Two years ago we stayed at the Ritz on St. Thomas and found the resort food was excellent. We did dine outside the resort one night and found it was more expensive than at the Ritz when we included our taxi fare cost.
What is the quality and price of the food at the Westin on St. John? By the time you include the cost of taking a taxi , would you say the cost of dining outside the Westin about the same?

Hi cambee -- I just returned from the Westin. The food is overpriced, although we ate most breakfasts there, just using the breakfast buffet. It was just very convenient for us. The fruit was great, and my kids loved the pancakes. A couple of times we got bagels and cereal from Mango Deli, which is next to the parking lot and the health club, before heading out to a beach.

We also had one lunch at the beach restaurant (by the pool) which I thought was good (not amazing, but fine enough for a casual lunch), and my kids loved it because they could play in the sand while waiting, and waiting for the food.

We also had one dinner at the other beach restaurant... sorry I can't remember the names, but it is the one by the dock and where the breakfast buffet is. It was a very disappointing dinner... in my opinion. Our next door neighbors at the hotel tried the upscale restaurant, Chloe and Bernards, and they were unimpressed.

I think it's definitely worth it to go to Cruz Bay for your dinners. We really liked the restaurants there, and it was much more lively in town, too. Have a wonderful time!

Thanks for the information.

Is Cruz Bay a long taxi ride from the Westin? What can we expect to pay for a taxi ride into town?
Also, I see that the Westin offers a snorkling and sailing cruise to Water Lemon Cay? Anyone experience this tour?

Never did a "tour" other than on my own to Waterlemon. It is great snorkeling but you should be a pretty decent swimmer but with a boat there to pick you up if you get into trouble, you might feel more confident - if it's by boat! You can find a list of the taxi fares (since they are gov't regulated) at vinow.com or usvi-on-line.com and it seems to me that the fare from CB to the Westin was around $4. Not sure why you wouldn't want to rent a vehicle because those taxi rides do add up figuring you'll be heading to a different beach each day - assumingm if course you won't want to hang at the only manmade beach on St. John!

The taxi fare from the Westin to CB was $6 pp, or $5 pp if you had 2 or more people. They didn't charge us for our kids, who are 3 & 6.

Not renting a jeep on STJ is a mistake i my opinion. You need to be able to explore all the different beaches. This of course would also get you to Cruz Bay with ease. It's less than a 5 minute drive to CB from the Westin, hardly worth paying a taxi all week. Get the jeep, you be so glad you did.

We rented a car for a few days to be able to explore the beaches, but still took a cab into CB for dinner. This allowed us to drink a couple of painkillers without worrying about driving back a bit tipsy!