Jeff

Hi,<BR><BR>My Girlfriend and I will be spending some time in St Thomas after a cruise and we have a choice of 3 hotels we can stay at. The Elysian Beach Resort, BlueBeard's Beach Resort (formally Limetree?) and the Best Western Emerald Beach club. If anyone can recommend one over the other, it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!!<BR><BR>Jeff

Karen

The advantage of the Elysian is that it is a quick ride into Red Hook and convenient to East End dining. There is a very nice beach and it is very quiet. Bonnie's is a smallish casual restaurant right on the sand and she has some music some nites. Condos are great - roomy and comfortable and if you get the unit with the full kitchen (instead of the one with the mini fridge and mircrowave), it is convenient. Each room has a balcony overlooking water (some have better views) but they are built on a steep hillside so there can be lots of steps to some of the units. The Beach Club is just reopened (last Dec) after a major redo. It is the LimeTree. Hearing that it is nice especially the newly refurbished units and it is right on the beach there. About equidistant to Red Hook and Charlotte Amalie - maybe a little closer to CA. Emerald Beach is adjacent to the runway of the airport but on a very nice beach too but would be the furthest to East End (my preference) and closer to FrenchTown and CA for dining. I happen to enjoy the East End and the restaurants in and around Red Hook. Also the proximity to the 15 minute ferry to St. John is an advantage. It would be to your advantage to rent a car where ever you stayed if you were going to be out and about. Discountcar works with the Elysian and the Beach Club.

Jeff

Thanks!!<BR><BR>We'll be spending two nights on St Thomas. If we stay at the Elysian, we may end up taking the ferry to St John's both days. Does it make sense to rent a car? Right now I'm leaning towards staying at the Elysian. I read some less than stellar posts about Bluebeard's.<BR><BR>Best Regards,<BR>Jeff

Jeff

Thanks!!<BR><BR>We'll be spending two nights on St Thomas. If we stay at the Elysian, we may end up taking the ferry to St John's both days. Does it make sense to rent a car? Right now I'm leaning towards staying at the Elysian. I read some less than stellar posts about Bluebeard's.<BR><BR>Best Regards,<BR>Jeff

Karen

Jeff,<BR>An option to renting the vehicle is that it can be taken on the car ferry in Red Hook for spending the days on St. John. The last ferry back is around 5 or 6 (sometimes during season they do have a later one on Saturday nite) for the car so you won't stay for dining probably. The taxis into Red Hook are approx $4 pp and there are taxis to take you 'round St. John. Having your own car gives you the flexibility to go to some of the more remote beaches and do a little more exploring than a taxi would do. There is a bus on St. John that runs hourly (ha! remember it's island time) between Cruz Bay and the Coral Bay area for $1. <BR>Please email me for info on the Elysian. Usually renting thru the Condo Assoc rather than BlueBeards can save you some $$.

K

You won't be able to take a rental car over to St. John, unless there has been some changes in the last 2 yrs. It is an agreement between the two islands (or so I was told) and you must sign that you will not take the car to St. John on your rental agreement. You can rent a jeep for about $50 a day in Cruz Bay, they also have open buses (top is covered) that are by the ferry dock that will take you on sight seeing tours. The snorkeling is great on St. John.<BR>I highly recommend taking a ferry from Red Hook to Tortola and renting a car there and tour around that island one of your days. It is a beautiful island.<BR>St. John is small enough that one day would cover seeing it.<BR>When we stayed at the Elisian they had a nice breakfast that was included. The restaurant is in a beautiful setting.<BR>Karen: <BR>What are the restaurants that you recommend in the Red Hook area?<BR>We are staying at the Ritz Carlton in a few weeks and would like another choice of restaurants for the area.

Karen

There are three agencies that let you take the car off island, Discount (my choice), Dependable (only some models) and Budget. This is not new but has become more popular with the increase of number of barges. You cannot bring cars rented on STJ to STT however. And Palm Court that served breakfast at the Elysian is now closed - we always enjoyed breakfast there right on the beach! Your best bet for breakfasts is Grateful Deli in Red Hook's Sunrise Mall behind Duffy's (great sandwiches and take out too for lunch). <BR>Restaurants nearby the Ritz: <BR>Blue Moon Cafe (at nearby Secret Harbour). Off the Hook (formerly Cafe Wahoo - same owner, just new name) in Red Hook. Romano's in Smith Bay for Italian. Seafood selections at Whale of a Tale upstairs from Molly Malone's (a "English-style pub") in American Yacht Harbour. At the other end of AYH is Caribbean Saloon. People love their prime rib but I don't eat meat so I've never had it. Sopchoppy's is a casual place also in AYH. East End Cafe (Grille - ?) is same owners as Senior Pizza and haven't eaten there. Frigate East is supposed to be good with a salad bar (again for meat!). Last couple of times we were at Agave Terrace at Point Pleasant I was very disappointed but others report great as usual. Good views and ask for a rail table. I enjoy Schnitzel House but very limited menu and tiny - a place to eat not dine. My favorite is Old Stone Farm House (not close to Red Hook) out next to the golf <BR>course. Good reports coming out of Bryan's at Hull Bay - casual but good and they do have a great Sunday brunch (or did). For Roti's in Smith Bay, think that it's Carol's and she's not open all the time (good for take out too!). Not too far if you're driving is Mim's at Watergate but a friend just reported a not-so-wonderful dinner there recently. There's Latitude 18 for a casual yachtie bar-like spot. And of course, but not "near," there is the Inn at BlackBeards, Randy's at Raphune Hill (haven't been in a year), Alexander's in FrenchTown - all a bit of a distance. In Town, Marisol is getting great reviews (right down from Herve's on Gov't Hill). Haven't tried the new Azure at Sapphire (NOT the SeaGrape!) but a couple of people reported it good! And, of course, I love Cuzzin's in Town for "local" cuisine. Would love to hear back from you since it has been since April since I was there and restaurants do vary! And, of course, there's the seafood buffet at the Ritz and the brunch unless you choose to do Caneel's Sunday brunch with a short walk down to Honeymoon Beach to swim off the calories! I do enjoy the Cafe at the Ritz. My usual October trip was canceled and the December trip is finding me on Anguilla instead of STT so my info is not quite as up-to-date as it should be! Finding myself a bit nostalgic as I miss being on island!

Karen

Oh, I forgot Compass Point. Lots of people enjoy the downhome cooking of Dottie at Compass Point. Few years back her desserts even made it to Gourmet magazine. Usually doesn't reopen until mid-December. Casual low key and very laid back with home cooking and inexpensive. Also Raffles at Compass Point was always enjoyable but a new owner is there now and haven't tried it. Since he worked with Sandy before she left the island, assume it is the same quality and good eating. And don't know if he took the Christmas tree down!

K

Thanks for info. We haven't been to Dotties at Compass Point but have been to Raffles quite a few times. Surprized to hear it sold. We usually go to Mim's in the Watergate complex. Good food and right on the beach so it has great view. <BR>I am interested in the Old Stone Farm House. If it is close to the golf club we should be able to find it. My husband can ask at the golf club when he is there. I do not eat meat also. What does it specialize in?<BR>I am very surprized to hear that a there are rental agencies that will let you take a car over to St. John. Neither my husband or I can remember who told us that you could not take a rental car over to St. John but it was someone else besides the rental agencies themselves.

Jeff

Thanks for all the great info. We settled on the Elysian. I went through WindJammer because they are who we are cruising with prior to our stay on St Thomas. Anguilla is a great little island. If you want to get away from it all, I highly recommend staying at the Carimar Beach Club. There also is a nice restaurant called Mangos. The food there is excellent. How lond does the ferry take to get to Tortola? We're going to be there 2 days, so if we go to Tortola one day and St John's the other, I'm not sure if renting a car makes sense.

Karen

From CA, the ferry to West End, Tortola, is about 45 mins and to RoadTown about 90 minutes. From Red Hook cut off about 15 minutes of that time. Not all ferrys go on to RoadTown from West End. I'm not wild about Tortola and would prefer a trip to Virgin Gorda for the day. But not sure where your cruise stops. Other than being able to take the car to St. John (there is no "S") there probably isn't a big advantage of renting the day you spend in the BVI's. You could rent a jeep on St. John to do the island and forget the ferry. Think it is St. John Car rentals that is having a "special" now but that might be for the week. The car agencies are all right near the ferry in Cruz Bay. <BR>One week and a day and my toes will be in Maundy's Bay at Cap! YEA! Did Mango's last year and found David, the owner, in an unpleasant frame of mind and not very affable towards the guests or staff! Won't be going back. Enjoyed Straw Hat and Olivers much much more! <BR>If you need anything at the E just ask for Mr. Merchant! Get your beach towels as soon as you arrive and hold on to 'em trading 'em when they have dry ones. Sometimes there is this little problem of not quite enuf to go around ...

jeff

Ah I am envious! I remember Straw Hat was very tasty. So how tough would it be to catch a ferry to Virgin Gorda instead of Tortola? Is it a long ride?<BR>Thanks!<BR>Jeff

Karen

Didn't mean to totally discourage you from Tortola but I am a beach person and that's why I would choose VG. There is a bit of shopping and an island to drive around or taxi and a couple of nice beaches on Tortola but VG has the Baths and is much more remote and pristine. The ferry between Red Hook and VG is only on Thurs and Sun that takes about 30 minutes. On Sat, Smith's Ferry has a two island stop with the morning on Tortola and the afternoon on VG. Don't know if those days fit your schedule or you can save that til next time! Also on Thursdays, the Ritz has a trip on their cat to Jost van Dyke (my favorite spot second only to Anegada) that is great. They do take non-guests. But on Friday, Sat and Sun there is a public ferry to Jost (45 mins). Trying to remember the better BVI sites so you have a better pix of your choices but www.traveltalkonline.com is a pretty active board for BVI info and many of them are bigger fans of Tortola than me. There are also numerous charter boats available as a group or privately. You could sail to Jost and back but you would need to power boat it to VG. The charters to the BAths stop there in the am, a lunch stop (usually at Cooper Island - great!) and a couple of snorkle spots on the way back or some have lunch on board! <BR>When you were on Anguilla did you wander over to SXM for the day? Last year we planned to go to St. Barth's for the day but the beaches of Anguilla did not let go of me! Maybe this time, since I won't be in STT to do Holiday shopping, I'll have to give it a whirl!Looking for wonderful lunch suggestions and a touch of France if I go!

K

Karen: I thought about going to V.G. (still plan on going to Tortola too) as I have heard the baths are really nice. How do you get to the baths from the ferry? Do they have the open air touring buses like St. John? If the Ritz has a cat to Jost then I wonder if they have something that goes to V.G.?<BR>What else is on V.G. besides the baths? Is it as picturesque as Tortola? Is V.G. more for sunbathers? <BR>I love the picturesque drive on Tortola, especially the north end. It can get thrilling at times since it is steep in places. We love to have lunch on the beach at the Sugar Mill and I wouldn't miss my shopping at Sunny Caribbee as I do some Christmas shopping there.

Jeff

I did make it over to SXM. The french side is nice, but I wouldn't bother visiting the Dutch side. If you get a chance, St Barts is great, although the food is tres expensive. You can rent a jeep and explore the island.<BR>

Karen

Actually when you are on St. John, I think the shoppe in Wharfside, St. John Spice, has a lot of the Sunny Caribb spices and items. Ruth also has many handcrafted items and local craftspeoples pieces. Tell her Karen says hi if she's there. Usually she or her hubby are there in the morning. Well, it's kinda your choice. There are some great little beachy places on VG and even the Top of the Baths is a good lunch spot. But if you take one of the trips (depends if you want the additional snorkling and stops) rather than the public ferry, there are a few different ones that offer different things. One of the power boats also goes over to Marina Cay (nearby is good snorkling but to lunch at Pusser's - well, not my fav). Don't know the Ritz's schedule other than Jost but since it is a sailing cat, don't think they'd do VG in a day. If you want to splurge there are water taxis or private charters you can arrange too! You know, you just have to start planning for your next trip 'cause you can't do it all in one. What are your stops on the Windjammer? I thought they stopped at Tortola.

jeff

The WindJammer's stops are St Thomas, Buck Island, Jost Van Dyke, St John, Normand Island and Tortola. So Virgin Gorda is definitely on my Wish list.<BR><BR>Cheers,<BR>Jeff

Karen

Great itinerary! Jost ... now that is absolutley wonderful! There is an absolutely wonderful spot to snorkle called Sandy Spit off Jost. Don't know that the Windjammer will offer it as an option ... otherwise chill out at White Bay, the Soggy Dollar, wander over to Great Harbour and see if Foxy is there! Roti at Ali Babba (down on Great Harbour by the Customs House) is very good! Norman Island also good snorkling - the "caves" there. Great scenery and wonderful sailing. Probably they will offer a trip to the Baths and you could still do Tortola on your own later! I know you will enjoy! After all that activity tho, I would probably find myself prone on Cowpet Beach sound asleep just catching up! Just move over to Hugo Beach late afternoon since the E's beach gets shady. Watch the no seeem's when you are on Hugo in the late afternoon!

Jeff

Karen,<BR><BR>THanks for all the great info. Now I'm just counting the days. If you have any other suggestions, definitely let me know, otherwise have a great time in Anguilla. Thanks again!<BR><BR>Jeff<BR><BR>

Marla

Jeff, Sounds like you're doing the same thing my hubby & I are doing in January. Windjammer then Elysian. Depending on your sail date, may see you there!