Worry about what? 😉

Your stay on the island will be amazing. There's plenty to do on St Thomas, and from town you're only a cheap 40 minute ferry ride to St John (or 20 minutes from Red Hook) that you MUST do. 🙂

Even hanging out at the BW Emerald Beach, you'll be on an amazing white sand beach...and they only get better with exploring others.

No worries!

According to tripadvisor the Best Western Emerald Beach has pretty decent reviews. Im sure it will be fine, and besides, if your out and about having fun, you'll only need the room to sleep. I went to Hawaii and stayed at place called uncle billys motel,,what a dump,if they had negitive star ratings for hotels, this would be a -10 but I managed to have a great time dispite the hotel. Just remember where you (paradise) are and why your there,( 20th Anniversary) that should make up for anything negitive about the hotel.

Don't be nervous. We stayed at the BW Emerald Beach, and of course, downplayed it to others when they asked where we were staying. However, upon getting there, we were very pleasantly surprised. The grounds are well-kept, very nice pool area with waterfall.....and the most AWESOME beach. The hotel rooms are your typical BW -- nothing fancy but clean. For the very little time you spend in there, does it really matter if you have marble floors and a phone in the john? The way I figure, you can save money on the hotel and spend your money on excursions (would recommend a charter to BVI as well as ferry to STJ), food and DRINK! Plus you're close to the airport. Don't worry about the noise. The planes only come in and out in the afternoon. It's actually kind of cool to watch them take off and land from the beach area.

You'll have a blast.

Try my favorate restaurant Room with a View.

St John visit is a must

Of course spend a day shopping (or a least a couple hours)

Thanks for the responses! I feel relieved after reading them 🙂 Any more tips will be appreciated and now I can't wait to get there!

I agree with landlocked, in the Virgin islands, a hotel room SHOULD just be a place to sleep. I went to Hawaii a couple of years ago and also stayed in a $60/night place. No, it wasn't the "El Ritzy", but all I needed in Hawaii was a shower to rinse off the beach sand and a bed to sleep in. And like landlocked, I spent the money I saved on hotels doing cool stuff, like going on a really awesome tour with a marine biologist, watching whales!

Don't be nervous at all.

I have read some of the reviews of Best Western Emerald Beach & I definately had a more positive experience.

My husband & I stayed there for 3 nites in April - then spent our last 5 nites at Secret Harbour Beach Resort (near the Red Hook Ferry). We only chose to stay at Best Western because we could not be put up for our whole stay at Secret Harbour.

We chose Best Western due to its reasonable room rate, beachfront rooms & nice beach. We were very, very happy with our beachfront room. There was something extra special about going to bed & waking up to the sound of surf. The beach was absolutely beautiful!! Plenty of trees for shade & plenty of lounge chairs for guests. Nice location of restaurant for dining casually on the beach.

I must agree, though, with comments about late check in. We had to wait a good 4 hours, I think. But, we just got into our bathing suits & enjoyed the water. But, our patience was running thin after awhile. They did comp us quite a few Rum Punches - but, again, it was a bad way to start the stay.

Also, the free continental breakfast wasn't anything to write home about - but, it was free & not the worse we have ever had. (You could, of course, splurge & order breakfast off the menu.)

We loved our room & loved the beach so much that we even went to Magens Bay Beach one day & only stayed a short time because we actually missed "our" beach with less people, less noise, shade & lounges. So, I don't think you have made a bad choice, at all.

FYI: We also really enjoyed our stay at the Secret Harbour beach resort. The room we had was, again, beachfront - but, was a one bedroom suite with a full kitchen. Also, if you are into snorkeling at all - the snorkeling off of the beach at Secret Harbour is awesome. And you are close to the Red Hook Ferry for a trip over to St. John.

So, for us, it actually worked out nice that we spent a few days on different sides of St. Thomas.

I agree with another post about a trip to the British Virgin Islands. We went out on New Horizons II and had an awesome day seeing The Baths of Virgin Gorda & ending up with a Painkiller at Soggy Dollar Bar on Jost Van Dyke.

Sorry, for being long-winded. I posted quite a few trip reports, starting on 5/9/04. My trip dates were 4/23 - 5/1. You might want to go back & check them out for other things that we did.

Try to get to Mountain Top for their Banana Daiquiri.

I could go on all day. Feel free to e-mail me with any questions.

Have Fun!

I've stayed at the Best Western before wiyh my family,we checked out the second day.Beautiful beach! dirty rooms,unclean linens,lock on door broken.I don't mind simple, but clean is a must!! We went to Saphire beach ,better beach, great views ,no air traffic,great snorkling!Deafinately go to St. John,you'll get hooked,in fact rent a small house there and probably save some $.St. john will give you memories to last a long time. Good Fun whatever you do.

HI
While Best Western has a great beach & so so rooms. I had a bad experience with them but you might enjoy it. If you are only staying in the room at night & going out for most of the day. I found the rooms to be just okay, my room had a bad bed, broke down the first night. The water pressure isn't great nor is the supply of hot water. Plus you can hear the people on each side of you if they are very noisy. I did complain to front desk about my problems & the bed was replaced but their attitude was less what I expected of the island that I call my second home. It took them 4 hrs to get my room ready when I arrived at 3:30pm & check in time was 3PM. Not sure why but others was waiting as well & no rum punch was offered. They might have gotten their act together now as it was a year ago but as far as price it is okay. If you can swing it I would opt for Secret Harbor beachfront. This is my opinion & other will disagree but I am just telling what happen to me. I know others like this place & I guess if I had to I would stay again but it would be my last place lol

as a local resident, i've never stayed in the rooms, but i have been on the grounds for meetings and such... and was impressed by the attention to the landscaping.

i must add that the food there ain't bad! have fun!!!

We also fly AA with 2 hr. layover in Miami. In 5 yrs. have never had a problem with flites or luggage. I hope I am not jinxing myself. We also stay at Best Western Emerald Beach for 3 wks. and the rooms are fine with wonderful beach. Food at Restauranat also good. Go down and have a wonderful time. It truly is paradise.

just got back on 9/22 and had a great time. stayed at Frenchmans Reef which was great. highly recommend going to st. john for the day! my best advice if you are going to run around the island is to rent a car. taxi's very nice with pleasant drivers but average 10 per person to go anywhere.

best meal was at room with a view. if you like shopping go when cruise ships are there, if no ships only half the stores open.