Caneel is a lovely place. Old Caribbean class, great beaches out your door, good restaurants. I would, however, recommend that you not limit yourself to Caneel. Rent a vehicle--at least for part of your stay--and explore the island. Get a guide book or two---I use "STJ: Off the Beaten Track" and "Feet, Fins & 4wd". Take some of the hikes--they range from pleasant strolls to more demanding hikes. Maybe a day trip to the BVI (although we never left STJ until our third trip there. We'd planned to take a daysail sooner, but there was so much we wanted to do and see on STJ that we never left the island). Go to restaurants in Cruz Bay and Coral Bay, in addition to Caneel. Take a lot of time to do very little.

We have stayed at Caneel 2 of the past 3 years. Enjoyed our experiences greatly. We did however explore other beaches in addition to Caneel. We loved getting up early in the morning to walk the property and explore a beach or two (loved Hawksnest in the morning). On a couple of occasions we went to Cinnamon in the morning, drove to Coral Bay and ate at Skinny's, stopped by Maho on the way back, and then went back to Caneel to float on Scott beach until it was time to clean up for dinner. The hike to Honeymoon and Soloman beaches is kinda fun...nice beaches too. We ate mostly off property, love the Cruz Bay restaraunts (Margarita Phil's and Rhumblines, especially). Get snorkel equipment in the beginning of the week, it's free and you will have it at your disposal. We enjoyed the sunset cruise, nice way to meet other guest and enjoy the views of the northern beaches from the water. We also, went on a daysail, fun experience. Almost forgot.....ask to have them place an empty fridge in you room, taxi into town and get some snacks, water, and other beverage of choice....nice to have those at your disposal.