Folks,
I know I was supposed to finish this a long long time ago, but due to some unexpected medical issues, there was quite a bit of a delay in getting this out, hopefully this is still helpful.
As promised in an earlier post, here is a detailed trip report
We were in St. Thomas from August 21 - 28. This was our first time to the Virgin Islands, so were quite excited. We live in a suburb of Philadelphia, so accordingly our first choice of airport was PHL, but lo and behold, the flights from PHL to STT for the above mentioned dates were an eyewatering $780 per person. So looking at alternatives, found flights from BWI for about $430 per person.
Our plan was to leave PHL on Thursday evening around 18:00 to 19:00 and then stay for the night at a hotel near BWI, park and then catch the 06:00 out of BWI to ATL and then ATL to STT. However, because of some work related issues, we did not leave PHL till about 22:30, reached BWI around midnight. Not sure what was the reason, maybe a sixth sense, before trying to catch some winks, I checked the DL site about wait times for security and found out that DL recommends keeping about 75 minutes for security out of BWI. I was like great, for a 06:00 flight, first plan to be at the airport latest by 05:00 and add on top of it, another hour atleast, so I probably got about two and a half hours worth of sleep. The snippet on the DL site about security at BWI was very helpful, we probably spent atleast 45 minutes going through security. The additional half an hour was a bonus, allowed us time to get something in our tummies.
Thankfully, earlier on, I was able read a lot of the trip reports posted on TUG so was a little bit prepared, but the novelty of driving on the left and the steep hilly terrain was quite interesting to say the least.
To make a long story short, all three of us, myself, the better half and our six and a half year old are at the airport sleep deprived. We make it to STT by the afternoon. We go by taxi to Havensight, pick up the car, go to the Pueblo nearby, drive to MFC, check in and crash......
That was our arrival at MFC...
One point, a 4-wheel drive is not a must in St. Thomas, as long as the tires are in good condition and the vehicle has enough horsepower to go up the hills you can do without a 4-wheel drive.
We were allocated 321 in Tortola for our stay. The view out of the balconies was outstanding. A higher floor either in Jost Van Dyke or Virgin Gorda might have a slightly better view. Additionally, during our stay at MFC, I noticed that two units in Tortola, 301 and 302 are ones that need to be avoided. The walkway/stairs from the Marketplace to Tortola allow you to pretty much see whats going on in these two units. I also noticed that the occupants in 301 were smoking even though the resort itself in non-smoking.
The parking lot for Tortola is all gravel, has only one access point on the 5th floor. The gravel is not friendly for anything with wheels, so accordingly, try and get a parking spot near the access point if you have a lot of luggage to schlep.
MFC has a mid-week tidy service included as part of the stay. The complimentary tidy service includes a cleaning of the unit, replacement of the towels and additional beach towels are provided. The linens are not replaced. I am not sure if the bathrooms are cleaned as part of it or not.
One thing that struck me as a little bit odd was not seeing any recycling containers anywhere at MFC. My guess is that the resort and hotel do have recycling programs but just don't make it public knowledge.
The sand flies were quite a bit of pain, just be careful. That's all I'm going to say. My legs below the knees lost their battle with the sand flies..
Separately, watch for the Iguanas, they seem to be docile, but be careful. Saw a few in the parking lots. There is a location in the Marriott hotel near the tennis courts where a family of iguanas have made their home, that place is crawling with them.
The Sunset Cove Bar has a happy hour(4pm-6pm), where the drinks are buy one get one free. That being said, they have a cocktail called the Voodoo Juice that comes in a Cruzan plastic tub, costs about $14, but packs a solid punch. The best thing about it, if you save the tub, refills are only $10. The tub holds drinks for 2 people.
More details to follow.....
