Friday 7 September 2012
Tuesday 4 September 2012
Things to buy...
If its Cigars you want then Sweets is the place to go. They have a great collection of good tobacco and if you like the rum soaked cigars please ask Jeff to make you some when you get to the island to let them soak for a week! He also has a great selection of sweets that is run by his lovely wife!
Sunday 2 September 2012
Places to get a drink...
I had a recent birthday on the island and had the great opportunity to celebrate with some locals (29 August 2012) at the Rum and Wine bar at the Comanche Hotel. The bartender Amanda took great care of us! Please stop by and have a drink over there. Great atmosphere and Amanda will take care of you!
Companies to dive with...
My wife and I discovered Dive Experience on our first trip down here in 2002, and have been diving with them ever since. Owner, boat captain, dive master, and PADI instructor, Michelle Pugh, leads many of the dives. Michelle was also inducted into the Women Divers Hall of Fame in 2004, and in 2011, Dive Experience was awarded the Best Dive Operation on St. Croix. Michelle is supported by a fantastic staff, many are also instructors, all of whom are extremely knowledgeable and professional, know where the critters live - large and small - and are great at pointing them out. Depending on how full the boat is, Skeeter, Michelle's golden retriever, might come out on the dive boat for the trip and jump in!
If you're interested in a lasting memento of your dives, just let them know! For a reasonable price, Sam, their resident videographer, will go out with you and capture your memories on a DVD that you can take home with you. Just let them know when you schedule your dives and smile for Sam's camera!
Dive Experience's boat is not the biggest dive boat in Christiansted, but it can take 14 divers relatively comfortably - hey, who wants to dive in an overly crowded ocean anyway! - and is of the quickest boats so it is a MUCH shorter trip to the dive sites. In addition to the above, Dive Experience's boat was designed in a way that doesn't trap a lot of the diesel fumes from the boat engine during the ride out to the dive sites. If you're like my wife, and are sensitive to the fumes, this boat is the best one in Christiansted.
For more information, go to http://www.divexp.com - and tell them Tom and Elizabeth's blog sent you!
If you're interested in a lasting memento of your dives, just let them know! For a reasonable price, Sam, their resident videographer, will go out with you and capture your memories on a DVD that you can take home with you. Just let them know when you schedule your dives and smile for Sam's camera!
Dive Experience's boat is not the biggest dive boat in Christiansted, but it can take 14 divers relatively comfortably - hey, who wants to dive in an overly crowded ocean anyway! - and is of the quickest boats so it is a MUCH shorter trip to the dive sites. In addition to the above, Dive Experience's boat was designed in a way that doesn't trap a lot of the diesel fumes from the boat engine during the ride out to the dive sites. If you're like my wife, and are sensitive to the fumes, this boat is the best one in Christiansted.
For more information, go to http://www.divexp.com - and tell them Tom and Elizabeth's blog sent you!
Places to stay...
My wife and I have been vacationing in St. Croix for about 10 years and have always stayed at Hotel on The Cay (HoTC). It is on a little island in the Christiansted harbor called Protestant Cay and is the only semi-public beach that is in the downtown Christianstead area. Yup, I said semi-private. While it is just a few steps away for hotel guests, it is a short ferry ride for anyone else who wants to come over. For those not staying at the hotel, there is a small fee for the ferry ride.
HoTC is a basic hotel. If you're looking for a 5-star resort, you need to look elsewhere. That said, it is comfortable and casual, and the price is great for the proximity. They're in the process of updating the rooms, so I'll give you a review of the updated standard room. The main differences are new tile, counters, sinks, and lighting in the bathrooms, most will also have the tub removed, replaced with a spacious shower stall and a small hair dryer. The small kitchenette area also has a newer counter, mini-refrigerator, microwave, toaster oven, sink, and coffee maker; and the updated rooms also have a newer TV, ceiling fan, and mattresses. The standard room has two queen sized beds, private (not shared) bathroom, a small closet area with an iron and ironing board, a kitchenette, a six drawer dresser with a mirror, a TV mounted on the wall, and two chairs. TV is piped in from New York so you will get their local television as well as Discovery, HBO, ESPN2 and some other stations. There is no on demand channels. Rooms also have a balcony with two additional plastic chairs and a small table. The rooms all have individually controlled AC, but on a day with a breeze, we prefer to open the doors to the balcony (close the screen doors - there are mosquitoes on St. Croix) open the slats in the room door, and enjoy the fresh air. Every room has a view of the water. Most rooms have a view of the ocean and some a view of the harbor and the fort.
HoTC also has a pool that is only accessible to hotel guests - guests need to use their room key to access the pool area. There is no lifeguard on duty, but the pool isn't huge or deep (max. depth is 7'). It is a roof-top pool that is above the sole restaurant on Protestant Cay (the Harbor Master Restaurant). While it is an okay pool, and is usually fairly empty - most people are at the beach - the exhaust fan for the restaurant can be heard constantly from about 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Being a constant, it quickly becomes an unnoticeable background sound; however, it does keep you from hearing the ocean (which the pool overlooks).
HoTC boasts WiFi internet access in the hotel rooms. WiFi can be received in many rooms, but the signal is not as strong as some might need it to be. I traveled with a full sized laptop, and was able to get to the internet; however, my wife has a little netbook, and it couldn't pick up the signal until she walked out of the room and took a few steps towards the signal repeater. Some may also find it helpful to open the door to the room, but then you have to hang out with the door open the whole time. The signal is strong up on the terrace level, where there are chairs, tables, and barbeques that guests can rent, if you want to be outside while checking in on your social media site(s), replying to a few emails, or just searching the Net.
HoTC is a basic hotel. If you're looking for a 5-star resort, you need to look elsewhere. That said, it is comfortable and casual, and the price is great for the proximity. They're in the process of updating the rooms, so I'll give you a review of the updated standard room. The main differences are new tile, counters, sinks, and lighting in the bathrooms, most will also have the tub removed, replaced with a spacious shower stall and a small hair dryer. The small kitchenette area also has a newer counter, mini-refrigerator, microwave, toaster oven, sink, and coffee maker; and the updated rooms also have a newer TV, ceiling fan, and mattresses. The standard room has two queen sized beds, private (not shared) bathroom, a small closet area with an iron and ironing board, a kitchenette, a six drawer dresser with a mirror, a TV mounted on the wall, and two chairs. TV is piped in from New York so you will get their local television as well as Discovery, HBO, ESPN2 and some other stations. There is no on demand channels. Rooms also have a balcony with two additional plastic chairs and a small table. The rooms all have individually controlled AC, but on a day with a breeze, we prefer to open the doors to the balcony (close the screen doors - there are mosquitoes on St. Croix) open the slats in the room door, and enjoy the fresh air. Every room has a view of the water. Most rooms have a view of the ocean and some a view of the harbor and the fort.
HoTC also has a pool that is only accessible to hotel guests - guests need to use their room key to access the pool area. There is no lifeguard on duty, but the pool isn't huge or deep (max. depth is 7'). It is a roof-top pool that is above the sole restaurant on Protestant Cay (the Harbor Master Restaurant). While it is an okay pool, and is usually fairly empty - most people are at the beach - the exhaust fan for the restaurant can be heard constantly from about 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Being a constant, it quickly becomes an unnoticeable background sound; however, it does keep you from hearing the ocean (which the pool overlooks).
HoTC boasts WiFi internet access in the hotel rooms. WiFi can be received in many rooms, but the signal is not as strong as some might need it to be. I traveled with a full sized laptop, and was able to get to the internet; however, my wife has a little netbook, and it couldn't pick up the signal until she walked out of the room and took a few steps towards the signal repeater. Some may also find it helpful to open the door to the room, but then you have to hang out with the door open the whole time. The signal is strong up on the terrace level, where there are chairs, tables, and barbeques that guests can rent, if you want to be outside while checking in on your social media site(s), replying to a few emails, or just searching the Net.
Places to eat...
I personally think that the best food and service in an upper-scale restaurant that will still cater to folks walking in with shorts and a tee is the Bombay Club. Most entrees are $20 and up but well worth it. I'm not one to spend $20 on pasta but their lobster fettuccine (we have had twice at least) AWESOME! I had my birthday dinner there and had the surf and turf (lobster and fillet mignon) was filling, great size for cost. Jeff the owner is always there to meet and greet. A really nice guy and very knowledgeable about the island. Please stop in and tell him we said hello. I wont fault him for being a Green Bay Packer fan either!
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