It’s just past five o’clock in the infinity pool, where the view stretches endlessly toward the towering hills of St John.
And then you turn around for a moment and the view is a different kind of beautiful, up the ridge toward the pastel-green lobby, surrounded by another green: palm trees and peaks.
It’s another way of saying that you can look at this property at angle and you’ll find something stunning.
This is the Ritz-Carlton, St Thomas, long the leading place to stay in the US Virgin Islands and now, still celebrating its $100 million renovation, back and better than ever.
Indeed, at the end of 2019, just a few months before the pandemic, the resort relaunched following a dramatic $100 million transformation, one that saw the complete redesign and updating of the property, an update that was enjoyed for only a few months before the world changed.
The oceanfront infinity pool with a view to St John.
And then in June, the Ritz-Carlton, St Thomas was one of the first luxury resorts in the Caribbean to reopen, quickly showing the region (and the world) that luxury, even amid the current challenges, was possible.
And that means luxury in every form: the luxury of breezy meals at the Sicilian-accented Alloro; the luxury of great design; the luxury of quiet serenity; and of course, of service, the kind that manages to be impeccable but never overbearing.
But luxury’s also in the small details, like the wonderfully comfortable rooms, where USB and easy-to-access outlets abound, joined by a hidden-away Nespresso bar and other touches like motion-activated lights in the bathroom.
It’s a pervasive feeling, something you notice from the moment you walk through the enchanting indoor-outdoor lobby, to the magnificently redesigned poolscape.
And while it’s a spectacular place for the easy beach vacation, the resort is equally inviting for the active traveler, from broad watersports offerings to tennis to the Lady Lynsey II, the resort’s exclusive catamaran, which takes guests on jaunts to St John, including the option of sailing over for dinner at one of several restaurants in St John.
Of course, St John is a major part of the experience here, even if you never make the trip — its imposing beauty just across the water yet another amenity for the guest; turning a late afternoon in the pool into free admission to a picture gallery, the kind of view you can just watch, endlessly.
In this episode, I’ll be talking about top things to consider during the moving process.
So, number one:
What you need and don’t need.
This is crucial.
Many people will move with a lot of the things that they deem are necessary when really they’re not necessary at all. And it just creates too much clutter, too much of a hassle to move unneeded things.
So really, it’s important to consolidate what you need and, do away with the rest — whether that’s giving it away to family members or friends, or donating it, or selling it online.
Next up is you’re moving timeline.
You need to have a good idea of when you’re going to pack, which types of things, and then when you’re going to bring those over, and then also all the intermediary steps so, you know when you’re going to have the moving company come in, as well as you could even include in your timeline these things that I’m talking about right now. So then that way you have a “very step by step,” making sure that you understand everything that you’re going to complete and that way you don’t forget anything.
Moving costs.
You know every moving company is different. So, you’re going need to take those and took into account, As well is the distance between your current house to your new one. If it’s a far distance, obviously higher living costs.
Switching utilities
…and making sure that your subscriptions are transferred as well.
That way, when you move, you’re all set. Because otherwise, if you wait to transfer these things it’s just going to be a headache once you move into the new house. You’re going to have to get everything transferred over, and then, you know, if you forget something, and if you forget to transfer it, then you won’t have it.
Obviously utilities are a bit more crucial but subscriptions as well. You know if you don’t have cable and you only watch Hulu or Netflix and you forget to transfer those subscriptions, then it’s not going to be there when you move into your house. Next, call your car insurance company and tell them about the move. A lot of times your insurance will change from city to city, But it can even change from neighborhood to neighborhood, so watch out for that.
Change your address as early as possible.
There’s an online form to change it through the postal service. However it does take a couple weeks for that form to be processed and, then your mail to switch over. So you want it to be that as soon as you move into that new house: boom. Your mail’s already there. So, make sure that you get that done a couple weeks in advance before you move.
Next organize your bills and finances. It’s recommended that you set up auto pay, with either the billing companies or your bank, and so then that way you don’t forget.
Because a lot of times you know, if you’re carrying over. Envelopes of bills from one house to another, there’s chances that those envelopes could fall out, you could miss them, something could happen to them and then you’re late on a payment, and that’s never a good thing. So if you set up auto pay you, don’t worry about it. It’ll just automatically come out of your account, and you don’t have to stress.
Take pictures of your electronics.
I don’t think many of us know how electronics are plugged in whether it’s our TV, or, you know, a speaker system. So take a picture of everything so then that way you’ll know, when you move it to the new house, exactly how the wiring is supposed to be. And you could even group the wires so that you know, okay, these two wires were together. These three wires go together, and then obviously, keep them with the device, that way you’ll know which chords go with which device.
Next is cost of living changes.
This may come as common sense to you but, it is important. Depending on where you live, the cost of living could be much, much higher. So you really need to take that into account.
As well as health insurance changes. They’re going to have to see, you know, which doctor in your area accepts your insurance. And then also it’s going to take some work, a bit of research on your part to see which, doctor in your area is the best and fits your needs the most. And then, climate changes.
If you’re you know moving down the street that doesn’t really… This won’t really affect you too much but, if you’re moving across the country, there’s a good chance that you’re going to feel the effects of the difference in climate, so… just take into account you know, how that’s going to affect your A/C or heat cost, and just kind of build that into your budget.
Also, if you’re moving up north, and you’re from, I don’t know, Florida, you’re going to want to make those adjustments to your wardrobe before you get to your new location. Because then, like, if you move in the winter time, you’ll already have the warm clothes to wear, and you won’t have to go out and buy it once you’re at your new house up north.
Business travelers are more likely than vacationers to stay “in town” on most Caribbean islands. But if you’re looking for a different travel experience than the usual resort stay, there are few better destinations than downtown Christiansted, St Croix.
With its rich history, excellent dining scene, and lively boardwalk, the Crucian capital never gets boring, and there’s a sandy beach just a two-minute ferry ride away.
Christiansted has a pretty good choice of in-town lodging options, including the landmark Hotel Caravelle on the boardwalk. But for a more intimate and local experience, consider the 12-room Sugar Apple Bed & Breakfast, a charming small inn that welcomes you like a returning Crucian even if you’ve never been to St. Croix before.
Photo: Blake Floyd Gardner photography.
“With just 12 guest rooms, it feels like home,” says Corina Marks, who owns the hotel along with her partner, Ryan Flegal.
“We’re slightly off the main drag of the boardwalk [about five minutes on foot] so away from the chaos, but still close enough to walk,” says Shannon Curley, manager of the Sugar Apple. “People are surprised by how quiet it is here, given how close it is to the bustling streets of Christiansted and the surrounding neighborhoods.”
In fact, the loudest noise you may hear during your stay is the crowing of a rooster from the neighbors’ yard to greet the new day.
The occasional hum of a prop plane is a reminder that the Christiansted Harbor Seaplane Base is also within easy walking distance of the inn. (You can take a conventional aircraft to St. Croix, but if you’re the kind of person who treasures the journey as well as the destination, make a point of taking the seaplane flight between St. Thomas to St. Croix at least once.)
When it’s time to explore, one of St. Croix’s top car-rental companies, Centerline Car Rentals is just a three-minute walk away, too.
“That is really convenient for guests who just want to rent a car for the day to go see the other side of the island,” says Curley.
History and some unique quirks also are part of what’s sweet about the Sugar Apple. The cloistered property on Prince Street was previously the Pink Fancy Hotel, opened in 1948 and built around a Danish townhouse dating to 1780. The rooms and grounds were extensive renovated when Marks and Flegal reopened the hotel as the Sugar Apple in 2019, but the colonial charm remains in the form of brightly colored cottages, tiled walkways, whitewashed balusters, and wrought-iron gates and fences.
“We have maintained the structural design and color palette, and in that way we’re preserving the history as opposed to knocking something down and building something modern,” says Marks. “The property was completely rundown and needed so much attention,” she recalls, but, “we could see the potential was enormous.”
A room at the property.
Part of the inn’s claim to fame is that the courtyard centers on the first swimming pool built on St. Croix. “I think people enjoy coming here, especially people who haven’t been back to the island in a long time, and connecting the location to its history,” Curley says.
Breakfast is served on a shaded patio each morning; one of the Sugar Apple’s unique features is that the menu is entirely vegan. In pre-COVID times, the inn was famous for its weekly vegan brunch. During the pandemic, breakfast service has turned self-service with coffee, tea, local fruit, and a daily assortment of morning pastries and bread, including vegan muffins.
Starting room rates at the Sugar Apple are some of the best bargains you’ll find on St. Croix, with low season rates ranging from about $129 to $149 per night plus taxes; in high season, it’s $149 to $179.
All rooms are decorated with aerial photos of St. Croix shot by Blake Gardner Photography and Simon Stevenson “to inspire people that St. Croix is the island to explore, says Marks. “We also hired Isabelle Picard to paint local fruit images for each guest room so visitors can learn and enjoy the beauty of our local bounty.”
Guests will find plenty of desirable 21st century amenities like high-speed wifi, smart TVs, and USB chargers in rooms. Most rooms also have kitchen areas with sinks, refrigerators, and microwaves.
With their hardwood floors, king beds and poolside location, rooms 6 and 8 are among the most popular accommodations. The standalone room 9 also is poolside, has a queen bed, and is up a short flight of steps, affording a touch more privacy for guests. “I recommend that one for stays of a week or more,” Curley says.
All rooms have keyless, gated entry for security purposes, but the cheaper rooms face the street while the slightly pricier ones are arrayed around the pool or in a lush garden. “If you’re traveling here on vacation, I recommend paying the extra money to be on our upper level,” Curley says. “That’s where the pool and tortoises are, and it just feels a bit more secluded.”
Tortoises, you say? Yes, one of the quirky charms of the Sugar Apple is its tortoise garden, home to at least a dozen red-footed tortoises, from silver dollar sized babies to manhole-dimensioned adults (new ones are always being born, and there are many places to hide in the garden, so an exact census is difficult).
Tortoises enjoying a meal at the hotel.
“None of the other hotels have tortoises,” Curley points out; other inhabitants at the bed & breakfast includes green iguanas that split time between the branches of the ancient mango, coconut, and flamboyant trees and sunning themselves on the pool deck, and of course colorful island birds making an occasional stopover in the hotel shady canopy.
The combination of low room count and spacious grounds means that that the Sugar Apple never feels crowded. Guests occasionally congregate on loungers or at the tables arrayed around the pool, but there’s also tables and chairs in the tortoise garden and a breezy rooftop deck with glimpses of harbor views.
Having successfully revived one of the most historic hotels in Christiansted, the owners have shifted focus to restoring a grand former plantation house in Frederiksted as the Featherleaf Inn, envisioned as both a hotel and premier event space, particularly for weddings under magnificent old-growth trees with the Caribbean Sea as a backdrop.
“We love the Sugar Apple,” says Marks. “Every time I go there I feel a sense of pride and endearment. But Feather Leaf is going to be even more incredible. Ryan and I are passionate about experiential travel, but we are even more passionate about well being and ecology. With 10 acres we are able to grow lots of food at the inn. Our vision is to host retreats, cooking classes, celebrations, fundraisers, local schools interested in farming, conservation, nutrition, and even coral reef ecology.”
