This island compares most closely to Aruba and is an excellent dive destination. Dry and arid. Not very touristy or developed.I would give the resort a 6 of 10. It is 17 years old but kept up real well. It is probably the nicest on the island right now. The beach is sort of poor - rocky and shallow. Their dive resort is rated a 5 star PADI resort, Second only to the Caymans as a dive resort. It is non smoking but that wasn't a problem, If I get charged $250 for that, I consider having paid about $30 per night extra for the privilege. That's ok. I would give the staff a 9.5 out of a 10 for friendliness. We got to be on a first name basis with 8-10 of them. In terms of value, it was slightly pricey but not that bad. Food quality was excellent. 24 Hour room service with a smile.There is a Hilton next door that was my second choice. Do not put anyone in it there. It is at least 30 years old and very poorly maintained. I am very surprised they have not had their franchise chain name jerked. I would give it a 2 of 10. Maybe a 1. There are no other American style chain resorts currently on the island.They are in the process of building two new resorts. A Hyatt and a Rennaisance. Both will nearly put the Marriott and the definitely the Hilton virtually out of business. It will be a whole new game there in a year or so. DO NOT let anyone (as I did) talk to you about going over to Venezuela. I didn't put two and two together until almost when I left, but Hugo Chavez their President has been on a warpath with the US threatening an oil embargo, threatening to "blow Israel of the map". There are multiple state department travel warnings out for Venezuela. They are on the verge of revoking all visas. The locals told us not to go there it would not be safe for Americans. We did not. There are no day trips available to the nearby islands of Bonaire and Aruba. It is great for summer travelers nervous about hurricanes since it is south of the known hurricane belt. The flight connections were horrible as usual. It took 15 hours door to door, which of the 10-12 Carib trips I have had is par for the course. Only direct flights to Caymans, Jamaica, and Mexico are better. Only thing worse was St Lucia which was 24 hours door to door. Since it is a Dutch colony, many of the vacationers were there from the Netherlands. Multiple couples we met got there in 11 hours or so and were amazed it took us 15 from Memphis.
