I stayed at the Raffles resort in Canouan with my husband in March in what ended up being a well needed break shortly after my mother passed away. The holiday was supposed to be my honeymoon but due to the unexpected events it did not turn out to be and, to be honest, i'm glad it wasn't. On first inspection Raffles would appear to be a corner of paradise. The setting is certainly beautiful - the sea is incredibly clear and turquoise coloured and the sand beautifully white (if a little coarse). Unfortunately we were left feeling a little disappointed overall during our stay for a number of reasons. The resort is spread out over a large area meaning you really do need to use the complimentary golf buggy to explore the resort and get from room to beach. I think the fact the resort is so large is one of the problems - whilst it is incredible spacious it's also lacking any real buzz or vibe. The pool area is well kept and clean but some of the sun loungers were a little tired and in need of an update. Service is also lacking by the pool - there are plenty of staff working in and around the pool area but rarely did we get asked if we needed anything so instead we ordered drinks at the pool bar. The hotel was only a quarter full when we were there so goodness knows what it's like when the place is full. Also the beach is VERY windy so even in high temperatures can feel a little cold. I've not experienced anywhere quite as windy as this place in the rest of the Caribbean. We were not overly impressed by the restaurants (which were not cheap despite the British Pound being so strong against the US dollar). The best place to eat is the fine dining restaurant up by the casino by far - but you really pay a price for it. We ate there 3 times in 10 nights and would have eaten there more but with a limited menu we wanted a little more variety. The Italian restuarant was ok but not great. Jambu's is ok - better at lunchtime and breakfast (breakfast is great actually). Godahls is only open for lunch except when it's a buffet night (Sunday I think) - the food is ok but not outstanding. The rooms are lovely (we had a 1 bed personality suite with own plunge pool), I must admit. However, the pool was very cold and could do with heating up a little and also had a number of tiles missing so was looking abit tired. The mini bar refreshment service was very lax so often we did not have water or soft drinks replenished. Also there was a very odd almost ammonia like smell coming from the bathrooms at certain points in the day -esp during the night. This was so strong we had to keep bathroom door closed at night so we could sleep! The spa is very good so i'd recommend that but it does come at a price (which we expected so that was fine). It is also the only place selling sun cream but at $40 a bottle make sure you pack extra before you leave as you'll use plenty! (actually correction - you can buy sun cream in the gift shop but, maddeningly, they only sell mini bottles which you'd use in one application!) On a brighter note, do book a trip with Phil and Nicola who are in charge of all the trips to other islands. These guys own a catamaran and a speedboat and are just great. We visited the Tobago cays on their catamaran and swam with turtles underneath us followed by lunch on Mayreau in a very low key but pretty resort (the only residence on the island). On another trip we went to Bequia for the whole day on their speedboat and had a great day which was mostly because Phil and Nicola are so knowledgeable about the area and they know all the good places to go. We really have them to thank for rescuing an otherwise mundane holiday and turning it into a trip to remember. Raffles should do all they can to make sure they never leave! Despite all my negativity we did enjoy a relaxing stay at the hotel and It's not a bad resort as such but it's just lacking something that I can't quite put my finger on. I've stayed in worse but only at a fraction of the cost and to be honest for what it costs to stay at Raffles I expect much better. Personally I much preferred a holiday to Barbados the winter before because you can get out of the hotel and there are lots of great places to eat . Ok so Barbados doesn't have the same breathtaking setting as Canouan but you'll have more fun overall. Would I recommend Canouan? - probably not unless you are the kind of person who likes complete peace and quiet away from everything. Also you could be anywhere in the world when you stay on Canouan - it doesn't have a Caribbean feel to it at all and I think that's a shame really. Perhaps try the Maldives instead!

We just returned from a week in Canouan celebrating our 10 year anniversary. We had read a lot about the resort and it is pretty accurate. The place is remote, on a small island with not much but the Raffles resort. The weather was great, the food fantastic, the waters crystal clear, and the price was high. Since we knew that going in, it was not a surprise. We caught the small (4 passenger) plane from Barbados to Canouan and arrived in time for dinner. We spent the next several days relaxing and enjoying the resort. We were upgraded to a suite and had lots of room and a nice view. The island is warm once you get off the shore as the breeze keeps you cool. We enjoyed the morning buffet each day and ate way too much. The lunch was generally a light meal and then we had a big dinner. We ate at each of the restaurants and enjoyed them all. La Piazza was our least favorite, only because it was indoors and not taking advantage of the tropical setting; the food was good, but I didn't feel like I was at an island resort. Jambu's is the open air place for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Casual and by the pool. Nice food and no reservations required. Bellini's is the open air restaurant right off the reception and was fairly casual and good food. Nice location for dinner as long as you get a breeze. La Varenne is the more fancy, French restaurant up on the hill attached to the casino. Great setting and the food was very good. We went to the casino after dinner, but did not stay as there was nobody in there and we felt awkward being the only ones in there. My favorite was the BBQ that was at Godahl's beach on certain nights. Great grilled food and a very large buffet. Biggest shrimp I had ever had and the food was all good. Also, dessert table was great with fresh pastries. While all the food was great, you should know that it is expensive. Even though the breakfast buffet is complementary, it is very hard to eat for less than $250 per day if you have any drinks with your meals. There have been many comments about the boat trip with Phil and Nicola on the Splendid Adventurer. We took the full day tour and thought it was the highlight of the trip. The two of them are very fun and the sailing was great. We were able to swim with the sea turtles (saw 8-10) and then went on the island and saw many of the iguanas. From there we went to the coral reef and snorkeled for an hour or so and saw lots of great sea life. We then sailed over to Mayreau (small island) and had a local lunch. From there it was a 90 minute sail back to the resort. I would highly recommend the trip to anyone staying there and would say you need the full day trip in order to do anything but sail. I played 3 rounds of golf on the course and thought it was a very nice course, but pretty tough for a mediocre golfer such as me. The views were incredible, but the winds were treacherous. Take lots of golf balls and don't worry too much about your score. The first 2 rounds I played I didn't see anyone else on the course and played by myself. The third round I caught up to a group on the back nine, but otherwise had the course to myself. My wife took advantage of the spa with 2 massages. The first over the water in one of the spa huts and the second in the hillside spa huts. She said the massage was very good and the views were spectacular. The over the water spa massage was a very unique touch for even the most seasoned spa-goer. One other comment. We had a great experience staying for 7 days, but several others we met were staying up to two weeks, which I think would have been a bit long to stay at this one resort. Not that you couldn't do it, but there wasn't anything else to do on the island outside the resort, so you can exhaust your options within a week. That said, we thought the week's stay was perfect, enough to experience all the great restaurants, water sports, sailing, golf, and spa, but not so much time that you get bored. All in all, we had a fantastic experience at Raffles' Canouan resort and would recommend it highly for a relaxed, laid back, upscale Caribbean vacation.

Lord, where do I begin? It did not occur to me to read any reviews before we booked, but I see it would not have helped me any. I truly have to question those who say they have traveled the Caribbean and stayed in high-end resorts and found this fabulous. Let me put it to you this way: if you are fortunate enough to be able to stay in places like Ritz Carlton or Four Seasons, Raffles Canouan Island is NOT the place for you. First of all, my parents live in the Bahamas and I spent much of my childhood all throughout the islands. I've done Nevis, the BVI's, the AVI's, Turks and Caicos, Caymans, etc., etc. I have never in 41 years been eaten so alive by mosquitos. They have nets over the beds and believe me, it is not for ambience! They spray the resort via a small truck 3-4 times a week and ask you to stay inside while they do. If other islands can get this under control, surely they can, too. The food. Wow. I don't even know where to begin. Two in our party---nanny and husband---are not picky eaters in the slightest. Even they could not stand the food. Our kids ate plain penne pasta the entire week. That's it. La Piazza WAS good, but how many times can you eat in one restaurant, especially when it's very quiet and more formal and the kids could get the same penne from room service? The beaches have all the drawbacks some have noted but the service, to me, was the worst thing about the beaches. It's not that there are not enough staff and that they are not friendly. But we were there and the resort wasn't even full and we hardly ever had anyone come by asking if we wanted to order a drink or anything. Can you believe they were actually passing up opportunities to make more money? This was a no brainer, as it seemed for many there money was not an issue--including us. We would happily have thrown back the Pina Coladas to numb us to how bad the food was. But no one offered. Now, you could go up to the pool bar on your own, but less touted resorts have always had staff trolling the beaches offering to sell drinks and snacks. There were people standing around doing nothing, but you had to hunt them down. Also, beware the jellyfish. May be seasonal, but they were an issue while we were there and we were warned they were the very painful variety if stung. Beware the plunge pools. It's a nice touch and this was an imperative for us, having usually only booked resort villas or private rentals with pools. The problem is they are not good for littler kids. There are no steps in, just a ladder. That's fine for older kids, but just be aware of this if your children are little. They can't just play on the steps while you are in pool or on chaise. You have to hold them the whole time or use big pool. The spa IS fantastic. Not the treatments--they are average. Like what you would get on a Crystal or other high-end cruise. Just OK. But the location and ambience of the spa is spectacular. I would say this is the only good thing about it. It's not easy to run a resort in the islands. Just keeping up with grounds is a huge issue. So I am giving them lots of slack on this. But for this to be a Raffles, it needs a LOT of work. From now on, I will definitely do much more research and not assume something can ride its corporate name. Bottom line: the villa might cost you more up front, but Four Seasons Exumas is far, far more worth it and the "extras" won't cost as much so you might call it even. If you are truly, truly used to top-notch quality and service, this is not the place for you. It could be someday, but it needs lots of work.