USVI-On-Line

We'll be in St. John for a week in May. My parents will be joining us. It will be their first foray into the Caribbean.

That being said, their airline (Continental) keeps changing their flights around and it looks like they now need to stay two additional nights after we leave.

They would prefer to stay in St. Thomas so they don't have to handle the ferry on their own as they can get a little flustered when travelling.

Any recommendations on where to stay that will be easy for them in terms of getting back to the airport, has nice amenities like a pool they can lounge around, and still allows them to take a taxi to eat out or do some shopping.

Price range is not super budget but isn't the Ritz Carlton either.

Thanks for any ideas.

Try the Emerald Beach. It's not the Ritz but it does have what you describe, plus a really nice beach. It is practically right next door to the airport so those afteroon flights may be a little bit noisy but taxis should be around and it's only about ten minutes into town.

http://www.emeraldbeach.com/

We always stayed at the Mafolie when we needed to only stay a night or two on STT. It has a great view, nice restaurant, pool and a short drive cab drivs to down town or the airport.

We are staying at the Crystal Palace B&B in Charlotte Amalie for one night in March. The owner is on the forum here occasionally and is a member of the STJ Rotary.

Cheers, RickG

I agree with the Best Western Emerald Beach recommendation.

Run of the mill - but nice - oceanfront rooms. Lovely pool & very nice beach. Food/restaurant was so-so, but nice little outside lounge - and the location is close to the airport & also to "town". So, taxi rates should not be too bad.

We found it to be a very good buy for the price. I know that it has occasionally gotten mixed reviews. But, we were very happy with our stay.

We are also HUGE lovers of Secret Harbour Beach Resort. But, it is located near the Red Hook Ferry & is not in short taxi distance to downtown. If "shopping" is a big thing - then they may want a location closer to town. But, if they are looking for a hotel with lovely shaded beach, great restaurant & bar, very good snorkeling & just a "chill out" atmosphere - and a little more upscale than Emerald Beach, they should check out Secret Harbour. Yes - the taxi ride would be a little bit longer on flying home day - but, well worth it.

Have fun!
Sue

We do our nightovers before STJ at the Emerald Beach. Rooms are acceptable. Nice pool, beautiful restaurant and on a very lovely beach.

I will second both Emerald Beach and Secret Harbour - love them both.

You can't beat Emerald Beach for closeness to the airport - cab ride is cheap and easy. Here's a pic of our travel companions at breakfast while at Emerald Beach:
<a href="http://s169.photobucket.com/albums/u229 ... 007052.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u229 ... 007052.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

Secret Harbour is great too, but it is pretty far from the airport. We love the Blue Moon Cafe and the snorkeling is great there as well.

Here's a sunset at Secret Harbour:
<a href="http://s169.photobucket.com/albums/u229 ... 007112.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u229 ... 007112.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>



I haven't personally experienced any others on St Thomas - once we find something we like - we stick to it.

We're going down a day earlier than I thought (surprise from hubby!) & staying at Secret Harbour before going over to STJ next day. Thank you to everyone on the forum for your great recomendations/experiences there.