Caneel Bay trip report
Apr 15th, 2008, 11:44 AM
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Caneel Bay trip report
First, I want to thank everyone for their advice and information, it was very helpful.
Last week my husband and I went to Caneel Bay, St John USVI, without our two children (boys ages 4 & 8). After a long trip from Cincinnati, starting with a 7:20am flight it was heaven when we finally arrived at our room at 4pm. We had a beachfront room at Hawksnest, ground floor. The view out the window was of the bluest water I have ever seen. It is just beautiful. And we could hear the ocean waves in our room.
We were in the water by 5pm for a quick snorkel. It was worth it! We saw a turtle and squid. We had dinner at the bar & grill.
Wednesday we got up for the free continental beakfast. It is served from 6-8am and had pastries and coffee. What I had was good, but my husband said we were like vultures waiting for a fresh basket of pastries to come out and swoop in to get a croissant. We did not bother getting up early for this again. Afterward we went snorkeling at Hawksnest, it was fabulous! So many fish and coral. Also we saw a school of about 20 little squid. We had lunch at the bar grill. Then snorkeled again at Hawksnest and saw a stingray this time. We also went to afternoon tea. It is not formal (people were there in swimsuits) it is serve yourself with hot water & tea bags. But the scones were very good as were the cookies and they had other pastries as well. Later for dinner we ate at the bar grill again. (we are very casual people)
Thursday we just had granola bars for breakfast because we slept unitl 10am. Then went snorkeling at Scott Beach. The snorkeling here was very good too. For lunch we had ordered a picnic basket which had choice of sandwich (turkey, roast beef etc) and pasta salad or fruit salad, chips, whole fruit, cookies and a drink. We actully ordered the picnic lunch Friday & Saturday as well.
That afternoon at 1pm we took a 2 hr snorkel cruise from the reosrt. It was nice to get out and the water was so beautiful. We snorkeled about 45min and saw some incredible coral and sponges. We also saw an eel, black with yellow stripes, and a small nurse shark, about 2 or 3ft. It was about 20 ft down near some rocks. Although the snorkeling was very good, it was a bit expensive $200 for the two of us. We could have done just as well on our own, I think. We went to tea again at 4pm. Then went to Cruz Bay for dinner. We do not care for seafood, so were a bit challenged looking for a place to eat. We ended up at Cafe Roma. It was very good, but way too much food!
Friday we had the breakfast buffet. My husband had frnech toast and waffle and bacon and said everything was horrible! I just continental breakfast and mine was good. Then we took the 10 min walk to Honeymoon Beach and snorkeled there. It was good snorkeling there, but the current picked up a bit. And is was a little crowded, catamaran tours were shuttling people in to snorkel there. On the way back we picked up our picnic lunches (they come in little soft coolers) and went to Turtle Bay. We ate there and snorkeled a bit more. After a nice nap we went to tea again. And ended up at the bar grill for dinner. We were able to watch some of the Masters (the rooms do not have tv's). We went to the movie that night, Spiderman 3. It would have been nice if they had offered popcorn, but there was nothing.
Saturday was checkout. We had breakfast at the buffet, but just had continental then packed and left the room at 11:00. They brought our luggage to the ferry. And we get our picnic lunches to eat later. Our flight wasn't until 3pm and did not arrive in Cincinnati until 11:30pm. It was a very long day getting back.
Everything we had to eat at the bar grill was very good: burger, salmon, steak, chicken panini & chicken caesar salad. Also the french fries were very good. : )
Caneel Bay is truly wonderful. Everyone there is very helpful and friendly. The managemnt actually learned our names and greeted us when they saw us. The shuttle service was great. The room was outstanding, the furnishings, the location and the view were incomparable.
If there are any questions, I will try to answer. Thanks again for all the advice, our vacation was amazing!
Last week my husband and I went to Caneel Bay, St John USVI, without our two children (boys ages 4 & 8). After a long trip from Cincinnati, starting with a 7:20am flight it was heaven when we finally arrived at our room at 4pm. We had a beachfront room at Hawksnest, ground floor. The view out the window was of the bluest water I have ever seen. It is just beautiful. And we could hear the ocean waves in our room.
We were in the water by 5pm for a quick snorkel. It was worth it! We saw a turtle and squid. We had dinner at the bar & grill.
Wednesday we got up for the free continental beakfast. It is served from 6-8am and had pastries and coffee. What I had was good, but my husband said we were like vultures waiting for a fresh basket of pastries to come out and swoop in to get a croissant. We did not bother getting up early for this again. Afterward we went snorkeling at Hawksnest, it was fabulous! So many fish and coral. Also we saw a school of about 20 little squid. We had lunch at the bar grill. Then snorkeled again at Hawksnest and saw a stingray this time. We also went to afternoon tea. It is not formal (people were there in swimsuits) it is serve yourself with hot water & tea bags. But the scones were very good as were the cookies and they had other pastries as well. Later for dinner we ate at the bar grill again. (we are very casual people)
Thursday we just had granola bars for breakfast because we slept unitl 10am. Then went snorkeling at Scott Beach. The snorkeling here was very good too. For lunch we had ordered a picnic basket which had choice of sandwich (turkey, roast beef etc) and pasta salad or fruit salad, chips, whole fruit, cookies and a drink. We actully ordered the picnic lunch Friday & Saturday as well.
That afternoon at 1pm we took a 2 hr snorkel cruise from the reosrt. It was nice to get out and the water was so beautiful. We snorkeled about 45min and saw some incredible coral and sponges. We also saw an eel, black with yellow stripes, and a small nurse shark, about 2 or 3ft. It was about 20 ft down near some rocks. Although the snorkeling was very good, it was a bit expensive $200 for the two of us. We could have done just as well on our own, I think. We went to tea again at 4pm. Then went to Cruz Bay for dinner. We do not care for seafood, so were a bit challenged looking for a place to eat. We ended up at Cafe Roma. It was very good, but way too much food!
Friday we had the breakfast buffet. My husband had frnech toast and waffle and bacon and said everything was horrible! I just continental breakfast and mine was good. Then we took the 10 min walk to Honeymoon Beach and snorkeled there. It was good snorkeling there, but the current picked up a bit. And is was a little crowded, catamaran tours were shuttling people in to snorkel there. On the way back we picked up our picnic lunches (they come in little soft coolers) and went to Turtle Bay. We ate there and snorkeled a bit more. After a nice nap we went to tea again. And ended up at the bar grill for dinner. We were able to watch some of the Masters (the rooms do not have tv's). We went to the movie that night, Spiderman 3. It would have been nice if they had offered popcorn, but there was nothing.
Saturday was checkout. We had breakfast at the buffet, but just had continental then packed and left the room at 11:00. They brought our luggage to the ferry. And we get our picnic lunches to eat later. Our flight wasn't until 3pm and did not arrive in Cincinnati until 11:30pm. It was a very long day getting back.
Everything we had to eat at the bar grill was very good: burger, salmon, steak, chicken panini & chicken caesar salad. Also the french fries were very good. : )
Caneel Bay is truly wonderful. Everyone there is very helpful and friendly. The managemnt actually learned our names and greeted us when they saw us. The shuttle service was great. The room was outstanding, the furnishings, the location and the view were incomparable.
If there are any questions, I will try to answer. Thanks again for all the advice, our vacation was amazing!
May 22nd, 2008, 04:00 PM
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luv2plan,
My fiance and I also found eating slightly challenging in St. John since we don't eat seafood. We stayed at the Westin in December 2006 (wouldn't recommend it based on cost/benefits) and are planning our December 2009 wedding in St. John!
I apologize that I didn't catch your pre-trip questions, but based on the "not-so-perfect" aspects of your vacation, you might want to consider renting a villa for your next trip to St. John. So much cheaper (and just as nice as Caneel Bay in most cases) and you won't feel trapped at the resort - especially by your food choices. There are a few catering companies that will do everything for you, from provisioning your villa with food before you arrive, to preparing all of your meals during your entire stay (katilady is one of them).
Given that my original plan was to get married at Caneel Bay in December 2009, I am keenly aware of their pricing. You could likely hire a full time catering service, and a babysitter (if necessary) for less money, and a better experience, than your stay at Caneel Bay.
I absolutely love St. John, and so happy you decided to visit. The great thing is that you could have a whole new "first" visit to St. John just by changing where you stay!
My fiance and I also found eating slightly challenging in St. John since we don't eat seafood. We stayed at the Westin in December 2006 (wouldn't recommend it based on cost/benefits) and are planning our December 2009 wedding in St. John!
I apologize that I didn't catch your pre-trip questions, but based on the "not-so-perfect" aspects of your vacation, you might want to consider renting a villa for your next trip to St. John. So much cheaper (and just as nice as Caneel Bay in most cases) and you won't feel trapped at the resort - especially by your food choices. There are a few catering companies that will do everything for you, from provisioning your villa with food before you arrive, to preparing all of your meals during your entire stay (katilady is one of them).
Given that my original plan was to get married at Caneel Bay in December 2009, I am keenly aware of their pricing. You could likely hire a full time catering service, and a babysitter (if necessary) for less money, and a better experience, than your stay at Caneel Bay.
I absolutely love St. John, and so happy you decided to visit. The great thing is that you could have a whole new "first" visit to St. John just by changing where you stay!
May 23rd, 2008, 05:48 AM
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Hi luv2plan,
Thanks for the great TR! We loved snorkeling at Hawksnest as well, and saw a school of little red squid and a stingray as well. Solomon was actually our favorite beach (a short hike from the road).
We were in St. John in September and rented a villa (andante by the sea) and loved it. The only tough thing about villa rentals in St. John is that there are very few that are directly on a beach, so you have to drive to any of the beaches (which can get cumbersome with a 2 year old!). With that being said, we only rent villas now on our island trips (much more privacy, cheaper, and nicer in our opinion). The beaches are all so amazing in St. John it’s not that big of a deal to drive to them. We had Katilady cater dinner to us for our anniversary, and they did a great job. I would recommend them.
Deapaw, congrats on your engagement, and you sure picked a beautiful place to get married!
Thanks for the great TR! We loved snorkeling at Hawksnest as well, and saw a school of little red squid and a stingray as well. Solomon was actually our favorite beach (a short hike from the road).
We were in St. John in September and rented a villa (andante by the sea) and loved it. The only tough thing about villa rentals in St. John is that there are very few that are directly on a beach, so you have to drive to any of the beaches (which can get cumbersome with a 2 year old!). With that being said, we only rent villas now on our island trips (much more privacy, cheaper, and nicer in our opinion). The beaches are all so amazing in St. John it’s not that big of a deal to drive to them. We had Katilady cater dinner to us for our anniversary, and they did a great job. I would recommend them.
Deapaw, congrats on your engagement, and you sure picked a beautiful place to get married!
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