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.

Raffles Canouan could be one of the best resorts in the Caribbean - as long as you understand what you are going for.

For the past 7 years or so - we have taken Caribbean vacations - almost always renting houses or villas and renting cars to explore the island we were on.

Canouan is not a typical vaction for us - as it is a completely enclosed resort - there's really nothing else on the Island - and if you are willing to pay the price for Raffles - all else on Canouan is going to pale in comparison.

We flew down to Barbados and took the Raffles jet to Canouan after a 45 minute stopover. Very smooth and easy - with an airport concierge guiding us through the process.

The resort itself is beautiful with the grounds perfectly groomed - two nice beaches and a really nice golf course. You can see it all on the website or read about them hear on trip advisor. It's all true - and the pictures are pretty accurate.

We had dinner one night with the manager who is an extremely nice fellow and very interested in the hotel and the guest experience. When I asked him what was the biggest challenge and the thing he was most proud of - the answers were the same - the level of service they have achieved down there.

Having been to enough Caribbean islands - you do not get the "Caribbean service" at Canouan. Service is on par with any hotel anywhere in the world. The employees are happy to help and the standards excellent. We travelled with our two daughters (8 and 5) and the people of Raffles could not have been more helpful or more happy to help out with special requests - including a birthday cake (chocolate as requested) for our 8 year old during the beach BBQ at Godahls one night.

Speaking of food - we found it uniformly good to very good and the service was solid all around.

We stayed in a 2 bedroom personality suite which had its own pool and was 10 seconds to the beach. Most of the rooms are undergoing an overhaul and this villa had been done over with traditional Raffles furniture and fans. the room was spectacular.

As you might expect - all of these things cost $. There's nothing cheap at the resort and paying in U.S. $ right now - some of the food is downright laughable - but of course everything has to be flown in and there are a ton of servers for not all that many guests (350 at max occupancy - there were 100 or so when we went)

The two best parts of the trip were golf on the spectacular course (yes you lose a lot of balls even if you are a pretty good golfer) and boat trips. Massive elevation changes and a constant wind make sure of that. The back nine has some of the prettiest vistas we have seen in the Islands - and a large collection of Canouan tortoises (we spotted 20 one evening)

Phil and Nicola run two boats right from Jambu's dock - and they are not to be missed. Yes the Tobago Cays are as nice as everyone says (Phil and Nicola are repopulating one of the Cays with Iguanas and we participated in one of their releases) - and the trip to Mayreau is also great - but really it is the hospitality provided by Phil and Nicola that make it come together so well. Management should do everything possible to keep these two folks happy as they really provide the backbone of the water sports activities at the resort. Can't say enough about these two.

If there is any disappointment we felt over the whole experience it is the lack of snorkeling off the beach at the resort. There is a very small coral patch off of Godahls beach - and some nice fish grouping under the Armita spa over water treatment huts - but that is it. There is a beautiful fringing reef around Canouan - but getting there is difficult (need a boat) and the current is extremely strong at this time of year - in fact - having been down to the Grenadines twice in February - the wind seems to be constantly from the north and the current strong ( making snorkeling hard and visibility tough) This was not the case when we were at Petit St. Vincent in May one year.

Perhaps management should invest in an artificial reef off of Godahl's beach.

The only other quibbles would be the lack of things to do and see outside of the resort on Canouan - there really is nothing - and of course the cost - but you know that going in and certainly get top service and amenities for top $.

Finally, because everyone takes small private planes in and out - and most people will leave on a Saturday or Sunday - try and make sure you have a good connection. We left the resort around 11 for a 4:45 Barbados connection - and after spending 8 nights at Raffles - the last thing you want to do is spend 4+ hours sitting at Barbados airport ( a rude awakening to the real world)

As I said at the beginning - if you know why you are going there you will be pleasantly surprised as the resort will likely over deliver. It is a fantastic place to relax - it is quiet - not crowded - service is excellent (constant cold water changes on the beach - food anywhere you like it - cold towels to cool you down etc...) However, if you need to explore - or need snorkeling right off the beach - you won't be able to indulge yourself - because neither of these things exist.

All in all if you are looking for what Raffles has to offer - this could be the best resort in the Caribbean.

Our third time at Raffles, Canouan Island, and better each time we stay there. The golf is fantastic, if you only have time for 9 holes, the back nine is the best, more corporate business' are finding it, and when the new runway is open, expect this place to be FOUND. The management works hard to make your stay awesome, rooms are awesome, service is awesome, we stayed two weeks, and are already talking about coming back next year, it is pricey, good things are, food at the restaurants is better than most caribbean restaurants and O'Neil at La Varenne is at his best. Casino is so so, save your money, spend it at the restaurant,. Very european, so many languages heard, russian, french, irish, italian,of course, english. More children this year, not a problem, go for the golf, come back for the service, and just enjoy the spa, one of the best in the caribbean. Next stop, two weeks at Harbour Village, Bonaire.

Having not been to the Carribean before we didn't know what to expect. The Raffles Resort is outstanding, absolute stunning to the eye.

We stayed at the resort for Christmas and New Year and although full, it felt half empty. The staff are so accommodating and will deal with anything for you. I have a fish allergy which was catered for without me having to worry about anything, food was prepared cooked seperate nothing was too much trouble (have to say I wasn't the only one there with allergies and we were all looked after incredibly well).

We stayed in a garden view room which was huge, very clean with lovely views. A golf cart is provided for all rooms to travel around the island. And the spa treatments are a must!

I can not recommend this resort enough for the pure pleasure of visiting a beautiful island but also for the warm welcome and service you receive throughout your stay.