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| Caneel Bay Hotel |
Caneel Bay Hotel in St. John, Virgin Islands, U.S. |
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Caneel Bay Hotel
Po Box 720
St. John, Virgin Islands, U.S. 00830
Call Expedia at: 1-800-551-2409 |
| Famed resort with seven beaches set in national park This renowned resort on its own peninsula in St. John offers seven beaches of distinctive characteristics. Instead of televisions, radios, telephones, or clocks, rooms provide tranquil views of nature from balconies and terraces. Paths wend through 170 acres of lawns and flowering gardens and around an 18th-century sugar-mill ruin. Tree frogs sing nightly.
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Amenities | Recreation | Features | Reviews
Caneel Bay Hotel Amenities
Isolated on a hillside past a "Silence" sign and featuring panoramic views of the ocean and neighboring islands, The Self Centre offers sessions designed by an associate of Dr. Deepak Chopra "to relax the mind, rejuvenate the body, and rekindle the spirit." Individual, couple, and group sessions are available. Choices include Aqua-Chi (guided movements in the water), Breathwalk (breathing, walking, meditation), Chakra Meditation, Drumming Cycle, Pilates, Partner Yoga, Vinyasa Flow Yoga, YogaPlay for Kids, Ayurvedic Lifestyle Consultation, and astrology. Although guestrooms do not provide televisions, Caneel Beach Bar & Grill provides two televisions, and the Turtle Bay Estate House includes an activity room containing a large-screen television. Complimentary video movies are shown there nightly. Another television is located in the Turtle Bay Estate House's Teen Center. The center also includes an open-air Ping-Pong table and an air-conditioned room with a video game and an Internet-connected computer. Complimentary Internet access is also available in the main building's 24-hour business center. For children ages 3–12, Turtle Town center provides supervised activities, with half- and full-day sessions and dinner-and-a-movie evenings available. For-fee activities include twice-weekly watercolor classes, weekly wine tastings, sunset cruises, and a snorkeling/swimming trip to an uninhabited island followed by a beach barbecue, and guided nature walks along the resort's many trails. Use of a fitness center containing cardio and weight machines as well as free weights is complimentary.
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Recreation
The resort provides complimentary snorkeling gear, paddle boats, Sunfish sailboats, windsurfers, and kayaks. Play on 11 lighted tennis courts is also complimentary, as are tennis clinics. Private lessons are available for fees. Beginning scuba divers enjoy a complimentary class. Scuba and snorkeling excursions and sailing and fishing trips depart from the resort's dock. Aerobics classes are offered during winter season. Hiking trails as well as Trunk Bay's underwater snorkeling trail are located in the Virgin Islands National Park, which covers two-thirds of St. John. (The park's Visitors Center is 1.5 miles away in the town of Cruz Bay.) Other recreational activities listed below are available near the resort; fees may apply.
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Features
What to expect: Set on its own peninsula and bordered by the Atlantic Ocean, this hotel is part of the Virgin Islands National Park, thanks to hotel founder Laurance Rockefeller (grandson of John D.), who donated 5,000 acres to establish the park. Although Rockefeller sold the resort in 1986, this hotel stays true to his vision of providing rest and rejuvenation in harmony with nature and remains the Virgin Islands' signature resort long after it first brought attention to St. John's potential as a vacation destination. Known as a retreat for celebrities and others seeking relief from stress, the resort emphasizes the natural environment, privacy, and tranquility. A degree of gentility prevails, with men asked to wear long pants (or at least long dress shorts), collared shirts, and closed-toe shoes (no athletic shoes) after dark. Loyal guests return year after year. They're greeted by long-time staff members, some of whom go back more than half a century. Amenity highlights: Seven beaches fringe the resort's peninsula. All provide snorkeling opportunities in the turquoise Atlantic Ocean. At least five supply calm water on any given day. This hotel lies in front of the main building and includes water sports. Hawksnest Beach catches easterly tradewinds and provides afternoon shade. Honeymoon is the most isolated and features a snorkeling reef at each end. Little Caneel supplies peace and quiet near the resort's pier. Turtle Bay offers views of marine traffic between islands. Paradise is tiny and tranquil. Scott features sea turtles. (Paradise and Scott are adults-only.) For freshwater swimming, the resort provides a good-size pool surrounded by lawns. Insider tip: For a fee, Equator Restaurant sets a table in the sugar-mill ruins, dresses it with white linen, lights tiki torches nearby, and serves a private dinner under the stars.
All guests have the option of a complimentary Continental breakfast served every morning in the main building's Breezeway. Complimentary afternoon tea is served in the open-air Reading Room at Turtle Bay Estate House. Caneel Beach Terrace - Breakfast and lunch. Dinner during winter high season. Sunday brunch. Monday night "grand buffet" (prime rib, grilled lobster, mahi mahi, roasted chicken, braised short ribs, pasta, pizza, salads, fruits, desserts) following complimentary cocktail party. Dress code: long pants or dress shorts and collared shirts for men. Equator Restaurant - Located atop 18th-century stone sugar-mill ruins on hillside. Open-air, with curved front providing views of Caneel Bay and St. Thomas beyond. Stone floor, wood-shingle ceiling, and awning-covered terrace. Oil lamps. Gentle steel-band music, with tree-frog orchestra as background. Steaks and Caribbean-flavored choices include crab-saltfish cake with mango vinaigrette, lobster bisque with coconut milk, jerk-marinated swordfish. Dinner only. Dress code: long pants or dress shorts and collared shirts for men. The Dining Room at Turtle Bay - Located in Turtle Bay Estate House. Upper and lower dining rooms under high bleached-wood ceilings, with glass-door "walls." Air-conditioned. Doors opened for fresh-air dining when appropriate. Breakfast buffet, lunch, and dinner during winter high season. Dinner only during summer. Piano music. Dinner choices include crab cake, grilled swordfish, pan-roasted veal tenderloin, grilled lamb rack. Dress code: long pants, collared shirts, closed-toe shoes (no athletic shoes) for men. Jackets customary but not required in winter.
The Wine Room - Private dining room at Turtle Bay Estate House. Minimum four diners, maximum 12. Set menu of six wine courses, five food courses. Menu might include skillet-roasted prawns with goat-cheese butter sauce, baby mozzarella and roasted tomato salad, quail stuffed with Parma ham and figs, "beef and onion three ways," and dessert soufflé. Dress code: long pants, collared shirts, closed-toe shoes (no athletic shoes) for gentlemen. Jackets required in winter. Caneel Beach Bar & Grill - Casual, open-air spot under wood-beam ceiling. Wrought-iron seating. Salads, sandwiches, wraps, pasta, light meals such as grilled game hen. Live music some nights. Lunch and dinner. The Starlight Terrace - Rooftop terrace above main building. Drink service afternoons and evenings.
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Caneel Bay Hotel Reviews
| Traveler Ratings Summary for Caneel Bay Hotel
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Overall: 4.67 |
Service
4.67 |
Condition
4.33 |
Cleanliness
4.33 |
Comfort
4.67 |
Recommend
100 % |
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| Beautiful surroundings, outstanding massage onsite, will go back for a longer stay. |
Overall: 5 |
Service
5 |
Condition
4 |
Cleanliness
4 |
Comfort
5 |
Recommend
Yes |
| You'll know that you're in for some "upper class" treatment from the moment you arrive on the Caneel Bay Ferry and you're met on the dock by a lovely woman offering you an icy cold, lime-scented cloth to cool and sooth your skin after the ride from St. Thomas! If you do nothing else, get a massage (relaxing kind) while you're there. I've never had a better one anywhere. And did I say, What a beautiful property. The snorkeling is fantastic, and wild life and birds are everywhere you turn. By the way, they DO know how to do weddings! My daughter's was breathtaking, really something extraordinary, from A to Z. I wish everyone could experience a stay at Caneel Bay. So glad you offer rooms there!
Reviewed by traveler from Bluff Dale, Texas on June 26, 2006 |
| Lovely Unresort-like Resort |
Overall: 5 |
Service
5 |
Condition
5 |
Cleanliness
5 |
Comfort
5 |
Recommend
Yes |
| This is the best hotel on St. John with clear water and beautiful beaches. You can snorkel right along the beaches - no boat required. And, the food and service have improved greatly and are very good. The only problem was something we did not witness but several friends reported seeing roaches all around the resort including 2 in a room. We had been there previously in April (not June like this most recent trip) and never saw that or heard about it.
Reviewed by traveler from Austin on June 21, 2006 |
| Loved the location and lack of phones and TV |
Overall: 4 |
Service
4 |
Condition
4 |
Cleanliness
4 |
Comfort
4 |
Recommend
Yes |
| Overall an extremely relaxing and wonderful place with a low key attitude but attention to detail in the right places such as the yoga instruction, response to e-mails regarding special dinner arrangements....A very special place
Reviewed by traveler from Boston, MA on October 26, 2005 |
| Beautiful property but way too expensive for what you get |
Overall: 1 |
Service
3 |
Condition
2 |
Cleanliness
4 |
Comfort
1 |
Recommend
No |
| My wife and I thought the grounds and beaches were beautiful, however the prices were ridiculous and the food was marginal at best, and not worth the price. St. Bart has better food and its less expensive, which is hard to imagine. The service was incredibly slow, even on island time. The wait staff was not very friendly. The breakfast buffet and dinner buffet was not good and flies were all over the food. We went to the Caneel Bay room at the airport where we caught a water taxi over to the hotel. They charged $150 for this trip. The bathroom in our room was so small we had to take turns. We could hear everything going on in our neighbors room since the walls are paper-thin. It is a beautiful place but be prepared to be disappointed once you get past the beauty. Be ready for a shock when you see the bill at check-out.
Reviewed by traveler from Atlanta, GA on June 1, 2005 |
| 2nd visit there-very mixed reviews |
Overall: 2 |
Service
2 |
Condition
4 |
Cleanliness
5 |
Comfort
5 |
Recommend
No |
| location is great-great beaches, peaceful, great location. however, service was terrible. on 4 occasions, they mixed up dinner, ferry, rental car reservations. these weren't tiny mix ups-things like dinner reservations 2 hours before or after actual dinner time (we have a toddler who joined us most nights, so this caused a bit of an issue). manager told us to take a later ferry than we should have, and we nearly missed our flight. on 2 occasions, our room wasn't cleaned. on one occasion, they told us they had confirmed our car rental, but in reality, they forgot to send the reservation to the agency. for a $10,000 vacation, I expect better service, and I expect someone to make things easy for me. I want someone to take care of things. maybe my expectations are too high, but I was very disappointed in just the poor service and how little they did to rectify their mistakes. we love the actual location, but I don't think we will return. just can't seem to justify going back to a place with such poor service.
Reviewed by traveler from NY, NY on May 3, 2005 |
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