jeff

Message: Hi. We have narrowed our choices as follows and are looking for advice and reports from those
who have stayed at any of these resorts. We are having an impossible time making our final decision. St. Thomas Renaissance Grand
St. Thomas Ritz
St. John Westin
Aruba Marriott
Aruba Hyatt

Please cc to my email [email protected]. Thanks!

Michael Hansen

I stayed in Aruba for a week in 1993. The Hyatt was a nice hotel with decent grounds, a fun little casino, and a good Carribean reggae show (limbo, etc.) There is not a whole lot to do on Aruba besides gambling and wind surfing. Aruba is a desert island so the sight-seeing is poor outside of the capitol city. The diving, snorkeling, and sailing are MUCH better in the USVI (esp. St. John) and BVI's.

Cathy

Well Jeff, I have never been to Aruba so I'm of no help there. I can tell you about St. John and St. Thomas islands. We spent a week on St.Thomas and have stopped there 3 other times while on cruises. The shopping is cool, natives friendly, nice beaches. We never found nightlife, so our evenings consisted of long dinners (which is fine). The majority of our activity was related to beaches or shopping or tours - during the day. St. John is by far more beautiful. A good portion of it is preserved as a National Park or something like that. If you stay on St. John you can always take the ferry over to St. Thomas to shop, and vice versa. When we go back, we'll stay on St. John. Both are nice, St. John just more natural. Don't expect steel drums playing poolside. It just doesn't happen there...to laid back. Have a great vacation, hope I gave you some worthwhile information.

Carolyn

We've stayed at the Westin (previously the Hyatt) on St. John twice now. After the last hurricane and change of ownership it has just reopened. Beautiful grounds and pool. We stayed in a beachfront room the first time which was nice, but you could hardly see the water for the palm trees. The next visit we stayed in an ocean view room which I enjoyed more but it was a longer walk to the pool and beach. Must have a car or taxi into town unless you want to eat there. ($2.50 one way pp??) The old restaurant was wonderful but don't know about the food now. It sits in a large bay anchored with sailboats. The bay is pretty and the resort rents floats and canoes. Lots of beach chairs available for sitting under the palm trees. St. John is a beautiful island! We plan to return in June. The Renaissance Hotel on St. Thomas has also been redone since the hurricane so it should be nice as well. It also sits on a bay and has a nice pool. For overall beauty, I would definitely pick St. John. I also feel safer there. The ferry from Red Hook (close to the Renaissance) to St. John is $3 pp one way and is a short, pretty ride. Good luck!

christi

I lived in St. Thomas for two summers. Don't stay there. It is dirty and lots of crime. The Ritz is nice but don't plan to go off property. St. Thomas has a lot of good restaurants and shops; however, St. Johns is more peaceful. If you stay at St. Johns you can take day trips to St. Thomas and the British Virgin Islands. If you eat in St. Thomas visit Blackbeard's Castle. Good food and great view of the harbor and downtown.

Karen

Virgin Islands wins hands down. Entirely different atmosphere than Aruba and better eating. Too windy on beaches of Aruba and more "Americanized." St. Thomas is not dirty nor ridden with crime. There are lots of places to stay beside the Ritz which are reasonable and provide very nice accomodations. If you must, tour Bluebeard's Castle but avoid Banana Tree Grille which was redone from the old wonderful Entre Nous. St. John is beutiful but it is more expensive to stay on St. John than in St. Thomas (St. John is a $3 ferry ride away) and St. Thomas has more "fine dining" choices than St. John which is more casual but excellent eating as well. The rumors about crime are exaggerated as there has been a very successful campaign to reduce crime---but I would use common sense and good judgment whatever island I visited. Decide on your budget and then pick according to what you need, want. There is no gambling in Virgins but choice of many different beaches everywhere you turn! You also have easy access to the British Virgins for day trips, sailing, etc.

danielle

I've been to all three islands and stayed on both St. John and Aruba. The islands offer completely different experiences, and I have never been at a loss for things to do.

I wouldn't consider St. Thomas just because I like the slower pace of nearby St. John. St. John is a beautiful island with gorgeous beaches, great snorkeling, and plenty to do.

Aruba is more desert-like, but the beaches are absolutely gorgeous. I found the snorkeling to be about the same as in St. John - great. Even though Aruba is close to the equator, the constant tradewinds make it very comfortable. I also found lots to do on Aruba other than windsurfing.

My personal choice for a romantic vacation is St. John. Expect the service on St. John to be slow. (The service on Aruba was far better, fast & efficient.)

floyd

why not take a nice cruise We took a cruse there a few years ago to all the islands and had a bal alot to do on trhe ship and you also can visid all the islands.let me know how you make out
what time of the year are you going?

floyd

why not take a nice cruise We took a cruse there a few years ago to all the islands and had a bal alot to do on trhe ship and you also can visid all the islands.let me know how you make out
what time of the year are you going?

floyd

why not take a nice cruise We took a cruse there a few years ago to all the islands and had a bal alot to do on trhe ship and you also can visid all the islands.let me know how you make out
what time of the year are you going?

Susie Paoni

We just stayed at the Renaissance on St Thomas in January for a work/reward trip. While we didn't pay for anything (my husband's company did), our overall feeling was that the hotel was extremely overpriced for what we received (had we been paying ourselves we would've felt really ripped off!). The grounds are nice, spread out, and privately nestled in a bay. Watersports are available but overpriced (the snorkeling was not impressive). The food at the hotel was not good but still pricey. All of these factors are probably the reason it was not overwrought and crowded with tourists.

Thomas Finn

We vacationed in Aruba in 1991. Just marvelious! No crime,full employment,fresh drinking water,max $5 taxie rides, nice beaches,beautiful weather, low population density and well managed by the Dutch influence. Not subject to hurricanes.The island has a lot to offer for the interested tourist.My son's ship the USS Yorkville (CG-48) visited St. Thomas and had three of his shipmates shot in a drive-by shooting and one died.A Navy aircraft carrier had six of their crewmen mugged in a port visit.The Navy shut down port visits for six months.Be careful!

Beverly

Have stayed on all three islands. St. john wins hands-down in my opinion. But, it depends on what you are looking for. Aruba has very crowded hotel beaches, all in a row. St. Thomas has great snorkeling, as does St. John. St. Thomas gives me a feeling of not being safe. Caneel Bay, on St. John, is the vacation of a lifetime, paradise!!, but expensive!