A week ago, my family had the pleasure of staying at the Island Beachcomber once again. We have been staying there for years and always look forward to going back. It is like our “home away from home.” Over the years, we have come to know some of the staff and the folks that return year after year.

The staff is always very nice and full of good cheer. We love to find Denzel, the gardener, maintaining the beautiful grounds and listen to his knowledge of the local flora. Every morning we have a hearty breakfast served by a smiling and laughing Ms. Gigi (have to have the French toast!). After a morning on the beach, nothing is better than a “bucket of beer” and burger overlooking the bay served by “Chicago” or Dean.

In my opinion, IBC is located on the best beach in St. Thomas. However, some days passengers from cruise ships do visit the beach for the day, but this is usual. Denzel will always make sure that IBC visitors have their lounges.

IBC is not for the five star crowds. It is for those who want to experience the island the way it was before jumbo jets. The beachcomber is my favorite vacation destination and I hope it never loses its true personality.

Many thanks to Michael for a history lesson on the resort!!

I really have mixed feelings about the Island Beachcomber Hotel.

Writing reviews as much as I do for TripAdvisor and reading other's I kind of went into my one night stay here with no expectations ---- that was a good thing.

The woman at the front desk was very very nice and set us up in room 200 --- literally facing the beach and it seemed to be a room re-done over the last two years or so.

I read a number of reviews before checking in and I did have my doubts about a couple of things, but...

The grounds at this hotel are very nice and it actually calmed me a little as we were walking to our room.

We past a nice old lady who was standing in the doorway and trying to get the attention of the person who worked there --- turns out that "nice old lady" owns the Island Beachcomber Hotel and she lives onsite.

Our room had a tiled floor that was clean, the bed looked well made and was sort of firm, and no stains on the walls or ceilings.

So good, right?

Sort of... we went out for the evening and came back to a nice cool room (left the A/C and ceiling fan on) and as we were preparing for bed we noticed a bug (not sure what kind) in the bathroom and a few ants...

No big deal -- honestly...

In the morning is where we ran into the issue...

Apparently this place has a lot of cats -- didn't notice them when we checked in -- and in the morning as we were walking to breakfast, we noticed a dead cat --- yep a dead cat, killed by an aggressive dog (we were told). I will not describe the scene, but it swayed me from eating breakfast or lunch at the hotel. We proceeded to tell the front desk about this and the person said that she had told someone a half-hour ago to clean it up... Well apparently that person didn't do it -- kind gross in my opinion... I should note that after we went next door to the Best Western to get coffee and try to get that image out of my head and we came back, the dead cat was gone and you could smell some cleaning chemicals.

Other than a bug and the dead cat (which clearly isn't the hotel's fault, but the lenght of time to clean it up was) this hotel is truly just average. Since I didn't have to pay for my stay at the Island Beachcomber Hotel (had a hotel voucher for only this hotel), I am not sure if I would pay to stay here again... Other's rave about it and other's hate it... I am sort of on the fence about this place...

if you are in a bind and need a place to stay for one night or two, then yes, stay here -- it is located on a beach and even though it is right next to the airport, there are no flights after 9pm and no jet flights until after 9am...

If you're looking for modern amenities and a high level of personal service - stay elsewhere! If you want a retro-'50's casual (read: no shoes) old school Caribbean hotel and are a self-sufficient traveler, then the Island Beachcomber is a really great option. Directly on one of the best beaches on St. Thomas, and the closest hotel to the airport (no 45 minute taxi ride here!!), the Beachcomber offers simple, basic rooms (with a/c and tv), a delightful beach bar that I think is the best on the island, and an atmosphere that evokes memories of childhood trips to the islands in the '60's. Nothing changes here, and that's part of the charm, along with the fact that you exit your room (no elevator or common interior hallways) and are on the sand in a matter of seconds. If you want fancy, eliminate this one. If you want casual retro cool and care more about a great beach than about the thread count on your linens, I think the Island Beachcomber can't be beat. Friendly staff, old Caribbean vibe, good beachfront restaurant and bar. You can eat and drink here in your bathing suit and tee-shirt and feel perfectly at home!

I will say that the gal at the front desk was very, very friendly and even told us that she was giving us an upgrade because we were "so nice"....her words, not mine. :-) We had just come from the airport where we had waited all day for a flight, and it was overbooked and couldn't get on...so, the Beachcomber was the closest hotel to the airport. Well, when we got to our room, the view of the beach was gorgeous and it had a cute little patio front, but the room was awful. If this was an upgrade, I would hate to have seen the other rooms. There were dried worms on the floor and dark moldy spots on the wall. There was even a pillow laying on the bed, with a head print where someone must have decided to take a nap and not put it back under the comforter! The comforter, as you can see in the pictures that I have provided, didn't even fit the bed! I hate to say it, but I couldn't even bring myself to sit on the bed or the stained chair. I went to hang up my jacket in the closet and it was also dirty and moldy (picture included). The towels in the bathroom were all stained, I couldn't bring myself to dry my hands. I quickly put on my bathing suit and headed to the beach....I decided that I was going to find a beach chair and sleep on the beach! Whatever critters were on the beach, had to be better then what might be in that bed. The room was $140 a night, so I at least expected it to be clean!! My husband and I walked the beach and realized there was a Best Western right next door that looked much nicer, he went to the front desk and apologized and said that we weren't happy with the room and were going to leave. The gal at the front desk was again very sweet and said that she understood and didn't charge us. I think this place could have potential......A renovation would be in order....even if it was just some clorox and paint!! The setting is beautiful on a gorgeous beach....it has great potential!