# Caribbean Vacations Forums > St John & U.S. Virgin Islands Travel Forum >  >  Operatives safely extracted and debriefed.  Results presented below, Executive Summary first, followed by full report.Executive Summary:1.  The Buccaneer is first rate in every way2.  The people of St

## Island Visitor

Operatives safely extracted and debriefed.  Results presented below, Executive Summary first, followed by full report.

Executive Summary:

1.  The Buccaneer is first rate in every way

2.  The people of St Croix are trying VERY hard to make their island Tourist-friendly

3.  The Restaurant Scene on St Croix, while catering to American tastes, is quite good

4.  Turtle Beach (west end of Buck Island) has to be one of the most gorgeous strips of sand meeting water on earth

5.   Violence/crime on St Croix mostly involves drugs and youth and are mostly concentrated in The Usual Places

6.  Downtown Christiansted is absolutely lovely - one of the cutest towns in the Caribbean

7.  The East End of St Croix is quietly becoming a High Rent district and is QUITE attractive

8.  Most Crucians are wonderful and inviting people who deserve a better reputation than they have

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## Dennis

IV,

I was reading this and thinking: "I've read this before". Very similar to you last review of the Buc. Which, I assume, is a good thing. Glad you and the little IV's had a good time. Sounds like a wonderful vacation.

Welcome back...

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## JoshA

Nice report, IV. You should be a travel writer and the Buccaneer should be giving you a commission. I've noticed it on auction at Luxury Link but dismissed it as a) being in St. Croix, b) being a vertically integrated resort complete with golf course (which I play badly and from which I enjoy a respite on vacation), and c) being mostly for families when, these days, it's usually my wife and me. However, I will give it a second look since we are thinking about a getaway around the July 4 holiday. Thanks for the great report.

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## andynap

The problem is- the Buccaneer is still in St. Croix.

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## Seles

IV, as I recall from trips of long ago, St.Croix had somewhat of a tropical rain forest in the center of the Island...does it still exist?  

Any mongooses on the golf course?????

Ric

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## Island Visitor

The rain forest does indeed still exist toward the western part of the island.  And mongooses still roam the premises.

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## onebigdawg53

Hi IV

Great report and welcome back.  I was looking through the Buccaneer website and it is indeed intriguing.  Seems like a good place to take our sons for a getaway.  I was looking at the family suites and looks like they would be right up our alley.  Had a couple of questions which hopefully you can answer.

- Do the family suites have any kind of kitchenette or just a small fridge?
More interested in having plenty of ice and a fridge for my habitual evening rum and cokes.

- Dress code for dinner - While they specify no jackets or ties are required, did you find long pants for men to be the norm at dinner or, would one feel comfortable dining in one of the hotel's dining rooms with a collared polo shirt and nice pleated shorts ?

I'm sure I will have other questions if/when we decide to go but those are the ones that came to mind.

thanks in advance.
georgedp

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## PBnJ

And the pigs still drink alcohol-free beer? BTW thank you for the report and welcome back.

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## Island Visitor

> - Do the family suites have any kind of kitchenette or just a small fridge?
> More interested in having plenty of ice and a fridge for my habitual evening rum and cokes.
> 
> - Dress code for dinner - While they specify no jackets or ties are required, did you find long pants for men to be the norm at dinner or, would one feel comfortable dining in one of the hotel's dining rooms with a collared polo shirt and nice pleated shorts ?
> 
> I'm sure I will have other questions if/when we decide to go but those are the ones that came to mind.
> 
> thanks in advance.
> georgedp




The family suites do not have a kitchen but they do have a small refrigerator.  And housekeeping replinishes your ice bucket (and water pitcher) twice a day, unless you ask for more often.  Combined with the fact that you can get a bottle of Cruzan rum at the hotel gift shop for $6.25 (yep, you read that right), rhum drinks are indeed doable.  

Nice shorts are acceptable.  While the slacks/shorts ratio is still probably 3:1 or maybe 3:2, slacks are being worn more by retirees on the island with visitors often opting for shorts.  I wore both and was comfortable in both.  Indeed, the breezes at the Terrace make slacks quite pleasant.  I also saw shorts at both Tutto Bene and Savant, both nice restaurants.

The two bedroom family suite is really a great deal.  It does come with one bathroom (although there is an extra sink outside of the shower and water closet area).  I wont publicize the best room because I want to keep it a closely guarded secret but if you are interested, I will send it to you in an email on this site.

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## Island Visitor

> And the pigs still drink alcohol-free beer? BTW thank you for the report and welcome back.



They used to drink the hard stuff but somebody got all fussy about it and now they drink alchy-free.

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## onebigdawg53

Hi IV

Thanks for the info.  If you don't mind telling me the best room by PM and I promise that it will kept a closely guarded secret - we would go late June into early July after school lets out so you would not be risking having the room taken by us during your spring break vacations.  Great price on the Cruzan rhum.
I would venture to say that the sixpack of coke would be more than the price of the rhum.

thanks again
georgedp

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## Island Visitor

> Hi IV
> 
> I would venture to say that the sixpack of coke would be more than the price of the rhum.
> 
> thanks again
> georgedp



As I recall, a sixpack of coke is less than a bottle of rhum.   All other spirits are more expensive.  Rhum anything on the island is very reasonably priced.

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## LindaP

Hey IV......my husband and I had our honeymoon on St Croix 28 yrs ago in May....we stayed in a condo. But now, we have owned into the Divi resorts for almost 20 yrs(Aruba)....did you go to the Divi at all?? I know they re-did all      of it, and am courious about it. We would like to switch our timeshare to there sometime, i f worth it. I'm sure a LOT has changed, between time and hurricnes!!!!! Thanks, LindaP

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## JEK

Hey IV and Linda,
My wife and I honeymooned on St. Croix (The Beach Hotel) 34 years ago this weekend! My how time flies!

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## Island Visitor

> Hey IV......my husband and I had our honeymoon on St Croix 28 yrs ago in May....we stayed in a condo. But now, we have owned into the Divi resorts for almost 20 yrs(Aruba)....did you go to the Divi at all?? I know they re-did all      of it, and am courious about it. We would like to switch our timeshare to there sometime, i f worth it. I'm sure a LOT has changed, between time and hurricnes!!!!! Thanks, LindaP



First of all, congratulations!  Anyone who has been married longer than I have deserves major props.  Then again, your marriage is not only your honor but your reward as well.  

Yes, we did make our first trip to Divi on Grapetree Bay and I must admit something:  Grapetree Bay blew me away.  It is a very long strip of sand, slightly crescent shape and probably a mile or so long.  There are small headlands on both ends and the road runs up onto the headlands giving you a great view.  Behind the bay, there is a flat area and then then rolling hills of St Croix.  It is a very, very pretty place and when we approached it from the east, I immediately thought of Las Hornos bay (present day Acapulco) back in the day before development.  I actually stopped the car and got out, the vista was so remarkable.

Divi sits in the middle, a prime piece of real estate, and is all but alone on that strip of land.  The beach is quite nice, wide and sandy, the water is clear and has a reef probably a couple hundred yards offshore.  They have a snorkel trail but you only go over one or two blips of coral apparently (per our discussion with a guy in the snorkel shop).  Otherwise it is mostly sand (the reef is a barrier reef and partly out of the water - cant really snorkel).

The public spaces are all attractive, very open and breezy much like St Barth.  The pool is large and has a large deck which opens up to the beach.  There is a bar there as well as a snorkel shop, gift shop and cafeteria.  

I did not tour a room although they look attractive on the internet.  The rooms are in motel-style buildings which are about four or five floors as I recall.  They have outside walkways on the back (non beach side) reached by stairs or elevators and then the units run the entire width of the building with all having an oceanview balcony.  From the front, they look like condos which they essentially are.  The buildings are all parallel to the beach and appear pretty wide.  That is, the rooms are probably pretty large.

The casino is across the road and backs up to the hills.  Did not go in.

The clientele looked like Budgeteering Americans On Vacation.  I did not see a lot of bling, nor did I see Perfectly Coiffed Foo Foo Ladies.  I saw Aunt Marge and Uncle Marvin as well as families, youngsters, divefolks and some Vegas Runaways.  I also saw a LOT of smiles.  From what I could tell, the folks staying there looked plenty happy to me.

I would rate the place, based on my QUICK walk through as a solid three star place with some four star tendancies (size of room and apparent niceness according to pix as well as attractive pool deck).  I think someone wanting The Four Seasons might be disappointed.  But someone wanting an attractive place on a pretty beach with lots of outdoor space and a pretty relaxed american vibe might be quite pleased.  I would not be opposed to staying there.

Divi is pretty much "out there".  That is, there is not much nearby.  You could reach Christiansted in about 18 - 20 minutes and some of the restaurants near Csted in less.  

You obviously know The Divi Product and I doubt that this place strays much from The Model that is available on several caribbean islands.  I do believe that Grapetree Bay is quite, quite lovely and this is a pretty place for sun and sand.

Bonne chance. 

PS:  Ask some of the Divi People how this compares to their other resorts.  From what I could see, it seems appealing.

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## Island Visitor

> Hey IV and Linda,
> My wife and I honeymooned on St. Croix (The Beach Hotel) 34 years ago this weekend! My how time flies!



If you are talking about the St Croix Beach Hotel on Grapetree, that was a casualty of Hugo and its shell stands a silent vigil on an otherwise stunning beach.

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## andynap

There were 2 hotels on Grapetree that Hugo took out- Grapetree Beach Hotel and another I can't remember the name where we stayed in 1986 when I was recovering from my bypass. The beach was gorgeous as was the water.

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## Island Visitor

The one whose shell still stands is at the far eastern part of Grapetree.  I believe that was the St Croix Beach Hotel but I could be wrong.  

Grapetree Bay itself is quite lovely.  And while the northern part of The East End of St Croix is developing (individual villas and small lowrise condos) the south side of the East End is all but deserted.  Indeed, if you drive west from Grapetree you go several miles without seeing much of anything except ocean and hills.  

That will change a little as permits for two new hotels have been issued for Grapetree.  It really is a lovely place.

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## andynap

The one hotel was to the right on the water and the other hotel was along the road on the water- they made an L shape.

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## Island Visitor

The shell that I saw was a beach hotel that is below the road.  It opens right onto the beach.  Hugo parked off St Croix for 14 hours with at least one anenometer breaking at its maximum wind speed of 210 miles per hour.  At that strength, it could have pushed a 30 foot wall of water ashore.  In any event, the shell of the hotel left looks like it got bombed.

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