Ritzy!

Posted by Corinn45 from St. Louis, MO on 8/8/08

Very nice resort, greeted with free cocktail. Rooms were exquisite with jacuzzis, flat-screen TVs and beautiful balconies with view of caribbean. A bit over-priced, especially the restaurants, but the food was decent. I would recommend renting a car to go outside resort for most meals if you're strapped on $$$. Red Hook is close by, great restaurants there, as well as close to ferry to St. John's. If you have extra cash, great place to stay and be pampered! Long beach with water sports and can get dinner trips on the resort's own private boat. Spa was nice, but also a bit expensive.

A Ritz-Carlton in Name Only

Posted by mbt from Long Island, New York on 3/30/08

Jut returned from 5-nite stay during the post-Easter week. Ocean front Club level suite with our 2 kids, age 9. Have stayed at many Ritz Carlton properties and the service here is mediocre at best. Hotel is located on Great Bay, shallow, narrow beach with plentiful water sports. And, wear your comfortable shoes because property is a very hilly venue, many steps not for the faint of heart or those with mobility difficulties--and the elevators in the Fresia building were not working for two (2) days! Most restaurants harried, rooms phones did not work and guests complained of no hot water, and STRAY CATS in all the outdoor restaurants, which is fine if you think feral cats are charming--but at a Ritz? At full freight Ritz Carlton prices, service should be top-rate, but it wasn't. During our stay, we wondered if the family of presidential candidate Barack Obama --who was there at the same time we were--had the same kind of so-so service. Hallways had dark corners and lights that were out in places, but at least we felt safe due to the presence of low-key U.S. Secret Service detail. And, by 7:30 am every morning every single pool and beach chair was "claimed." Something has to be done to police this practice of chairs claimed, but unoccupied for hours. On a plus note, Prada spa was lovely, immaculate. And several concierge staff (Meghan) were cheerful and helpful. Of all the dining venues, Bleuwater is best-But, at $1,690 a nite we will take our vacation dollars elsewhere during high season, perhaps back to Bermuda which is pristine and beautiful by comparison. St. Thomas really is down on its heels with abandoned vehicles littering the roads and litter everywhere and lots of scrubby foliage. I can't imagine St. Thomas will become the Caribbean White House--it's a mess.

Wonderful Time At The Beach

Posted by cake4fun from Silver Spring, Maryland on 6/26/07

We attended a friends wedding and really loved the beach. However our room was a little beat up (marks on the wall and headboard not connected to bed) and the cleaning service had issues replenishing basic items, such as wine glasses. Other than those issues we had a wonderful time and we thought the food was better at the hotel than any place we ate off the Ritz.

Very relaxing

Posted by djtrigg from Chicago on 12/24/06

The hotel is still under construction as of 12/16/06. As a result there is some noise and dust as well as room snafus (all minor). Having said that, we felt that the service was on par with other Ritz's. The beach was beautiful and the boat cruises amazingly enjoyable. The food was very good though priced as if gilded in fine metals. Overall it was a relaxing trip, though I would very much like to see the resort in about 6-12 months when the renovation are complete.

overall, worth the $$

Posted by Lola from Nashville, TN on 5/19/06

While the hotel does operate a bit more on "island time" than the average Ritz, the service is still good, the atmosphere is very pleasant, and the grounds are beautiful. The food is also quite good for hotel restaurants. The rooms aren't huge but they are attractive and comfortable, and they all have great views. We got married here recently and had 60 guests, and overall we were very happy with our stay and the hotel staff.

The Ritz Western?

Posted by Brian from New York City on 12/20/05

My wife, and I went to vacation in late November. The beach is nice. The hotel reminds me of a Best Western when it comes to service and food. We constantly had to call to have our room turned down..unfortunately more often than not - no one came. The air conditioning (85 degrees plus humidity)was always broken. The rooms on the ritz website are nothing like what you actually see there. If you're training for a triathalon the ritz in st thomas is the place to go - stairs galore. The place is so used to giving very nice discounts that they choose to give that way and fail to give what your most simple request would be of a Ritz Carlton....SERVICE