If you decide not to stay at Sapphire after reading a few negative reviews and haven't come across the plethora of overwhelmingly positive reviews on many forums from the thousands of visitors who return to Sapphire year after year then you're doing yourself a big injustice. One thing to always bear in mind is that those who post negative reviews far outweigh those who thoroughly enjoy their stay there simply because the latter have no complaints and thus only defend their stay on regular forums when those negatives are expressed there. If you go to the TA forums and use the search engine you'll find all those positives. Human nature! Look further! I've no financial stake in Sapphire or any other entity which caters to visitors but have never had any reason to not recommend visitors to work with Sapphire owners through vrbo. It's a gorgeous place, it isn't run down at all and 99.9% of the owners take enormous pride in their units to ensure the satisfaction of those who rent their units.

Well put! thank you:-)

STT is right on.

We own at the Point Pleasant Resort and, like Sapphire, the resort gets bad reviews for various reasons, but you really need to thoroughly read the reviews. I have observed that most will complain about things that have nothing to do with the condo. At Point Pleasant a lot of the complaints are concerning walking up inclines (we're built into the side of a hill) or some other non property related thing. A big complaint at Point Pleasant is the VRBO vs the Resort Rental situation. If you rent through the resort you receive all of the resort services. If you rent through an owner via VRBO you don't. A lot of the complaints on TA come from VRBO folks who are disappointed that they couldn't use the resorts amenities (and were not told this by the condo owner when renting through VRBO). Also, if something goes wrong in the condo (toilet not working, TV, refrigerator, lost keys, etc.) you can't go to the front desk to have them corrected, because they do not have the authority to go into the condo. You either need to contact the owner themselves or someone on-island that they designated....wasting valuable vacation time.

We have friends who own at Sapphire and, like many others, their condo is beautiful. They rent their condo through the on-property firm Exclusive Resorts Management.

We visit Sapphire Beach often, when on-island, and find the Sapphire property comfortable and clean....and it has one of the best beaches on St. Thomas.

F.I.

Ok this is deal:

The resort is in the midst of some heavy duty legal trouble--an on going lawsuit(s) between the resort owner the common area owner (restaurants/lobby/etc) and the condo owners--effecting the general operation and upkeep of the resort as a whole.

The units: Individual owners are responsible for the "inside" of their individual unit according to their "personal and individual" standard. So you have big range of quality to choose from and if you choose poorly, you are stuck. No switching units. Some owners have on island managers some do not. Ask lots of question before sending $$$. Like "who do I call if we have no hot water or no towels?" Be smart.

The "resorts": The restaurants etc are boarded over giving them an aboanomed and run down appearance (because they are abandoned and rundown). This bothers some people, hence the negative reviews. Some don't care, hence the positive reviews. A hut on the beach rents "toys" and chairs. A hamburger cart sells lunch and drinks. You'll need to drive for other meals. Rent a car.

The Pool: the pool is nice and sits above the water away form the beach. The pool is open. The restaurant and bar area inside the pool area wa abandoned seven years ago is and run down. The pool is for resort guest only.

The Beach: ALL of the beaches in the VI are PUBLIC. So on cruise ship days you'll have plenty of company at Sapphire. Tours from the ships bring passengers to Sapphire because the resort has a beach bathroom and the passengers can rent snorkel equipment for the water sports hut. If you want to avoid crowds go to beaches with out amenities or the parks (Megans, Lindquist, St John)

Safety: If this is a concern, rent an upper level unit. The lower level units have sliders that open directly to beach. Upper level units have a balcony so you can leave the door unlocked to enjoy the breezes. Sometimes a gaurd is posted at the entrance to Sapphire, but I do not know if the area is patrolled at night. I have never seen any security on the beach or at the pool or around the condos or in the parking lots.

It such a shame that common areas were allowed to run down. At one time Sapphire was a true gem--one of the best in the VI. But the beach and the breezes and the views haven't changed.

The lawsuits are pretty much settled. The owner of the common areas is in negotiations with restaurateurs; it is only a matter of time (no telling how much) until those areas are open once again. Blu, if you haven't seen Security on the beach then you haven't been looking. Sapphire is patrolled day and night and also has security cameras.

blu4u wrote:
Ok this is deal:

The resort is in the midst of some heavy duty legal trouble--an on going lawsuit(s) between the resort owner the common area owner (restaurants/lobby/etc) and the condo owners--effecting the general operation and upkeep of the resort as a whole.

Answered by SapphireBeach08. As was identically answered in response to a similar comment you made recently on another thread ...

A hut on the beach rents "toys" and chairs.

Do you mean the Sapphire Dive Shop?

A hamburger cart sells lunch and drinks. You'll need to drive for other meals.

That would be the "Banana Cabana" which does a good job. And the Sapphire Bar and Grill restaurant up on the hill in Sapphire Village (which is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner and has live entertainment a few nights a week) also has runners on the beach during the day to take food and drink orders. Senor Pizza also delivers to the beach. Both also deliver to the condos.

The Beach: ALL of the beaches in the VI are PUBLIC. So on cruise ship days you'll have plenty of company at Sapphire. Tours from the ships bring passengers to Sapphire because the resort has a beach bathroom and the passengers can rent snorkel equipment for the water sports hut.

Sapphire Beach is large enough to accommodate cruise ship visitors with plenty of space left over. I've read very few reviews from visitors who've stayed at Sapphire who've mentioned cruise ship visitors a couple of times a week as being a big negative.

If you want to avoid crowds go to beaches with out amenities or the parks (Megans, Lindquist, St John)

:S Magens (note correct spelling which most locals get picky about!) is the #1 beach to which cruise ship tours go and on multi ship days even this mile long beach (the longest in the VI) gets crowded. The general mass hangs out around the concession area and if you go way down to the other end you'll find nice quiet space - but to classify it as a beach to go to avoid cruise shippies is totally incorrect. Lindqvist (now known as Smith Bay Park) as yet has no concessions in place so has minimal cruise ship visitors. That will no doubt change as the Magens Bay Authority which now oversees this beautiful beach continues on with its future plans. Trunk Bay on St John gets very crowded on days when cruise ships are in St Thomas, seconded by Cinnamon as both have full facilities. Other beaches don't, so remain quiet!

Safety: If this is a concern, rent an upper level unit. The lower level units have sliders that open directly to beach. Upper level units have a balcony so you can leave the door unlocked to enjoy the breezes. Sometimes a gaurd is posted at the entrance to Sapphire, but I do not know if the area is patrolled at night. I have never seen any security on the beach or at the pool or around the condos or in the parking lots.

I personally know a few longtime owners whose units are beachfront and they've never had a security problem. Nor have I read any review from any visitor who has encountered any such problem. SapphireBeach08 has responded to the general security issue you raised.

It such a shame that common areas were allowed to run down. At one time Sapphire was a true gem--one of the best in the VI. But the beach and the breezes and the views haven't changed.

I guess as long as people keep extolling the delights of Sapphire, you'll continue to hose down on the parade and your motive remains obscure. 😀

My family just got back from Sapphire Beach Resort yesterday! We loved it! It was me, my husband and our 4 kids. I had all of the concerns you had. People are correct that the restaurant by the pool and by the beach are boarded up/closed down BUT the beach is beautiful and so is the pool! The pool looks out over the ocean and is just gorgeous! Very clean too! :). Security was walking around all of the time. They are constantly asking what room number you are staying in so they can keep the people who aren't staying in a condo out of the pool (which is a great thing). They are also walking in the beach every morning. I never once felt unsafe there. Keeping in mind we were in our condo each night by 730 (it gets dark there around 7pm). We did sit up on our balcony at night and no one was wandering around.....it was extremely peaceful! The condos vary based on if they have been redone or not. Ours was and it was beautiful inside. We stayed in C304. I heard that if you rent directly through the resort, the rooms can be awful but if you go through a private owner who has redone it, they can be very nice. The ferry dock is about a mile down the road.....very very convenient. We went to St. John two times and loved it! The supermarket is right in Red Hook about 5 minutes away. Good luck....as long as you aren't looking for amenities such as restaurants, exercise rooms, bars, etc....I think you will love it!

Chester29 wrote:
Security was walking around all of the time. They are constantly asking what room number you are staying in so they can keep the people who aren't staying in a condo out of the pool (which is a great thing). They are also walking in the beach every morning. I never once felt unsafe there. Keeping in mind we were in our condo each night by 730 (it gets dark there around 7pm). We did sit up on our balcony at night and no one was wandering around.....it was extremely peaceful! !

Out of curiosity, did the guard have a list of who was staying in which condo? Must be very challenging to keep track of all the VBRO guests.... Too bad you didn't get out of the condo and enjoy ST Thomas at night. Personally, I love the West Indian night--all the stars and chipping critters. Does the pool close at 7 now? . What a drag becuase swimming under the stars is delightful.

Is the "car cafe" (the program to feed all the ferral cats at Sapphire) still open?

Thanks for taking the time to post.

Thank you all and thanks Chester for the recent update, I cant wait and I appreciate everyone for helping ease my mind. I believe we will be renting a ground floor unit in B bldg. Shelli

The B building is great! Right in front of the beach and beautiful view :). The guard at the gate wanted our last name the first time but got to know us after a few times. The security guard at the pool/on the beach would just ask us our room umber and write it down on a pad he was carrying. Yes,the cat cafe is still running but we only saw 1 cat all week over and over again (not saying there isn't more but we only saw one). Not sure if the pool is open or not. We were so exhausted from starting each day at 6 am with our 4 kids, we were in our condo by then. Would be nice if it was though!

Go and have a great time Ziggy. Take it for what it is......a beautiful beach with an awesome pool and an even better view 🙂