Caneel Bay hands down. The Westin Beach is manmade, not very private and not very pretty as St. John beaches go. Caneel has 7 gorgeous beaches, all natural, and you'll never find any of them crowded.

Trunk Bay is popular for weddings, so you might not be alone on the day you say "I do." Check way ahead of time. One of my favorite beaches is Hawksnest. Part of Hawksnest Bay includes one of Caneel's beaches and the rest is the public beach. It's all lovely. If you stay at Caneel, a wedding at Turtle Bay would be beautiful. The Turtle Bay Estate House has killer views and the beach is small and beautiful.

But there are many stunning sights around the island to hold a wedding. You can't go wrong. But, if you have the $$$, I'd spend the honeymoon at Caneel.

I second Caneel. It is much more romantic and has an atmosphere that is not available at the westin. The Westin has lots of things for families with children and will not give you the privacy of the 170 acres at Caneel.Keep in mind that Caneel is not the Ritz,their are no phones or t.v.s in the rooms.Caneel is not for everyone but if you want a get away from it all place with seven wonderful beaches you will be in honeymoon heaven. I also love hawksnest beach for the ceremony vs. trunk as it will be much less crowded.

Thanks for the advice... Is July a busy time in St John. Also, any recommendations at Caneel Bay for Prem Beachfront room or just beachfront??? Turtle Bay or Scott Beach??? Lots of questions.

The premium rooms are in single story buildings on scott and at the far end of caneel bay. The largest of these rooms would be located on the premium end of caneel but caneel bay allows children under 12 on the beach and scott is supposed to be an adult beach.The other options for beachfront are on little caneel,turtle and hawksnest beach.They all are special in there own way.Little caneel has the largest single story room but is not directly beachfront as your room is situated up the beach by a stone staircase of about 12 stairs.Hawknest has the morning sun and some great snorkeling The rooms are in two story buildings. We prefer the bottom floor as you can walk directly from your back porch onto the beach and the rooms have front and back porches,.Turtle bay has a stronger current at times and you cannot use the rafts to hang out in the water but it also has beautiful views and the rooms are steps from the water if you are on the ground floor.I would not want to pay a beachfront price for the second floor on either hawknest or turle because it is not as easy to walk out onto the beach.Early july is carnival and can be very busy.Good luck.

Would you recommend a premium v/s beachfront for the price difference?? Prem is 650 a night and beachfront 495 a night this is for a honeymoon. I prefer to be on the bottom floor, but how can you make sure of this when making reservations. Thanks

Call the hotel reservation office directly and they usually will work hard to make a request happen,make sure to be nice,polite greetings go a long way...pushy or otherwise impolite and you won't get anywhere.I think I would stay in a regular beachfront for the price diff and spend the extra $$ on food and activities.The rooms on little caneel are all one story units but there are stairs involved to the beach.They are larger rooms and rm#5,6,8,9 are the furthest away from the dock noise and closest to a very pretty private beach with good snorkeling and outstanding views.Good luck

Hawksnest vs Trunk Bay: Both are beautiful beaches, but I think, given the direction of the sun, that Trunk Bay would be a better sunset. Plus the beach is wider and the little Cay makes a beautiful background shot.

Stayed in Caneel 16 on the beach and it was super!

Is Caneel 16 a prem beachront or beachfront.? Also, how are the rooms there?

Caneel 16 is three doors from the main restaurant dirictly on the main beach at Caneel.It is a regular beachfront room and has been recently renovated.It is not a large room but it is steps from the beach.