Hello Kerry,

Thanks for the suggestion. Sounds like you are really getting around St. Croix - great!! Look forward to hearing a review of all the places you went, ate, beaches ect. Lots of fun to read those and certainly quite helpful.

Hope your remaining week is wonderful!! Be sure to attend the St. Croix Jump Up on Friday in Christiansted.

Info on St. Croix Jump Up:
Join a great evening of music, live bands, mocko jumbies, food, drinks and fun as Crucians have a block party style evening in Christiansted!
Location: Christiansted. April 30th.

--Islander

Kerry,

Where are you staying in St. Croix. I'm officially starting to plan our trip and just become overwhelmed with where to stay.

YlL

YL,

What are you looking for in terms of amenities, location, price range? What's important to you in a vacation (that will help determine location)? There are serveral of us here who can help.

I always stay at the Hotel Caravelle because I like being in town near the shops, historic district and restaurants. The staff there is fantastic and there's a beach only 5 minutes away by foot and ferry. But I don't always recommend it because some folks want something more secluded. Let us know what you want.

There is a great little french restaurant to eat at in Fredrikstead. Le San Tropez, located one block from the water. A little on the pricey side (certainly compared to ribs and burgers) but the mushroom soup is a meal in itself if you are trying to cut corners. Great ambiance for dinner. Owner is Daniel and her son is the chef. A bottle of their family wine (from France) goes a long way and is also very good.

I have actually received several recommendations from some on the message board, but just can't decide...so many choices!!
We don't want to stay in town. Want to be on beach or within short walking distance.
Would like that beach to be good for swimming and snorkeling. Have thought about hibiscus beach resort, but then I hear the negatives about being near the "public housing"
We would also like to be fairly near cool beach bars and or restaurants to go out to eat at night and mostly want casual places.
There are just so many places and so many good recommendations. This will be our first trip to St. Croix and I have been wanting to take this trip for a year. Have been doing much research on the US VI and really want our first experience to be unforgetable.
Any other suggestions will be great.

YL

Hi. I lived in St Croix for 2 years. A great place to stay is the Hibiscus Beach Resort. It's about 10 minutes outside Christiansted, on a beautiful cove. The beach is lovely, the water superb, and a great hotel. I know because I used to tend bar there and got married under the palms lining the cove. Check out their website and have fun. Everyting irie, mon. Pineapple Dani

Hey, YL-check out the Hibiscus Beach Resort in LAGrande Princess. You'll love it! pineapple dani

YL

We are staying at Coakley Bay Condos and it is wonderful. The view of Buck Island is fantastic. We are in the "F" building facing a bit east and have really been enjoying the balcony time. I would highly recommend this area. You are about 4 minutes from Buccaneer beach and about 2 minutes from Chenay Bay beach. There is a nice beach out front that you can walk on but not sure about swimming. I have seen some people snorkeling from boats. I'm not sure if there are urchins out there in the shallows.

I rented this condo from Pam Hunt McFaddin at Remax but she is now with Banker Coldwell. She gave us a great rate for a three week stay. We are in F-5.

We went out to eat at Villa Madeleine tonight for a very relaxing afternoon. It was fantastic! The view of Buck Island from the restaurant is unmatched in my opinion and after the sun set the starry sky was great (even though there were a few clouds floating by). The food was excellent. I had Jamaican spicy pork tenderloin and my wife had Steak Diane. Complimentary hors d’oeuvres were served while we waited on our meals. For atmosphere (as if the view and the beautiful restaurant setting weren’t enough), Doc Petersen played his guitar and sang some great classics. He has a great voice and style.

If you want a romantic and entertaining evening to remember from St. Croix, give this place a try.

Islander,

We will report better on our trip later. This is our first trip back in 29 years! We were last here in 1975. We have seen a lot of changes here. Some better, some worse but overall it is a great vacation spot. We've pretty well covered the island in the last two weeks and have another full week of plans left to go.

Kerry

YL,

Since you want to be close to a beach and casual places to dine, I'd recommend the Cane Bay Reef Club ( http://www.canebay.com) or The Waves at Cane Bay ( http://www.thewavesatcanebay.dom). Both are only a very short walk from a fantastic beach - Cane Bay, where you can sun, swim, dive, snorkel or go horseback riding. Two of the best beach bars on island are there - Cane Bay Beach Bar and Off the Wall - both offer great food. Only two other restaurants in the immediate area - both are at the hotels mentioned above. Bogey's is fairly casual while The Waves is right on the water. Lobster Reef restaurant is not too far away. Both hotel properties have gotten good reviews and have very "hands on" owners. Both places are situated above the waves breaking against the rocks below, a wonderful sight and sound to lull you to sleep.

If you do select the Hibiscus Beach Resort you really should not worry about the public housing. It is not an issue for folks who stay there. The restaurant there is new, H2O, and is THE happening restaurant on island right now. It is fairly upscale and very nice. There are several other restaurants there on "condo row" with varying degrees of "formality", but none are what I would call "beach bars". I also think the beach is nicer at Cane Bay, but it is much further from town, if that's an issue. Don't get me wrong, Hibiscus is a very nice place and fits most of your qualifications. I'm sure you'd be happy with any of these choices.

Thanks Joanne,

I have got a lot of recommendations from several about Cane Bay. We do plan on renting a car as we want to see and visit several places.

YL

dear deb did you get this e-mail sharon