Thoughts about new Cinnamon Bay / Trunk Bay Concession?

Travel discussion for St. John
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pmk
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Thoughts about new Cinnamon Bay / Trunk Bay Concession?

Post by pmk »

The NPS seemed to take a pretty long time deciding one who will run the Cinnamon Bay Campground and the Truck Bay facilities since the bidding ended in July 2015. But finally, we have a winner -- Redwood Parks Company, www.redwoodparkscompany.com.

https://www.nps.gov/viis/learn/news/new ... l-park.htm

I really hope this new 15-year lease leads to some good things, but the whole thing seems a bit weird to me. First, Redwood Parks Co. has never managed anything and was a company that was created in 2015. Their website lists two "upcoming" management ventures, a zipline park and "Cinnamon Bay Resort." Yes, "Resort" -- not sure what that foretells.

Second, the campground will close in September and re-open with the new management company in October. This doesn't leave much time for all the "much anticipated improvements in visitor facilities and services at Cinnamon and Trunk Bay."

Perhaps the NPS awarded the bid based up the past experience of the company's CEO and the NPS's slice of the profits, but it's hard to tell. I hear that they won't release any of the bids recieved -- though I imagine they'd have to if someone FOIA'd them.

Anyone have any thoughts about this?

pmk
Coconuts
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Re: Thoughts about new Cinnamon Bay / Trunk Bay Concession?

Post by Coconuts »

pmk: Nice work in spotting and sharing this. I agree that Redwood Parks's background appears nonexistent, and that no meaningful upgrades can or will occur in a few short weeks of downtime. I had read that the NPS plan for their new franchisee was ambitious, and included replacing the concrete rental units at Cinnamon with substantially upgraded ones. Now I wonder if the NPS simply found the old franchisee to be troublesome, and opened up bidding with little intention to do more than refresh the operating company. By the way, that link no longer works, but the problem seems to be due to issues with the NPS website. Perhaps they didn't like the feedback to news of the new franchisee, or the lack of significant investment or change.

I had hoped for better. We'll see...

All the best,

Kevin
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pmk
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Re: Thoughts about new Cinnamon Bay / Trunk Bay Concession?

Post by pmk »

This is the time of year we make our Cinnamon Bay reservations but I think our family will probably hold off this year to see what happens and give the new company some time to make the improvements and get up to speed.

I feel badly for the staff, some of which have worked there for decades. They're probably wondering what their future brings. I hope Redwood Park Co. is sensitive to the people who live on STJ year round.

Some improvements could be done soon, especially replacing all the tattered tents and rehabilitating the access trails to the sites. Others, such as replacing the bathrooms, septic and cottages will take longer.

I really hope that NPS doesn't let Redwood Park Co. turn the campground into a "Resort." We've always loved how chill and no-frills it was -- as well as how affordable compared to anywhere else on St. John. This is why we've been coming here since the 1970s.

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equineannie
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Re: Thoughts about new Cinnamon Bay / Trunk Bay Concession?

Post by equineannie »

I imagine it has money/politics in the mix somewhere. AS much as I hate to admit it, it seems as though St John is turning into just another island trying to maximize its tourist potential. Sad. I am so glad I had the chance to live there, in the 90s and again in 2010 before this all started to happen.
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BillVT
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Re: Thoughts about new Cinnamon Bay / Trunk Bay Concession?

Post by BillVT »

According to their website, Brian Stewart the founder of Redwood Parks, worked for Xanterra. Xanterra manages Yellowstone NP. Our son worked for them one season in Yellowstone. Of course Yellowstone is a huge operation so it would be difficult to compare but Xanterra hired between 40 and 60% of its workers from overseas as an opportunity to learn and practice English and experience American culture. Even for domestic workers, the pay is low using life in the park as the draw to employment. Of course this is how Xanterra ran Yellowstone. We will have to see how Redwood runs Cinnamon and Trunk. Perhaps Brian Stewart has a better idea.
GraysonDave
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Re: Thoughts about new Cinnamon Bay / Trunk Bay Concession?

Post by GraysonDave »

Xanterra runs many of the lodging/restaurant facilities at the national parks. I dealt with several of them on a western travel swing in 2015. For the most part, I was very pleased with the operations.
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pmk
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Re: Thoughts about new Cinnamon Bay / Trunk Bay Concession?

Post by pmk »

Employees at Cinnamon Bay Campground and Trunk Bay are being laid off.

Hopefully some will get re-hired by Redwoods Parks Co.

http://www.stjohntradewindsnews.com/emp ... e-layoffs/

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emartin106
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Re: Thoughts about new Cinnamon Bay / Trunk Bay Concession?

Post by emartin106 »

I had already made my reservations for April 2017 when I read about this. As noted, there was not a lot of information on the Redwoodparks website, so I put in a call to Brian Stewart and he actually called me back. This is the plan so far: tent sites will have new ecco-tents and equipment in Nov/Dec. There will be a new restaurant with a gourmet chef; all 40 cottages will be torn down and replaced, with all new furnishings. They have to keep the same footprint, so to expand the size of the cottage to 250 square feet, they will go up: sleeping lofts,balconies. They may have bathrooms. I don't think the design has been completed yet, he was a little vague. I asked about cost - there will be increases in the cost of the cottage - he threw out $300.00 but again, a little vague on some details. Forgot to ask when the teardown will begin, he did tell me that I will be OK for my trip next year ( big group - 3 units in cottage 10 - yeah) He did say that it would still be a campground and not another Cannel Bay but chefs and balconies sound expensive. I also know from reading the prospectus that the museum will expand into the gift shop and that everything is supposed to be completed in 2018
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Bluestreak12
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Re: Thoughts about new Cinnamon Bay / Trunk Bay Concession?

Post by Bluestreak12 »

I love Cinnamon Bay and have stayed in cottages twice now. I agree they need to be updated, but sorry that the price will be rumored to be going to $300. At that price, I'd rather rent a villa. I just hope that they can't limit access to the beach like they do at Caneel.
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iheartsj
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Re: Thoughts about new Cinnamon Bay / Trunk Bay Concession?

Post by iheartsj »

Bluestreak, Caneel is a privatly owned resort that has a lease for use of the land owned by the Natl Park. Cinnamon Bay Campground and the land it sits on is owned by the Natl Park and contracts with someone to operate the concessions.

They will never block access to Cinnamon Bay beach.

You can go to the Caneel beach by either paying $20 to park on Caneel lot or park out on the road and walk in for no charge. Just don't bring a cooler or sit on Caneel's beach chairs.
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pmk
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Re: Thoughts about new Cinnamon Bay / Trunk Bay Concession?

Post by pmk »

For those following along, here's the latest about Cinnamon Bay.

http://www.stjohntradewindsnews.com/cin ... ovember-1/

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liamsaunt
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Re: Thoughts about new Cinnamon Bay / Trunk Bay Concession?

Post by liamsaunt »

$1200 a week to stay in a tent? Fine dining "cafeteria style?" Hmm....
It's like looking in your soup and finding a whole different alphabet.
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pmk
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Re: Thoughts about new Cinnamon Bay / Trunk Bay Concession?

Post by pmk »

Perhaps you didn't receive the memo, liamsaunt, Cinnamon Bay is no longer a campground -- it's a "resort"! ;)

I emailed the company months ago and they sent me this link to show me the eco-tents they plan to install.

http://ecostructures.com.au/

Perhaps they'll hire Terminex to deal with the no-see-ums!

pmk
emartin106
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Re: Thoughts about new Cinnamon Bay / Trunk Bay Concession?

Post by emartin106 »

So the plan is to install tents made in Australia in a US National Park, because any comparable product made in the US is SO expensive that the base product and shipping costs from Down Under is a more economic alternative. Interesting. The Redwoodparks people have experience in working in national parks where there is no real competition for housing and restaurants within the park itself. The campgrounds were an inexpensive alternate to rental villas. If they increase fees to cover these types of improvements, they will price themselves out of business.
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kklay
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Re: Thoughts about new Cinnamon Bay / Trunk Bay Concession?

Post by kklay »

It seems to me (looking at the pictures) that the eco-tents will take up a larger footprint and require more land clearing of the current tent areas. Not sure how ECO -FRIENDLY the tents will be!.
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