B_and_B

Hello again - we are the 60+ grandparents taking their only granddaughter, age 13, for spring break. Thanks to all of you for your feedback to our previous posts that helped us make the decision to book Secret Harbour on St. Thomas for the first week in April. We have rented a 1BR suite so that we can take the BR and GD can stay up late with the LR all to her herself to watch DVDs late at night. We will have 6 full days there. Now we would really appreciate your advice/feedback/suggestions – especially if you have stayed at Secret Harbour -- to make our visit go smoothly.

Less than two weeks to go and I’m mired in taxes and other projects that are keeping me away from trip planning, so I am hoping for your help with questions below, and please chime in with suggestions on the things I have forgotten to ask that you know I will need to know and tips that can make this a wonderful trip.

Secret Harbour condos:
• I know the SH units are individually owned and thus decorated and supplied differently, but in general what can we expect?
• Washer/dryer in the unit, and if not, is there one for guest use on site at the resort? If not, where?
• Do most owners stock any DVDs and/or books in their units for their guests use or is there is a resort lending library for books/DVDs, or barring that, someplace to rent DVDs?
• I assume all necessary linens are supplied in each unit (sheets, bath towels, etc.)?
• The kinds of things a hotel would have such as hairdryer, coffee maker, etc.?
• Are any basic staples stocked in the kitchen or do we need to plan on shopping for everything we need?
• What wasn’t there that you had expected/counted on?
• Other than personal items, what things have you found helpful to bring?

Secret Harbour Resort:
• What does the resort itself provide in addition to what is in the units that might not be highlighted on their website?
• Beach lounge chairs? If so are there enough, or do you have to stake them out early?
• Clean beach towels every day?
• Water sports area – can we rent snorkel equipment for GD?
• The two restaurants on site? What meals served, quality, cost, variety?
• What wasn’t there that you had expected/counted on?

Things to do:
• Our broad plans are to enjoy the beach at SH, swim, snorkel, sun (GD insists on coming home with a tan), eat, drink, read, relax, and hopefully, bond with GD who we don’t see that often.
• We aren’t big shoppers but will probably need to take GD once for fun – where (want to avoid cruise ship crowds for sure!)
• We definitely want to do a day trip to St. John and want to snorkel at Trunk Bay, and maybe take an island tour. Would we have time for both? Do you recommend doing this on our own or booking with a tour, and if so out of STT or SJ or who?
• Maybe take a catamaran sail/snorkel trip – your recommendation?
• Other side trips, especially shorter ones or with beach destinations.

Would like your suggestions of where to rent a car, buy groceries, liquor, wine, great day trips, restaurants, etc.

Thanks everyone.

virginia

sh condos
1- units are nicely furnished. kitchen is fully stocked with pots & pans, dishes & glassware. frig & oven are full sized. have dishwashers. have dining table. some have grills on deck.
2- i don't recall washers in units or on site.
3- owners have movies & books in unit, maybe some board games. tell gd to bring a 1/2 doz of her favorite movies just in case - they don't take any space. a kindle would be useful.
4- coffee maker yes. don't recall any hairdryers but i don't use one. may have been one attached to wall.
5- nothing
6- mini flashlight, kindle, extra camera battery, zip-locs cuz they are expensive on island.

shr
1- i think you can get a card at check-in that allows you to charge food & drinks to your room rather than carrying cash. front desk ladies are super nice but definitely on island time. they appreciate a friendly greeting before you ask them for something. the managers cocktail party is fun - do go.
2- loungers - plenty.
3- housekeeping daily will replace towels.
4- i have my own gear so not sure if shop will rent. probably yes. they will sell her a set if not.
5- main rest has 3 meals daily. beach bar/patio has burgers, sandwiches etc from 11ish on. notihng is cheap. all is good. we normally had fruit, english muffins, coffee in unit in am. had some lunches in unit & a few dinners but we took a cooler with us. several places in red hook to eat. tony romano's italian is not to far (on coki beach road). ritz is good but expensive! our splurge/fancy dinner was havana blue at the marriott which was outstanding.
6- nothing

ttd
1- tan should be no problem. FORCE her to use ample sunscreen. if legal where you live a couple trips to the tanning both would help her not burn at first.
2- most of shopping is in charlotte amalie. lots of jewelry, perfume so may not interest her for long. more fun is the locals outdoor market on the east end of town - you can't miss it. very colorful & fun. more shopping at havensight mall.
3- take the red hook ferry. get a taxi. ask driver for tour of say 2 hours with drop off at trunk bay. ask him to return for you at appointed time
4- if you want to try this trip book it now. very popular, wonderful excursion. (leaves early in am if that is a problem)
http://newhorizonscharters.com/
there are tons of tours if ^ is booked.
5- go to magens bay beach in early am or late afternoon to avoid ship crowds. you might enjoy a day or 1/2 day at http://coralworldvi.com/

buy groceries at Food Center. you pass it on your left on the way to shbr - approx 10-15 mins from resort. has all groceries & liqour in one store. in red hook is Marina Market which is deli style & has good wines. http://marinamarketusvi.com/

i don't recall who we rented from. we wanted a convertible so used whoever had one. we picked up at the airport & i must admit found that first drive from airport, through town & out to shbr a bit daunting. roads are busy a/or windy... i got used to it. drive takes about 45+ mins depending on time of day so be patient. be sure to get the map from rental ppl & make them highlight your route. it's possible someone would deliver car to you at resort so you'd taxi first time.

you're going to like sh a lot. it's very comfortable & safe. your 1 br unit will have plenty of room. great view of sunset nightly. beach is raked & straightened nightly.
hope you'll come back & give us a trip report.

now i need to rest - lol.

Karoni

If you like to snorkel, I highly recommend Coki Beach. It's not very far from SH either. You do have to be prepared for a lot of souvenir sellers, hair braiders, etc. but the snorkeling is fantastic. Snorkel on either end of the beach, not in the middle. The area on the end near Coral World is the best. We saw an amazing variety of fish there. Have fun!

ishkribbl

The Big Bambooz and Fish Tails in Red Hook are both places you all 3 might enjoy for very casual and reasonably priced lunches.
In June we rented a car from a local company recommended to us on TA called Dependable- they picked us up at the airport and took us to their office nearby to sign the paperwork and be on our way (with maps and good directions). On the return we took the car to the office then they dropped us off at the airport.

B_and_B

Thanks for the great feedback. We will be there the first week of April.

What do you recommend we bring with us in terms of food stuffs or toiletries that are particularly expensive or hard to acquire on the island?

How do we find out what days the cruise ships are in as we understand the crowds are awful at certain places, like Trunk Bay, St. John.

virginia

http://www.vinow.com/general_usvi/cr...p_schedule.php

B_and_B

Thanks, Virginia, for your great response about SH and the great link to the cruise ship schedule.

We've been to BVI on a cruise, and need to stick to USVI this trip as GD has no passport. So if anyone can recommend a catamaran day sail with snorkeling that would be great.

Thanks to Karoni for the snorkeling tips and to ishkribbl for rental car and restaurant suggestions.

Only a few days until we leave, so we are very excited and anxious for last minute tips.

virginia

have no specific trips to recommend. we've only done ones that include bvi. plenty available though.
you could take the ferry from red hook to st.john (20 mins). then catch a taxi to one of the wonderful snorkeling beaches.
http://www.usvi.net/usvi/ferry.htm#RHSJ

re food to go. we take a full cooler of frozen foods. in checked luggage we take things like -- coffee/tea, tuna packs(not cans), goldfish, gal & sandwich ziplocs (all foods spoil or get stale quickly & useful for carrying snacks & bringing home wet bathing suits). if you plan any real cooking take a sharp knife (yes it's allowed in checked) & the seasoning you will need as spices are really expensive & then you only use a tsp. dairy is very high but you can't take that. you may not take any fresh fruits or vegeys. you will find pretty much everything at Cost U Less including booze.

i think there is still a place, called Udder Delite, to get really good ice cream cones over by magens beach - ask front desk ladies. gd would enjoy!

have a great trip & treasure you're time with gd!

Duffymarie

Interested to see if your experiences at Secret Harbour were positive and if your granddaughter enjoyed her stay. We are taking our two grandsons there in late November and would appreciate some tips.

B_and_B

Duffymarie, sorry just saw this today and know I am too late to help you. I hope you and your grandsons enjoyed Secret Harbour. We really liked it, and had a fantastic time with our granddaughter, who really enjoyed her spring break there with us.

Regards, B_and_B