Let me begin by saying that this is my report & my opinions.

Our flights to and from Corpus Christi on American Airlines were flawless. The flight from Dallas to Puerto Rico was quite a trip as I’ve never been on a flight longer then 3 ½ hours. We arrived at the STX airport at 11:30 pm and had no problem getting our luggage & finding a taxi to the Palms. The price was accurate as found on this site.

When we arrived at the Palms check-in took less then ten minutes. Everyone was warm & welcoming. Almost immediately a security guard took me to see a turtle that was laying her eggs on the beach. That was probably the most exciting part of my trip. I had booked a ground floor beach front room, but it wasn't’t available our first night. We were not escorted to our room, which was fine but unexpected. There was a bottle of rum in the room which my husband helped himself to before unpacking. The next morning we were moved to the room below & it was heaven. The A/C didn't work as well as the previous room but maintenance stopped by to check it out less then 20 minutes after notifying the front desk. From now on we will always book a 2nd floor or higher room for the view. The owners of the Palms are extremely nice and we enjoyed talking to them during our stay. They go above and beyond to ensure a pleasant stay. The housekeepers were also very accommodating. We fell in love with Grandma Gisele! She was always around tidying up our area. Don't even THINK about taking a room towel to the beach or pool...I think she might hunt you down & hog tie you to a palm tree. (haha)

We ate breakfast at the Palms most days. It wasn't’t bad by any means but not noteworthy. Maybe more choices? We also had breakfast at Rum-runners and it was really good. If I had to choose between the hotel and RR, the latter would win hands down.

For my birthday we had dinner at the Palms. The chef at the Palms is magnificent! I had a jerk seasoned pork chop and my hubby had the Ma-hi Ma hi. I’m not a fish person but that Ma hi was the absolute best. Side note: the restaurant could use more lighting & nicer table cloths. I was a bit upset that we couldn't’t dine inside as stated on their website. During our stay we never saw guests of the hotel inside the dining room, it’s strictly for private parties. Perhaps during the busy season they use it? We also had lunch at the Palms a few times. I had the pasta twice & hubby had burgers. Both of my pasta dishes were bland, but hubby enjoyed his burgers. I fell in love with JoVan the bartender…he’s a really nice guy. Take some time to get to know him..very interesting young man.

Renal Car - We went with Olympus in Christiansted. We had to turn our first car in because it had a flat tire. The second car was worse then the first. Very disappointing - they also need to work on their customer service skills. The desk clerks don't make eye contact, barely speak to you & overall made us feel like we were a bother. Stay away from there...we think their vehicles are dangerous.

Now a short and sweet run down of some other restaurants. I will rate them 1-5 (5 being best)

Gertrude's 4 Great lunch, try the soup!
Rum-runners 4 Great lunch & breakfast
Harbor Masters 5 Don’t miss the BBQ Tue night – worth the price!
Savant 5 Ask for Brad & make reservations
Cheeseburgers 4 They have awesome chili..no lie!
Elizabeth’s 5 Magnificent!

Places we hung out and visited

Divi Carina Casino 5 Great slots!
Rainbow Beach bar 4 Great sunsets
Buck Island 5 Big Beards – wonderful half day sale.
Cruzan Rum Distillery 4 Very interesting & lots of free rum after the tour.
Point Udall 5 All I can say is WOW
Rain Forrest 5 Stop and drink a beer with a pig! Awesome
Salt River 2 Not much to see. Maybe a picnic table? More signage
Cane Bay 5 Snorkeling is great

My poor husband almost drowned twice while snorkeling! Once at the Palms and then again at Buck Island. I was very disappointed because that is our favorite part about going to the Caribbean. I tend to think that I’m a good swimmer and I was scared a few times. I had bruises from hitting the corral. Not fun! Always buddy up..I cant stress that enough.

Overall, we really had a great time. I’m not sure we would go back though. The locals were very nice, the food is better then on any other island we have visited, it’s very easy to find your way around, but something was missing. We did figure out that if you find a road on the island that is not on the map..that means don’t go there. LOL We went for the snorkeling and it was down right dangerous in certain spots. If you want to lay on a beach with a rum punch the whole week..then STX is your island.

Thanks & feel free to email me with any other questions. [email protected]