Hello everyone, and happy Monday! I hope you all had a great weekend! I was down on Cruz Bay beach over the weekend, and I happened to wander past Joe’s Rum Hut. For those of you unfamiliar with this spot, it is a bar/restaurant that’s located right on the beach in Cruz Bay. Specifically, it’s located in Wharfside Village, which is also home to The Beach Bar, La Tapa and High Tide. Ok, well technically High Tide is Wharfside Landing, but that’s neither here, nor there. 🙂
As I mentioned a few months back, Joe’s Rum Hut sold. The space continues to undergo major renovations, and it really looks nice. We hear it’s going to be called Karma. Whether that holds true remains to be seen. I also hear it’s going to be a high-end sushi restaurant. Again, whether that holds true remains to be seen. What I do know is that someone is really working hard to completely change the aesthetic. Check it out:
It looks as if the bar will now be in the back portion of the restaurant.The restaurant is located right on the beach.The new interiorThe exterior looks very pretty.Lots and lots and lots of wood….There is a new separation between this space and The Beach Bar.
They appear to be working fast, so I expect the new restaurant to open within a couple of months. I will keep you all posted. In the meantime, have a fantastic day!
Want to learn more about St. John? Take an island tour with me!
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.
This red-footed tortoise has been hanging out in my yard for a few days.
I was outside doing a little gardening yesterday when I saw something low to the ground slowing moving across my lawn. I walked over to get a closer look, and to my surprise, it was an adorable little tortoise! I watched him (or perhaps her) wander over to the gut, and I continued planting.
Fast forward to this morning… I was just outside again when my cat darted across the yard. We live in Fish Bay, so we have numerous iguanas and deer out here. I figured she must have seen one. I walked over to her, and there he was again – the tortoise!
So many people who come to St. John are fixated on our turtles (rightfully so!), but did you know that tortoises live here too? The one I keep seeing is red-footed tortoise, which was native to South America. According to Coral World, the aquarium over in St. Thomas, it is believed that the Carib Indians introduced the red-footed tortoise to St. John as a food source hundreds of years ago. Apparently they were a great animal to take on a canoe because they can go days without food or water.
We’re clearly not eating them out in Fish Bay, but I enjoy watching them, and I know you do too. Check out this quick video I took:
Want to learn more about St. John? Take an island tour with me!
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.
We are finally in the planning stages of redevelopment at the shuttered Caneel Bay Resort.
More than seven years after Hurricane Irma ravaged Caneel Bay Resort, the Virgin Islands National Park has finally taken a huge step in rebuilding the destroyed property.
A Request for Qualifications (RFQ) was released earlier this week, which details the requirements the future developer must adhere to when rebuilding the National Park. The timeline is rather aggressive, which is a good sign, as site visits are being held in just two weeks.
The organization chosen to develop the property will be given a maximum term of 60 years to develop 74 acres of land. The Park is looking for an individual or entity with expertise in the Caribbean Islands or similar locations. Specifically, the park is “interested in a resort design that will provide environmentally sustainable facilities and operations, be resilient to the effects of climate change, and provide positive economic, social, and cultural benefits to the people of St. John and the Virgin Islands.”
There will be no more than 166 rooms at the new resort, which is the same number of rooms Caneel Bay had prior to the storms. The redeveloped resort must adhere to the design intent of the resort when Laurance Rockefeller developed it in the 1950s. Caneel Bay was originally designed in a conscientious manner to limit the impacts it would have on wildlife, visual landscapes, the night sky and soundscapes of Caneel Bay. The new developer must create a plan that mimics that. Buildings will only be one or two stories, just like they were when the resort was open. There isn’t an indication in the RFQ regarding the anticipated nightly rate; therefore we do not know whether the new resort will be low, moderate or high-end.
The RFQ states that the developer will have to provide “greater public access” to areas like Honeymoon Beach and Caneel Beach, both of which currently have land access via the resort, as well as Little Caneel Beach. Little Caneel Beach is a small area of sand located on the western side of the dock.
A map from the former Caneel Bay Resort
The developer will have to provide access to seven hiking trails that are located in or around Caneel Bay, which include Lind Point, Water Catchment, Hawksnest and Turtle Point trails, among others.
As I mentioned, site visits are scheduled in two weeks. Letters of intent are due December 6th. Proposals are due December 27th. Everything regarding this process is public, so we will be able to know who is trying to develop the resort. I will keep you posted on this. 🙂
Want to learn more about St. John? Take an island tour with me!
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.
It’s been a bit since I provided a little St. John island update, so here we go!
As you know, high season is right around the corner! Vacationers are slowly starting to trickle back to the island, but overall, it remains nice and quiet here in St. John. The beaches are anything but crowded, parking is easy to come by and you can get a seat at just about any barstool on island. That’s a win-win!
The majority of the restaurants have reopened or are reopening soon. Extra Virgin Bistro opens tonight, and I could not be more excited for that! Lime Inn and Lime Out reopened last week, and Morgan’s Mango is back open too. In Cruz Bay, the only spots that remain closed are Banana Deck, Drink and La Tapa. Skinny Legs, Pizzabar in Paradise and Miss Lucy’s all remain closed in Coral Bay. The campground at Cinnamon Bay reopens November 1st and ZoZo’s at Caneel Bay will reopen in December. Pizza Pi reopens next month and Lovango Resort + Beach Club reopens in December.
The former Joe’s Rum Hut and Quiet Mon Pub are still undergoing renovations. Rum Hut will now be called Karma, from what I hear, and Quiet Mon Pub is now The Blind Donkey. I will keep you posted on both of those spots.
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.
Guests at Gallows Point will soon have a new opportunity for watersports, as the resort is seeking approval to install a floating dock in Cruz Bay.
Gallows Point is seeking approval from the Army Corps. of Engineers to install a dock in the northeast corner of the resort. If approved, the dock will be 96-feet long and four-feet wide. The dock is meant to provide “safe access for boating and water-based recreational activities for owners and guests at Gallows Point Resort,” according to the application. The dock would be used for small dinghies, sailboats, kayaks and paddle boards.
The proposed siteThe location of the proposed dock
The public can comment on Gallows Point’s proposed dock. Comments must be made before Friday, October 25th. You can email your comments to karen.m.urelius@usace.army.mil.
Meet the first turtle hatchlings of the 2024-2025 season! (Image credit: Friends of VI National Park)
I have such great news to share with all of you today! The first sea turtle nest of the 2024-2025 season hatched over the weekend, and several baby Hawksbill turtles successfully made it into the ocean!
Fifty-five nesting activities were documented during the 2023-2024 nesting season, which resulted in 29 confirmed nests. We had 2,491 hatchlings successfully make it out to sea during that time. How amazing is that! Let’s hope those numbers are even larger this season!
One of this year’s protected nests. (Image credit: Bogie’s Villa)
So what should you do if you come across nesting activity? Please report it. You can either email vinpturtles@friendsvinp.org or call/text 760-470-8995. Please do not disturb the area, but send photos, if possible.
If you see someone touching or mistreating a turtle, please contact the National Park Service at 866-995-8467.
If you see a turtle in distressed, please contact the Sea Turtle Assistance and Rescue (STAR) hotline at 340-690-0474.
If you would like to learn more about St. John’s sea turtles, you can attend a virtual seminar tomorrow at 12:30 p.m. EST. Join Friends of the VI Park Education Specialist, Kaitlyn Cummings, and learn about the Virgin Islands National Park Sea Turtle Program, the general life cycle of a sea turtle, the three species of turtles found in the US Virgin Islands, and the things you can do to protect our turtles. Click here to register for this free program.Â
Want to learn more about St. John? Take an island tour with me!
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.
