This was our second stay at Cruz Bay Hotel. We were there last year, just a few months before the island was battered by the two Cat 5 hurricanes. At that time, we wanted an in-town place to stay on St. John at the beginning of a vacation that would take us to the BVI and eventually back to St. Thomas. We had read the great reviews but still had concerns about possible noise when we were trying to sleep. We are familiar with St. John and found it difficult to believe (in spite of David’s assurances when we called him to make our reservation) that a place in the midst of a bustling little town could really be quiet at night. But it was! And the comfortably firm bed and quiet, efficient air conditioning unit contributed to a restful sleep.
We returned this year, both because we like St. John so much and because we wanted to show support for the place as it rebuilds. We knew from last year that David and Denise are a very welcoming couple who made us feel at home. We were still touched to learn that immediately after the storms, they opened their hotel (whose sturdy construction and high capacity generators had kept it functioning), at no charge, to local families who had lost their homes.
Now, nine months after the storms, although The Westin and Caneel Bay are still shuttered, Cruz Bay is spruced up and bustling, with its large variety of restaurants and other services mere footsteps from the hotel. At Denise’s suggestion last year, we enjoyed dining at the Lime Inn, just across the street from the hotel and at La Tapa. Those are still reliable recommendations, but for variety, we asked for more suggestions, and we ended up with very good experiences at The Longboard, Morgan’s Mango, Ocean 362, and Da Livio, the excellent Italian restaurant on the first floor of the hotel.
The continental breakfast at the hotel, with Denise’s tasty banana or other fruit bread, is fine to get you started. If you are a big breakfast eater, an excellent choice for additional fare is the Cruz Bay Landing restaurant, just around the corner.
While last year we started our trip in St. John, this year we ended it there. We had already had lots of beach time in the BVI, so we did not spend time in the water. But when we took a hike with the National Park Service along the Lind Point Trail to Honeymoon Beach, we discovered that we did not have to walk back (thank goodness!) because a dinghy shuttle now operates every half hour between Honeymoon Beach and town. This is a great example of turning a necessity into a virtue. It is a necessity because you can no longer take a taxi to Caneel Bay and walk to Honeymoon since Caneel is closed. And it is a virtue because it makes the Cruz Bay Hotel feel much closer to the beach. You can walk down the street to the beach next to the Ferry Terminal and hop into the dinghy for a quick, very pleasant boat ride to Honeymoon, which is a gorgeous beach with all necessary comforts including a very good beach bar / restaurant.
Cruz Bay Boutique Hotel is a fine pied-à-terre and suits our purposes well. And now, it feels even closer to the beach.