styleoracle

Hi there,
We have booked a Premium Ocean Front room on Scott's Beach at Caneel Bay April 1-8, 2007. We're very excited as it will be our third wedding anniverary and our first trip to St John and Caneel!

I have several questions: do you think we should try to book a Hawknest 2nd floor Beachfront room instead (we're worried that they can't guarantee a 2nd floor room)? Are there more young kids on this beach than Scott's? We value privacy!

My next question is this: should we do the "allure" package, or not? When I added up the price of the activities plus 8% tax and 10% service it seemed to be about $1000 less to book the very same activities/services a la carte. Do you think a one day Jeep rental is worth it if I am made very nervous by high, narrow and precarious island roads (my husband grew up in San Fran and is fine with them)?

Finally, what is the story with tipping during our stay? Customarily, do guests tip in addition to the service fee (things like wait staff, Diving Instructor, Masseuse, etc)? What percentage and do you wait till the end of your stay or tip as you go?

Thanks so much for any comments you might have!

rockie

Hello Styleoracle,
Congratulations on your anniversary! You will have a fantastic time in St. John. We went last July and loved it. I have not stayed at Caneel but we did look at it and I priced out the packages vs. "alacarte" as well. I think you're correct in figuring that the separate components would be cheaper than the package. I would just book the things separately that you want to do. I strongly recommend a car on St. John, at least for a couple of days. We loved exploring the island and seeing the different beaches and hiking the different trails, plus going to different restaurants. Hopefully someone else can assist you further on the tipping and other Caneel specifics but St. John is a wonderful place. I know you will have a great time!

styleoracle

Thanks for your post rockie! We'll definitely think about a Jeep rental if the roads aren't too scary!!

bluefan

Scott Beach and nearby Paradise Beach don't allow kids 12 and under

There's probably something wrong in your calculations becuz the allure package is slightly cheaper on the whole. Just the POF rate for 4/07 plus B&D meal plan ($90 each) with T&SC comes out to $10,000 alone before all the other services. Add ferry service ($170 for 2), couples massage ($200), and all the other items, and it'll exceed $1,000 BEFORE T&SC. Only problem is, you'll be stuck at Caneel for almost all your meals and will miss out on the variety in Cruz Bay.

Definitely do a jeep rental for 1 day at least and explore beautiful St John with its gorgeous beaches and scenic overlooks (Cruz Bay, Caneel Bay, Trunk Bay, Maho Bay, Coral Bay, Chateau Bordeaux) if it's your first visit. The roads are NOT precarious like other island destinations since they aren't perched above sheer cliffs. A few steep, sharp curves is about it.

I believe the 10% service charge is for all the "complimentary&quot resort amenities, so I tipped 15-20% for services (included on bills and paid at check-out).

I also reported on St John and Caneel Bay here:
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34901134

xkenx

We have stayed upstairs on Hawksnest. Being up is more private, with no one walking outside. We also preferred Hawksnest because there is a covered screened porch facing the gardens to the rear, and a deck towards the beach. Hawksnest faces east toward the tradewinds, which allows for good breezes through the room. Between that and the ceiling fan, you don't need A/C, so you can live open air 24/7 and drink in the fragrances and sounds. Hawksnest has better shade in the afternoon, where Scott will get glare late in the day. Even downstairs on Hawksnest will not be less private than Scott. Other than Caneel Beach, where there are kids and day-trippers, you will see few people on the beach at any time, and there is plenty of real estate for privacy. Caneel is paradise on earth. Enjoy!!

styleoracle

Thanks bluefan and xkenx for your very helpfl responses, I so appreciate it! Bluefan- our math is different as premium beach front is $1025 +180 MAP per day, $1205 times 118% to get the entire charge including 10% service and 8% tax gives you $1421 a day, or $9947 for the 7 nights. Then we added up all the services, added 18%, and came out with a total of about $12000, or $1000 less than the "Allure" package price. Maybe we are missing something and should go ahead and book the package?

Did you tip 15-20% on top of the 10% they already charge you? 25-30% tip total seems like a lot to me.

Bluefan, your reviews both on Fodors and Tripadvisor are amazing, and I think we are going to love Caneel because we're all about the natural environment. While exploring restaurants sounds fun for a second visit, we want what is easiest and most restful as we've had a brutal year. Since the roads are not too scary, we'll definitely take at least a day to explore the island. Based on some other reviews, I have ordered the book St John Off The Beaten Track for an Xmas gift for my husband, who is an avid hiker.

Xkenx- thanks so much for the opinions on Hawksnest. The second floor sounds very compelling to us. but since they can't guarantee a second floor room, we've decided to go with Scott's Beach.

I'll be sure to find this thread when we return and write a review! Thanks!

bluefan

hi styleoracle,
according to their website, i think the 7-day allure package for your timeframe is $10,950 for Scott Beach (prem bch frnt); but i could be wrong
http://www.caneelbay.com/packages.cfm/ID/65/gIDd/541

in any case, if you decide to go a la carte, i recommend you contact a virtuoso travel agent as they may be able to get you a discount, but more importantly, they should be able to get the regular breakfast buffet at the beach terrace included instead of the standard (early) continental breakfast.

based on your viewpoint, we may have overtipped; oh well, you live and you learn

owa

bluefan, Would you explain a little about virtuoso travel agents? Since I am going to take my family of ten, I need all the reductions I can find. Do they actually give a reduced rate at Caneel? Also, someone told me to get an American Express Platinum Card and that will provide us with a free breakfast each morning. Has anyone reading this done that? Thanks, Owa

xkenx

Styleoracle, rooms on Hawksnest are "beachfront" and $100+tx less per nite than rooms on Scott. You have way better than even chance of getting upstairs (by requesting it), and even if you are down, the privacy will be equal to Scott, or you could move upstairs as soon as someone vacates. If you do stay on Scott, the lower-numbered rooms there are more private on a wider part of the beach, but that wouldn't be guaranteed either.

Dianebridles

I have stayed at Hawksnest, (upstairs) for my past five stays and love it, but I have spoken to a number of people who have stayed on Scott Beach, and all have said they love it too. Hawksnest is very private. Seldom is there more than a handful of people there, and at times I had the entire beach to myselg. I always request this, and I have done so agin on my April 15 visit. ( Sorry that I will just miss you.

In all of my stays , I remember there were children only once, 2 young girls about 11-12. They were very well behaved, amused themselves in the shallow water, were hardly noticable and I enjoyed hearing their soft giggles. The walls of the buildings are so constructed, and there is so much room, that rarely do you ever hear anyone.
I am always told that they cannot guarante me my upstairs room, but hey do try, and I have always received my request. I do call about a week or so before my arrival, to remind them of my request.

I do my meals ala-carte, as this allows me the freedom to try some excellent restaurants off resort. Meals at Turtle Bay and the Equator, Grand Buffet run approximately $60-65, appetizer, entree and dessert. For more casual dining, dinner at the beach bar,entrees which come with slaw, and a choice of fries home made chips or macaroni salad are $15-$24 Breakfast buffets are $22-29$. Lunch buffet is $29$ or you can opt for the beach bar food. I enjoyed all of my meals there. You may wish to call the activities desk and ask which other activities are available and their prices. You may decide that you may want to do these more than what is included in your package. This past trip, November, I particularly enjoyed the half day and sunset cruises on the Kalina.

The benefit of being on a package, is that you can order anything from the menu and not worry about the price Hope this helps.

bluefan

owa,
i think i originally learned about virtuoso travel agents here, but they are an exclusive group of travel agents (probably based on sales). at high-end resorts like Caneel Bay, they may be able to obtain additional benefits you might not normally receive from a regular travel agent or directly from the resort. here's their website:
http://www.virtuoso.com/us/

owa

Thanks bluefan for the web site. Owa

styleoracle

Bluefan, I really want t thank you for your post! We were not looking at the rate page, but actually going thru the resevation booking engine on the caneelbay.com website. Sure enough, their prices were incorrect: we called the Rosewood reservations office and they said for some reason the reservation engine adds in tax & service TWICE! So it IS much more economical to go with the package, and we called to upgrade right away. Thanks so much for looking into it.

I would never say that you tipped too much. I have a real value for service personnel and think they should be rewarded as well as someone can afford to reward them as they don't earn much money annually. However, my husband feels that 15-20% is enough, so we will have to strike a deal when we get to Caneel. I asked our very nice Rosewood Reservations Consultant, Chris, what he thought, and he said it is totally at the guests discretion, but he did recommend tipping for services at the time of the service and in cash, as they really appreciate it. So we'll bring lots of smaller bills.

Xkenx and Dianebridles- I also so appreciate all the info and insights about Hawksnest. We plan to check it out while we're there, but have decided to stay with Scott's Beach as we'll really enjoy sunsets from our own patio, as well as the larger & newly renovated room. Sorry that we'll miss meeting you Dianebridles, but have a wonderful time while you're at Caneel!

Owa- good luck with the Virtuoso agents, I didn't know about them either!

kinners

Hi:

Caneel openly advises its guests to keep children off Scott and used to have a policy that families could not book rooms on Scott (not sure if that is still the case). I've never seen children on Scott or Hawksnest, for that matter. But the beach at Scott is much nicer than the beach at Hawksnest. Hawksnest gets morning sun, if that's impt to you.

The Allure package is worth it if you do all the activities (you'll likely end up skipping a few) and eating every meal on the resort. When we first went to Caneel I got a package, but now I pay A La Carte since the food at the restaurants in St. John is much better than that at Caneel (cabs are plentiful).

Yes, you should tip in addition to the service fee and tip as you go.

Have fun!

Lara

StanKase

Having stayed at Caneel 6-7 times I agree that HawksNest is better than Scott. You will have a lot of children every where except Paradise Beach. We stayed in Cottage #7 and that is heaven compared to other locations but it is the most expensive. Also it is "on request" only for the rich and famous or dignitaries but we got it twice because no one bumped us. The time we got bumped thet gave us our second request which was HawksNest-2nd floor and an end room. If you try Cottage #7 you only want it for rooms C, D, E, or F. Rooms A and B are poorly located in the cottage.We took the MAP meal plan and it worked or us. We probably had lunch every other day because of a big breakfast at 9-9:30 AM.
By the way on our way to Biras Creek earlier this month we spent 2 nights at Caneel but got bumped from Cottage #7 for Al Gore and his family and security were there though he eat dinner with us at the Turle Bay dining room and chatted like any other guest might. Maybe it was because I told him his film "An Inconvenient Truth" was excellent, for it was. It should win the Oscar for best documentary. For a documentary he was surprised that the box office till racked up 39 million dollars in the US through mid-Nov., not bad for a documentary.That excluded NetFlex and DVD's.He is hoping for 50 million by year end from all sources. All of the profit goes to his global warming efforts throughout the world.

styleoracle

Thanks StanKase! I will definitely check out the documentary. Curious what you think about gratuities at Caneel? How much do you tip on top of the 10% service charge?

owa

styleoracle, I think one of the best parts of vacation is getting to know the ladies that clean my bathroom and make my bed. And, I always end up with favorites. I sometimes have to fight with my mixed emotions about being the "lucky one" to be able to stay at Caneel. One night I had tears as I watched an elderly lady struggle up one of the little hills at Caneel dragging a bag of towels with the assist of a cane. The breakfast "omelet lady" has been there for years. I ended up leaving money in an envelope at the front desk for a few favorites.

I leave money on my bed each morning at any hotel or resort. It is hard work with very little pay.

During one of our conversations in my room, I asked how many people leave tips at Caneel. What an attitude she had!! She said "not very many, but I'm grateful for even a dollar".

Have great Holidays and enjoy Caneel. Owa