USVI-On-Line

I've searched for reviews but have not found any. Just looking for opinions on the restaurants in these resorts are and if they are worth trying out. We will be staying up the hill from the Westin and wondered if it would be a good option for us.

I can only give an opinion on the Caneel restauarants, with the caveat that I have never been to the Turtle Bay Estate House because they require close toed shoes and slacks for men and my husband doesn't bring that stuff with him.

The Equator has a lovely setting in sugar mill ruins, with a nice sunset view. Food is OK, not great, and it is pretty expensive, especially the wine list.

The Beach Bar Terrace is just casual stuff...burgers, panini, etc. Again, it is just OK. It's fine for fuel to keep you going, but I would not go out of my way to eat there. I believe they recently got a new chef, so maybe things have improved a bit.

Caneel's breakfast buffet is really nice. They have pretty much everything you can think of, tons of fresh fruit and juices, eggs to order, etc. The setting is nice too, right off the main beach.

I've not done the Grand dinner buffet (do they even still have this?), or the lunch buffet.

My advice would be to go into town for dinner. There are so many great options in town, at all price points.

The only experience that I have had with these restaurants was that we did the breakfast buffet at the Westin on our way to return our Jeep one time. It was nice, but I'm not sure it was worth the price (I think it was around $30). There are plenty of restaurants in town and nothing beats grilling steaks on the deck of your villa...

I've eaten at the Westin 2x. Once on our honeymoon when we thought we had reservations at Chole & Bernard's, a wedding gift from my brother. The hotel screwed everything up and they had no record of the gift certificate or reservation. After getting no satisfaction from what was a brand new "concerige" we asked to speak to the manager who set us up in the beachisde resturant adjacent to the pool. The resturant staff went out of their way to make it special, despite the casual setting. They gave us a table right on the beach and the waitress refused the tip at the end of the evening. The food was fine, nothing memorable at all. In retrospect since m,y husband has a somewhat limited palate, the beachside resturant worked better.

Ive also eaten at the grill poolside when we crashed the pool one day. Fine for what it is, burgers, wraps, etc. I found the bar staff to be very nice.

I agree there are much better choices in town.

If you are at the beach at Caneel Bay or nearby Honeymoon Beach, the Caneel Beach Terrace is an excellent choice for lunch---just don't look at the prices, and enjoy. I have enjoyed dinner at Equator (at Caneel Bay), primarily because of the setting. Nice view, and it has an old Caribbean feeling for me---set near the sugar mill ruins. I wouldn't disagree with Liamsaunt's assessment of the food.

The pool bar/restaurant at the Westin has pretty good food, a nice view of Great Cruz Bay, and I have eaten lunch there when I was staying in that area and didn't want to fight for parking in town. I would not eat dinner at the Westin.

We eat at Caneel at least once per STJ trip.

I agree with liamsaunt about the Sugar Mill. Our meals have been fine but for me, the setting goes a long way towards the experience.

Love the breakfast buffet, love it!

We have had mixed experiences with the grand buffet. We won't be trying it again in 6 weeks. Our issues had to do with the insane # of people acting like complete hogs and management doing nothing to, well, manage it. The food was very good and tons of variety.

The Westin dining room as others have said is very expensive. The bar food by the dining room is nothing spectacular, expensive and not worth going to.

The poolside place (I think it is called Snorkels) is pretty good, nice big sandwiches and good service as someone else mentioned. Not overly expensive. They don't serve food at night, at least off season they don't. If you wanted to check out the Westin it might be a nice option-it is pleasant.

If you are thinking of walking there, it can be pretty brutal going back up the hill, depending on the location of your villa.

Greenskeeper-- here's my .02 and that's about what its worth...

There are so many fantastic places to eat on STJ at all price points that, unless it's a specific resort atmosphere that you want, then go for the other options.

That being said, many folks have recommended the Caneel Buffets in the past as worthwhile.

Personally, I'd explore further afield and I don't think you'll be dissappointed.

DELETED

Thanks for all the information. We loved going into Cruz Bay most nights last year. The kids loved Candi's BBQ. We brought a sampling back to the villa one day so perhaps we will do that one night instead of trying the Westin for convenience.

What's the deal with the rib eye at Zozo's? Last month we were in a ski lodge (I was reading Caribbean life and drinking a cocktail - reminding my self of why I tolerate these family getaways LOL)and a man spotted my husband's Woody's t-shirt. A conversation ensued and we talked about our newbie experience last year. He asked if we had tried Zozo's and then proceeded to recall his regular dinner, at the bar and a bone in rib eye. He obviously enjoyed it verrrrry much. No pictures needed for that food porn. LOL

Deb and I ate at The Caneel Bay Restaurant by the bar just last week. I had to go into Caneel for a Meeting. So since we were there we went ahead and tried it. I have to say that it was the very average or below in quality and well price well above average even for here. There are enough great places in town, so if you aren't staying at one of the resorts I just couldn't see putting up with the prices.
Jay