Hotel in STT?

Hello Seadreamers

Anyone got any recommendations re a hotel for pre-cruise in St Thomas? I was looking at Marriott Frenchman's Cove - anyone stayed there?

Thanks

Shaskelly

:)

We stayed at the Ritz-Carlton STT proper, not the time-share (club) section. We liked it (and I rarely like any hotels...). The room was nice. Grounds were beautiful. Mrs D. really got a kick out of all the iguanas in the mangrove forest down by the pool bar. Ask at the towel pavillion and they will show you where the iguanas hang out.

Beach was pretty, but the wind was up most of the time we were there. Took the Lady Lindsey snorkle sail. The snorkeling was not that good (go to Trunk Bay on St John on your own), but the boat, crew, and refreshments were great. I'd suggest skipping the snorkle sail and do the sunset sail.

For breakfast, skip the buffet and order off the menu, they have GREAT johnnycakes and chicken sausage! Try blackberry jam on the johnnycakes! Mrs D said the eggs benedict were good. The Bleu Water, where breakfast is served, is very loud and echo-ie, I would not recommend it for dinner if there are more than a few people in there. The secondary restaurant near Bleu Water had great American dishes and good sushi - but lots of kiddies too. The outdoor restaurant by the timeshares had good food in a relaxing, outdoor environment.

Beware of the RC though, there were A LOT of children. Well behaved, but everywhere. The timeshares attract a lot of families, and the kids can use the main RC facilities, and they do. The restaurants are packed with families. Lots of toddlers in the pool...

One really annoying thing is the ventilator on top of the pool bar. It is very loud and every room in the main hotel faces right at it, as they are in an arc around the pool bar. This makes sitting out on the nice patios of the rooms very irritating. They do turn it off shortly after the pool bar closes, just after sunset, so nights are nice. Beware, there are no lights on the patios due to sea turtle nesting rules. They will bring candles.

One big thing to be aware of is that the main hotel room towers have no elevators, so anyone that has impaired walking or stair climbing ability should stay elsewhere (not sure about the timeshares). The hotel is set on a bit of a hillside, so there is a lot of walking required, with some good inclines. Use the bellmen, they will drive you to your building and schlep the bags up the stairs for you (give them a nice tip, they are very friendly)

The taxis (vans, with air conditioning) that operate out of the RC are very nice, the RC vets them. Ask for Americus if you want an island tour, etc. He's a retired police officer and really knows the island.

One funny thing, I used the in-room safe to store money, a gold Rolex, a Chanel watch, and a high end camera. When removing the items before checking out I noticed that the safe was not attached to anything, you could just pick it up and walk out....

But, if you don't mind kids, the RC is a nice place to stay on STT.

We have stayed at the Marriott on several occasions. It is so convenient to Charlotte Amalie. You can actually walk (it is a short hike)property has another name but they also have a boat shuttle that is reasonably priced. It also is 10 minutes max to the port to board Sea Dream. We don't like the hotel as much as the beach property. They are both Marriott and next to each other but the beach property has another name which I can not remember. There are several restaurants on the site but it is so close you can take a cab into town very easily.

It is Morning Star associated with Frenchmen's Reef. Instead of a high rise hotel, they are more like 2 or 3 story small buildings right on the beach. You still have privileges at the big hotel.

We will be staying at the Morning Star for 2 nights before boarding SDII. I am glad to hear that it is close to town (and even walkable) since we are not planning to rent a car. We would definitely want to see a little bit of St. Thomas while we are there! If anyone has some good suggestion of something fun for first time visitors to STT, please share!

We stayed at the Morning Star a few years ago, the rooms are dated but it's right on a nice beach and convenient. I thought their open air restaurant, Havana Blue, was really good. Last year we stayed at Sugar Bay all-inclusive and it was a nightmare, literally they didn't have bath towels or beach towels most days! If you're staying for a few days, you might want to consider the Westin on St. John...totally different feel in St. John than St. Thomas.

Thanks guys - great information.

Shaskelly

If you're looking for something close to airport (walking distance!) and cruise port ( 5 min cab), with beach, bar and restaurant, reasonably priced, Emerald Beach Hotel fits the bill. Stayed there in November.

Hi, Shaskelly. St. Thomas is tough (used to live there and visit now and again) for hotels. We stayed at the Marriott Frenchman's and it was big, loud and impersonal. Quite the antithesis of a SeaDream experience for sure!

If you have more than one night, I'd highly recommend jaunting over to St. John and staying at Caneel Bay. My absolutely favorite hotel in the USVI.

Carolyn

Carolyn Spencer Brown

Editor in Chief

Cruise Critic

Hello Seadreamers

Anyone got any recommendations re a hotel for pre-cruise in St Thomas? I was looking at Marriott Frenchman's Cove - anyone stayed there?

 

Thanks

Shaskelly

:)