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Caneel Bay: Current Access & Redevelopment Update

Jenn Manes
The former Caneel Bay Resort as seen from an overlook on Route 20 in St. John, US Virgin Islands.

It has been 3,008 days since Hurricane Irma closed the Caneel Bay Resort for good. Since then, little to no demolition has occurred on the property, and a redeveloper has yet to be publicly announced. I have reached out to the National Park Service (NPS) multiple times over the past few months, and have not received a response regarding the property’s future. The last correspondence I received was back in May. At that time, I was told that NPS was conducting “qualification reviews” and additional information would be released later that month or in June. That never happened.

So what it going on at Caneel Bay? Honestly, I don’t think many people know. The good news is that there is land access to several of its beaches, and all are accessible from the water. Here is a rundown of everything that’s currently accessible at Caneel Bay:

Map image of the former Caneel Bay Resort

The Beaches

  • Caneel Beach: Caneel Beach is the main beach that you can see from the overlook on Route 20. Caneel is a very calm, western-facing beach. This is one of the three beaches on the Caneel property that you can walk to. To access Caneel Beach, you can taxi to the entrance of the Caneel Bay Resort and walk in. You can also park on the property for free. The walk to Caneel Beach is less than five minutes from the parking lot. It’s probably a 10-minute walk from the entrance. There is a short set of stairs to walk down, and then it is a flat walk to the beach. Caneel Beach does not have any amenities other than three portable toilets, which are cleaned daily.
  • Little Caneel Beach: Little Caneel Beach is located on the southern side of the dock. This can also be seen partially from the overlook. You can swim over to Little Caneel Beach from Caneel Beach. You can either swim around or under the dock. If you swim under the dock, be mindful of the rebar that extends down in a few places.
  • Honeymoon Beach: Honeymoon Beach is accessible from the Lind Point Trail. If you start the trail from behind the Visitor Center in Cruz Bay, it is roughly a mile walk. If you start at the top of the hill near the Virgin Islands National Park sign at the entrance of the park on Route 20, it is roughly a 10-minute walk. That hike, however, is all downhill. You can also access Honeymoon Beach via taxi from the entrance of the Caneel Bay Resort. The taxi cost is $6 per person, per way. (Children under 12 are free when you purchase it online.) The taxi ride is less than 10 minutes. The Caneel Bay Beach Club is located at Honeymoon Beach. See below for more information on that. (Click here to read a 2022 post about the Lind Point Trail hike to Honeymoon Beach.)
  • Salomon Beach: Salomon Beach is also accessible from the Lind Point Trail. It is a few minutes closer when hiking the trail from the Visitor Center in Cruz Bay. It is maybe five or so minutes longer when starting the hike from the top of the hill. There are no amenities here.
  • Paradise Beach: This beach is only accessible by water. You can only go up to the high tide water line per Virgin Islands law. There are no amenities here.
  • Scott Beach: This beach is only accessible by water. You can only go up to the high tide water line per Virgin Islands law. There are no amenities here.
  • Turtle Bay Beach: This beach is only accessible by water. You can only go up to the high tide water line per Virgin Islands law. There are no amenities here.
  • Little Hawksnest Beach: Little Hawksnest is located on the west side of Hawksnest Bay. If you are at Hawksnest and are looking at the water, this is the small beach to your left where you see some old hotel rooms with white roofs. These rooms can also be seen from The Windmill Bar. This beach is accessible by water. It is also accessible via a trickier rock scramble from Hawksnest Beach. There are no amenities here.

Amenities: Food & Beverage 

  • Caneel Bay Beach Club: The Caneel Bay Beach Club is located at Honeymoon Beach. The beach club has food and drink available for sale. They also rent lounge chairs, have restroom and shower facilities, as well as a small retail shop. The Caneel Bay Beach Club is located on the eastern side of the beach. If you plan to take the Lind Point Trail to Honeymoon, walk to the other end of the beach for the beach club.
  • ZoZo’s: ZoZo’s is an upscale dinner restaurant located on Caneel Beach. It reopens for the season on Wednesday, December 10th.
Caneel Beach

Want to learn more about St. John? Take an island tour with me!

Learn more here –> www.explorestj.com/tour

See the island of St. John with a resident. See the nooks and crannies that many visitors miss. Explore the beaches, historical sites, perhaps a tiki bar or two, and much more. Full & half days available. Rated “Excellent” on TripAdvisor.

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Skinny Legs Lists For Sale!

Jenn Manes


There are so many ways to describe Skinny Legs. Legendary. Iconic. A Coral Bay staple. “A pretty ok place.” I have spent countless hours at Skinny Legs, and I have taken hundreds, if not thousands, of island tour guests to check out arguably the best burger joint on St. John. Well, guess what? All of that can soon be yours. Skinny Legs officially listed for sale earlier today. 

But before I get into the details of the sale, let’s rewind back to October 2017. It was just a few weeks after Hurricane Irma hit St. John. I evacuated up to Connecticut after the storm, and, about two weeks later, I received a call from John McInnis. John is a longtime St. John visitor, who happens to own one of the most popular bars in the country – the Flora-Bama. John was heavily involved in Kenny Chesney’s Love For Love City Relief efforts at the time, and he called to ask if I wanted a ride home. The airport was closed, so I immediately said yes. I flew down to North Carolina, and jumped on one of the relief planes alongside John and countless supplies. We chatted a bit on the plane about the daunting recovery efforts, and I remember asking him where we begin and how do we prioritize things in terms of recovery. “Skinny Legs,” he immediately replied. We need to put a roof on Skinny Legs to boost the moral over there, he told me. And you know what, that’s exactly what they did.

So as you see, Skinny’s has earned the right to be called legendary and iconic. But why are they selling something so great? Simply put, the owners are ready to retire.

Skinny Legs is listed for $1.7 million. The restaurant is 1,600 square feet, and it employs 25 people. Skinny’s is open Tuesday through Sunday. The space is leased; therefore this sale does not include the building or the land. What you are purchasing would be the iconic Skinny Legs brand, a six-year lease, all of the recipes and restaurant equipment, plus a ton of goodwill. And according to the listing, the land owners are eager to extend the lease for the new owners.

Skinny Legs is listed with Hilarie Oliver of American Paradise Real Estate.

If you are interested in learning more about the sale, I would be happy to represent you as your buying agent. I am a licensed real estate agent with 340 Real Estate. You can reach me by phone (call/text) at 203-376-3786 or by email at jenn@explorestj.com. I am happy to answer any questions you may have.

All interested parties will have to sign a NDA and will have to provide proof of funds in order to obtain financials.

Are you looking to purchase a home, condo, land or a business here in St. John? I would love to help you! Looking to list your property? I can help you with that too! Please contact me at 203-376-3786 or jenn@explorestj.com to explore the possibilities.

 

 

Lime Out, the Floating Taco Bar, Opens 2nd Location!

Jenn Manes
The new Lime Out is located near the airport on St. Thomas.

Lime Out, St. John’s extremely popular floating taco bar, opened a second location Sunday morning. Now people over in St. Thomas can enjoy delicious tacos at this fun, new, spot on the water without taking a ride all the way over to St. John.

Not familiar with Lime Out? It’s a floating taco bar that has barstools attached to it. You can sit on a stool while partially submerged in the water, or you can hop onto a lily pad raft. Lime Out serves a variety of delicious tacos, creative cocktails, and they have great merchandise too.

Lime Out St. Thomas is located in Lindbergh Bay on the west side of St. Thomas. It’s the bay right beside the airport. Check out Lindbergh Bay’s exact location in the map below:

Just like the original Lime Out in Coral Bay, the new Lime Out St. Thomas is only accessible by boat. You cannot swim, kayak or paddle board to either location. Pretty much any charter boat will take you here, and there is also a taco taxi.

The official Lime Out St. Thomas Taco Taxi leaves from Emerald Beach Resort. It is a floating pontoon boat, which takes only a few minutes to access Lime Out. The cost is $40 per person. If you opt to use the Taco Taxi, you will get two hours over at Lime Out. Trips run between 10 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. You can get more information on the Taco Taxi here. 

Both Lime Out St. Thomas and Lime Out in Coral Bay are open Sunday through Friday from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Click here to learn more. 

Want to learn more about St. John? Take an island tour with me!

Learn more here –> www.explorestj.com/tour

See the island of St. John with a resident. See the nooks and crannies that many visitors miss. Explore the beaches, historical sites, perhaps a tiki bar or two, and much more. Full & half days available. Rated “Excellent” on TripAdvisor.

Click Here to Book Now.

 

St. John’s Complete Happy Hour List

Jenn Manes

Happy hour is a big part of life for those of you who vacation in St. John. Nothing is more fun than spending the day at the beach, and then rolling into one of the island’s famous happy hours. But did you know that you could happy hour from 8 ‘o’clock in the morning until 6 ‘o’clock at night?! It’s crazy, but it’s true! Here is a pretty complete list of all of the island’s happy hour spots.

Please do not try all of these in one day. Always drink responsibly, and do not drink and drive.

High Tide: 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. (They do an afternoon happy hour too!)

  • Morning happy hour: $7 Mimosas & Bloody Mary’s

The Beach Bar: 8:30 a.m. to noon (They also do an afternoon happy hour.)

  • Morning happy hour: $5 Carib, $5 Suncruisers, $5 Fireball Shots, $6 Cruzan Painkillers & $6 Deep Eddy Vodka Drinks

Trunk Bay: 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. 

  • Happy hour on St. John starts on the beach! The bar at Trunk Bay has happy hour specials daily beginning at 9 a.m. You can get $5 off of Rum Punch and Painkillers.

The Parrot Club: Noon to 6 p.m. 

  • Happy hour on Cruz Bay beach at noon every day! All Cruzan cocktails and Parrot Tails are $5, and domestic beers are only $3 at The Parrot Club.

The Windmill Bar: Noon to 3 p.m. 

  • $4 Truly, $4 Carib, and $6 Blue Chair Bay Windmill Breeze

Cruz Bay Landing: 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. 

  • $10 craft cocktails & $1 off all beers and seltzers.

The Longboard: 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. 

  • $2 off beer, $2 off wine, $10 frozen Painkillers, $13 Dawn Patrol (Blanco tequila, vanilla liqueur, orange liqueur, blood orange lime), $10 Longboard Legends & STJ Specialty Cocktails, and $8 Cocktails.

Lime Out, the floating taco bar – 2:30 p.m. to close 

  • Buy One Get One Free Drinks – This is by the person, meaning you buy one drink & they buy your second.

1864, The Restaurant: 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. 

  • Raw Bar Menu, $9 Happy Hour Wines, $12 House Ketel One Martinis & Discounted House-Made Craft Cocktails

Concordia Eco Resort – 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.

  • Various Daily Specials

High Tide: 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. (They do morning happy hour too!)

  • $5 Stoli Drinks, $5 Rum Punch, $9 Pusser’s Painkillers, $1 off all Beer & Suncruisers & $6 House Wine

Lime Inn: 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. 

  • Buy One Get One Free Drinks – This is by the person, meaning you buy one drink & they buy your second.

Shambles: 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.

  • Various Daily Specials … New Specials Launching Soon, So Check Back For Updates!

St. John Back Bar: 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. 

  • $4 Coors Light, $4 Soca Seltzers, $4 Suncruisers, $5 Espolon Margaritas & $5 Well Spirits – Mixed Drinks

The Beach Bar: 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.

  • Afternoon happy hour: $5 Carib, $ Suncruisers, $5 Fireball Shots, $6 Cruzan Painkillers & $6 Deep Eddy Vodka Drinks

The Saint – Pool Bar: 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.

  • Various Food Specials.

Woody’s: 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. 

  • $2 Coors Lights, $3 Well Drinks & $3 Bombs

Sun Dog Cafe: 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.

  • $4 Domestic Beer, $5 Painkillers & $10 Bushwackers

The Blind Donkey: 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. 

  • Two-for-One Moscow Mules & Draft Beer Specials

The Tap Room: 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. 

  • $5 Off All Dine-In Pizzas

*If your restaurant or bar offers happy hour specials, and you are not listed here, please email me with the details at jenn@explorestj.com. 

Want to learn more about St. John? Take an island tour with me!

Learn more here –> www.explorestj.com/tour

See the island of St. John with a resident. See the nooks and crannies that many visitors miss. Explore the beaches, historical sites, perhaps a tiki bar or two, and much more. Full & half days available. Rated “Excellent” on TripAdvisor.

Click Here to Book Now.

Stay Across from the Beach in Cruz Bay Every Year!

Jenn Manes
Grande Bay is a popular condo resort located directly across from the beach in Cruz Bay in St. John, US Virgin Islands.

I absolutely love Grande Bay. I love its location, the actual units, and so much more. I have so many friends and family who stay there. In fact, my parents and best friend just spent a week there earlier this month! I currently have three units available for sale in Grande Bay. These are fractional units, so you would own one week each year. It’s a great way to own a piece of St. John without a higher price tag. These fractional residences are long-term leases (not deeded weeks), and they come with full use of all of Grande Bay’s amenities, including pool, spa, gym, concierge, and more.

Here is what I currently have listed for sale:

  • I have a large studio for sale. This is available for flex weeks 15-50, which is April 11th through December 19th next year. This means that you can choose one available week during that period. All rentals are Saturday to Saturday. The unit has a kitchenette, balcony, and washer and dryer. This unit does not come with a parking spot. It does, however, come with full use of all of Grande Bay’s amenities, including the pool, spa, gym and concierge. The list price is $7,500. The annual fee was $988 for 2025.
  • I have a second large studio for sale. This is available for flex weeks 17-23, which is April 25th through June 13th next year. This means that you can choose one available week during that period. April 25th through May 2 is currently reserved for 2026. (You could change that week if you decide to purchase this unit.) All rentals are Saturday to Saturday. The unit has a kitchenette, balcony, and washer and dryer. This unit does not come with a parking spot. It does, however, come with full use of all of Grande Bay’s amenities, including the pool, spa, gym and concierge. The list price is $9,950. The annual fee was $988 for 2025.
  • I have a larger, one-bedroom for sale. This is available for flex weeks 17-23, which is April 25th through June 13th next year. This means that you can choose one available week during that period. All rentals are Saturday to Saturday. The unit has a full kitchen, balcony, and washer and dryer. It also comes with a parking spot. You can purchase the Jeep Club through Grande Bay for an additional $2,500. This comes with full use of all of Grande Bay’s amenities, including the pool, spa, gym and concierge. The list price for this unit is $15,000. The annual fee was $1,288 for 2025.

Grande Bay is the large complex that you see on your right when you are pulling into the Cruz Bay Ferry Dock. It is located across the street from Cruz Bay beach, and every room has a view. What makes Grande Bay a great spot is that you can walk to so many places, including the ferry dock, taxi stand, bars, restaurants, shops, and so much more. It has a pool, hot tub, gym and 24-hour concierge too.

If you are interested in any of these units or another property listed for sale here in St. John, please contact me, Jenn Manes, at jenn@explorestj.com or 203-376-3786 for more information. I am a licensed real estate agent with 340 Real Estate Co.

Baby’s is No More.

Jenn Manes

Baby’s Mini Mart – the place where you could buy everything from chips and booze to diapers and fishing lures – is no more. The store closed its doors for good last week.

Baby’s was the only convenience store left in Cruz Bay. It was always stifling hot in that store, but they had absolutely everything. According to the Coconut Telegraph, the store is set to become yet another Airbnb.

Baby’s Mini Mart was located beside the Catholic Church in Cruz Bay and right next to the old Fish Trap restaurant. The property sold back in 2020 and has been undergoing a significant transformation since.

The owners of Baby’s are looking to reopen in another location. I will keep you posted on that.

For those of you looking for a blast from the past, the last convenience store to close prior to Baby’s was located across the street from The Longboard. You had to walk through it to get to Rhumb Lines restaurants, an oldie, but goodie that has also closed for good.

There’s always something happening on this island. Be sure to read ExploreSTJ.com to get the scoop.

Want to learn more about St. John? Take an island tour with me!

Learn more here –> www.explorestj.com/tour

See the island of St. John with a resident. See the nooks and crannies that many visitors miss. Explore the beaches, historical sites, perhaps a tiki bar or two, and much more. Full & half days available. Rated “Excellent” on TripAdvisor.

Click Here to Book Now.