Thanks for asking! We arrived on Sunday afternoon and stayed at the Marriott. It was a nice hotel. My husband and I were still debating about the room location, but the front desk person recommended th main building for the best views. We were lucky and got the top floor and we had amazing views of the harbor and the carribean sea. I had thought I had wanted to be closer to the beach, but I soon found out that we had a perfect location.

On Monday, we headed to Havensight for breakfast at Delly Decks. Great food, good price. We then went to Gourmet Gallery for sandwiches and snacks. The other couple we were with was pretty impressed by my research so thanks to this message board! For dinner we ate at Havana Blue which was amazing. If I ever go back to St. Thomas, it will be because of this restaurant.

On Tuesday, the guys went golfing at Mahogany Run so the girls went shopping of course. We took the water taxi from Marriott to Charlotte Amalie and browsed around jewelry stores. We had more fun at the market. We had a late breakfast at Gladys Cafe which had great food and good prices. That evening, we ventured to Red Hook to eat at Duffy's Love Shack. It was a bit daunting to drive at night. Duffy's had a fun atmosphere and good food.

On Wednesday, we went on a snorkeling excursion to St. John with New Horizons. It was the first time I've ever been on a sailboat so I was leery about being seasick, but it ended up being a very relaxing ride. We stopped at a remote area of St. John and the snorkeling there was ok. Then we went to St. James where the snorkeling was better. The crew made the excursion a fun experience. We stopped at Grateful Deli for some great sandwiches. For dinner we went to Banana Tree Grill which had good food and a great view.

On Thursday, we had breakfast at Delly Deck and did some souvenir shopping in Havensight. We then went to Magen's Bay. From a distance it looked beautiful. However, I wasn't that impressed with the beach considering it's rated top 10 in the world. It's probably because it's a public beach and tourists don't take care of it. The water was nice. For dinner, we had to go to Havana Blue again. The food was so good we had to go. The guys had the same dishes again. I tried something else. All the food is excellent there.

Overall, it was a wonderful vacation. We had a great time. Thanks for the insight on the lifestyle and attitudes of the locals. It explains alot now, especially the service at restaurants. I think after doing all the cruise watching we may try a cruise next.

Annie...obviously I found it. If you are adventerous you might want to consider St. John. Rent a villa in the Cruz Bay area, (if going with another couple it's more reasonable than you would expect). Great resaurants, incredible beaches (around the island) day trips to BVI, the Willie T, Foxy's, the Baths (search this message board), you would need to rent a car/jeep. I love STT, have never been to STX, but if you really want to relax STJ is an incredible place.

Thanks Annie. Glad to hear that you got a good room at Marriott 🙂 and had a good time overall.

--Islander