Cat

I'd like to experience both St. John and St. Thomas for a vacation, as I've never been to the Caribbean. <BR> <BR>Question: Should my husband and I stay at the Westin in St. John and rent a jeep or should we stay at the Marriott in St. Thomas and get a car rental to see St. John? <BR> <BR>We are truly "resort" people, so that's important to us on vacation. <BR> <BR>Which is the better way to go?

Mariarosa

Hi Cat! <BR>I think I may have replied to one of your earlier posts, but I honestly cannot remember. <BR> <BR>In June 99 we spent a few days at the Westin Rio Mar in PR and then spent a week at the Westin in St. John. Maybe I would have had different expectations about the Westin in St. John if I had not just come from the Westin Rio Mar, but I was not impressed with the Westin St. John. I think if you are a resort person you won't be either. The rooms were standard Holiday-Inn type of rooms. The bathrooms were very standard too (tiles, not marble). Our shower did not drain well. We called maintance twice - their service was pretty good, they would come by

Mariarosa

Ooops! didn't mean to hit the "post" button... <BR> <BR>However, the resort was pretty small, very run-of-the-mill, the beach was awful, there were no real "public areas." If you wanted to have a nice cocktail in the afternoon, the only place to do it was the pool bar, no place to go if you didn't want to be in your swimsuit anymore. Drinks were $8 each by the pool (they add up). <BR> <BR>Their watersports people were completely incompetent. We signed up for their scuba resort course and it was a disaster - they didn't even try the equipment on us on the pool or on the beach first. The scuba master diver was an inexperienced young woman who could not calibrate our weight. They sent 4 of us who were doing our first dive and a man who was certified, but had not done it in a while with her. Breakfast buffet for 2 (including tip) was $40, whicj I thought was pricey. <BR> <BR>In conclusion, we loved St. John. We only spent 1 afternoon at the resort though. I recommend the Westin St. John if you just want a place to sleep and you get a good rate, but not if you are "resort people." It is an OK resort, a solid three-star, but not more. <BR> <BR>I haven't been to the Marriott in St. Thomas, but I can't imagine it being less impressive than the Westin in St. John.

Karen

Since you didn't say which Marriott, it is hard to give info about the one you are considering. If you are truly "resort people," you might be happiest at Caneel Bay (on STJ) or the Ritz but neither was in your "mix." Depending which Marriott you choose, there can be very differing ambience and location. I too found the Westin on St. John not to my liking - small rooms, no beachfront rooms, a man-made beach that pales in comparison to other beaches ... but they certainly do have terrific "packages" and prices that will get you onto a wonderful island at a very reasonable price. If it is St. John that you want to jeep about and spend everyday, then you are probably better off at the Westin - but it really has a "hotel" feel not a "resort" feel.

chris

We stayed at the Marriott on St. thomas 2 years ago. It is a beautiful hotel and depending on where your your room is you get either great views of the harbor or of the ocean. the service was so-so, but you will get that at most places in the USVI. It is actually 2 hotels, one is up on a cliff and the other (morning star) is right on the beach. Morning star is the more plush of the 2 and is very quiet. We stayed half the week in each part and liked both but agreed that morning star was the best. The beach isnt bad and the food was above average. Ceasers rest. is right on the beach-very nice. <BR> We took 2 trips over to St. Johns- it is a beautiful island. The cost for a cab to the ferry, the ferry and a rental jeep was about $100.00, well worth it. We stopped at The westin for a drink and found the view kind of limited. It didnt seem very private. <BR>From what we have heard the Ritz is the nicest place to stay. Hope this helps.

Cat

Hi again, <BR> <BR>To answer a few questions from above, I was talking about the Marriott Frenchmans / Morning Star Resort on St. Thomas. We priced the Ritz Resort on St. Thomas, but it was $2,000 more than the other hotels. Caneel on St. John was booked up so I didn't even get to price that one, so my only options seem to be the Marriott or Westin. <BR> <BR>If you had to choose between the two, which resort/island would you pick and why? Is it easy to get around to the other beautiful beaches? <BR> <BR>

CMB

I take it you have been to St. Thomas before...but if not, it is much more, much much more commercial than St. John. The Ritz is more expensive, but is a class above. It depends what you want. The Ritz will pamper more, and in my book makes St. Thomas more tolerable. If you really want to get away, there are many other islands and other resorts you should consider also. Virgin Gordo--Biras Creek for example. Anguilla also.

sue

Marriott Frenchman's Reef in St. Thomas is THE ULTIMATE BEST. A great resort with health club, great restaurants serving great food, a wonderful beach, not to mention the great views. A wonderful resort with views of the beautiful Charlotte Amalie at night, the ocean as well as the cruise ships entering and departing. <BR> <BR>Check the Internet for great hotel rates occurring after 9/1. <BR> <BR>You cannot travel to St. John via vehicle. You can do a day tour from St. Thomas to St. John via boat (for me one day was plenty). <BR>There is so much more to do (great shopping) and see on St. Thomas. But if you really like nothing to do but beaches, St. John is it. <BR> <BR>Also on St. Thomas, you can visit Magen's Bay and lounge on the beach which is on the other side of the island. <BR> <BR>Have a great trip = hopefully to St. Thomas. <BR>

Cheri

We did not stay at Marriott Frenchmen's/Morningstar Resort but we did visit and use their beach. We loved the beach there and wished we had tried it sooner (didn't find it until our last day there). Although it wasn't a real large beach it was very picturesque. You could see the cruise ships sailing into Charlotte Amalie. Also, I believe it was the Marriott that had a very nice charming restaurant/bar right on the beach. The Morningstar Resort looked very nice with the rooms located right on the beach. Regarding other beaches, just wanted to say we thought Megans Bay was way overrated (too crowded) and wouldn't recommend it.

Karen

No, you can't drive TO St. John but you can take a car on the car ferry. (Almost the same thing LOL) Just make sure that the agency you rent from on STT will let you!!!

diane

There is no choice to make; Iwent to St.Thomas last year there are no beaches . They have these dinky little 800 ft. beaches if your lucky! The largest and best beach on St. Thomas is at the Sapphire Beach Hotel, I stayed there last year it's about 1000 ft. long. The hotel service and food was HORRIBLE , TERRIBLE, DISGUSTING! <BR>, I took a day trip over to St. JOhn went snorkling on Trunk bay, absolutely BREATHTAKING!!!! PICTURE POSTCARD. We went by The Westin St. John in the boat it looked beautiful. I did a quick tour in and out of the Marriott in my rental car while I was on ST.THomas Don,t even bother waitng for other replies book the WESTIN ST.John. St. Thomas is a mountain you drive up and down hills constantly ,roads go around like corkscrews very narrow, they drive like maniacs.I found St. Thomas to be dirty. I have also been to Puerto Rico twice, it was FABULOUSE!!Lots to see and do ,I'have been to Aruba once, nothing to do there other than your hotel, flat ugly desert type Island I"ll never go back to Aruba. Turks and Caicos is also beautiful the 12 mile grace bay beach is to die for with white powder sand water so clear you can see 100 ft. down scba diving,Turks is a tiny quiet laid back Island you won&lt;t find poverty here like you see on all the other Islands. Hope this helps good luck !

Tim

ST JHONS WESIN ITS THE BEST YOU CAN SEE ST THOMAS DURING A DAY TRIP. MAKE SURE YOU GO TO THE BVI DONT MISS THE BATHS

Tim

We just returned from a week at the Westin in St. Johns, the place outstanding. Food like everywhere is expensive, however in town their are plenty or reasonable places to eat. <BR>WOODY'S bar is a local hangout and allot of fun, for easy food and drinks.

Nora

I stayed at the Marriott - Renaissance Grand Beach and Resort in St. Thomas. It was absolutely wonderful. The service, rooms and amenities were impeccable. There are plenty of restaurants on the island and the rest. at the resort were great as well. I took the ferry to St. John's. One day in St. John was enough.

Sarah

I've been to both Frenchmen's Reef & Westin St. John, although it's been some years since for both. <BR> <BR>To me there is no comparison because I love the island of St. John ten times more then St. Thomas. It depends what you want/like. <BR> <BR>If it's casual, snorkling, beautiful postcard beaches, hiking, driving, discovering you like -- go to St. John. You must rent a jeep if you go though. As other posters have said the property itself is not on best beach and food choices are limited. The freedom of discovering great things w/ a jeep will give you a wonderful vacation. <BR> <BR>The Marriott Frenchmens will give you more at the resort itself but I am not a big fan of St. Thomas. However, people who are shoppers do like to shop there.

kris

I recently stayed at Caneel Bay in St. John and it was one of the best vacations that I have been on in quite a while. I wasn't at all impressed with St. Thomas. Mostly just commercial, shopping, etc. Caneel Bay, in my opinion, would be worth waiting for. <BR> <BR>I typically take at least one resort vacation a year, and have travelled all over the Carribean. Caneel Bay is one place that I may revisit. <BR> <BR>If I were you, I'd wait to visit the US Virgin Islands until I could stay there.