My family and I will likely be staying at the Ritz May 1st-8th. For those of you who have been there, is it a crowded place? I do not want to stay at a hotel bustling with people.

Hi George -<BR><BR>We stayed at the Ritz this past thanksgiving (2001) and it was not crowded at all. I don't know if it was at full occupancy or not (I assume so) but we never felt like we had to fight for a lounge by the pool!<BR><BR>I have to recommend a restaurant in Red Hook- It's called "off the hook" and was the best we ate at on the island. Far better than "Agave Terrace".<BR><BR>We never had a problem waiting to use the water equipment and daily took the canoe out and my husband went sailing a few times. Plenty of snorkeling gear, although there was not much to see from the beach. Do bring bug spray with you - the "no-see-ems" were bad at night and most of the dining is outdoors.<BR><BR>The Ritz was beautiful, but the breakfast buffet was dismal - cold pancakes, bacon and they served the same hot dishes daily. The a la carte was better. As for the restaurants - we didn't venture into them as we were with our 15 month old daughter.<BR><BR>Hope this info helps you. Please let me know if you have any questions.<BR><BR>Cheers,<BR><BR>Vanessa

Just had to respond to this one! The Ritz was terrific. The service was excellent, the ambiance was excellent, the room was great - we had no complaints at all!<BR><BR>We did venture out to eat and have to mention the Toad and Tart English Pub in Smith Bay. We'd seen some posts on the net about the place and have to say that we had the best home-cooked food in years!<BR><BR>My English mom used to make roast beef and Yorkskhire Pudding but - and I really hate to say this - Anna's version of it was just out of this world. We went back there two more nights and enjoyed excellent dinners and service. And it all was very much within our budget.

We stayed at the Ritz Carlton St. Thomas in December 2000. It was high season, but felt very private and not crowded at all. We did eat in the Dining Room which was wonderful although the portions were on the smaller side. I did like the a la carte breakfast better than the buffet, but would not rate it as dismal.

We just got back from a week at the Ritz March 31 - April 6. Crowds were not a problem. We did make reservations each night for dinner at a bunch of area restaurants, which is a good idea. We thought Agave Terrace was the best, followed by Off the Hook. Fungi's was a fun place for lunch. Have a great time!