“Excellent choice for a St. Thomas stop-over!”
My husband and I stayed here two nights before heading for a week in St. John. We couldn't have chosen better.
I hate it when people say "it's not the Ritz" - and it's not. And should not be. If you're the Ritz type, don't go here. If you have a car, like affordable rooms, extremely friendly service and fabulous food, head for the Island View Guest House. All reservations are via email and phone and the people who work there are incredibly helpful. An overview:
The honor bar - there's a main gathering area called the lanai, where you'll find great views, music, and drinks and snacks. Your room number will be up on a chalkboard. When you take advantage of the reasonably priced drinks or snacks, you mark the chalkboard. Every day the board is erased and you start fresh.
Breakfast -- breakfast is basic continental and free. This was a pleasant surprise.
Dinner -- as others have said, dinner is fabulous! When you check in, you indicate whether or not you'd like to have dinner at the hotel and at what time (6:30 or 7:30). I believe they do it Thursday-Friday-Saturday and it attracts locals as well as guests. My husband's a steak guy and agrees with what everyone else says here - Ron is an awesome cook. I'm not a steak person and also loved my mahi and shrimp. Dinners are about $18-$30 for your protein, potato and veg, you use the honor bar to get your drinks, and they also serve a wonderful salad for $5.
People - we were kind of young, at 40 - most of the guests seem to be of the retirement age. All were friendly, but not too much. We're not usually "joiners" and were a little afraid of the forced cameraderie you find on cruise ships. We need not have worried.
The rooms -- the rooms are okay. Nothing fancy, a little island rusty in places, but very comfortable and clean. Balcony rooms have a great view.
The hosts -- Ron and Beth are great to know. They have been on island six years and spent most of that time fixing up the hotel. It shows. Ron's got a little hydroponic fish farm going on there that's pretty interesting.
We'll be back next time we need a room on St. Thomas!
Room Tip: We liked the balcony rooms -- 11 is down quite a few stairs. Maybe go with 13 or 15 which are on a h...
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