St. Croix
 

Can anyone recommend a good reasonably priced hotel and or condo with good snorkeling. Close to good restaurants would be nice.

The one hotel/resort that continuously gets good reviews here is the Bucanneer.. I am not sure of price.

Another to check out is the Carambola Beach Resort. I believe it's supposed to have excellent diving right off the beach.

www.carambolabeach.com

Carambola is cheaper than the Buc - and yes, you can snorkel right off the beach. We love it there, although you will get mixed reviews from time to time on this site. It's secluded as it sits at the end of a road and backs up to the mountains - it's lovely and the rooms are spacious. The food and service are very good. Please rent a car so you can explore the entire island.

Hibiscus Beach Hotel. Robert

We took our 2 children to The Bucanneer and we would not return, ever. I would prefer to not give details(as I usually do) on Fodor's as mine may have been a singular event. I love St. Croix and in fact honeymooned at Carambola, so I am in no way indicting the entire island. As they say, JMHO. Threehearts

threehearts---your comments concern me. I'm considering the Buccaneer for my wedding next year and have heard only wonderful things. Is your experience one you'd share off board? If so, please email me at [email protected]

I'll be inviting at least 50 people to the resort and want to be sure I know what I'm getting into. Thanks.

sls15- I will email you privately. Threehearts

As someone who loves the Buccaneer and visits annually, I would urge ThreeHearts to be more specific with her comments if she chooses to post them. I'm guessing that she/he is the person who had a bad experience with Jose and the kids camp at the Buccaneer a few years ago. We are aware that there was a problem (although we had come to know Jose pretty well before that) and he is no longer there. If your issue is with a specific part of the resort (Kids Club, food, rooms, security) you should be more specific. Many peoples' livelihoods depend on the tourists who frequent their resort and a comment on a message board can greatly impact that. sls15 should focus on whether your concerns will have anything to do with your wedding.

I am not paid by the Buccaneer. I just view it as a special part of my family's life and am devoted to quite a few of the staff there. And Elizabeth Armstrong, the general manager, is a person of character.

ccrosner- I was expecting your response. I, which is my right, responded privately as invited by the previous poster. I very much made a point NOT to leave negative comments of a specific nature or to dismiss the whole island as I am not sure that my experience was shared by others. I did think that it was important to note that not everyone who stays at the Bucanneer always has a fabulous time. I do not believe that I ever questioned the character of the general manager. We are frequenters of several resort properties with our children and usually go to these 4-6X/ year. The proprietors are like family to us. I would never question a Fodorite if they left negative feedback on "my" beloved resorts. Just so you now, I did not dissuade sls15 from having her wedding there but I did point out what I believe were shortcomings of the property. Threehearts

Negative reports on the Buccaneer are indeed rare; it seems to be clearly the best and most expensive resort on the island.

In my opinion, the Divi Carina and Carambola are one (big) notch down. Chenay Bay may be in the same group but reviews are quite mixed.

Personally I'm not fond of the area just west of Christiansted, although the Hibiscus is a relatively good choice there. Then you have a couple of pretty basic, diver-oriented places near Cane Bay, which is a nice location; several in town, and more.

I apparently forgot to take my usual break before responding to any post. I should not have been so sensitive re: ccrosner's response. I will say that I hesitate to be more specific because my issue with the Bucanneer was truly personal and I don't want others to get a bad impression based on perhaps a specific instance where a department completely failed in it's promised quality guarantee. I would be interested in recent experiences with the children's clubs and the staff to child ratio in particular as that was certainly one of my issues when I stayed there. Anyone with a recent(within 6 months)visit who utilized the club? Threehearts

I'll just throw in my two cents that I appreciated threehearts' off-board candor. That said, I'm taking a scouting trip to St. Croix next month and will be sure to post my own opinions and reviews of the resorts and the island after the visit.

Teet, if you're still reading, other hotels I have read excellent things about are the Pink Fancy Hotel in Christiansted and Carrington's Inn. They're too small for my needs, but may suit yours.

We stayed at the Divi Carina in October so I thought I would provide some info re that resort. I agree it is a step below the Bucanneer but it is a nice resort depending upon what you are looking for. All rooms are oceanfront with a balcony and beautiful view. The pool is also beside the ocean and is very nice. The poolside bar had great drinks and the great bartenders. The restaurant was not impressive other than the view although it was off season and not busy. The casino is within walking distance up the road. The Divi is very laid back and not overcrowded. The staff was cordial. It is about a 15 minute drive from Christiansted so you definitely need a car. The price was very reasonable. We played golf at the Buc and the resort is beautiful.

Threehearts--kudos to you for your thoughtful responses. We are all entitled to our opinions and I fully recognize that I am totally biased about the Buccaneer. I am so sorry that you had a bad experience with a department there and can appreciate why you would chose to go elsewhere. Would love to hear where else you go as we are always looking to find a new place to go with our kids (ages 8 and 10). They have never been willing to go to kids' camps (their father is the best camp counselor they know....) so that's not an important criterion for us.

sls15--perhaps we will run into you on St. Croix. Good luck with your scouting trip. How wonderful to be doing a destination wedding! I've never been to one but they sound fabulous--whereever you go!

Check out Hotel on the Cay (http://www.hotelonthecay.com/index.php It's not as fancy as the Buccaneer but it is clean, safe, and a whole lot cheaper. It has it's own beach to snorkel from and is a 30 second ferry ride to C'sted so it's close to good restaurants. It may or may not be for you but it's worth looking into.

My husband and I stayed in one of the doubloons rooms at the Buccaneer and it was fanatastic. I too did a lot of research before choosing where to stay. Once there, we saw some of the other places and were very glad we chose where we did. No problems at all.

Leeann--we are going to the Buccaneer next month and wondered if you had any restaurants to recommend? It also occurred to me that I should ask if any of you tried the spa and whether or not you would recommend it.

Thanks!

Mary

Mary, the restaurant at the Buccaneer was quite good and the view was nice in the evening. Had a sweet little kitty there that had the art of begging down to a science! We ate a really nice place in Christiansted one evening but be careful. Don't park on the dark side streets. Use commom sense and you should be fine. Had brunch at the Blue Moon Cafe in Fredricksted. Very unique decor with live steel drum player on a Sunday morning! We rented a car and just drove all over the place and it was great! We have an album on webshots. Just search under community member name "letsracedennis" and scroll down. We have lots of albums! If you have any other questions, just ask. It was a year and a half ago but I figure things are pretty much the same. You should have a great time!!

The Cane Bay Reef Club is a very nice spot on the North Shore---good snorkeling at Cane Bay down the road and a nice little reef from rest. Off the Wall. Highly recomend the hotel---not a big property and basic amenities---very enjoyable and relaxing.