Category: Uncategorized

Hello everyone, and happy Monday! I know many of you aren’t thrilled to be back to work today, so let’s start the week off right! How does a brand new happy hour sound? Amazing, I know!

The Beach Bar is launching brand new happy hour specials today starting at 3 p.m. Starting today, and continuing every day, you can enjoy $5 Corona and Corona Lights, $5 Soca seltzers, $6 Cruzan Painkillers and $6 Tito’s and Cruzan cocktails. What a bargain!

The Beach Bar offers happy hour daily from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. They are located in Cruz Bay, just steps from the ferry dock. No taxi needed here!

Want to see what’s happening live over at The Beach Bar? Then check out Explore STJ’s webcam page at www.explorestj.com/webcams. You can see live images inside of the bar and outside on the beach. You can also see live views from more than 20 webcams located around St. John. Happy watching!

Cheers everyone!

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

Learn more here –> www.explorestj.com/tour Full & half days available. Rated “Excellent” on TripAdvisor.

Follow Explore STJ on Social Media

–> www.facebook.com/explorestj

–> www.instagram.com/explorestj

Well folks, it looks like a government shutdown is imminent. I’ve received several emails questioning how this will affect St. John considering that more than two-thirds of the island is National Park. I have reached out to the Virgin Islands National Park twice this week, but have yet to receive a response. Here is what I assume will happen based on the past two government shutdowns.

Let’s start with 2013. This one was somewhat comical here. During this shutdown, they actually did shut down the National Park here, which meant that the majority of our beaches were closed and all of our hiking trails were closed. The playground was closed. Annaberg was closed. It was a mess.

The National Park admitted at the time that it was not happy with being told to shut down so much of the island, but it had to follow federal orders. Residents and visitors, however, refused to follow orders. Many ripped down the yellow tape that cordoned off the beaches and parking lots and continued to enjoy our beautiful beaches despite the threat of being fined. Luckily the government allowed the Virgin Islands National Park to officially reopen a few days later, despite the continued shutdown.

There was another shutdown in 2018. During that time, all beaches, trails, and roads remained open. (Roads remained open during the 2013 shutdown too.) During this shutdown, all National Park visitor services ceased. That meant that they had to close the restrooms, there was no trash pickup at the beaches, road, and facilities and maintenance ceased, and the Visitor Center was closed.

Fortunately, Friends of the National Park stepped in and helped open the restrooms and showers at Trunk Bay while the shutdown continued. Volunteers removed trash from all of the beaches too. Residents pitched in because that’s what we do here. 🙂

So if I were a betting woman, this is exactly what I would think will happen when the government shuts down this weekend. The Virgin Islands National Park will remain open, but some of its services will be limited. And volunteers will, once again, step up and work to keep the National Park clean and its facilities available. There’s a reason we’re called Love City, folks.

I will let you know more when I know more. In the meantime, have a fantastic Friday everyone!

Follow Explore STJ on Social Media

–> www.facebook.com/explorestj

–> www.instagram.com/explorestj

It’s been 2,211 days since Hurricane Irma destroyed Caneel Bay Resort. The property is supposed to be turned over to the National Park Service in less than a week, per Laurance Rockefeller’s wishes, yet its future continues to remain uncertain. It’s a battle that’s been playing out in federal court over in St. Thomas for the past 14 months, and it’s one that will most likely be decided at a bench trial next month.

Quick Recap (Click Here to Jump to What’s Happening Now)

Laurance Rockefeller opened Caneel Bay Resort on the same day that the Virgin Islands National Park was established in 1956. (Prior to that, the property consisted of a few cottages.) In 1983, the United States entered into an Indenture that gave most of the land on which Caneel Bay Resort sits to the United States while the Jackson Hole Preserve (a nonprofit created by Rockefeller) retained the use of the property and its improvements for a period of 40 years. That 40-year agreement expires this Saturday, and the property is supposed to be under the control of the Virgin Islands National Park beginning this Sunday. But none of this is happening due to a federal court case filed by EHI Acquisitions, LLC, the firm that currently controls the now-defunct hotel.

EHI Acquisitions filed a federal lawsuit against the United States of America in June 2022. In the lawsuit, EHI requested that the court issue a “quiet title in the Property and issue an order declaring the United States has no legal interest in the Property and that Plaintiff EHI Acquisitions, LLC owns all right, title, an interest to the Property.” EHI said it would give the property to the United States for $70 million and an agreement by the United States to absolve EHI from environmental claims related to the property. The United States said absolutely not, and now EHI believes that since it made a “good faith offer” that the United States rejected, the property should be lawfully theirs. The two sides have been battling it out in court ever since.

(A quiet title action is a special legal proceeding to determine ownership of real property.)

What’s Happening Now

The two sides are currently sparring over insurance proceeds, what constitutes a good faith offer, and who should be considered an “expert witness.”

The United States wants to know how much insurance money EHI received from hurricanes Irma and Maria. It also wants to know how those proceeds were used. EHI stated in the court documents that it was “not relevant to any claim” and that it “will not produce any such information.” The judge sided with EHI and ruled that it did not have to disclose this information.

Interesting side note: Gary Engle, a principal for EHI publicly stated in February 2019 that the insurance proceeds “would be more than a fair return for our involvement in Caneel Bay.” He continued, “I could take the money and walk away.”

But he didn’t. He chose to file a federal lawsuit demanding even more money instead.

Regarding the “good faith offer” of $70 million, both sides are arguing whether the offer was “good faith” or “fair market value.” EHI believed its offer was made in good faith while the United States is arguing that there shouldn’t be any “compensation or consideration or payment or fair market value or any value.” Point blank, they believe the property should change hands this weekend.

And lastly, they’re squabbling over an “expert witness” funded by EHI acquisitions. This “expert witness” is the man who was hired to do an appraisal of the property’s improvements to determine their fair market value. That appraisal led to EHI’s “good faith offer” of $70 million.

This is sooooo messy!

The next response deadline is this Thursday, and the bench trial is scheduled for October 16th at 9 a.m. The clock is ticking! You know I’ll keep you all posted. 🙂

Want to know more about Caneel Bay, the history of the resort, and its future should the National Park take ownership? Please check out my previous posts below:

• National Park Service Announces Plan to Rebuild Caneel Bay
• Caneel Bay: The Messy Legal Battle for Ownership
• The Future of Caneel Bay Resort is Down to Two Options: All or Nothing

Looking to take a St. John island tour?

Get to know St. John. Visit beautiful beaches & centuries-old plantations. Perhaps stop at a tiki bar or two. Full & half days available. Rated “Excellent” on TripAdvisor. 2023 & 2022 TripAdvisor Travelers’ Choice Winner. Learn more here –> www.explorestj.com/tour  

Follow Explore STJ on Social Media

–> www.facebook.com/explorestj

–> www.instagram.com/explorestj