The Marina my Sapphire Beach has jet ski rental.

You may want to even check into Sapphire Beach Resort for a wedding location. I have seen several there and they looked lovely.

The two hotels your mentioned would not be my choice for a location.

I would strongly recommend a wedding coordinator.

Thanks for the info Kimberly. May I ask why Emerald Beach wouldn't be your choice for a location?

I have never been to any island before and I really want to do this right!! We have about 25 people coming, most are around our age, 26 and cannot afford a super expensive resort, which is why we were looking into the Best Western, but I would hate to go if it's not that great of a place.....

I have checked into Fantasia wedding coordinators and they have been pretty helpful. I guess another question I have is if anyone has ever delt with them before?

The Emerald Beach has a very nice beach and a good beach bar. However the rooms are sort of like a "holiday Inn" in need of upgrading. It is located very near the airport, but that is usually not a problem

There are many, many other places on St Thomas that would appear more "upscale" without being a lot more expensive. Use your multiple room buying power, June is not high season so people will listen to you.

Not wanting to spend crazy amounts of money or stay at a 5 star resort made the Emerald Beach very nice to me. It has somewhat of a normal hotel feel, but the rooms are all overlooking the beautiful white sand beach with patios.

Outside of your room, you can walk right out to the water, have dinner at a pretty nice restaurant on site (The Palms), rent watersports equipment (no jet skis), hang out at the nice little beach bar, or hop in the great pool. It's also about 3-5 minute taxi ride from the airport, so you could be on the beach within 20-30 minutes from touchdown if the cabbies get rolling fast enough.

I was there this time last year and didn't see anyone getting married, but the area set up for it is right next to the pool and overlooking the sea...looked prety nice.

Most of the time you should be out exploring the island and beaches, shopping, ferrying to St John for the day, or maybe night life anyway...lol.

Just my opinion. 🙂

Hi Sarah,

For me it's just too close to the airport. I would imagin you would hear the planes flying in during the day. I really don't think there is too much air acitivity in the evening so that would not be a problem.
I personally prefer the other side of the island. I like to be near Red Hook because I like a lot of the restaurants, it's close to the ferry service, marina's and being 26-ish I bet you would like a lot of the night spots too.

Also keep in mind that at Sapphire they have 2 bedroom units with a kitchen. Some of the guests can pair up to keep the cost down. Having a full kitchen you can have some meals there to save money too.

Here's an off the wall idea - call Capt. Mike at 775-1717 (The Real Estate Place). He has a big house he rents as a B&B - maybe you could rent the whole thing?
Pamela.

I have stayed there twice, just there 8/22-28. During this week there was a wedding there nearly every day. One was a pretty good size with catering and part of the restaurant sectioned off for the wedding, but most seemed to be between 10-20 guests. I don't know how anyone liked it, but they seemed to be having a good time.

We like this hotel because of the beach location. Every room faces the bay (and it is a beautiful bay). You can't really drive by the place without walking around it to see how nice the beach and pool really are. It doesn't look like much from the road. Nearly every other guest we spoke with picked this hotel for the oceanfront views and proximity. I agree that it is in need of a little updating, but its got a fridge, safe, AC, balcony, cable. The big jets are mostly between 9 and 3 and there aren't that many. They are up and down really fast. Nothing at night.

That being said, it is a very quiet place. No jet skis, even a sign saying they really don't approve of it, and that's a good idea because alot of people snorkle way out and this could be quite dangerous. Only one other small hotel sharing the mile-long beach (the BW Carib does not have a beach and is way around the bend) so you have alot of privacy. Most people seemed to be doing a 4-day getaway trip (most said desparately needed!). There is little night life on this end of the island other than counting stars.

We rent a car and drive the entire island several times. So much to see. I like to go to the other hotels to see if they look like their Expedia photos! Sapphire is really nice ( I think they are starting a construction project here -anyone know when or how long?). Secret Harbor and Bolongo are nice smaller hotels too. The Ritz is beautiful, but 3x the price. The Wyndam is alot busier and you have to take a shuttle from the hotel to the beach/pool. I want sand at my feet, but other people may prefer the amenities.

I'm with Hoosier-we aren't in the room very much. Town on cruise ship days is busy and exciting, views from every hill are stunning, every STT cove/beach offers unique views and St. John is a natural masterpiece and tranquil. Be polite and the local people will return this. I'm sure there are exceptions, but we had only positive experiences and we met alot of people.

Since YOU are on your honeymoon and may be spending more time in your room, you may want to check out the Marriott complex, too. If you spend any time on these travel BB you will read good/bad reviews of nearly every hotel and wedding planner. Everyone's idea of a great spot is different, St. Thomas is so beautiful, you will find yours. Good luck.

I was in St. Thomas for my 20 year anniversary last October and stayed for a couple nights at The BW Emerald Beach so I thought I'd throw my 2 cents in.

First of all, we had a great time. The grounds are beautiful. I think I have some pictures that I would be happy to scan for you if you write my e-mail address. Depending upon how big your wedding party is, I think you could have a very beautiful wedding.

Ok, here's the bad things about the Hotel. What bothered me the most is the service at the restaurant is SLOWWWWWW. Normally, that would not have bothered me, in fact I expect it - it's the Caribbean, not downtown Seattle. (I've waited in a 4 person line at McDonalds for an hour in Charlotte, so I'm used to it.) The only reason it bothered me is that the night before we had flown red eye from Seattle and were very sleep deprived and just wanted something quick to eat before bed. Well, guess what? There isn't anything quick to eat there - just know that.

The other downside about the Emerald Beach is that the rooms are little old. The comments of the other people on the board are correct. My feeling about that is, you get what you pay for (and here you're getting a lot more than you pay for). Me personally, I thought the rooms were very nice, but they are not 5-star either.

As far as the airport being so close. Well, it's accross the street from the runway, but they don't bring in many planes to the airport. Now I may be biased because I live on the approach to SeaTac Airport and very close to Mchord AFB, so I'm used to airplane noise. I don't think the airport will even bother you.

Now on the upside. The place is wonderful. The grounds are beautiful, almost park-like. The staff is friendly, attentive and courteous. The restaurant/Bar is located on the beach. It is SO ROMANTIC to sit in the restaurant in the evening and listen to the waves lap on the beach. The beach is beautiful. The view from the room is wonderful.

If you can accept the fact that the rooms are not 5-Star, I whole-heartedly reccommend the place. It's wonderful. The place is PARADISE. Who could ask for anything more, a place on a Carbbean Beach with a view - we loved it.

Thank you all so much for the information/opinions!! It really helped a lot. I can't wait to get down there and see what the island is all about!!! I think it will actually be fun planning the wedding instead of stressful now since we are doing it this way. We were going to do it at home, had over 150 people we were going to invite, but we decided to cancel it, take out the stress, spend less money and go to the islands!!! I think that's the way to do it.

Thanks again!!