Mary

Has any one been here? What is your opinion? We see this hotel available on Priceline.com all the time. So we wonder if it's not desirable? Any help appreciated. Also other ideas on great hotels/resorts on the beach, St. Thomas. (We have 2 teenage daughters.)

Chris

We just got back from the Marriott Frenchmens Reef in St. Thomas with our two teens and loved it. It has gorgeous views and my kids ,ages 15 and 18, found many friends and things to do. We heard the Renaissance is quite nice but not as desirable as the Frenchmens Reef.Check the Marriott website to compare the two. It might help.

Mary

Chris, The Marriott is not on the beach, is it? We really like to be on the beach. Is the beach even accessible from this hotel? Could you tell me more details about your trip, what you did, what activities or sights your kids enjoyed?<BR> Thanks.

Chris

Mary, I just checked the Marriott website(www.Marriott.com)and they have beautiful pics of the Renaissance.It is on the beach and looks beautiful. From what I heard it is not as luxurious as the Frenchmans and I think it is on the Atlantic ocean side not the Caribbean,which doesn't matter much,really.The one and two bedrm suites look very nice and the pool area seemed great too. We only had 6 days so we loved the resort so much we mostly stayed there. The kids wanted to hang with the friends they met so they weren't too interested in leaving. We did head over to St. John's by ferry to snorkel at Trunk Bay. It was a beautiful beach and my daughter enjoyed it but it was windy and the sand was fine and blowing all over so we went back to town for shopping. The cabs on the islands are $8 pp each way so traveling around gets expensive and there is no way I would be comfortable driving there.We also went to Magens Bay Beach on St. Thomas. The kids really enjoyed this one because their friends went,too. You can rent rafts and beach chairs but the adults thought it was a little crowded and noisy. We liked the beach at our hotel just as much but am glad we saw one of the "top 10" rated beaches. We were'nt into shopping in downtown St. Thomas although most people do that.There are also good restaurants there such as Craig and Sally's. Bluebeards castle is supposed to be a must see.My daughter went parasailing and really liked it. I checked out the safety and was very pleased that it is regulated unlike Mexico. That was about $60.I think you will find plenty to do either on or off the resort.

Debbie

Ren. pool scheduled for closing and repairs in the late summer through fall swomeone said recently when we were there. There is a secondary pool though. Not a great beach but a nice one. Good dive shop on property for snorkling excursions. Did the night one and it was fun with the glow worms. Reef is a highrise with elevator to the pool area and shares beach with prorpety right next door Mariott Morningstar. Driving was not a problem and taxi fares add up since it is per passenger per destination. Ren is close to Red Hook for dining option and the ferry to other islands. Take at least one day to explore the beaches and sights of St. John. Don't just go to Trunk Bay. I found that vinow.com is a good website for information.

Linda

Renaissance Hotel's beach is very small and not nice at all. Check out Mariott Frenchmen's Reef/Morningstar Resort. These are two separate hotels which share facilities and the Morningstar Resort is located right on the beach....the beach there is beautiful!

CHS

My husband, I and our two grown children stayed at the Renaissance for a week at Christmas. It was not crowded like we thought it would be because of the cancellations after 9/11. We really liked it. We had two suites. Most of the rooms are on a hillside with nice views and you do have to do a little walking to cover the whole resort. There is a nice dive shop there, but we don't dive. The exercise room is adequate and the spa is good. The taxi drive to downtown is about $12.00 per person. (each way) The hotel did offer a daytime shuttle for a $8.00 per person for round trip. THey do not recommend you be in downtown Charlotte Amalie at night. There are a couple of good restaurants in walking distance of the Renaissance, but you do have to take a taxi to the Red Hook area where there are more restaurants and nightlife. I think that taxi fare was around $4.00 per person each way. We took the ferry to St. John. I was not impressed with the beaches there because I live on the Gulf Coast here in the states and our beaches are as beautiful,not as crowed and our sand is white. We also do not have the cruise ship crowds that are absolutely gross. We rented a jeep and explored the entire island of St. John in one day. Caneel Bay is overrated and looks sort of run down. Went to Skinny Legs for a famous hamburger. Go to the library and check out Fodors and Frommers books on the Carribean. That can answer most of your questions.

dope alert

CHS,<BR>While I agree with you that the Renaissance is a lovely resort, to trash St John the way you did is ludicrous. Caneel is not "rundown". It is an old style Caribbean resort, short on marble and glitz, high on service and atmosphere.<BR>There is no way that gulf coast beaches compare with the beaches on St John. To say that you "explored the entire island in one day" shows your ignorance. You drove out the northshore road, then maybe on Centerline out to Coral Bay. You did not see the entire island because you couldn't have. You didn't hike or snorkel or see some of the less accessible beaches. <BR>You condemned cruise ship crowds as "absolutely gross". Wow, I suppose you are a perfect person? Those cruise ship passengers were on St Thomas too or didn't you notice them there? I'm thinking you probably didn't venture off the grounds of the Renaissance to often to explore St Thomas either. <BR>You are ignorant and laughable.

Linda

I absolutely agree with 'Dope Alert'. CHS, to compare St. John beaches with anywhere in Florida is frankly laughable because there is no comparison, especially when comparing the colors/hues in the water. St. John has some of the most beautiful beaches in the world, let alone the Caribbean. <BR><BR>Yes, I thought the Renaissance resort itself was lovely but I stand by my assertion that the beach at the Renaissance is not a good one. If you're into great beaches don't stay there (I would want someone to warn me).

cdt

For some reason the beach at the Renaissance is one of those beaches that looks a lot better in pictures of the resort than it does in real life.<BR><BR>We found many nice beaches on both St. Thomas and St. John but felt it was easier to avoid the cruise ship crowds on St. John. The cruisers inundate Magen's, Coki (which is within walking distance of the Renaissance), and Trunk Bay. Sapphire Beach on STT was also fairly crowded. St. John has lots of small beaches which don't get a lot of cruise ship people.<BR><BR>While I wouldn't want to generalize about the qualities of cruise ship passengers, I will say that we thought the large number of cruisers (who tend to arrive en masse at their chosen daytrip destinations) was the biggest negative about this group of islands. It was definitely outweighed by the many positives, in our opinion.<BR><BR><BR>

Tom

I agree with CHS: Caneel Bay IS run down, i.e, it's an absolute DUMP, marble or no marble!!!

tom

Mary <BR><BR>To answer your earlier question, the Marriott FR is not technically on the beach, but overlooks it and has stairs down to the beach...FR is affiliated with Morningstar resort (also Marriott) and the 2 share the beach...there is also a shuttle. Although it is a bit of a walk to the beach from FR, I have stayed in many "beach-front" resorts that had longer walks...the beach should not be a problem.<BR><BR>I also agree with others that I like the beach at FR/MS better than at the Ren, but the 2 resorts have different feels...the Marriott resorts are a bit newer and more upscale, but the Ren is a bit more "resorty" in its feel...also the views from the Marriott are either the harbor or the open ocean. From the Ren, you look out at several smaller islands and sailboats. The surf is less rough at the Ren, but not a problem at the Marriott.

Julie

Hello Mary, You might want to try Secret Harbour, its right on the beach and is close to Red Hook which is away from Charlotte Amalie