The Renaissance St. Croix Carambola Beach Resort is a beautiful resort. The rooms are gorgeous with comfortable beds, a large bathroom with walk in closet, ceiling fans throughout that eliminate the need for air conditioning, and a screened in porch which was a great place to relax with a morning cup of coffee or an evening cup of tea.

The hotel staff was very friendly. When we checked in, they upgraded us to an ocean front room because we were marriott rewards members and they served us a glass of rum punch.

The hotel is a bit secluded and its a long windy road to Christiansted so if you plan to stay here understand that you will most likely eat all of your meals on the hotel grounds because the roads are not well lit in the evening. The good news is the food is good at all of the hotel's restaurants. One thing I wish I knew about this hotel before checking in was that it has a fully stocked kitchen with a refrigerator, an electric stove, and pots and pans. This provides for a way to save money if you are willing to cook during your vacation.

The beach at carambola is pretty but the water is rougher on this side of the island. There were plenty of hammocks and beach chairs to accommodate the guests. There is also scuba diving that you can do on sight right from the beach.

There is also a hike that begins on the hotel grounds to the tide pools. Its worth spending a morning taking this hike. Its not too vigorous for those in good/average shape.

Overall I would recommend this hotel to friends looking for a romantic or relaxing getaway!

Suite was nice with updated bahama decor. Loved the screened in lanai with padded seats with view of the ocean. The pool and beach were very nice. It was quiet and peaceful. It is remote so if you are looking for action, go elsewhere. Food at the restaurant was just okay, overpriced and not much selection. We stocked our refrig and used the microwave daily. Decent sized gift shop with some food staples. Worth it to take a cab ride to EAT or Rowdy Joes (ask for "Hollywood's" van, he was excellent). The Friday PM Pirates buffet was excellent, pricey, but hated to pay the automatic 18% "service charge" when the service that night was horrible. Other times service was very good at the restaurant. WiFi was free and cable TV with a limited selection was a plus. There were 7 of us and we had a nice time.

If you are from the east coast and hate flying a whole day and back to Hawaii with all the jet lag - think about spending a week at Carambola! This mountainous resort is right next to a private beach that is one of the nicest in the world. If you scuba - people literally walk out of their beds into the ocean and a 1000 feet drop off.

Beautiful views, right on the water, the rooms have a tree house feel, especially the second floor ones, with screened in porches. I started each morning with coffee in my room and read a book on the porch for over an hour listening to the surf and birds. It is very quiet here! The food is fabulous, we had 10 meals there and every one was good, especially the freshly caught fish.

Here is the downer - it is far from anywhere - you do need a car or catch a taxi around the island. There are two towns both 30 + minutes away. There is nothing to do there except for Friday night - which was a fantastic buffet and entertainment by stilt dancers called "maco jumbies" - really a big deal. It's a little different luau in the Caribbean....but if you want to rest and get disconnected from the internet and cell phones AND get there in a few hours.....go to Carambola!

It's the Caribbean - so relax - get on "island-time - sit by the pool - have a rum punch - scuba - dance- eat - drink and be happy, happy, happy :-)

We absolutely LOVED it here! This hotel is so nice and secluded and the perfect location to get away from it all. We stayed in room 206 (it was booked as a garden view suite) but to our surprise we could stare right out at the ocean from our giant comfy bed! Our 15 yr old daughter decided to sleep out on the padded benches on the screened in porch and listen to the ocean waves each night. (The maid even put sheets on her bench along with her pillows and blankets). The mahogany vaulted ceilings in the room are stunning! (We were on the second floor). There are small ants the size of pepper flakes that will get into the room if you leave food out...but they were not really a nuisance and I would rather have them than the smell of big spray. We also saw a couple beetles get in during our 7 night stay...but they didn't bother us. The place is surrounded by the Forrest and trees...so bugs would be almost impossible to avoid. If you love nature and privacy and peace and quiet, this place is for you! There were many days we were the only people on the beach. The snorkeling is great and there are many fish just within a few feet of shore.

Some things to know: food in St.Croix is way more expensive than other islands...we were really surprised by this. Almost every meal cost us at least $50 for the 3 of us....minimum. BUY GROCERIES and use the frig and microwave. Make sure to rent a car! There is literally nothing near the resort and you will want to drive around and explore. We were so glad we rented a jeep/listened to others reviews.
If you hike the trail to the tide pools DO NOT go right when you are in the grassland area or you will end up on a very dangerous hill (like we did). This trail is not for the faint of heart...so make sure you bring water, snacks, and are in good health.

We will absolutely stay at this hotel again and possibly even in the same room. It was the perfect place to relax and have some fun. (We dove with sweet bottom which was very good, road horses with cowboy Steve, and ate at wonderful places like eat@cane bay and Ace Roti shop.

Price for 7 nights with air from Louisville, KY for 3 people was $3,400 through Travelocity. Booked a jeep through Olympic for the week for $365