After listening to my family complain about my “mileage addiction,” I decided that it was time to treat them to a nice Virgin Islands vacation and enjoy the fruits of my labor. The family of four flew on DL award tickets PHX-ATL-STT (coach), burning 120,000 DL miles. Award tickets to STT proved to be difficult to secure, even booking 4+ months in advance for travel during the Caribbean’s slow summer season, as DL has only one flight per day into STT. As a result, a 10-day vacation turned into 14 days, but there are worse places to spend an extra 4 days (especially considering that this allowed us to escape the “dry” summer heat of Arizona), so we took what was available. Scheduling also necessitated a red-eye flight for the PHX-ATL outbound leg with a 4+ hour layover in ATL, which is not exactly what you hope for when traveling with an 8-year old and a 5-year old. Overall, the award tickets were a good value, as fares for that time period were running $800 – 900 each.

The outbound flight was uneventful and the kids weathered the trip quite well, so the red-eye turned out to be a non-issue. Landing in St. Thomas was interesting, as the runway is adjacent to the water, and it seems as though you are going touch down right in the incredibly aqua blue Caribbean waters. You also deplane down stairs rather than a jetway, which was an exciting first-time experience and photo op for the kids.

We had booked 10 nights at the Ritz Carlton St. Thomas, using hotel award certificates from our First USA Value Miles credit card. We redeemed 120,000 “miles” (12,000 miles per night, although there are reports on FT that the redemption rate for some members has been raised to 20,000 miles per night). The advertised special rate for this package (ocean view room, breakfast and all taxes included) was $311 per night, so again this redemption was a great value.

We were met at the airport by the Ritz limo, which actually was a Ford Expedition. After the long red-eye flight the airport-hotel transfer was most welcome, as I would not have wanted to negotiate the rather hectic traffic while attempting to acclimate myself to driving on the lefthand side of the road. The Ritz is located on the East End of St. Thomas, near Red Hook. The only minor drawback to this location is that it is quite a distance (25 – 30 minutes) from Charlotte Amalie, which is where the cruise ship port and duty-free shopping district are located. However, we found the East End to be much more to our liking, as there are plenty of restaurants, beaches, etc. nearby, and the area overall is cleaner, safer and less congested.

The Ritz Carlton St. Thomas is consistently rated as one of the top resorts in the Caribbean, and it lives up to its reputation. The Ritz is a magnificent property, perched on a hillside overlooking Great Bay, with awesome views across Pillsbury Sound to St. John, another of the USVI. Architecturally, it resembles a Mediterranean villa. The open-air palazzo building, which houses the entrance, lobby and shops, is magnificent. The rooms (I believe there are only about 148 total) are spread out around a crescent beach in 5 separate 3-story buildings. The doors all open out onto an open-air walkway, as opposed to a hallway, so you really never notice any other guests or noise. The rooms are very spacious and nicely appointed, with a tasteful tropical motif and marble bathrooms. Each room has a very large private balcony overlooking the hotel grounds and ocean to St. John (our room was on the third floor of the second building, which was ideal). The grounds were beautifully landscaped and manicured. The pool area was very nice, with a negative edge free-form pool directly above the white sand beach, which gives the illusion that you could swim right out into the ocean. The Ritz beach is quite private, and has a well-stocked activities desk with all sorts of complimentary water sports equipment, including snorkeling gear, rafts, kayaks and sailboards. Most evenings, and some afternoons, there was live entertainment poolside. There are several restaurants of varying price range, all of which, including the pool bar, are excellent (although after 10 days the breakfast buffet lost some of its appeal). The service was impeccable and the hotel staff was extremely attentive, kind and polite which, as we experienced during our stay in the islands, was the exception rather than the rule in the Caribbean.

The overall atmosphere at the Ritz was a perfect blend of Caribbean casual and classic elegance. Very relaxing for mom and dad, but the children also found plenty of activities at the resort to keep themselves occupied, which frankly had been a concern of ours when originally considering this resort. It didn’t hurt that the Olsen twins, Mary Kate and Ashley, spent a day at the Ritz beach, which made Dad a big hero. The kids also enjoyed the daily feedings of the iguanas near the pool.

We found St. Thomas and the USVI to be much to our liking, with a good mix of activities, restaurants, shopping and culture on the one hand, and natural beauty and tranquility on the other hand. It takes a while to adjust to “island time,” as everything seems to move slower and at its own pace (with the notable exception of the local drivers, whom were always in a hurry, albeit with seemingly nowhere to go). And the local people are seem to be a bit stand-offish until you become accustomed to their ways (more so in the British Virgin Islands than the U.S. Virgin Islands). Interestingly, our children quickly made friends with local children at several of the public beaches.

I highly recommend renting a car (4-wheel drive is not necessary) for at least a portion of your time on St. Thomas. Although the island is not that large and taxis are plentiful, a rental car allows you the freedom of exploring the island at your own pace. Also, particularly for a family of four, the rental car was much more economical. We had mixed results with Budget rentals (make certain to reserve a car ahead of time), and would not rent from them again.

We spent a good deal of time exploring the island and seeing many of its historical sites and fine beaches, including Magens Bay and Coki Beach. The water in the Virgin Islands is incredible - - calm, crystal clear and about 84 degrees. And the weather was equally lovely, with daytime temperatures around 84 degrees, a few scattered showers, and breezy evenings. The entire family spent many hours snorkeling right off the beach, and saw a wide variety of underwater life. The children enjoyed a visit to Coral World Marine Park and Underwater Observatory. We all enjoyed driving on the left around the narrow and surprisingly steep roads of St. Thomas. Although we were able to see many of the attractions, we also have very fond memories of spending quiet time together as a family, something that occurs all too infrequently in our day-to-day lives.

We spent parts of several days wandering around the quaint duty-free shops in Charlotte Amalie. We had been warned ahead of time to avoid shopping on days when cruise ships were in port, due to the crowds, but did not find this to be a problem and in fact probably liked the feel of the place when it wasn’t quite so deserted. The shopping was generally good and, if you take time to educate yourself, there were some decent bargains.

There are a number of restaurants on St. Thomas that I do not hesitate to recommend. As previously mentioned, the food at the Ritz was outstanding. Agave Terrace at the Point Pleasant Resort serves delicious food in a wonderful, romantic setting - - perched on an open-air terrace hanging over the side of a cliff, with panoramic views of the Caribbean. Duffy’s Love Shack in Red Hook is a true “joint,” located in a corrugated tin shack in a parking lot, with surprisingly good food and all sorts of interesting (and lethal) drinks. Senor Pizza serves good pizza and will deliver to all East End hotels.

Another highlight of our vacation was a half-day excursion on the Ritz Carlton’s private catamaran, The Lady Lynsey. We sailed to St. John for an afternoon of excellent snorkeling, with food and drinks served on the return trip. A first-class operation all the way around.

A great daytrip from St. Thomas was taking the ferry to St. John, the smallest and least populated of the USVI. From Red Hook in the East End, only about 5 minutes from the Ritz, a $3 and a 20-minute ferry ride gets you to Cruz Bay, St. John. Cruz Bay is a wonderful little town with many shops and restaurants. Not to be missed, however, are St. John’s world famous beaches and unspoiled natural beauty (most of the island is a very zealously protected national park). We took one of the many “safari taxis” (which is another name for a pickup truck with bench seats in the bed) to Trunk Bay for a lovely day on the beach. I highly recommend this beach for anyone with kids, as they have nice snack bars and shower facilities (which makes the return trip much more pleasant), as well as very good snorkeling.

After four nights at the Ritz, we packed overnight bags and departed for the British Virgin Islands for a few days. We took a ferry from Red Hook to Virgin Gorda, BVI, about a 2-hour ride. Although there are faster and smaller (and more expensive) day-trip boats that make trip, we were very pleased with the ferry experience. The ferry ride through the islands was smooth and the scenery beautiful, and taking the ferry allowed us to spend a few nights on Virgin Gorda so that we could explore that island.

After clearing BVI customs, we picked up our rental car, a well-worn Suzuki, from Clennell at Mahogany Rentals, whom I highly recommend. Then it was off to explore the island. By now I was accustomed to driving on the left, but trying to avoid chickens, goats and cows on the road proved to be another challenge.

Virgin Gorda is significantly less developed than the more well-known BVI of Tortola, although it has all of the modern conveniences and comforts, including several reknowned resorts (Bitter End and Little Dix Bay among them), with a heavy yachting influence. There are only about 1500 inhabitants on the island, which is about 7 miles long and 3 miles wide. The highest point on VG is about 1,400 feet, so there are some steep grades and incredible vistas, including those of Savannah Bay and the North Sound. The most popular tourist attraction is “The Baths,” which is a natural rock formation on the southwest coast. Giant boulders form a series of pools and caves at the water’s edge. I must say that The Baths and neighboring Devil’s Bay are the most beautiful beaches that I have ever seen. It can, however, get a little crowded with daytrippers from the cruise ships and other islands, so it was a real benefit to be able to stay on Virgin Gorda and visit these areas early in the morning and later in the afternoon and virtually have the place to yourself. Indeed, this was one of the highlights of our vacation.

We stayed a couple of nights at Nail Bay Resort, which by Virgin Gorda standards is a mid-level property. It was serviceable, but by no means a resort or a luxury property. Access to Nail Bay also required traversing a dirt 4-wheel drive road for several miles. Although a bit rough, the road added to the adventure of the trip. Meals at The Top of the Baths and The Bath & Turtle restaurants were average.

After leaving the rental car at the dock with the keys in it, a short ferry ride took us to Roadtown, Tortola, BVI, where we rented a jeep and explored for a day. Tortola is much busier than Virgin Gorda, but also very casual and laid back, almost to a fault. We spent our one night on Tortola at the Ole Works Inn on Cane Garden Bay. The Ole Works is owned by Quito Rhymer, the BVI’s most famous (only?) recording artist. The accommodations were spartan but clean, economical and located right across the narrow street from the busy beach. Meals at Quito’s Gazebo (particularly the chicken roti, a very tasty local dish) and the Paradise Bar down the beach were better than average. Frankly, however, we did not care much for Tortola, and it was clearly the least favorite of the islands that we visited

We turned in the rental car at West End (Hertz permits this drop off at no extra charge, which saves the hassle of a separate ferry or taxi ride), and caught the ferry out of Soper’s Hole at West End back to Red Hook on St. Thomas. The intermediate stop in St. John to clear U.S. customs was an adventure, as the island was overwhelmed with visitors celebrating the final day of Carnival and waiting for the Fourth of July fireworks display (which we were able to observe from the comfort of our hotel room balcony while enjoying room service). Then it was six more days and nights back at the Ritz Carlton St. Thomas.

After two weeks, no one was ready to leave paradise, and the return trip to the States seemed particularly long and arduous. Clearing customs at STT is a bit of a pain, as there a number of flights leaving at roughly the same time, and big crowds with lots of shopping bags full of duty-free purchases at a tiny airport trying to clear customs on a hot, humid day is a recipe for flaring tempers. Again, we had uneventful albeit delayed DL flights, STT-ATL (overnight at the ATL Airport Hilton Towers) and ATL-PHX.

All-in-all, a truly wonderful, relaxing and memorable family vacation, and one that I hope to repeat with very few changes. I highly recommend the Ritz Carlton, as well as the side-trips to St. John and Virgin Gorda (and would extend my time at those locations on my next visit). Thanks in part goes to FlyerTalk, where I picked up enough tips over the last year to accumulate enough DL miles to secure the 4 roundtrip award tickets, despite having previously taken a grand total of only one DL flight in my lifetime!

[Edited for spelling.]



[This message has been edited by cactuspete (edited 10-25-2001).]