Hello 2000Hoo in A2 (my hometown...go blue)

I've stayed at both, and although the pool at the Westin is very nice (and huge), the resort is much more family oriented and the beach there is not great. This year I stayed at Caneel for the first time (after snorkeling at one of it's beaches last year) and loved it. The beaches (7 of them to choose from!) are beautiful & the ambiance is much more private & romantic (the grounds are so extensive, most days we were on the beach with only one other couple). The rooms were not overly plush, but I enjoyed their bungalow style & they were clean, with very comfortable mattresses. The welcome bottle of rum was a nice touch as well.... :) If you decide on Caneel, the rooms on Scott & Turtle Beach would be my recommendation for best location. All of the staff we encountered were very friendly and helpful (it's customary to greet everyone on St. John with a "good morning/good afternoon" etc. before making any requests...others have complained about some staff rudeness, but we didn't see anything of the sort). Hope this helps.

I used to live on St. John. Go to Caneel-the Westin property is not in the same league. Caneel has 7 beaches and 170 acres inside the national park. Westin is on Great Cruz Bay surrounded by homes in a bay full of many live aboard boats-locals do not swim there....See my review of Caneel and Little Dix Bay from June 2003. I would split week at the two.

We actually discussed the possibility of splitting up our trip and spending some time at Little Dix Bay (and with your suggestion, I think that's the direction we're going to go). From a logistical standpoint though, what would be the best way to pull that off? We're planning to travel from June 6th-15th, splitting our time equally between Caneel Bay & Little Dix Bay. Does it make more sense to visit either Caneel Bay or Little Dix Bay first, due to proximity to airports, etc?

Having not traveled to these areas previously, any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.