usvi-on-line
Caneel - Pros-Cons -suggestions
The easiest way to ensure you get the room you want is to email or call and request a specific room number. It's not guaranteed, but they do try hard to honor requests.
For the Ocean View room rate:
Rooms 1-4 on Caneel. These rooms are to the left of the ferry dock as you look at the water--the rooms you walk by on the trail to Honeymoon Beach. They're bigger, but also noisier becuase of the ferry.
Rooms 30-49. This building is set back from the main Caneel Beach. I stayed in this building once and really liked it. 30-39 are on the first floor, and 40-49 are on the second floor.
Cottage 7A. We always request this room. It's set back but only steps from Scott Beach.
Rooms 50-53. These are to the right of Caneel Beach, heading up the hill to Cottage Point.
For Premium Ocean View Rate:
Rooms 54-63. These are the rooms on Cottage Point. Nice views and quite private.
Rooms 26-29. The rooms to the far right on Caneel Bay Beach.
Beachfront:
Rooms 5-12--the rooms to the left of the ferry on Little Caneel Beach. I don't think I'd want to stay in these rooms--too close to the ferry.
Rooms 14-25, the rooms along the main Caneel beach
Rooms 87-98, the rooms on Turtle Bay Beach (87-92 are 1st floor)
Rooms 106-129, the rooms on Hawksnest Beach (106-117 are first floor)
Then, premium beachfront, which is 64-86. Rooms 64, 65, and 66 are on Paradise Beach, and all the others are the Scott Beach rooms.
For the Ocean View room rate:
Rooms 1-4 on Caneel. These rooms are to the left of the ferry dock as you look at the water--the rooms you walk by on the trail to Honeymoon Beach. They're bigger, but also noisier becuase of the ferry.
Rooms 30-49. This building is set back from the main Caneel Beach. I stayed in this building once and really liked it. 30-39 are on the first floor, and 40-49 are on the second floor.
Cottage 7A. We always request this room. It's set back but only steps from Scott Beach.
Rooms 50-53. These are to the right of Caneel Beach, heading up the hill to Cottage Point.
For Premium Ocean View Rate:
Rooms 54-63. These are the rooms on Cottage Point. Nice views and quite private.
Rooms 26-29. The rooms to the far right on Caneel Bay Beach.
Beachfront:
Rooms 5-12--the rooms to the left of the ferry on Little Caneel Beach. I don't think I'd want to stay in these rooms--too close to the ferry.
Rooms 14-25, the rooms along the main Caneel beach
Rooms 87-98, the rooms on Turtle Bay Beach (87-92 are 1st floor)
Rooms 106-129, the rooms on Hawksnest Beach (106-117 are first floor)
Then, premium beachfront, which is 64-86. Rooms 64, 65, and 66 are on Paradise Beach, and all the others are the Scott Beach rooms.
It's like looking in your soup and finding a whole different alphabet.
OK...I'd like to be diplomatic and honest. I first stayed at Caneel in '85 on a honeymoon and have been back a few times over the years since for lunch, dinner, etc... If you're looking for a true island experience, a villa would perhaps be a better choice. If being fed (passably) good meals and having a bed made for you each day is your cup of tea, then Caneel is a great choice. It's all in what you want and need.
My preference would be a villa...do a little research, talk to those here on the forum, and find a perfect home that will cozy you in to a wonderful stay.
Biased? nahhhhhh....
My preference would be a villa...do a little research, talk to those here on the forum, and find a perfect home that will cozy you in to a wonderful stay.
Biased? nahhhhhh....
BillnSue....... I agree that the villa experience is great and we will be doing that in December......
I am hoping that Caneel provides multiple beautiful beaches without a car....easy snorkeling access...and a base for meals in town.....
STJ is such a special place and I feel fortunate that it can be experienced in so many ways..... something for everyone -- from bring your own tents to resorts to villas.....
I am hoping that Caneel provides multiple beautiful beaches without a car....easy snorkeling access...and a base for meals in town.....
STJ is such a special place and I feel fortunate that it can be experienced in so many ways..... something for everyone -- from bring your own tents to resorts to villas.....
I must admit that when I visited the Caneel web site, and read the "dress code" section, it occured to me that this might not be what I really want to do.
One could always ignore it, and I'm sure some people do, but that would be inconsiderate of some folks that picked Caneel in part because they want to experience a certain kind of atmosphere that their suggested dress code lends itself to.
There is an awful lot of island that you can, within reason, wear just about anything you want, and that's one of the things that make STJ special to us.
The low rates kind of enticed me, but with a little legwork I'm sure that I could find something else that might suit us better.
One could always ignore it, and I'm sure some people do, but that would be inconsiderate of some folks that picked Caneel in part because they want to experience a certain kind of atmosphere that their suggested dress code lends itself to.
There is an awful lot of island that you can, within reason, wear just about anything you want, and that's one of the things that make STJ special to us.
The low rates kind of enticed me, but with a little legwork I'm sure that I could find something else that might suit us better.
Come see us!
There isn't an enforced dress code at Caneel--just suggested attire for the evening restaurants. With that exception, most people wear shorts, t-shirts, and bathing suits, just like everyplace else. It's really not a stuffy place. I am the furthest from stuffy that you could find, and I feel very comfortable there.
It's like looking in your soup and finding a whole different alphabet.
It almost seems obsolete that Caneel would still publish/"suggest" a dress code.
Liamsaunt and PA girl both reflect my findings there. I wore nothing different there than I do anywhere else on island, and never felt either over or underdressed. To Zozo's or La Tapa's I would wear the same evening clothing as the nice restaurant at Caneel.
Caneel is lovely . Maybe not for everyone but I sure felt comfortable there and I am not fussy....oh yea, think thats what Liamsaunt said!
Liamsaunt and PA girl both reflect my findings there. I wore nothing different there than I do anywhere else on island, and never felt either over or underdressed. To Zozo's or La Tapa's I would wear the same evening clothing as the nice restaurant at Caneel.
Caneel is lovely . Maybe not for everyone but I sure felt comfortable there and I am not fussy....oh yea, think thats what Liamsaunt said!
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martini girl
- Posts: 329
- Joined: Wed Aug 16, 2006 4:29 pm
- Location: Pennsylvania
Like some others who have responded to this thread, we've done both Caneel and villa stays. It's really just a matter of what type of vacation you want. Do you want the option of staying in to cook, make lunches to take to the beach, prepare your own drinks, hanging out at the villa, or do you want more of a resort feel, eating out each meal, room service, drink cart taking your orders on the beach? We love to do both, and prefer to trade off from time to time.
At Caneel, you can certainly do without a jeep as all of those glorious beaches are easily accessible either thru the continuous shuttlebuses or walking down beautiful paths.
I will suggest, when choosing your room location, think about what you want to see from your room. Seeing sunsets every evening was important to me as well as a beach that got the afternoon sun versus the morning sun. Scott Beach fit that bill for us. Every evening we sat on our porch and watched the sunset while having cocktails. You could, of course, walk to the various beaches to take advantage of the location of the sun at different times of day, but I was simply lazy and wanted to plop down outside my room all day and not really have to move to get that full afternoon sun..just a thought.
As others have said, we never noticed any stuffiness at Caneel at all. Everything was very casual, and we dressed the same way for breakfast, lunch, or dinner at Caneel as we would have going into town to eat, which we did too. We found the very opposite of stuffiness at Caneel. Employees were warm and friendly, and other guests were open and always willing to chat.
I think it's a great place to stay. You'll have a wonderful time.
At Caneel, you can certainly do without a jeep as all of those glorious beaches are easily accessible either thru the continuous shuttlebuses or walking down beautiful paths.
I will suggest, when choosing your room location, think about what you want to see from your room. Seeing sunsets every evening was important to me as well as a beach that got the afternoon sun versus the morning sun. Scott Beach fit that bill for us. Every evening we sat on our porch and watched the sunset while having cocktails. You could, of course, walk to the various beaches to take advantage of the location of the sun at different times of day, but I was simply lazy and wanted to plop down outside my room all day and not really have to move to get that full afternoon sun..just a thought.
As others have said, we never noticed any stuffiness at Caneel at all. Everything was very casual, and we dressed the same way for breakfast, lunch, or dinner at Caneel as we would have going into town to eat, which we did too. We found the very opposite of stuffiness at Caneel. Employees were warm and friendly, and other guests were open and always willing to chat.
I think it's a great place to stay. You'll have a wonderful time.
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martini girl
- Posts: 329
- Joined: Wed Aug 16, 2006 4:29 pm
- Location: Pennsylvania