I have traveled throughout the US, the Carribean and Europe, and have stayed at moderate and expensive hotels & resorts. Having worked as a waitress, I am a patient and fair customer and I tip generously . So, with that said, let me say that Sugar Bay is not worth whatever they are charging these days. I knew, based on the rate, that it was not going to be posh, but it definitely was not free -- yet they did not deliver value for what I paid. It was literally the worst vacation I have ever taken.
When we arrived right after Christmas, we were told upon check-in that the AC in our room was out. So I said fine, we'll go to pool and check back in a few hours... Little did we know that the AC was out in the whole resort and it had been broken for almost a week by the time we got there. They deliberately misled us and made it sound like there was a small glitch but it was a huge systemic problem with no end in sight. They should have been honest and upfront about the situation. Instead they were evasive and nasty.... I asked for fans for the room and got one small cheap fan. It was still stiflingly hot at night. The mattresses are very old; one had a broken frame. The decor is dated and worn. The bar "ran out" of kahlua and two days later had not replenished it, despite the fact that Red Hook is five minutes away.... The wait for food was interminable. We heard lie after lie about what the hold up was... spilled pasta in the kitchen??? Really? We waited 50 minutes between salad and entrees at Baci. Breakfast at the Manor House was a joke. Ran out of clean plates. Incomplete silverware set-ups. SLOW service.
Small, rocky beach. Surly guy renting snorkeling equipment. We escaped to Magen's Bay and St. John, but some folks were stuck there....Nasty attitude at front desk -- no offers to compensate for hellish AC situation. I had to ask what they would do, and even then there was no apology, just a request for an email address. The email that came was riddled with typos. All in all, I would NEVER even contemplate staying there again. And would advise that you stay ANYWHERE BUT THERE if you are going to St. Thomas.
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC
13 February 2012
Dear lj_020202
Thank you for staying with us over the Christmas and New Year period and for your review of our resort.
The week that you stayed, was an extremely difficult time for us as well as our many guests who experienced the failure of our air conditioning system. This impacted many of our guests in a very negative way for which we are truly sorry.
The good news is that the air conditioning system was replaced on the 4th January 2012. All of our guests were compensated for this.
Once again our apology for the problems over this period and we sincerely hope that when your travels next take you back to St Thomas you will consider staying with us again. This will certainly give us the opportunity to make amends for the shortcomings on this trip.
Yours sincerely
Franklyn Eaton
Hotel Manager
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of TripAdvisor LLC