elle77

My husband and I are going to St. John/St. Thomas in May. Our last two nights will be on St. Thomas and we have a 7:00 am flight the day we leave. I'm trying to decide on a hotel for these last two night on St. Thomas and am wondering how far the hotels in the Red Hook area are from the airport- I'm talking driving time not miles.
Also, do most hotels provide an airport shuttle or do you have to taxi to the airport. I am most attracted to the Sapphire Beach Resort, The Renaissance, etc. but am worried that it is a long drive to the airport. Thanks for any info!

az

at that hour of the day, traffic should be minimal, so probably 20 minutes or so. we rented a villa in the red hook area, so cannot comment on hotel shuttle service.

lvs

You need to allow at least 30 minutes to get to the airport from the east end. The road is curvy and hilly so it takes some time. You'll need to arrange a taxi- figure on about $20-30. We just returned from a stay at Secret Harbour which is nearer to Red Hook by about 5 minutes. The Renaissance is now called the Palace Grand Beach. It's part of a Mexican chain of AI's. We stayed in one in Mexico and went to see the one on St. Thomas and didn't think it looked all that great. I have never seen Sapphire Beach from the inside.

elle77

Thanks for the info.

lvs: What did you think of Secret Harbor? I checked it out online and it looked nice. One of our priorities is a good snorkel beach. As far as the accomodations we just want something simple and clean.

Schultz

Hi There,

Here are some specifics about Secret Harbour. ( I do have quite a few photos I can email if you would like). The resort beachfront is three buildings with the fourth housing the office, restaurant, shops, etc. We prefer a one-bedroom beachfront suite. Literally on the beach. The units are three stories tall so the entire resort is not that large?..I think maybe 70 or so units for the entire place. There are also condo units up the hill that you can stay in, but you lose the great beachfront location.

The suites are IMO very large for STT and well appointed. You will have a fully functional kitchen which you can use. We always stock up with goodies and drinks when we first hit the island and make use of the facilities during our stays. It's great to have your morning coffee an a bit of pastry while you sit on the porch and watch the beach first thing in the morning. The suites have a nice dining area and a living room with color TV with cable. There are separate A/C units in the main area and bedrooms so you can chill the sleeping area and have the other area open to the outside if you like.

If you are looking for five-star pampering at a resort?.this is not the place for you. If you want a nice, comfortable suite on a beach that is beautiful and not overly crowded; on water that is about the calmest you will find anywhere in the USVI and with very good snorkeling, this is a good choice. The resort is comparatively isolated (as much as you can be on the east end of STT) which reduces a lot of the traffic??.you'll find locals head there to use the beach as opposed to tourists. IMHO, it's one of the best kept secrets on St. Thomas?and many of the people who live on St. Thomas tell me the same thing.

As for watersports, there is not a lot here. There is a dive operation that you can use, but this is not the place to rent a lot of water equipment. Most here will be laying on the beach or snorkeling, although you will find a number of locals who will bring their boats in and tie them up while they come ashore and take advantage of the beach bar.

As for location on the island, SH is close to Red Hook and an easy drive into downtown CA or over to the north side if you want to head there. But, you will find that almost any resort on the east end offers the same?.the island is not that large. The closeness to Red Hook makes heading back at night really easy?.whether you are coming back from the day on St. John or after a tough evening of partaking the local concoctions at Duffy's or the Caribbean Steak House & Saloon.

I like the ten steps it takes to get from my room to the water at Secret Harbour?and I go to the island for the beach and snorkeling and SH gives me about the best of both on STT. Also, remember that it's really easy to go from one beach to another on different days so you can experience a lot of the nice beaches regardless of where you stay.

To me, SH offers the best combination of room quality, beach and water quality, nice staff, good food and drink and decent price of all the places I've stayed?.but then I'm also partial to low-rise, beach properties as you probably could tell. Remember that you only spend so much time in your room?..to me it's the island that makes the trip.

lvs

I would agree with just about everything that Schultz said. I don't agree that Secret Harbour is the best kept secret. During the midday hours the beach was very crowded, many nonguests using the chaises and no management in sight to control it. I spoke to one nice man who was there for the day from a cruise ship and he told me he stops at SH every time he's in port. He originally learned about it through a taxi cab driver who told him it was the best beach on the island. That being said, it is a wonderful, calm beach with nice snorkeling right off shore. The accommodations are nice and the sunset off the beach is beautiful. I think you get a good deal for the cost. But it is definietly not a place to go if you like to be pampered. Also, the restaurant on sight is overrated and expensive. It is expensive to taxi around, however, and the roads are hilly and windy so we don't like to take a long taxi excursion to eat and wind up feeling sick. We went into Cruz Bay on St. John by ferry a couple of mights and I think the food is better there (although generally more expensive).