CSA or CN... Plese help! :)

[joyrock]

Hello! My fiance and I are getting married May 21, 2011 and we are planning on honeymooning at either CN or CSA. We can't decide!!! There seems to be more written on the message boards about CN. I am really impressed at all of the great reviews it got,but I must say the pictures of CSA are a bit more appealing to us. We want privacy, great food, great drinks, fun excursions, entertainment, nice rooms with good balcony, and a great beach. It seems both CSA and CN have all of those so we are wondering what are the differences in the two resorts? Can anyone help?? If so, please include what room is best as well. Thanks in advance!

[meganfritz]

I probably won't be much help since we loved both of these resorts (but will return to CSS when we get to go again).

Both CN & CSA have beautiful beaches, great food and drinks, wonderful service, etc. To me the main differences are: Swept Away is much more spread out (this can be good or bad depending on what you like); the pool at CN is bigger and awesome with the waterfall between the main pool and the swim-up bar; the rooms seem a tad nicer at CSA with more wood and bigger balconies; we never made it across the road, but I'm told that the fitness complex at CSA is second to none.

If they could put an atrium suite on the cliffs at CSS and put in the CN pool - that would be perfection! (sorry CTI fans - we haven't visited there yet so I can't include you in my fantasy resort)

[softail19]

Booked for trip no 4 to CSA, I can only speak to CSA and it is truly paradise.

[Blondie]

This is the age old question. I think that you will find equal number of answers for either resort. For us it is CN, we love it and are booked for trip number 7 this summer.

Having said that you, you really need to go with your heart and from what you have said, CSA is the one that appeals to you. You can't go wrong with either of them, it is after all Couples.

[Melea]

We've been to CN 3 times and CSA twice, and our next trip will be to CSA. We loved CN the times we were there, but once we visited CSA, we found that it was an even better fit for us!

Both resorts have a great beach, but CN is located in a bay, while CSA is located on 7 mile beach. Basically what this means is that walking along the beach at CN is limited (while still quite long -- they share the beach with a couple of other resorts) -- the beach at CSA is public, and goes on and on and on (we still haven't walked as far as we could on that beach).

For us, we liked walking on the beach and seeing different things/people. We walked over to Margaritaville just to check it out. From CN you can take a bus to Margaritaville if you wanted to visit.. but it was nice to stop by, check it out, and go back to the resort when we were ready to leave.

CN is more compact - the restaurants are all in the middle of the resort, along with their amazing pool. CSA is more spread out, but flat and very easily walkable (and doesn't seem like you're walking forever and ever either). CSA's pool isn't as stellar as CN, but they have 2 to choose from at CSA, one with a swim up bar. We typically hang out around the pool and it isn't a deal breaker for us.

We also LOVE the gym and spa at CSA -- it's really amazing! Also, we felt like there are more healthy food options at CSA compared to CN.

It's not that we wouldn't return to CN -- we will at some point -- but we haven't had our fill of CSA yet so that's why we're returning there. In 2 trips we don't feel like we've done everything we can there.

My SIL will be at CSA on her honeymoon while you're getting married! I'm so excited for her to experience it. Good luck!

[spingirl]

If you are really into exercising while on vacation, then CSA is for you. CN is smaller and more intimate.They are both fantastic resorts with fabulous beaches and wonderful staff, not to mention great food. I could go on...

[beach]

We too were in the same boat with our honeymoon and chose CSA. It seems like an overall nicer resort and the beach is amazing! We loved it so much we are going back for our one year anniversary. Book CSA, you won't regret it.

[rjammin]

You'll get a lot of different opinions here. I would suggest you try either one and then try the other next trip.
We've been to both and found that CN is more to our liking. All Couples will give you great food, great service and the activities etc. etc. To us, CSA seemed a little too spread out (no doubt because it's larger) and a little less intimate as a result. At CN you run into a lot of the people you saw the day before and it seems a lot less crowded than CSA. The pool at CN is second to none. It is never crowded and there can be 50 other people in it and you would never know. CSA seems to be the most popular for weddings. We probably saw at least 10 in the week we were there. I don't know if thats normal or not, we may have been there at a busy time for weddings (April). That made for a lot of groups. One of which pretty much dominated the swim up bar at the south pool. They weren't obnoxious or anything (at least not until dinner) but it was a fairly large group. We spent most of the week at the other pool or on the beach which was fine. One thing we loved about CSA though was that you can walk down the beach and check out the different shops, bars etc. Both resorts have a huge fan base and only you can decide which one fits. We've been to all but CTI (maybe next year) and will never stray from Couples.
You made a great choice choosing Couples. Congratulations on your upcoming wedding! You will find your new "Home" at whichever Couples you choose.

[Leeza14]

Honestly, I don't think you can go wrong with either choice...but if you want the bigger balcony and more beach, I would choose CSA. However, you will still get a beautiful beach at CN.
Once you decide on the resort, you can do your research on room types. The biggest difference for us is which room categories have TVs and which don't -- hubby can't sleep without the TV on. For me personally, I want to be able to see the water from my balcony. Just decide on what features are most important to you, find them, and book, knowing that you are in for one heck of a great honeymoon!!

[bmb]

My husband and I went to CN last March. I have no idea what CSA is like, but I can tell you the biggest appeal to me was that CN was on Bloody Bay so the vendor traffic was pretty low. We really loved CN and plan on attempting to get to all the resorts, but CTI, not my style. The resort was compact, intimate, lush, and gorgeous. The food was great and everything was close to get to. If you have specifics please ask!

[Coloradojuli]

We also love both resorts. CSA is on 5 miles of 7 Mile Beach and is really fun to walk. CSA also has an incredible piano player (Chocolate) whose fingers fly faster than a tornado on the keyboard. CSA is very spread out and has a few more restaurant choices and the beach rooms are true beach rooms.

CN is on 2 miles of 7 Mile Beach and is also fun to walk, but the only thing on the beach is 3other hotels and a few street vendors. The beach at CSA has shops, bars, and restaurants along the way. The rooms at CN are set in horseshoe shapes and you don't get a dead on view of the ocean although we do love the rooms at CN. The resort is very compact and nothing is very far away. The resort is set on a fabulous beach, but the resort is centered around an incredible pool with a waterfall and swim up bar. CN also has an AN section tucked away on one side of the beach.

Tuff choice, but no matter which one you choose, sign up for Romance Rewards and do the Trading Places one day to the other resort.

[KCKev]

I can only speak to CSA, and one of the things I like the best was how quiet it was fir being a resort. It never felt crowded, was never too noisy, and was laid out well IMO. (and I was on crutches at the time)

There is plenty of variety for lunch and dinner and more than enough beach, activities, and quiet spots. I will say get a garden suite if you want the most privacy IMO. If want the beach, beach from verandahs are the way to go.

Good luck , enjoy and safe travels.

[sherrynchuck]

The two resorts are totally different, just both owned by Couples. I had narrowed it down to those two before our trip as well and just kept looking at the web pages for each and reading all the info on those pages...restaurant descriptions, room descriptions, room photos, etc. Ultimately CSA is what appealed most to us. Again, it's really choosing between two totally different resorts, forget the fact that they both are Couples. Keep looking at those web pages and go with the one that most appeals to YOU and you will have made the right decision.

[caviargal]

We have been to CSA a half dozen times and then tried CN. It was wonderful in a different way but we are headed back to CSA in May.

I prefer the beach at CSA; my husband prefers the beach at CN.

We prefer the large verandahs at CSA to the small ones at CN.

I'm a gym rat and CN was more than adequate but CSA is fabulous, especially for yoga devotees.

Spa is nicer at CSA.

We preferred the restaurants at CSA, especially the outdoor dining at Lemongrass.

Beach party was better at CN.

And nightlife was more abundant at CSA.

They are both special resorts and it really comes down to which one ticks more of your personal boxes.

[joyrock]

Thanks everyone for the great feedback! We booked CSA yesterday and we are looking forward to honeymooning there. Any recommendations for "must do" activities on the resort?

[sherrynchuck]

You must spend many hours sitting on the beach doing nothing but staring out at the beautiful blue Caribbean. You're gonna love CSA.