Hello all,
Since I found this board to be so helpful in planning our vacation, I decided to share my experiences for others that may now be reviewing the message board to plan their own trips.

My fiancé and I stayed at Sapphire Beach Resort for six nights (10/9/04-10/15/04). We initially booked a Marina Suite as part of an off-season special from Expedia. Check-in begins at 3pm, and we conveniently arrived from the airport at about 3:05pm. The lobby is open-air and traditional. If you need to stay at a resort where you walk into an elegant lobby overflowing with glitz and glamour, then you will need to look elsewhere. That’s not something that’s high on our priority list, so this was just fine for us.

Upon arrival at the front desk, we were informed that our assigned room had not yet been cleaned, so the receptionist quickly made a couple of phone calls and upgraded us to an available Beachfront Suite free-of-charge. It was a very nice way to begin the vacation, but since it was the low season and there seemed to be plenty of vacancies, I’m guessing it probably wasn’t an uncommon courtesy to award the upgrade for any minor inconvenience that guests may encounter.

At check-in, you must sign a credit card voucher for use of the resort’s guest beach towels. Use of the towels is free, but a $20 charge per towel is assessed for each towel not returned at check-out. The welcome packet actually says that you may pay the $20 and “take them home as souvenirs”, which is comical when you see the condition of the towels. It’s just a plain faded-blue towel with a good amount of wear and tear. You may exchange them for clean towels an unlimited number of times throughout your stay at either the front desk or the dive shop. It’s worthwhile to complete the voucher, assuming that most people don’t have enough luggage space to pack a clean towel for each day. We only used our own towels for trips to other beaches.

The employees at the Front Desk were very polite and courteous throughout our stay. There is also an Activities Desk in the main lobby, which is staffed from 9-5. The woman at the desk was very helpful and willing to offer advice. However, it seemed that she talked negatively about most of the promotions that we were interested in pursuing and tried to re-direct us to others. Her advice may have been in good faith, but I found that our interests were a bit different that her, and it was best to just go with our original instincts and book what most interested us. I would advise researching your day trips via the Internet prior to your vacation and then use the desk to place the reservations. The benefit is the convenience of not having to phone the reservations and you may get discounts on published prices, if booked through the resort, rather than booking on your own.

We stayed in a second floor suite in Building A, which is conveniently located adjacent to the Beach Bar Pavilion, Dive Center, W’Indies Restaurant, and just a few short steps from the water. The room was ‘as advertised’ in the resort website and literature. There a sizable balcony with two lounge chairs and a table and chairs set. The interior is lined with white ceramic tile and typical beach décor. The living room area included a wicker sofa-bed, chair, and 19” satellite television with about 50-60 channels. The kitchen included a full size refrigerator/freezer, electric stovetop, microwave, toaster, sink, with ample dishes, pots, silverware, cabinet space, and a glass-top dining table with seating for four. The bedroom area could be partitioned from the kitchen/living room by a sliding wall, but we left everything open for the entire stay. The bed was a bit more firm than I would prefer, but I didn’t seem to lose any sleep over it. The bathroom was clean, but showed very definite signs of aging and wear that may cause people of more distinct taste to complain. Since we were in paradise and I wasn’t planning to spend my vacation hanging out in the bathroom, I really didn’t think twice about it. It had the essentials… two sinks, a large counter space, a shower/tub, and toilet. The entryway includes a large closet with a new in-room safe mounted to the wall. We did not have any problems with insects, which can be common in paradise, even at the nicest resorts.

The beach is the star attraction of the resort. We spent time traveling to other beaches only to find out that we had one of the finest at our doorstep. The water is calm, clear and there is a decent reef in front of Buildings B & C for your snorkeling needs. Snorkels, floats, chairs, and other items are ‘free’ to guest, upon completion of another credit card voucher at the Dive Shop. There were two employees at the shop that were very helpful and courteous, and two that were nearly worthless. It’s just luck of the draw as to which you get. The cruise ship folks generally roll onto the beach around mid-to-late morning, so you may want to claim the best spots prior to their arrival. However, since it was the low season, the beach never seemed crowded during our stay. No offense to any of the fine cruise ships passengers reading this, but there seemed to be a few disrespectful people among the groups that passed through the beach that gave the cruise ship crowd a bad image. We witnessed a few intentionally leaving their garbage on the beach with trash cans just a few feet away, while others would stand on the reefs despite numerous signs and requests to not do so. It’s just frustrating that people could disrespect such a beautiful environment.

The pool appeared clean and well-maintained. It’s a two-level design, with the lower level adjacent to a bar and the upper level overlooking the ocean. There is a pair of waterfalls connecting the two levels and seating in the water for those looking to sit down and enjoy a frozen beverage during their swim. Both levels are open 24 hours, but only the lower level is illuminated. We never used the pool during the day, since we preferred the beach, but we did use it at night. We were the only people in the pool most nights. During the peak season, the pool could potentially be a bit small for the size of the resort.

There is a construction model in the lobby outlining plans for a major expansion of the resort, which will significantly upgrade the level of amenities, including pool areas. Future expansions plans include installation of another much larger pool near the main lobby and additional non-beachfront suite buildings. I’m not sure of the expected timeframe for completion, but initial excavation the land appears to be underway.

We ate two meals at W’Indies, which is located at the resort. The food was okay, but not spectacular and the low season menu selection was very limited. The prices seemed fair in the context of Caribbean pricing. We also purchased the barbeque lunch during the Sunday beach party, which was good. We did not eat at the pool bar/steakhouse. It was closed for dinner during the low season. One of our best meals came at Azure Restaurant, located within walking distance at the Sapphire Condos, which sit on the hill behind the resort’s marina. The Caribbean pork medallions and the grouper fillet both get positive reviews from us, but above all else, we highly recommend their chocolate dessert. We also had dinner at the Caribbean Saloon in Red Hook. It’s a sports bar type of atmosphere with a tropical twist. The food was decent and the portion sizes were very generous. The much-advertised Bushwacker frozen drink, found atop the Skyride to Paradise Point, ranked as our favorite. Bushwacker-style drinks at other locations just didn’t seem quite the same.

We used taxis for most of our transportation. It can be costly, but if you plan your outings properly and hit all attractions within the same area at one time, it’s easy to minimize the damage to the wallet. With just the two of us, the week’s costs were somewhat comparable to renting a car at book rates. If traveling as a family or group of more than two people, a car rental would likely be the more economical choice. Taxis are everywhere, so there is never any waiting or inconvenience in finding a ride. I would advise knowing the published fare prior to boarding. Most drivers were honest and helpful, but we did have two try to request a fare in excess of the published rate, including our first ride from the airport to the resort.

We set aside one day of our vacation for a day trip to St. John. We took the Red Hook ferry and then purchased a guided tour at the dock for $16 per person plus tip. The Activities Desk at the resort advised us to request that the driver run the tour in reverse of the normal route. This allowed us to end the tour at Trunk Bay, lounge on the beach, and return to the ferry dock on our own and at our leisure. There are car rentals available if you prefer to adventure around the island on your own. St. John lived up to the rave reviews of its beauty and should be incorporated into any plans to visit USVI. There is also a day sail to St. John that departs from Sapphire Resort and uses the same island tour. They also book day sails to BVI from the resort.

Overall, we had a great time and recommend Sapphire Beach Resort to those researching resort options for their trip to St. Thomas. Although the facilities lack plush high-end luxury appearance, they are comfortable and nice. The beach is great and should not disappoint.