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We are still in the midst of finding an organization or company to rebuild Caneel Bay Resort. Site visits were held back in November for people and/or businesses who were interested in taking on the project. According to the National Park Service, 22 groups attended those visits.

Those groups were given the opportunity to ask questions about the redevelopment. The responses varied from questions regarding use of the dock and public access to asbestos cleanup and water rights. There were three rounds of questions and answers. That information provides a glimpse into how the potential developers envision Caneel Bay 2.0.

Those who planned to move forward in the bidding process had to file a letter of intent by February 7th. Unfortunately those responses are not public information, according to NPS. The full responses are due February 28th.

The following companies attended the November 2024 site visits. I tried to include information about each company. Some had common names; therefore I could not narrow down the exact company. The National Park Service only provided the names in bold below.

• Amelia Global – I could not find information on this. There is a company that operates out of St. Thomas called Amalie Global, so perhaps this was a typo provided to me.
• Becker Capital and Finance – Becker Capital and Finance is a municipal financial advisory firm registered with the MSRB and SEC. It provides advice on the structuring and issuance of both tax exempt and taxable securities in the area of project finance. I believe this company is based in New York City.
• Bloomberg Philanthropies – Bloomberg Philanthropies works to ensure better, longer lives for the greatest number of people by focusing on five key areas: the arts, education, the environment, government innovation, and public health. Bloomberg Philanthropies works to improve the lives of millions of people in more than 700 cities and 150 countries. In 2024, Bloomberg Philanthropies invested $3.7 billion around the world. Over his lifetime, Michael Bloomberg has so far given $21.1 billion to philanthropy.
• Blurworkshop – BLUR Workshop is a design focused firm comprised of energetic and visionary professionals with a core leadership that has worked together continuously for up to 30 years. Our organization offers full professional design services for both Interior Design and Architecture. This is an Atlanta-based company.
• Bullock Capital Partners – This is an Atlanta-based company.
• Capital Park SA – The only company I could find is a Poland-based company that is engaged in real estate.
• Caribbean Consultants – There are multiple matches for this, including Massachusetts-based and Barbados-based companies.
• Carlisle Group – There are numerous companies with this name.
• Consortium of Satoria Group SA – I could not find information on this.
• Coral Tree Hospitality – CoralTree provides 50 years of proven experience as owners, developers and managers of world-class independent luxury and lifestyle hotels and resorts. This is a Colorado-based company.
• EDSA – This is a design firm that specializes in planning, landscape architecture and urban planning.
• ExplorUS – ExplorUS is a family-owned company with almost 30 years of experience operating National, State, and local park concessions. Over the years it has worked to enhance, elevate, and complement the visitor’s experience at each park, landmark, and property it operates.
• Gensler – Gensler is a global architecture, design, and planning firm with 57 offices and 6000+ professionals across the Americas, Europe, Greater China, and APME. This is a San Francisco-based company.
• Harith Productions – Harith Productions is a global marketing communications, organizational effectiveness, education, training, event/meeting/destination management and production company. Its owner, Harith Wickrema, is the president of St. John’s Island Green Living organization.
• Hexagon Partners – There are several companies with this name.
• J. Benton Construction, LLC – J. Benton Construction has worked on many projects in the hospitality, commercial, industrial fields and more. This Caribbean-based company built the new National Park buildings at the entrance of the National Park in Cruz Bay. They have also worked on sections of the Westin Resort.
• Little Gem Resorts – Little Gem Resorts owns the Lovango Resort + Beach Club, as well as resorts on Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard.
• Majestic Hospitality Group – Majestic Hospitality are world-class hospitality consultants, helping hotels & resorts with development, strategy, operations and investment. This is a Los Angelos-based company.
• Premier – There are several companies with this name.
• Pure Hospitality, LLC – Pure Hospitality is a hospitality management and data analytics company. This is a Washington-based company.
• Studio Armin, LLC -Studio Armin is a multidisciplinary firm that is highly proficient in design thinking. rather than being defined by a specific practice, the brand represents a way of life. Studio Armin has worked on Lovango Resort + Beach Club and Gallows Point Resort.
• The Welles Group – There are numerous businesses with this name.

Here are links to the three batches of questions:

Questions – Batch 1

Questions – Batch 2

Questions – Batch 3

As always, I will keep you posted on all of this.

The island is busy, busy, busy with many people looking for lunch offerings when visiting St. John’s beautiful beaches. Here is a quick rundown of which St. John beaches have food and drinks available for purchase.

Honeymoon Beach

Honeymoon Beach is the home to the Caneel Bay Beach Club. The Caneel Bay Beach Club is open seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., according to its owner Mark Snyder. The beach club serves a variety of snacks, including curly fries, sandwiches, burgers, and more. They also have a full bar. You can access Honeymoon Beach by taxi or via the Lind Point Trail. If you choose to taxi to Honeymoon, you can park or take a taxi to the entrance of the Caneel Bay resort. From there, you would hop on a second taxi that will drive you from the entrance to Honeymoon Beach, approximately a five-minute ride. The cost of that taxi is $6 per person or $12 roundtrip. You can opt to walk in and taxi out, or vice versa. Chair rentals are available too. There is a small retail shop, bathrooms, and showers, as well.

Trunk Bay

Happy hour starts in the morning at Trunk Bay! You have to love that! Trunk Bay has a snack shack and a full bar where happy hour happens daily from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. There is an area that serves a variety of hot and cold items for lunch daily from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Trunk Bay is one of our busiest beaches, and the parking area is rather small, so I suggest you take a taxi when visiting Trunk Bay. If you prefer to drive, you should get there by 8:45 a.m. to ensure you get a parking spot.

Trunk Bay has chair rentals, snorkel gear rentals and life vests too. There are also showers and restrooms.

Click here to read an older article I posted about Trunk Bay’s food and drink offerings. 

Cinnamon Bay

Cinnamon Bay is a great spot that serves breakfast, lunch and dinner daily. Breakfast is served from 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. in the Rain Tree Cafe, which is the large restaurant near the reception area and camp store. Lunch is served beachside out of a food truck from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Dinner is served daily at the Rain Tree Cafe from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. You can purchase beers and seltzers from the camp store daily beginning at 10 a.m. The food truck also has some canned alcoholic drinks and a few cocktails available for purchase too.

Because there is a campground at Cinnamon Bay, there are restrooms and a spigot to wash the sand off of your feet. Showers are available to campers only. There are also chair, snorkel gear and watersports rentals at Cinnamon Bay.

There are two large parking lots at Cinnamon Bay. Those lots have been filling up pretty quickly over the past several weeks. I suggest getting to Cinnamon Bay by 9:30 a.m. to ensure you get a parking spot. You can also taxi to Cinnamon.

Click here to read an older post I wrote about Cinnamon Bay’s offerings. 

Maho Bay

Maho Bay has two businesses that sell food and beverages – Maho Crossroads and Reef2Peak’s food truck next door. The bar at Maho Crossroads is open daily from 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. The food truck is open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The food truck has a variety of items like hot sandwiches, burgers, salads, and more. Maho Crossroads has a full bar; however they do not have a blender. If you want a frozen drink, just wander next door to Reef2Peak.

Reef2Peak is a rental outfit that serves light snacks like chips, nuts and other snacks. They also serve cocktails and frozen drinks. Reef2Peak rents chairs, snorkel gear, kayaks and paddle boards. They even offer guided kayak trips. Reef2Peak is open daily from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., according to owner Jenn Russ. She mentioned that they plan to expand their food offerings soon.

Maho Crossroads has a restroom available for patrons only. There are two National park restrooms across the street on the beach for beachgoers.

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. 

Today’s story may be about something, and it may be about nothing. I’m not so sure. 🙂

I spent yesterday morning over at Caneel Beach, which was lovely as always. My parents are visiting the island, so I scheduled a day off, so we could spend some quality time together. They’ve already visited Hawsknest and Maho, so we opted to spend the morning over at Caneel, a beach which has recently become one of my favorites.

As soon as I walked onto the beach, I noticed a man in a Caneel shirt walking up and down the beach with a printout in hand. Me, being the nosy/curious person I am, walked over to say hello and to see what he was promoting. He had a menu for the Caneel Bay Beach Club in his hand and mentioned that they are possibly going to start offering a shuttle between Caneel and Honeymoon once or twice a day, a couple of times a week, in an effort to bring guests over to the Caneel Bay Beach Club. They may begin offering this service so people visiting Caneel Beach can grab a quick bite to eat or drinks. I think that’s a genius idea.

Something important to note (in my opinion): The Caneel Bay Beach Club is not affiliated with the former operators of the Caneel Bay Resort. The Beach Club is owned my Mark Snyder, who also owns Island Hope Wines. Island Hope is a generous donor to many of our nonprofits here on St. John, so a big thank you to Mark for that. 

Now, I do not have more details other than what I just wrote. As soon as I learn more, I will share it with all of you. I just wanted to let you know that we may have another spot where we can easily park and easily grab a bite to eat on the North Shore. That’s a win-win in my book.

Looking to visit Caneel or Honeymoon beaches? You can visit Caneel Beach by taking a taxi to or parking at the former Caneel Bay Resort. Parking is free. Caneel Beach is a five-minute walk from the parking lot.

You can visit Honeymoon Beach one of two ways. You can hike in via the Lind Point Trail, or you can take a taxi from the entrance of the former Caneel Bay Resort directly to Honeymoon. Parking for the taxi to Honeymoon is free at Caneel, although there is a charge for the taxi.

Again, as soon as I learn more, I will share it with all of you. Have a great day, everyone!

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.