Trip Report May 24th to 31st

[John LMBZ06]

This was our sixth time staying on St. John and ninth time to the Virgin Islands. We stayed at the Westin as I used points. We were in a beach front room on the second floor and loved it. We like the Westin, but we do not go to the beach there. It seemed to me that the island is getting a little more crowded. The word is out. Getting to the gate at Oppenheimer beach after 9am does not work. All spaces are taken by then. Who told everyone about this spot? We got there by 8:45am two of the days to get a spot. Bugs at Maho and Skinny Legs were a bit much, but no real problem anywhere else.

Food - the two best surprises were at lunch. Miss. Lucy's grouper Reuben was fantastic and so was the view from our lunch table. It was the best grouper Reuben I have ever had. The other lunch that was a standout was at Sam and Jack's Deli. Wow was that good. Yes, it was the first time to either of these places for my wife and I. We also ate at Woody's for the first time. I was surprised that it was as good as it was. Bar food is not always that good and we actually got a street front table. Not bad for me complaining that the island is getting busy.

We had dinner at Morgan's Mango on Tuesday night because it is lobster night. Well, by 8:30 they were sold out. Warning - you may want to reserve your lobster if you eat late like we do. There is a new ice cream spot on the end of Mongoose Junction. They make the ice cream right there and it is great. They were also open late at night.

We rented our Jeep Liberty from Conrad because you get to park there at night for free and there is always a spot. I like not having to worry about a spot and I just have this thing about paying to park that kind of ticks me off. The jeep did have a lot of miles and scratches, but that is good thing. Someone rubbed against the Jeep at Oppenheimer and it did not make a difference since the vehicle already had lots of little scratches on it.

The weather was great. Water temp was great. It did rain for like five minutes a few times here and there, but no big deal. It was funny to see the beaches clear and people not come back when that happened. We just rode it out. We did take a boat ride one day to the British Virgin Islands. Had a great lunch at the Cooper Island Beach Club. I thought their burger was much better than the one I had at Skinny Legs.

They are fixing some of the roads on the Coral Bay side. Funny to have to wait for the lights to turn green because of the construction. So, there are technically traffic lights on St. John until that is fixed. What is going on with the food hut on Maho Bay? Did they fix that up and only open for a short time before closing it down again? The food pavilion at Trunk Bay was very busy.

The seven nights went by real fast. I could have stayed for another week or so. Too bad I did not hit the lottery and had to go back to work. I did not take any pictures because my wife takes so many. Not sure if I could have shown you anything that you have not already seen. At least for most of you.

[SamanthaL]

Thanks for the report! We are also staying at The Westin, only because of Am Ex Rewards. I am pretty much only expecting to sleep and shower there. We usually stay in a villa, so this will be very different for us.

[liamsaunt]

Thanks for the report. There has never been food for sale in the renovated pavilion at Maho. You can rent the space for events.