usvi-on-line
All packed and ready to go - Ritz and STJ - Monday Part 1
All packed and ready to go - Ritz and STJ - Monday Part 1
After a great night of sleep we again woke to blue skies with some light scattered clouds and thankfully wind!
When we had checked in on Saturday afternoon we had asked the Concierge to book the St. John Dinner sail for us, which for $100 per person, included hors d oeuvres and cocktails during a one-hour sail to Cruz Bay, dinner on your own and then dessert and cordials on the sail back to the Ritz. We also asked the Concierge to book a 6:30 dinner reservation at one of our favorite restaurants in the world … ZoZo’s. For us it has some of our favorite foods, excellent service and a view that is out of this world.
So after much contemplation we decided to cancel the dinner cruise and take a cab to Red Hook ($5 per person) and the ferry ($12 per person round trip).
Dinner plans in place, we headed to the pool for a change in venue. The infinity pool is very large and has an incredible view of St. John. There were plenty of loungers with umbrellas around the pool as well as floats.
We relaxed by the pool and then noticed a little before noon that another squall was coming through. We gathered up our things and headed back to the Club Lounge for lunch. Just as we entered the building the rain started coming in sheets and visibility on the water dropped to just about zero. We also saw, for the first time in some 25 plus visit to the USVI/BVI lightening!
The storm lasted for a while so we decided to head back to our room where DD took his siesta and I read on our covered porch. The lounger was so comfy, the breeze delightful and the rain comforting that I too took a little snooze!
After showers and dressing, we took a golf cart to the main lobby where we then took a 5-minute ride over to Red Hook. We took the 5 p.m. ferry to St. John and were on island about 20 minutes later.
After disembarking the ferry we walked over to Mongoose Junction to check out the art work at one of our favorite stores … The Best of Both Worlds. While DH and I wandered around the store DD purchased a bag/purse at Big Planet and also checked out the clothing at Bougainvillea Shop.
We really wanted to stop at the Sun Dog Café for a drink but we ended up spending more time browsing and shopping than we planned.
A leisurely stroll took us past the Lime Inn (one of DH’s favorite restaurants) and of course more shopping for DD at the Pink Papaya. While DD browsed/shopped DH and I chatted with Rick, owner of the Lime Inn for a few minutes. Although it was early (6 p.m.) there was no one in the restaurant … actually nothing was really busy on St. John … a sure sign that we were in low season.
We headed over to Gallow’s Point to ZoZo’s and were seated immediately at a table by the rail with a lovely view of St. John and the sunset.
From our table
View from my seat
We ordered drinks and contemplated the menu while basking in the setting sun. DD decided she wanted two appetizers as her main course which was no problem.
All three of us split the calamari which came with a marinara pesto aioli and Fra diavolo marinara. It was as wonderful as we remembered!
DH and I had never been to Jax’s Lounge above the restaurant so while we took a quick peek upstairs before our entrees arrived
The view from Jax's
For our main courses DD had the Potato Gnocchi - Caribbean lobster, sweet corn, scallions and shellfish butter and the Mussels Arrabbiata -sautéed Tuscan kale, crispy pancetta and fresh red pepper pomodoro. DH and I went with our traditional choice … Osso Buco - slow simmered veal shank, saffron risotto and prosciutto wrapped asparagus.
As always, the dish was incredible. Osso Buco is one of our favorite entrees and we agree that ZoZo’s prepares it the best … even better than my own six-hour braised version.
When we had checked in on Saturday afternoon we had asked the Concierge to book the St. John Dinner sail for us, which for $100 per person, included hors d oeuvres and cocktails during a one-hour sail to Cruz Bay, dinner on your own and then dessert and cordials on the sail back to the Ritz. We also asked the Concierge to book a 6:30 dinner reservation at one of our favorite restaurants in the world … ZoZo’s. For us it has some of our favorite foods, excellent service and a view that is out of this world.
So after much contemplation we decided to cancel the dinner cruise and take a cab to Red Hook ($5 per person) and the ferry ($12 per person round trip).
Dinner plans in place, we headed to the pool for a change in venue. The infinity pool is very large and has an incredible view of St. John. There were plenty of loungers with umbrellas around the pool as well as floats.
We relaxed by the pool and then noticed a little before noon that another squall was coming through. We gathered up our things and headed back to the Club Lounge for lunch. Just as we entered the building the rain started coming in sheets and visibility on the water dropped to just about zero. We also saw, for the first time in some 25 plus visit to the USVI/BVI lightening!
The storm lasted for a while so we decided to head back to our room where DD took his siesta and I read on our covered porch. The lounger was so comfy, the breeze delightful and the rain comforting that I too took a little snooze!
After showers and dressing, we took a golf cart to the main lobby where we then took a 5-minute ride over to Red Hook. We took the 5 p.m. ferry to St. John and were on island about 20 minutes later.
After disembarking the ferry we walked over to Mongoose Junction to check out the art work at one of our favorite stores … The Best of Both Worlds. While DH and I wandered around the store DD purchased a bag/purse at Big Planet and also checked out the clothing at Bougainvillea Shop.
We really wanted to stop at the Sun Dog Café for a drink but we ended up spending more time browsing and shopping than we planned.
A leisurely stroll took us past the Lime Inn (one of DH’s favorite restaurants) and of course more shopping for DD at the Pink Papaya. While DD browsed/shopped DH and I chatted with Rick, owner of the Lime Inn for a few minutes. Although it was early (6 p.m.) there was no one in the restaurant … actually nothing was really busy on St. John … a sure sign that we were in low season.
We headed over to Gallow’s Point to ZoZo’s and were seated immediately at a table by the rail with a lovely view of St. John and the sunset.
From our table
View from my seat
We ordered drinks and contemplated the menu while basking in the setting sun. DD decided she wanted two appetizers as her main course which was no problem.
All three of us split the calamari which came with a marinara pesto aioli and Fra diavolo marinara. It was as wonderful as we remembered!
DH and I had never been to Jax’s Lounge above the restaurant so while we took a quick peek upstairs before our entrees arrived
The view from Jax's
For our main courses DD had the Potato Gnocchi - Caribbean lobster, sweet corn, scallions and shellfish butter and the Mussels Arrabbiata -sautéed Tuscan kale, crispy pancetta and fresh red pepper pomodoro. DH and I went with our traditional choice … Osso Buco - slow simmered veal shank, saffron risotto and prosciutto wrapped asparagus.
As always, the dish was incredible. Osso Buco is one of our favorite entrees and we agree that ZoZo’s prepares it the best … even better than my own six-hour braised version.
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SOonthebeach
- Posts: 1707
- Joined: Tue Jan 19, 2010 10:01 am
- Location: Texas
-
SOonthebeach
- Posts: 1707
- Joined: Tue Jan 19, 2010 10:01 am
- Location: Texas
I definitely only go to ZoZo's with NO kids! They're 10 and 6 and at war most of the time- much better suited to BB/Skinny's/Woody's, etc. Even Lime Inn can be a push for us sometimes!! Nice to see a report about the Ritz. By chance was the name of your concierge, Steve? He is our son. Has been working at the Ritz for a couple of years. The sail on the Lady Lyndsey is a wonder trip to STJ. ZoZo's is one our favorite resturants to have dinner. The sunsets are totally awesome there. Thanks for sharing.
Glad to share some of our favorite things as welljimbob wrote:Nice to see a report about the Ritz. By chance was the name of your concierge, Steve? He is our son. Has been working at the Ritz for a couple of years. The sail on the Lady Lyndsey is a wonder trip to STJ. ZoZo's is one our favorite resturants to have dinner. The sunsets are totally awesome there. Thanks for sharing.
I think we did see your son Steve in the Club Lounge ... is he rather tall?