St. John/Caneel Bay Trip Report/ WOW
 

Hi all, Just back from one of the most wonderful weeks of my life. First let me thank many of you how were most helpful in my deciding on Caneel Bay, it was everything we expected and MORE! Right from the lounge at the airport to the fun boatride over to the island to the greeting when we docked and got off the boat. As the staff came out to meet us, they handed us wet lemon towels and told us that our vacation has now begun and we are to do nothing but enjoy it to the fullest. WE took their advice.
We had book the beach front rooms, and I was going to try to get an upgrade to one of the premium rooms on scott beach, but as soon as we were checking in, we were told that we were given a complimentary upgrade to the premium rooms. I was delighted to say the least. Our room was perfect, I can understand why some would expect more based on the cost, but we have been in ultra luxury, and believe me, it just doesn't fit here. WE thought that the room had everything we needed, along with some real island charm. I loved it. We walked out our back door onto our own private patio and our own beach just steps away.
WE had to get used to the hike to the bar and restaurants, but occasionially we took the shuttle and that was fun also. IT seems to always come right away.
FOOD:
The food at the equator was excellent. THe service and ambience was beautiful as well, you could see the lights of St. Thomas and the sunset on a clear night.
The Caneel beach terrace was okay, nothing special, you had to eat buffet, and we were on the EP, so we thought it was pricy for what you got. WE only did breakfast there, never lunch.
The Caneel Bay bar was the best. WE loved the food and the atmosphere. We got along great with the servers and they treated us well I'll comment more on that later in the report)...... The CB Bar was the place to hang out also. We are big Yankee fans and we couldn't believe that we were going to be at a resort during one of the best play off weeks in the history of baseball. But we ended up watching the game everynight in the bar with tons of Boston fans (and just a few Yankee fans)....we really had a blast.
In fact we made some really good friends that we are going to keep in touch with.
There was also a band in the bar from Thursday night to Sunday night that we would have enjoyed more had the game not been on.
PLACES TO EAT OUT SIDE OF CANEEL:
Morgans Mango's was my favorite. Fun island atmosphere and great food.
ZOZO's was also great. If you get there earlie (they seat at 6pm) you can have a drink in their bar which in on the roof of the restuarant and you can watch the sun set over ST. Thomas. Very cool place.
Paradisio Great Italian food, nice place.
DO not eat at the MOngoose restaurant/deli.
WE were shopping one afternoon in MOngoose Junction and it began to pour, so we decided to just eat at this place. What a mistake. With all the great places to eat in Cruize bay, we can not believe that we suffered throught this meal, not to mention the place was filthy.
We never made it to The Fish Trap, which our friends went to and loved.
SHOPPING:
Mongoose Junction had great stuff. If you are a female and love funky clothes, you must go to BAMBOULA. They also have great jewlery and many other imported items. I got a dress that would have sold in NY for well over a hundred dollars, and I got it there for $40.....I went crazy in that store.
The Best shopping was of course in ST. Thomas. WE got incrediable buys on Jewlery. The jewlery shop that we ended up in was "HOuse of Rajah" A family owned business that the hotel and others reccomended. We feel confident that we got a great deal, and we are also going to use them while here in the states. They have an e-mail and stand behind everything they sell.
WE also shopped at the cruise ship docks. I forget what the place is called...Haven something......They are the same stores that are in ST. Thomas, but just for the cruise ships and tourists. Less crowded. (House of Rajah is not there.)
Back to Caneel:
SERVICE: I remembering reading several posts where the people were complaining about the attitude of the people at Caneel. Others defended them saying that people treat you as they are treated. There is much truth to that when it comes to Caneel. At first they do not go out of their way to treat you well. They are almost testing you to see if you are going to be a problem guest or not. But once you begin to engage them in fun conversation, they let down their guard, and you are thier best friend. No kidding, we were on first name bases with everyone working there and they loved us. Believe me, it pays off when you need something. Now I know that there will be those of you out there that feel they should treat you well reguardless of how you act, but that just isn't the reality of the island. At least not what I found.
SNORKLING:
We never left Caneel to snorkel. WE did head for Trunk and Cinnamon bay with our gear, but that turned out to be the one really rainy and miserable day, so we shopped instead.
The snorkeling off Scott was great, lots of turtles hang out in one spot eating the grass near the coral. We swam with stingrays (big ones) and baracudas and an array of beautiful fish. Turtle bay and Hawksnest also had some nice spots. The guy at the dive shop there will give you a map.
JEEP RENTAL:
WE rented from the activities desk at CAneel and they got us our jeep. This was a disaster. The first jeep had a broken window on the passengers side, so when it started to pour I got soaked. We had to go all the way back to Caneel to exchange it. WE had to wait for the agency to bring us another one from town. This took up way too much of our time, not to mention that the second jeep had ants all over it biting us. This was the Sun and Shade rental company....stay away. Caneel uses others also.
TAXI to town:
This should cost only $6.00, if they tell you more they are ripping you off. Also have plenty of small change, or they will tell you they have no change for a bigger tip. Now we are V

my trip report got cut off for some reason, so here is the end of it.....
FINAL THOUGHTS:
I wish I knew that Caneel ran specials now and then...heres why..... if we went through a travel agent or called the week before, we would have found out that they were offering free breakfast all week. WE paid big bucks for our eggs, and only found this out at the end of the trip.
WE never did the day trip to the BVI which I am sorry for. Next time for sure.
Another mention about the different beaches. EVen though we got upgrated to Scott, we truly would have been happy at Turtle or Hawksnest, they are very private and the donkeys come and hang out with you there...;very cool.
I almost like Turtle Bay better, I love the privacy, what I didn't like was the longer hike to the bar, and the two story units.
Also, we took our ferry back to the Airport on Sunday and decided to leave earlie to shop some more in ST. Thomas. Caneel knew we were doing this, but neglected to tell us that most of the shops in St. Thomas were closed on Sunday unless the Big cruise shio were in, so that is why we went to the cruise area shops. Something our taxi driver told us. So if you want some information, ask, no one will volunteer it.

We will definately return to Caneel Bay and hope that anyone here deciding on the perfect get a way to one of the most unique resorts in the world, you will go here. I can't imagine anyone not liking it, however it is not for everyone, you must desire the unique, elegant, island experience, all of which Caneel is.
E- mail me if you want to know anything else.
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Great trip report -- My husband and my first trip to the Caribbean was to Caneel Bay and reading your report brought back memories of our experience which was very positive and similar to yours. We hope to go back there again soon ....

beachlover50, What a great trip report! We are heading to Caneel in a few weeks and I can't wait. Did you rent the car for the entire trip?

I was only thinking of renting a car for 2 days since we will most likely want to hang out on the beaches of Caneel to snorkel.

Hi JenniferW,
WE only rented the jeep for one day.....it was enough to tour the island (which is small) and do some snorkleing.....but It is up to you and what you really want to do. It was so easy to jump a cab into Cruize Bay for dinner or shopping. The taxis are already waiting for you in the Caneel parking lot and getting back is just as easy. You also don't have to worry about parking.
Have a great time....what beach are you on? Do you know?

beachlover wrote : "...I remembering reading several posts where the people were complaining about the attitude of the people at Caneel. Others defended them saying that people treat you as they are treated. There is much truth to that when it comes to Caneel. At first they do not go out of their way to treat you well. They are almost testing you to see if you are going to be a problem guest or not. But once you begin to engage them in fun conversation, they let down their guard, and you are thier best friend. No kidding, we were on first name bases with everyone working there and they loved us...."

Now, I have not been to Caneel Bay, but this is great advice for how to interact with staff in almost any Caribbean island...whilst US service culture involves the staff working at a service establishment being highly proactive in approaching their customers, this does not come naturally to folk in the Caribbean....

Simply put, you as the guest often have to make the first move in striking up conversation, but once you do, you are normally greeted in a totally genuine warm and welcoming way that you will rarely find North of the Florida Keys :)