day passes at resorts?

[Sew4me]

Anyone know if there are any resorts that we can get a day pass? will be there in Nov and want to escape from the crowds of cruisers.

[blue_water]

St Thomas is not a resort island, really. Head for Sapphire Beach, there is a condo resort there with the amenities you need but very comfortable as compared to other nice beaches with amenities. Just search this forum using the search function for a wealth of info on Sapphire.

[Ms411]

Bolongo Bay Resort and Best Western Emerald Beach have offered day passes, though I'm not sure if they offer them all the time. You'll have to call them direct and ask what the current policy is or will be in Nov.

[blue_water]

I would recommend Bolongo (Iggie's) for happy hour and evenings but the beach isn't that great there for a beach day. Quieter there but...

And in my opinion Emerald beach is not the place to get away from the "crowd of cruisers" that the OP is looking for...

[Ms411]

Depending on when they come, even in November, there may not be a "crowd of cruisers" anywhere, except maybe Magens.

 

Some of the resort restaurants are giving some taxi drivers incentives to bring cruisers, so hopefully the beach goers will end up at more beaches to lessen the crowds.

[blue_water]

Depending on when they come, even in November, there may not be a "crowd of cruisers" anywhere, except maybe Magens.

 

Some of the resort restaurants are giving some taxi drivers incentives to bring cruisers, so hopefully the beach goers will end up at more beaches to lessen the crowds.

 

Right, just sayin' that would've been one of the last spots I would recommend for this OP, that's all.

[Ms411]

My intent was to answer their question about resort day passes. I can't say on any given day if a beach is going to be crowded or not, because popularity of a beach is subject to change on any given day. A few people who have posted on TripAdvisor have commented about the crowds at Magens and Sapphire specifically.

 

Emerald Beach is seldom crowded even in season and even if there's a ship or two at Crown Bay. I'm pretty sure that the last time I was there, and took pictures for my Emerald Beach slide show, there was a ship at Crown Bay. There weren't many people in the water, but the bar and restaurant at Island Beachcomber were pretty busy at lunch time.

[blue_water]

Righteo!

 

I stand by Sapphire as the best beach option that is not crowded (with amenities similar to a resort), Emerald would be low on my list. But these are our opinions of course, the OP can get more info from others here and on TA as you know. I also want folks to know STT does not have the typical resorts they've seen on other islands, and they want to look at what is there to make a more informed Decision and enjoy their day.

 

Thanks!

[Ms411]

This was posted the other day by a hotel guest who was on STT this month:

 

"We actually went to Coki beach 3 times since our hotel was right down the road. I never saw a jet ski there or at sapphire beach for some reason. I forgot to mention how bad the island was with the crusie people the first 4 days. Every single beach we went to was filled with people and it took a lot away from the beauty."

 

Mitsurgirly's review has more than 2,000 views, so sooner or later, Sapphire is likely to get crowded. Even before her review, many cab drivers were taking people there to avoid the $4 fee at Magens. Timing is everything, and no matter what your plan, you have to consider that things may change.

 

And yes, you're right, STT is not the resort type place you'll find in many other Caribbean islands. Because St Thomas is so small, tourists and locals alike are mostly going to the same places. And since all beaches are public, you'll find locals and tourists at almost every beach.

[blue_water]

Yes when we stayed at Sapphire Coki (which is or favorite) was always crowded until later in the day. Sapphire remained pretty quiet even with 20k cruisers on STT.

Other areas like SH and to the south of Red Hook have seen "waves"of tourists over the years, the drivers do have some impact with newbies.