the pool of available carts. On several rainy evenings, we got soaked and waited a long time for a ride to dinner from our remote room.

Read the web site very carefully regarding promotions and packages, particularly the phrase "subject to availability". As it turned out, no packages were available during the periods we were interested in. However, the booking engine does not make this clear until you attempt to book a room. If you're trying to match up air and hotel reservations, be sure you've booked the hotel before the air.

Ask if the renovations have moved forward. Our room had some new furniture, but the basic fixtures were dated. It was on the first floor and was dark and cave-like. The door to the bathroom didn't close. The wait for hot water was several minutes. Perhaps future renovations will address this.

Consider other alternatives. Given the high price, we'll certainly look at other destinations where price and quality are more closely aligned.