 |
|
|
 add to Travel Bag (NEW)
St.Thomas offers a full range of accommodations. Luxury beach front resorts where the staff caters to your every whim, cookie cutter condominiums complete with kitchens, vacation villas, and cozy guesthouses in several budget ranges all vie for the visitor dollar. Even former President Bill Clinton picked St. Thomas twice for a New Year’s break. He stayed at the posh Sand Dollar Villa, located above Magens Bay. That villa is still in the vacation villa market, and is one of the island’s most popular.
The Ritz Carlton, St. Thomas sets the standard for a luxury visit with its Mediterranean-style villas and marble accoutrements, but several other large resorts like the Renaissance Grand Beach Resort are just a tick or two below. These are full-service resorts with several swimming pools, vast water sports programs, spacious beaches, a handful of restaurants, a string of shops, a car rental agency, and more. All are chains run by large conglomerates. Most are located on the island’s eastern end, an easy drive to the Red Hook ferry dock for day excursions to St. John and its Virgin Islands National Park.
Conventioneers head for Marriott Frenchman's Reef Beach Resort, with about 500 rooms the largest in St. Thomas. It has everything a convention-goer needs, including restaurants, a beach, water sports, and ferry transportation to Charlotte Amalie’s shops and restaurants. Other resorts also provide convention services, but none on quite the same level as Frenchman’s Reef.
People with business in Charlotte Amalie or who want a large city-based hotel opt for the Holiday Inn St. Thomas. A chain hotel, it provides standard amenities with in-town convenience. While the closest beach is a bit of a drive away, the hotel does have a pool to refresh you. It is also within walking distance of the seaplane connection to St. Croix and ferries to St. John and the nearby British Virgin Islands.
Smaller seaside hotels like the family-owned Bolongo Bay Beach Resort & Villas and the Best Western Emerald Beach Resort provide quite nice resort amenities with a lesser price tag and a more personal feel. These hotels have a pool, water sports, and a restaurant, but on a much smaller scale than larger resorts.
Condominium complexes like Sapphire Village Condominiums are a home away from home for independent sorts. With full kitchens and more space than a hotel room, they give guests flexibility to eat in or dine out. Most have beaches and a restaurant or two within walking distance.
Many visitors prefer to stay at a vacation villa. St. Thomas has a large number for rent, with McLaughlin Anderson Luxury Villas the island’s premier company for finding a villa to suit your need and pocketbook. All are located in residential neighborhoods. Some are beach front, but most sit high up on the island’s hills for great views and lovely breezes. They come fully equipped, making it easy to enjoy all the comforts of home for a week or more by just unpacking your suitcase. To fully enjoy your vacation villa, a rental car is a must. Taxi drivers are reluctant to head into neighborhoods because homes are not easily identified, so without a car you may be unable to dine out or shop.
Historic Charlotte Amalie guests houses such as the bougainvillea-draped Hotel 1829 give visitors a city experience. Such hotels exude charm, but the rooms may be on the small side. Many do not have pools or other amenities, but put you just steps from a vast number of stores and restaurants, including the eponymous Hotel 1829 Restaurant.
Budget vacationers opt for places like the Green Iguana Hotel, where the rooms are clean and comfortable but a tad on the pedestrian side. These smaller spots, usually located up in the hills in the Charlotte Amalie outskirts or within the city limits, come with one plus. The owners, with years of Caribbean tales to share, are on hand to entertain you. It is also easy to meet other guests, who tend to be sociable sorts.
Families often opt for the all-inclusive Wyndham Sugar Bay Resort & Spa. With the myriad amenities and activities a full-service resort provides, the hotel gives families good value for its money since meals are included. Other resorts, such as the Sapphire Beach Resort & Marina, also have active children’s programs to give parents a break. Baby sitters are usually available through hotel front desks.
If you want an active Scuba diving vacation, pick a place with an extensive dive program. Since you will depart for your dive right from the resort’s dock, you will not waste time driving to a dive operator’s location. The smallish Secret Harbour Beach Resort is home to Aqua Action, one of the island’s most respected dive operations.
Chartering a sailboat for a week or more through a company such as Regency Yacht Vacations, called a term charter in industry lingo, is an alternative to staying put in a hotel. While you can sign on without a crew, the addition of a captain and a mate provides a level of luxury hard to achieve on your own. The captain knows the nicest anchorages, the neatest tropical bars and how to operate those intriguing water sports toys. The crew conjures up fine cuisine to a menu chosen by you in an amazingly small galley. Prices compare to a luxury hotel vacation.
Package plans are often available, particularly at the larger hotels. The local government adds an 8 percent hotel room tax on to each bill and some hotels add a service charge.
|
|
|
|
|
Travel Bag
Interested in writing content for Wcities?