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I will be coming to St Thomas in mid-June to research the history of my grandmother and great-aunt who emigrated in the1880's to come to NYC.
Years ago when I last visited I stayed at a quiet guest house in Charlotte Amalie run by a Virgin Island family.Unfortunately don't remember the name of it. It was just a normal neighborhood-type house with about 5 or 6 rooms, kind of a B&B although this was in 1976 before the term was coined.
I am looking for a similar place. I 'd like a place in town in a safe area and a bonus would be if it were in walking distance to the VI Genealogical Society and/or the VI Historical . But the main thing is it be non-touristy and run by a local person. The majority of the clientele at the place I stayed 30 years ago were VI descendants like me. This is the type of place I'd like to stay in again.
Any recommendations?
I would suggest the Crystal Palace. The owner is a native St. Tomian and posts here often. There is a website.
Crystal Palace is the perfect place for you!
http://www.crystalpalaceusvi.com/
Owner Ronnie Lockhart is the President of the St Thomas Historical Trust and will take excellent care of you!
Another historic guest house in Charlotte Amalie you might look at is At Home in The Tropics: http://www.athomeinthetropics.com/. There is also Bellavista, http://bellavista-bnb.com/.
Charlotte Amalie area: you will be close to the Historical Trust office.
Not sure where the VI Genealogical Society has their office, wasn't aware that they had one - but I am checking with one of their members.
There is a Genealogy Library on St. Thomas, its called Caribbean Genealogy Library. They have church records, passenger list records, funeral booklets, access to Ancestry.com, census records, books, old maps... a lot of wonderful information and there are helpful volunteers. You might make contact before your trip:
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~vicgl/. They are located on Raphune Hill.
100% The Crystal Palace
Pia
Thank you Linda J and STT Resident, I will definitely check out Crystal Palace. And I will seek out Ronnie Lockhart.
Thank you, Admin too. I'll check out your recommendations too. Now that I think of it, Bella Vista sounds familiar although that was over 30 years ago and they may not have been in business that long ago.
Oops, Pia, I didn't see your reply. Thanks to you as well. Looks like it will probably be The Crystal Palace!
