At Frenchmans Cove

[Joe Egan]

Our first time to St. Thomas and the Frenchmans Cove is a GREAT place to have as a home base. The units are Marriott first class. We are in building number 2 and watch the cruse ships come in each morning from our balcony.
The weather has been great since Sunday. The forcast each day says scattered showers but not a drop. Let me know if you have any questions.

 

[tinkerbell2]

What is the beach like ?
As a Marriott owner, do you know if they have Elite perks such as Platinum Marriott Rewards for owning several weeks ?

 

[TheTimeTraveler]

Joe: Glad you like it.

A few questions for you: Did you find airfares to be competitive in price, or were you rather fixed in what you had to pay (i.e. little of no competition)?

Is the construction there 100% complete or are they still building?

Are all the pools conveniently located or do you have a long walk to jump in one?

How are the unit views in general? Do some of the units face the island itself or are all the units facing the water?

What does Marriott offer for activities to their guests?

 

[jimf41]

A few questions for you: Did you find airfares to be competitive in price, or were you rather fixed in what you had to pay (i.e. little of no competition)?

Best deal I've found is CO out of EWR. We drive to the Fairfield at EWR and for a 1 night stay we park the car. We're going in FEB 09' for 30 days and the rate is about $200. Lots of flights in NYC airports but I'm unfamiliar with the Mass. area. Recently some folks have flown into PR and taken a small flight over to STT. They say it was cheaper but I prefer direct flights.

Is the construction there 100% complete or are they still building?

They'll be building till 2012, maybe longer now that the economy has downturned a bit. You don't notice the construction noise very much at all.

Are all the pools conveniently located or do you have a long walk to jump in one?

Only one pool built at FC so far. You can take elevators or steps to get to it. I don't think it's at all inconvenient but some folks do. The resort is built on the side of a hill so nothing is really a level walk.

How are the unit views in general? Do some of the units face the island itself or are all the units facing the water?

All units are ocean view. Nothing faces the Island or garden. Depending on the bldg you could be looking straight out at the bay or across the bay to Charlotte Amalie. There are some obstucted views but they are very few and only on the lower floors of certain bldg's.

What does Marriott offer for activities to their guests?

Joe can answer this one. I've been there twice so far but have not paid much attention to resort activities. Too many other neat things to do on and off the Island.

Joe,
Is the checkin bldg open or are they still located in bldg 2?
Have they started valet parking yet?

 

[Joe Egan]

We are not familiar with the Elite Perks program but hopefully some else will respond.

We flew in from PHL to SJU to STT with the SJU to STT on Cape Air, a nine passenger plane. Regretable the sky was overcast with light rain and we didn't get to enjoy the view of all the out islands.

Constuction continues at Island Time but it does not effect us.

There is only one pool and it is at beach level. The facility is built on a hill and if you are not in the two lower buildings then you need to take your elevator to your buildings ground floor the cross the driveway to building one or two and take another elevator to its ground floor then either take stairs or another elevator to the pool. If you are a family with children you may want to request building #1 or #2.
We are permitted to use the pool at the Marriott Frenchmans Reef and the pool at the Marriott Morningstar next door.

The buildings all have views of the ocean and the inlet to the harbor.
Building #1 is turned towards Charlotte Amalie more then the ocean.

 

[Lingber]

Hi, Anyone, have any info on the activities offered at this resort? Seriously considering a trip there and would appreciate some feed back!

Thanks!

 

[djs113]

Its a great resort

we are going for our third year next month

We opened the resort with JimF Presidents week 2 years back

The new check in building is now open, no more checking in the temp office

Resort is a great size - despite only one pool being currently open it never felt crowded - many people are doing stuff all over the island or visiting the neighboring islands - so the pool never felt crowded

the beach is OK, they are still working out some legal issues pertaining to the coral reef and dock there

As previous poster said, you can also use the beaches next door at the Morningstar hotel

they have a kids club there if you have kids

they have an outdoor restaurant next to the pool

they have paddle boats, jet skiis, etc to rent on beach

many people go snorkeling as well

 

[SpikeMauler]

Its a great resort

we are going for our third year next month

We opened the resort with JimF Presidents week 2 years back

The new check in building is now open, no more checking in the temp office

Resort is a great size - despite only one pool being currently open it never felt crowded - many people are doing stuff all over the island or visiting the neighboring islands - so the pool never felt crowded

the beach is OK, they are still working out some legal issues pertaining to the coral reef and dock there

As previous poster said, you can also use the beaches next door at the Morningstar hotel

they have a kids club there if you have kids

they have an outdoor restaurant next to the pool

they have paddle boats, jet skiis, etc to rent on beach

many people go snorkeling as well

I'm closing on a Platinum week now. Cant wait to get down there. Looks like the dock is going to be fixed(see link). Now, if they could only get rid of the coral.http://www.virginislandsdailynews.com/index.pl/article?id=17631837

 

[jimf41]

Its a great resort

we are going for our third year next month

We opened the resort with JimF Presidents week 2 years back

The new check in building is now open, no more checking in the temp office

See you down there Dave. What Bldg are you going to try for? I'm thinking I'll try for a high floor in #5 the St John bldg. I'll be there for a while and I'm a little concerned that we'll get tired of the elevator trips.

Good news about the checkin center. I didn't think that was open yet.

 

[714]

A few questions for you: Did you find airfares to be competitive in price, or were you rather fixed in what you had to pay (i.e. little of no competition)?

Best deal I've found is CO out of EWR. We drive to the Fairfield at EWR and for a 1 night stay we park the car. We're going in FEB 09' for 30 days and the rate is about $200. Lots of flights in NYC airports but I'm unfamiliar with the Mass. area. Recently some folks have flown into PR and taken a small flight over to STT. They say it was cheaper but I prefer direct flights.

Thanks Jim for the tip on the Fairfield at EWR. We are leaving next Sunday for Frenchman's Cove and will be staying over Sat. night at the Fairfield with pts. and leaving the car there for the week @ $10 per day---good deal.

Will anybody be at Frenchman's Cove the week of Jan. 26? We are interested in taking a private chartered boat (we have spoke to the captain)
that will go basically anywhere around St. John or BVI for the day---we need a max. of 6 people. Anyone interested can send me a private message and we can give you more details.
We were there last year at the same time and had a great time---hoping for same this year.
R & J

 

[mariawolf]

When we were there last May nothing had been started the the hill buildings--just digging--have any of those been started. Talking about the hill farthest from the hotel.

 

[mariawolf]

Also are they still charging for an umbrella on the beach there?? I think that is the height of ridiculous!

 

[icydog]

About our stay here and a question about mailing things home to NJ

We are at the Frenchman's Cove now on our owner's week. They do not charge for umbrellas over here but they do charge at the hotel (but with a timeshare key you don't have to pay)

We did the tour and got our $100 x 2 for each couple. We used the money to pay for three lunches with drinks.

We went to Magan's Bay. We hate the roads and driving on the wrong on the road. The people here are very nice.

We found a cheap grocery store called "Cost U Less" that a Marriott front desk clerk showed us. It really did cost us less, much less. It is like a warehouse club but not as well stocked as a BJs or Costco.

We love the timeshare and the location. We are having a wonderful time and hate the thought on leaving on Saturday.

Question: Can we mail things home from the US Post Office on the Island in priority flat rate boxes. I was thinking of mailing my clothes home and packing my luggage with liquor.

 

[mariawolf]

Glad to hear they are not charging for umbrellas on the beach--we had to pay $40 for one week while there last May--it was particularly irritating since we could use the ones at Morningstar for free!

 

[djs113]

hey jim

we go down on feb 14, will u still be there or are you going before Presidents week again?

I requested the part of St John (St John is a huge building) building behind building 2 - Virgin Gorda, top floor of course

great news on the dock being rebuilt eventually........... now we just have work on the Coral / Calcium deposits and the 2nd pool -- then Paradise would be complete

let me know

- David

 

[SpikeMauler]

Any word yet on the shoreline coral removal?

 

[icydog]

Umbrellas are free but the two top tiers are for smokers which irks me no end since I am asthmatic and the smell of smoke kills me. The two tops tiers are the best for shade and I see moms with babies hiding in corners trying to stay in the shade while trying to shelter themselves from the smoke. I am going to talk to the GM today about that, that is if I can find him/her.

We are in room 545 which is in the middle of the top group of villas. We do not look at construction and have a beautiful view of the bay. Any villa in this building would be spectacular. Also the buildings directly below us would be as nice and would not require three elevators, only two, to get to the pool.

I highly recommend the Cost U Less Warehouse store. We bought enough food for a week and saved big money by doing the shopping there. We bought fresh chicken breast, spaghetti, frozen pizzas, sodas, tuna fish, talapia, etc etc for almost the same prices as stateside. Also we got the best $6 bottles of wine there comparable to $15 wine in the 50 states.

I am going to post another thread about using the Post Office here. I want to ship clothing home in a priority mail flat rate box and send liquor home in my check on luggage.

 

[icydog]

Any word yet on the shoreline coral removal?

I never heard anything but I had the worst tour guide in my history of taking Marriott tours. He was brand new and kept us the full 90 minutes asking us rhetorical questions over and over. Finally I said, we can't afford this. No matter how much it is--- we cannot afford another week.
Only then would he let us out of there.

 

[mariawolf]

Just to confirm I was asking about charges for umbrellas on the beach area?? Not for the ones around the pool--if they charged for those I would be even more irate!

 

[jimf41]

Mariawolf-
I'll confirm this in two weeks but last year the umbrellas at the beach at the Cove were $5 per day or $20 for the week. They only have about a dozen as it is a very small beach. The beach chairs and umbrellas around the pool are free. I don't think this is unreasonable when you consider it costs $25 a day at Ocean Pointe for two chairs and 1 umbrella. There is also a large shade tree on the right side of the beach that is my favorite spot.

While the umbrellas around the pool are free there aren't a lot of them. So far I haven't noticed any "crack of dawn" pool chair hogs and you could still find shade around the pool as late as 10:00 AM. This is the third high season for the resort and I believe they have about half of the units built now so we'll see what it's like this year.

Icydog-
Where is the Cost U Less? The one thing I haven't been able to get down there is inexpensive wine. Sounds like a great place but do you have to pay a membership fee?

DJS113-
David, I'll be there starting 6 FEB for 4 weeks. I'm retiring the week I get back so it's sort of a retirement present for us. I requested high floor in BLDG 1,5,or 2 in that order. The views have to be great from Bldg 5 but I'm not sure I want to deal with the elevator trips for a month.

 

[djs113]

Jim

email me where you are when you get down there

we can meet at bar like 2 years ago when i get down there

(now that the bar is much bigger than 2 years ago when it was basically a table in front of the MAZE)

we always shop at the supermarket half way to Red hook called "Food Center" - about 15 mins away by car, very nice, well stocked, and very clean - very similar to a supermarket up here in the states - they have a full, extensive selections of wines and liquors there to purchase - high end and regular table wines - they are open very late to - i think it was til 10pm each night

Pueblo in town is not clean, and very seedy feeling - i would not let my wife go there alone at night

There is no membership fee for Cost U Less

just my thoughts

- David

 

[SpikeMauler]

Mariawolf-
I'll confirm this in two weeks but last year the umbrellas at the beach at the Cove were $5 per day or $20 for the week. They only have about a dozen as it is a very small beach. The beach chairs and umbrellas around the pool are free. I don't think this is unreasonable when you consider it costs $25 a day at Ocean Pointe for two chairs and 1 umbrella. There is also a large shade tree on the right side of the beach that is my favorite spot.

While the umbrellas around the pool are free there aren't a lot of them. So far I haven't noticed any "crack of dawn" pool chair hogs and you could still find shade around the pool as late as 10:00 AM. This is the third high season for the resort and I believe they have about half of the units built now so we'll see what it's like this year.

Icydog-
Where is the Cost U Less? The one thing I haven't been able to get down there is inexpensive wine. Sounds like a great place but do you have to pay a membership fee?

DJS113-
David, I'll be there starting 6 FEB for 4 weeks. I'm retiring the week I get back so it's sort of a retirement present for us. I requested high floor in BLDG 1,5,or 2 in that order. The views have to be great from Bldg 5 but I'm not sure I want to deal with the elevator trips for a month.

Wow,4 weeks! I'm jealous. I've noticed Platinum weeks have been dropping lately. Just seen one listed for $16,500. Maybe time to pick up another week or wait it out to try and find bottom. Hopefully values will bounce back in the next couple of years.
BTW Happy Retirement.

 

[714]

"we always shop at the supermarket half way to Red hook called "Food Center" - about 15 mins away by car, very nice, well stocked, and very clean - very similar to a supermarket up here in the states - they have a full, extensive selections of wines and liquors there to purchase - high end and regular table wines - they are open very late to - i think it was til 10pm each night"
We are going down on Sunday for a week and have been going to St. Thomas for several years, and have as you mentioned, also always shop at the "Food Center" in Red Hook and I agree with you that is is quite similar to a market in the states and the prices are reasonable and it is very clean.
Enjoy your time in Feb. down there, we can't wait for Sunday.

 

[CMF]

What are the restaurant options at Frenchman's Cove? Could a family pull off a "no cooking" vacation there?

Charles

 

[jimf41]

What are the restaurant options at Frenchman's Cove? Could a family pull off a "no cooking" vacation there?

Charles

Absolutely, but you'll have to rent a car to do it. The restaurant in the Cove was pretty decent I thought but the hotel restaurants are average at best IMO. In and around town there are great restaurants ranging from reasonable to pretty darn expensive. You'll never visit all of them in a week. I was surprised to find a bar in town, Cafe Amici, with pretty decent pizza. The ones I always go back to are Craig & Sally's, Oceana, Mims, Hook Line & Sinker, Randy's and the Banana Tree Grill. Those are a few in Charlotte Amalie. Check out these websites for a few more.

http://www.frommers.com/destinations/stthomasusvi/97_inddin.html#

http://www.10best.com/St._Thomas,U.S._Virgin_Islands/Restaurants/

http://travel.nytimes.com/travel/gu...in-islands/st-thomas/restaurant-listings.html