USVI-On-Line

During our stays at Caneel (summers) as well as going to eat (high season mornings and evenings) and beach access/walking (my mother) we encountered guards quite often.

Sometimes they just gave a quick wave, others actually expected us to stop. My mom walked in several times and was given a hard time once by a woman guard. Once they got to talking, the guard warmed up and they both went about their business.

It's this huge project-- basically looks like they're building a stone fort and walling the place in.

OK I'm exaggerating a bit... but it is a pretty sizable project and it's going to give the entrance a more substantial and fortified (for lack of a better term) look.

I'm sure it will look nice with the stonework and all but it's definitely more than it was "entrance-wise"

Wow, I certainly never heard about any fee being charged. I bet a security guard had a great little (temporary) scam going with rental cars.
I believe the mystery has to do with good ol' homeland security. Since Caneel's boats travel internationally, making the trip to Virgin Gorda every week, they were required to upgrade security. I would not be surprised if they were receiving some help from federal funds for the new guard house. They also needed to provide a bathroom for the guard on duty.
What is amazing to me is that they didn't complete it by high season, and not only is it very unsightly, it's very uncomfortable to drive on the temporary dirt detour around the gate area. There was a time when NOTHING was allowed to disrupt the serenity of December to April at Caneel. Pretty good policy.

Hugo you gave a very reasonable explanation. By the look of how it was progressing in mid-Dec I wondered if it would be finished by high season.It is unsightly.

I thought the same thing about a fee in get onto the property being due to a dishonest guard. Honestly I never saw a guard or perhaps I just waved as we entered. I KNOW no one ever stopped us from entering.

I just checked their website and it is official. I am really BUMMED. Since we got our time cut short with Omar last year I wanted to make sure we got back this Oct. Unfortunately I already booked airfare before I found out about this so I am in a dilemma. I may just have to change our dates for Nov.

Susan, have you thought about doing a villa for your dates instead of Caneel? I am thinking there are going to be some good discounts for the fall.

We leave next week for Caneel....will take pictures of the new construction and report back.

I thought maybe I hallucinated (AKA booze black out) the whole incident, so I just emailed the girl who has gone with me on both of my trips. She said that yes, the guard tried to charge us $4 per person to get through the gate at Caneel, so we opted to go to Trunk instead. And she reminded me that we didn't go to Honeymoon this year because we didn't want to pay the $4 again.

So, see, I'm not crazy.

What I wonder if since the gatehouse was always sitting there empty if the person even worked at Caneel and didn't just "borrow" their gate house for a little scam. Regardless, someone tried to charge us $4.

liamsaunt wrote:Susan, have you thought about doing a villa for your dates instead of Caneel? I am thinking there are going to be some good discounts for the fall.

We haven't done the villa thing yet (I know how could we when we go to St. John all of the time). I think its more cost effective if we went with another couple. It turns out our friends can't take time from work this October so it will just be us - not that its a bad thing. So I am still debating about whether or not maybe try another nearby island to stay on and split that on St. John. Or just change our dates and just eat the cost of the flight change fee. Such decisions!!

You can actually get a really nice villa for two people in the off season for less than Caneel--even if you are paying the courtside (cheapest) rate, a week at Caneel in October (if it were open!) costs $3K after you add in the 10% resort fee (didn't add the 8% tax because you pay that everywhere). John and I usually come down alone, and we love the villa/Caneel split.

I'm sure whatever you decide, you'll have a great time.

Right now I am thinking of trying Little Dix Bay for half our stay and then head to the Westin for the 2nd half. I have always wanted to go to LDB. I'm sure I'll still miss Caneel but I think its a nice alternative!

I will keep you posted.

You may want to consider Gallows Point as well. It is a good balance between a villa and a hotel like Westin. It has a full kitchen, but is also very close to tow in case you feel like walking into town to eat. My wife and I are going in September and they had a good deal going. It is going to end up costing less than $180 per night.

Lulu76 wrote:We didn't try to go to Caneel when we were there in November, but in October 2007, there was a not only a guard in the little booth, but he wanted to collect a fee from us to drive onto the grounds. I'm not sure if it was $4/car or $4/person, but I think it may have been $4/person, because we decided to go to Trunk instead.

All of the times we have gone to Honeymoon I have never been asked for money to enter at the guard shack. Weird.