Secret Harbour on STT might be a solution. When we were there in June, they had a wedding right on the beach with about 50 guests and the reception there as well. All of the guest stayed at SH. B&G were there for 3 weeks and most of the rest of the guest for 1 week.

sounds like a great suggestion....we will be at SH next week...

on st john have you checked out caneel? and on st thomas how about the wyndham or ritz carlton.....if you want that westin feel that is..

otherwise one of the smaller hotels like SH and saphire and bolongo bay are all good choices....hopefully one of them will have enough rooms for you

good luck and happy planning

Have you thought of having your guests do villas on St John? The villa rental agencies can help you find ones close together and with two or three rooms in each you would be set. Alos, some of the villas are more like condos and in a complex similar to a resort.

The guests wouldn't have the whole resort atmosphere but they would have their own pool, maybe hot tub, private view, etc - a little vacation oasis.

If you look at places like Gallows point, you'll find they are much like condos or a hotel in atmosphere - a pool, restaurant, etc . Close to town as well.

On St. John, we find the villas are actually even more economical in some cases - and you get to pretend you could afford to live in your own little piece of heaven forwever 🙂

I'd call a couple of the villas reps and talk to them about your situation. We have had good luck working with Vacation Vistas (my favorite), Beach Nuts, Carribean Villas. I've spent quite a bit of time on the phone with each of them when planning trips to St John. They could pratically put together your own private mini-resort for guests. They are really willing to help find just the right place for you - not just salesmen who don't know the properties. Some of their properties overlap but each also has properties the other doesn't. Check out the villa page on this web site for a list of many reps.

another site with good list of villa management companies:
http://www.virgin-islands-on-line.com/sj/sjv.shtml

well now i am making sure that i shop on friday saturday....relax sunday and monday(when five ships are in)back at SH....thanks

sorry i answered the shopping question here lol

the idea about the villas is a great one!! we are thinking of having a family reunion next year and getting a few villas together sounds like a great idea!!!

Sounds like a great reunion idea. So many people who haven't been to St John don't think of the villas first but they really are a special way to go and more economical as well.

I probably should have added that many villas might have enough room (5 bedrooms) for multiple couples. we tend to like the little bit smaller ones but many (most?) of the villas are layed out so well that the bedrooms are separated quite a bit giving everyone some privacy. With a large group you kind of set your own tone and don't have to worry about other people at the pool wanting quiet when you want to play or visa versa.

The villa reps are just awesome at helping with this sort of thing! The more you tell them about your group, the more they can help find just the right spot. I have always been amazed at how wonderful they are at telling which ones to stay away from as well as which ones fit our needs - and it's usually to our price benefit as wel l:-)

-aj

thanks again and since we are going down next week i want to go look at some of the places first hand so it is not just a picture to go on....
great idea!

You can, of course, get married on Saint John but have accommodations on another island. We have boats and planes here!

Thanks for all the suggestions everyone! As for the last, it's the accomodations I'd really like to have on Saint John. Unfortunately, that's only going to happen if we move the wedding date back. I've definitely learned my lesson about booking as early as possible, especially in a place as beautiful as the USVI where so many people want to spend their vacations 🙂

Melissa: One thing about mid-April is that it is the beginning of Carnival activities on St Thomas. If you are still looking for accomodations on St Thomas, the Ritz does not have a spring break atmosphere. It is also far from the hustle and bustle of Carnival events.

Ginger,
You really should at the very least look at St. Croix. It's your wedding and if you want to have all the best then you should try all the major and close islands to St. John. St. Croix has its own airport, so transportation is very easy, with American and a few other major airlines flying in daily. If you absolutely must get married on St. John, you can easily catch the seaplane to St. Thomas and catch a ferry to St. John from St. Thomas all within 90 minutes at the max. There are plenty of shops and provisions on the island. It's very much a relaxed, and residential, atmosphere rather than the busy/toursity/hustle and buslte atmosphere of St. Thomas. You can find good night life,or peace and solitude.

Couple of resorts in the same-to-+ range as Westin, on St. Croix which you may consider: The Buccaneer, which is closer to town, and Carambola, which is farther away from town. Both are on beautiful beaches, Shoy's and Davis Bay, respetively and both have golf courses (Carambola's is a Robert Trent Jones design and THE best in US/BVI and many other islands). The atmosphere on St. Croix is very relaxing with all the stuff to keep you and your wedding party busy. I think you'll love the island.

Websites for both hotels:

Buccaneer: http://www.thebuccaneer.com/
Carambola: http://www.carambolabeach.com/index.htm

Congrats on your wedding. I hope all goes well.

Know what could work...see if Cruz Views is available. It's a condo cplmlex-type place up the hill from town. I believe they have at least 10 units. Should be enough to fit everyone. Of course, I have no idea what their availablility is like. We were in a villa accross the street from them a few weeks ago.

Just a thought