Hello Cherry,

Welcome to the board. Hope you enjoy planning your first trip and definately hope you have a great time.

Dress code:
beaches - any swimwear will work, nude bathing is illegal.

downtown - do not wear swimwear, its taboo, seen as disrespectful. Wear a coverup, shirt/shorts, this goes for men too.

restaurants - casual restaurants you can wear shorts & t-shirt and flip flops, or jeans, or a sundress, or dress shorts & a polo shirt. At more fine dining restaurants you will still find a couple people in shorts but usually its dress shorts with a nice t-shirt or polo... but at these restaurants you will also find people a little more dressed up. Guys might be in slacks and a polo or slacks and a long sleeve shirt, no tie. Ladies in slacks or a skirt and a nice top. No need to be really fancy and you don't need to pack a lot.

nightclubs - same as restaurants, at the bar type places you will find some people in shorts/t-shirts, some in jeans/top and some in dressy little club going outfits.

--Islander

Isn't it actually illegal to wear swimwear in town? A $25 ticket?

I was the Sales Manger at Magens Point Resort, so I know it well. our room at TLC is VERY small. Queen bed, love seat (pulls out to a single sleeper), mini-kitchen w/ small bar and two stools/seats, sink, microwave, tiny fridge, a small balcony with two chairs and a table, and a bathroom. But, no need to worry,as you won't be in the room very much! Just to sleep! There is a free shuttle to Magens Beach and they also provide a trip to town. GREAT restaurant (INDiGO). If you have any specific questions, feel free to ask.

So are you saying the TLC isn't that great of a place to be at for a week. I want my vacation to be nice, all aspects included, because I'll celebrating my 2yr wedding anniversary. The only other times I've been outside of Washington, D.C. is for Military Deployments.

Magens Point Resort has the Tropic Leisure Club timeshare, Magens Bay Villas Club timeshare, and they are building another timeshare section, but it is currently just a hole in the ground. The Shelbys (the managing partners of the place) are not very good with people, so they end up with high turnover and the ones that stay are the ones that nobody else wants to hire. This translates into a less than stellar work ethic and enviroment. It took them a few weeks to finally open up their sales office again after I left, so they may have started their activities again, too. Just not sure. When I was there the activities were lots of fun. If you are using a timeshare to stay there, then you might ask them if they can upgradde you to Magens Bay Villas Club for free, cuz you were thinking of joining it (I wouldn't join, but the upgrade would be a much nicer room than in TLC). Depending on the time of year you are coming, that might be an easy upgrade.

The island of STT is really what your vacation is about, so the place you sleep really doesn't matter much. Think of your room as a glorified, rundown Holiday Inn room. Not something to rave about, but clean. The locationn of the resort is great. Closest to the beach, just a short 7 minute ride into town, 20 minutes from Red Hook. You'll still have a great time!!

We stayed at Magen Bay in Nov 2003 one bedroom unit. It was our second time. It had gone down hill drastically from the year before. We stay through the military and they hate you because of the cheap rate you are getting. The pool is dirty, hot tub did not work, beach towels were hard to come by, Bathtub had problems, not a pleasant stay. I would recommend Bluebeard Castle instead, same time share RCI, they have their problems also but not to the extent that Magen Bay.

Hi,

A group of us are thinking about this resort as a place to celebrate a 50th birthday.

Any comments from someone who is familiar with it?

I am going there next week, so I can post my comments when I get back..for now looking for any other comments to your post!!!

We are going mid-May to celebrate DH's 50th birthday. Looking forward to the trip.

Lili, will be interested in your review when you return.

I also worked at Bluebeard's Castle, Bluebeard's Beach Club and the Elysian (all part of Fairfield) for 5 1/2 years. Anything you'd like to know about them, too, feel free.

In regard to the military rate thru the MWR, the resort has no idea how much you paid. They just know whether you own a timeshare there, exchanged in from another resort, or are renting. The military shows up on the computer as an exchange, since the MWR gets it's inventory from RCI. "They hate you beacause..." is not true to any extent. That may have been your impression, but mostly, I am going to guess, what you are feeling is just the West Indian cultural differences. Many people come down and expect it to be like America (which it is NOT) and those are the ones that have a less than desirable experience. Come with an open mind, be respectful of the culture (say "Good morning/afternoon/evening" with a smile instead of "Hi", don't expect things to be fast, etc.) and realize that you aren't back home (which is why you are coming here...to get away from there, right?!?). Remember, the place you are staying is basically only where you are going to sleep. There are loads of things to keep you occupied while you are here.

My wife and I have stayed at this hotel along with many other All Inclusives around the Caribbean so we feel like we have some basis for comparison.

If we used the classic school A/B/C/D/F model, we would give the Sugar Bay a B. The rooms are clean and pretty standard in size, but the food is really average when compared to other resorts we have visited. When we pay for an All Inclusive resort we have high expectations that the food will be worldclass, but the food at this resort was simply average.

The property location can be a bit of a hassle when you want to do things in Charlotte Amalie since it is on the far east side of the island. Keep in mind that taxis on island are not cheap and there are high traffic times. Who would think that there are traffic jams on an island?

There is a very nice private beach on the property, but it is small by most standards.

Overall, the property is nice and the service was acceptable, but this not a 5 star property.

We stayed there last Easter. We had a GREAT time but had a few complaints. We sent a survey to the corparte office but never got a reply. The room was just OK but we did have a great view of the bay and beyond from our balcony. Service in the Manor dining room we VERY and I stress VERY SLOOOOOOOOOW. The staff has only one speed....slow. The pool was nice and the hot tub would have been nice if security kept the kids out. We had the all-inclusive package so drinks were included. The bar staff was nice. We tipped and they really appreciated it...most people do not. The beach is small but nice. It's a bit rocky so be careful if you wonder in the water. Had a wonderful massage in the spa (not included in the price) from a young lady from Colorado. I forget her name but she rubbed me like I've never been rubbed before...LOL. Over all we liked the place but are not in a hurry to go back there which I think is the true litmus test. We might check out the Ritz next time...has anyone stayed there?

I'm looking forward to all the things there are to do on the island. The only reason I care what my room and the resort is like is because I'm coming to the island to celebrate my 2nd wedding anniversary. Everything, even where we "sleep", is important for this trip. Thanks for all the info, and I'm looking forward to the trip.

We agree with the messages posted above. The food is just average. At the time, there were two places to eat. The restaurant in the main building and then a buffet style place at the bottom of a long hill. You could go down lots of stairs or get a golf cart to take you down. At the end of a long day at the beach, take the golf cart coming back up. It is a long way from downtown so we spent most of our time going to St. John. The spa wasn't open at the time we stayed (four years ago) so we could not experience that pleasure. We thought it was expensive for what you got. We would not go back there again. It was my 50th birthday too. Happy Birthday!

Thank you. Do you know, are there any other all inclusives in St. Thomas?

Hello Brenda,

I believe Bolongo Bay might offer an all inclusive package.

--Islander

Thank you. I checked out Bolongo Bay's website and I'm leaning towards it over Wyndham Sugar Bay.

Other comments out there???

I am going in early may and from everything I have read, this is the only all inclusive place in the USVI.

Husband and I stayed at the Wyndham last October and tho not luxurious it was very nice and clean. We had a luxury room and it was rather large...king bed, table, at least 2 chairs,etc. The balcony had a beautiful view of the cove and St. John; was small with just 2 chairs and a small table...because of trees you might want to make sure you are on the 2nd or 3rd floor...if on the ocean side. The food in the main dining room was average but tasty; the pizza at pool side wonderful; the buffet good and has a nice pool side bar. We thought service in dining room was excellent even tho slow....you will find islanders are very laid back everywhere on the island. Beach had lots of sun but also lots of trees for shade. Great snorkeling around the bend of the beach. Taxis are expensive on the island but if not in a hurry then take one of the open air buses...$1 each way. Get a bus schedule and you can catch the bus at the entrance of the resort. The stairs to the beach and pools are long but they have shuttle buses that run about every 15 minutes each way. Some live entertainment around the pools and in the lounge in main building. Overall, we throughly enjoyed our week there and would definitely go again. Some comments on this board re Bologna have not been favorable, so check it out. Any questions and I will try to help. Whatever you decide, have a great time. STT and STJ are paradise.