USVI-On-Line

We will be on St. John for the the first two weeks in September. I would like to thank Ruth for her very helpful list. Do the resort restaurants, eg. Equator also close for a period during the slow months?...mia

Mia, I can't answer your question for sure but I can tell you that we are staying one night at Caneel on 10/2 and I contacted the hotel about the Buffet they have on Monday evening's and they made a reservation for me. So I know that they are open at the Terrace Rest. at that time.

If you want the email address for them let me know and I will find it for you.

Mary Beth

I just called. The Beach Terrace Monday Night Grand Buffet is discontinued for a few months.
Otherwise, the restaurants alternate nights. The Equator is open one night, Turtle Beach the next.
-Ruth

HA
Ruth .. funny! They made me a reservation for 10/2!
Perhaps I should check on that again!

We had a horrible time trying to book a reservation at Equator when we went last May. Finally gave up! Couldn't get a straight answer about when they would be open, what would be open, etc. Good luck!

I contacted Caneel about reserving the Turtle Bay Wine Room for my husband's 40th birthday. It is quite exclusive and pricey so I was not sure that they would let a non guest reserve it, so I wanted to check in ahead of time.
The reply I got was call us when you are on island. We arrive 2 days before his birthday, so I am not willing to wait that long.I replied to them asking if I could reserve it ahead of time, even pay for it, but they told me that I would have to wait until I was on island.
Kinda bummed, but I have started working on other options.
Oh Well.

islang girl, when are you going to STJ?

Not until April, but 1) I am a planner and 2) I really wanted to do something special. I figured that they would at least let me know if it was available. We will be there during most school's April vacation so I am sure that the island will be busy and I didn't want to take any chances.

I gave up on Caneel though. I may have a chef come to the villa.

Xislandgirl & flip-flop,

Reading about Caneel's rather cavalier attitude has left me thinking "Why bother?" It just seems that they aren't very concerned with customer service. Our party of six will spend the big bucks elsewhere...there are plenty of other restaurants on St. John...even in Sept.

Mia - you are right & I 100% agree. We decided to forgo any dining at Caneel. We throughly enjoyed Tage, Miss Lucy's, Island Blues, Shipwreck (though service was sllloooowww), Vie's and Skinny Legs. Not all fine dining, but all delicious just the same!

We've eaten at Equator twice and thought both food and service were just OK. The view is great, but there are lots of better places to eat, in my opinion.

I've not been to Turtle Bay, but I asked about it on the old forum prior to our last trip and the feedback I got was universally mediocre.

We have traveled with a fairly large group (10)the last several years and we like to eat at nicer restaurants. I usually like to reserve about a month in advance. We've never been able to eat at Caneel with our group, although we've tried---they always tell me to call the day we want to have dinner, and they will fit us in if they have room. I've never been willing to plan this last minute with a large group. Still, the guests who stay there pay a LOT---oceanfront rooms are now about $1000/nt in season, so they deserve priority. Oddly, though,when I've had dinner at Equator with just my wife, it hasn't been that crowded. I would understand this attitude more if they really did have a problem with it being too crowded. Fortunately, there are plenty of other good options for a great dinner.

FWIW on this topic, I got an email back from Caneel Bay saying that all their restaurants will be back in business around Thanksgiving and the Grand Buffet will be operating when where are there on 10/2.

Of course I will believe that when I sit down at a table that evening
not really worried about it either way. does Uncle Joe deliver to Caneel Bay??? LOL