hi -

I'll be in St. Thomas next week and I'm looking into booking some dive trips. Did you happen to use the dive shop at the Renaissance? Any comments are appreciated.

thanks -

Jason

I did not use the dive shop but it seemed very well run and very popular.
The name of the dive shop there is the Chris Sawyer Dive Shop.

Chris Sawyer has several locations on St thomas, however his dive boat "Fool's Gold" leaves from the dock at the Renaissance. He has been in business for 20 years and has a strong local following, which speaks to his business ethics and skill in the dive business. Most of his staff has been with him for many moons. Their Friday dive to the Rhone is legendary. And ,no, I don't work for him, but have a great deal of respect for him , his business partner Perry. dive instructors like Homer Calloway, Frank Vince, Russell White , the Incredible Pat etc. I'm sorry if I left anyone off!

Hi
We were at the Renaissance in '96 enjoyed it and are going back in June of this year. I've been hearing that the rooms have been a little neglected/run down. We're staying in a resort view (hillside?) room. Were those the ones you stayed in? Last time we took a day trip to Virgin Gorda - it was through Caneel Bay(snorkelling to the Baths) and it cost around $75 (incl. buffet lunch at Little Dix Bay). Did you go with a snorkelling/dive company or was it on your own? We would probably go again to Virgin Gorda if the cost is less than what we paid before.

Thanks for any help.
CC

The rooms at the Renaissance are far from run down. True, they could use a little freshening up. The hillside room we had was a tad musty smelling. But otherwise it was pretty nice. Nice size. The wetbar and mini fridge is a nice amenity. And we enjoyed having a balcony to sit out on. The Renaissance was built by the same company that previously owned the Westin on St. John and look very similar. In my opinion, the Westin has done a better job at maintaining/updating the guest rooms.

The last time we took a day trip to Virgin Gorda was also through Caneel. This time we took the ferry out of Red Hook. It cost $50 pp. -- there is some confusion, but basically they only take cash. I think there may be a separate $15 customs fee. We decided to take the ferry rather than going through a charter because we wanted to be able to spend several hours just at The Baths/Devil's Bay. When we went with Caneel, I believe we only had an hour and a half or so. The charters give you about that amount of time as well because they hit other spots.
The ferry was an interesting experience! Quite different from going through Caneel. LOL. But we enjoyed it. It leaves Red Hook at 8 am. Stops in Cruz Bay to pick up passengers and gets to Virgin Gorda around 10:30. It leaves at 3 pm. The taxi ride to The Baths was $4 round trip per person. We had lunch at The Top of the Baths which was pretty good and had an AMAZING view.

By the way, the ferry to Virgin Gorda only runs twice a week on Thursdays and Sundays. So, if these days do not fit into your vacation schedule, you may want to go with a charter.

We were supposed to stay at the Frenchman's Reef Morningstar Resort. However, since they have screwed up our reservations, we may be staying at the Grand Renaissance. Can anyone tell us which is actually a better resort regarding access to pools, beach, etc. Are there good bars on premises? We're looking for fun as well as relaxation!

Please, please help us. We're stuck in a situation and don't know what to do!!