I want to start by making sure which hotel I am reviewing. This is not crystal cove or the condos behind the marina with the blue roof. These are the red roofed units on the beach. I believe its Sapphire beach resort if you rent through an owner (vrbo) and Antilles if you rent through the hotel management (front desk). Renting through vrbo was a positive experience for us and considerably cheaper. Our last two nights our original unit was not available and we went through the front desk to find us an available unit. It was $100 more per night and the unit was not nearly as nice. There are considerable differences in the units. Most are individually owned and some are newly renovated and others are not. I suggest you review available units on vrbo and find one that fits your tastes. Lower level units are nice due to being able to walk right out onto the beach. Upper level units have more space and are two baths. These were nice for us as we traveled with our 19 yr old daughter. Having the extra bath and the "bedrooms" up stairs vs downstairs helped keep things clean and tidy. All the units sleep multiple people due to pull out couches and all units are one bedroom. The two story, two bath units are one bedroom as well, but the bedroom is upstairs and most have a pull out couch or two queens upstairs so everyone can sleep upstairs (as with my family). Having everyone sleep upstairs keeps the downstairs cleaner.

Having said all this I would stay again, and I dont think it matters too much whether it is a first or second floor unit. Buildings B and C are my favorites, but all are good and right on the beach. Building D and E are on the beach, but it is a little rocky and less fine sand. The snorkeling is great in front of D and E. But its no big deal which building you are in.

Our unit was 304 for most of the week. This is a nice renovated room. Everything works, its clean and its pretty. It has million dollar views off the upper and lower balconies. The building are old, so the air conditioning is noisey and its not the Ritz Carleton. But with the proper expectations its a wonderful place. I would stay in 304 again, the owner is very nice. The last two nights were in unit 305. This is not too nice. Its needs renovated. If you could get it for $100 a night it might be worth it, but there are lots nicer units on the property.

As far as the property goes it seems something is up here. For the maintanance fees the owners are paying it seems like the property should be better maintained. The parking lot needs paved, everything needs a new coat of pain. The pool bar has boards missing form the roof and is boarded up. The pool has old lounge chairs thrown over a wall just lying there..........put them in a dumpster for goodness sake. The lobby is horrible. On the one hand who cares about the lobby, but on the other you only get one chance to make a first impression and the "curb" appeal of the property is poor. This is a problem with the property owners not the individual unit owners.

I guess since the pool bar is boarded up they put up an awning and they have a deep freeze, a refrigerator and a couple of gas grills to function as the pool bar. The drinks here are cheap enough and good. they have specials sometimes like two for one. the food is very good. Hamburgers and fries with real heinz ketchup and the best mahi mahi sandwhich i have ever had. And they will bring it to you right out on the beach with very good service......so in the end who needs the pool bar.

As far as the island goes, we had rain all but two days. Two days it rained all day so we went to town shopping. Shopping is good, but it rained so hard even this was a challenge. we were soaked and cold. The other days it rained it did so briefly or in a way you could still get some beach time in. But it was still fairly cloudy which made the visibility snorkeling stinko. There was also more wind than normal. We just had bad luck weather wise. St Thomas has average restaurants. I like turks and caicos better. St Johns has a lot of natural beauty. Both islands are a little difficult driving, lots of steep hills and really tough to find parking.

We rented a car from Budget at the airport. The parking spaces are very tight, and I "dinged" the fender day one backing out of the budget lot. I gotta tell you I was very upset with myself, but the management there handled things so well I would never consider renting from anyone else. The came up and put their arm around me, looked at the fender and said "you are here for a vacation, go have fun and don't worry about this. These things happen." The took a wet towel and tried to buff it out best they could and sent me on my way. When I turned it in, I told the front desk guy how nice the guys in the lot had been and nothing further was done. I have heard so many stories about other companies being very difficult to work with in a situation like this. I have heard of people being charged for pre-existing dents, and being charged for the repair plus the down time etc......Budget was a forgiving, no hastle, helpful company. They did something very nice for me, and I appreciate it. I hope everyone who reads this rents from budget.