I love beaches so if it was up to me I would choose Sapphire. The beach is so much more swimmable and fun to snorkel. The Marriott is more luxurious as far as rooms and restaurants go. Sapphire has two restaurants which are adequate, nothing to write home about. The rooms are nice and right on the beach.

Thanks so much for your input! Beaches are absolutely my top priority but I of course read some not so nice reviews about the rooms being dirty, service, etc. Of course you hear this about anywhere and I'm not expecting the Ritz anyway!

Thanks again!

Hi,
Just returned from a week at Sapphire Beach. My family loved the water and the snorkeling from shore. Snorkel out around Prettyklip point and see some of the best coral we saw all week. We were in building D, near the pool. Very close to the beach too. Awesome views!!

I was also concerned about some comments I'd read about the condition and cleanliness of the resort, but we found it to be just fine. Our villa was clean, everything in working order, we had an end unit so had a wrap=around balcony on 2 levels with fabulous views of St. John and the BVI.

I agree that the restaurants are just average, but lots of dining choices in Red Hook, which is very close. We rented a car for the week so we could explore the island and come and go as we please.

Somewhere I read that Sapphire gets lots of cruise traffic. There weren't a lot of ships in while were were there- kinda low season. Most days had no ships in port. On one day, I know there were 4 ships in port and the beach was definitely more crowded, but not so that it interfered with us at all. The cruise passengers mainly stayed at the beach- the pool area was no more crowded than usual.

Have a great time!