I've seen some pretty good rates for all-inclusive and not at the resorts in St.Thomas. Any recommendation on doing all-inclusive or not for a 5-6 day trip?

Your options for all-inclusive on St Thomas are extremely limited. Sugar Bay and Bolongo Bay are really the only ones that do all-inclusive all the time. Other's may have meal plans etc but not true AI.
If you are married to AI, I would suggest a different island that has many AI choices.
St Thomas is a small island with excellent restaurants, hotels, beaches and opportunities for island hopping. Most people who travel to the USVI use the entire island as their resort. St Thomas is generally not the type of place where you want to plop yourself at your resort and never leave. You will want to explore.
If you're looking for an AI type of vacation (and to each his own, nothing wrong with that), you will find a myriad of other choices and bargains galore in places like Jamaica, Mexico and the Dominican Republic.

Just wanted to second the recommendation for NOT doing AL on St. Thomas/St. John. Too many fun things to do away from your resort and too many good, reasonably priced restaraunts.

Hi There,

Add me to the list of those not recommending an AI on St. Thomas. Too many good restaurants that are easy to get to all around the island. Skip the AI and enjoy the variety of food that is readily available.

Schultz

If it must be St Thomas and price is a concern then AI is a good deal. Eating out there is pretty high.

We stayed at an AI - Wyndham Sugar Bay in February and loved it! We woke every morning to a beautiful view and a very nice welcome at the restaurant for breakfast. The beach was small, but we waded in and basked in the sunshine around the pools. We have done both AI's as well as non-AI's. I braced myself for a bad time as I heard all kinds of people saying "Don't do an AI on St. Thomas" and was thrilled that I did do it. The choice is more of an issue of have you done AI'S in the past and been fairly happy? If so, you will be fine doing them there as well.