Grande Bay is located in Cruz bay, at a walking distance from the ferry point. It has good amenities like a swimming pool and hot tub with a deck area with awesome views of the sea and the mountains. All the condos have a great view of the waters. We lived in the upper row of condos, which may have offered a better view. The condo was really well furnished. The kitchen had everything that we needed. It was very clean when we arrived. The pictures on tripadvisor reflect the truth.

Pros:
1) Pool, hot tub, gym, deck
2) Views from the balcony
3) Parking
4) Water sports' rental available right outside the building.
5) Many good eating options in town (all within walking distance)
6) Easy to take taxis to any of the beaches from the taxi stand in town.

Cons:
1) The beach right in front of the hotel cannot be used much as a beach since there are many boats just around there. Yet, it is fun to play there for some time and the water is super clear. This is not really a big deal since you can get to many of the nice beaches via a fun taxi ride within a few minutes.

Having vacationed at quite a few places on St. John (both Coral Bay and Cruz Bay), we have determined that Grande Bay Resort and Residences is the place to which we will return for years to come. Located just a few minutes’ walk from Cruz Bay, you don’t need to take a taxi to town, to the ferry dock, or the grocery store. Restaurants and shopping are very close and walking the short distance is both convenient and safe (well lighted and less traffic).
Hiking to the beach is just 30-40 minutes away and Grande Bay provides beach chairs and towels so your day at the beach is as relaxing as can be. Or you can take a short taxi ride to the north shore beaches but you can walk to the taxi stand from Grande Bay in 10 minutes or so.
And if the surf happens to be high and the beaches are closed (yes, it happens) or if the beach is not your cup of tea, Grande Bay offers a nice sized pool, hot tub, and deck area for sunbathing or hanging out.
We especially like the fact that Grande Bay has a sizable gym with treadmills, a stationary bike, and elliptical machine. You can work out looking through large windows out over Cruz Bay and watching everyone prepare for the upcoming day, be it the dive boats, charters, or ferries. It is also convenient to go for a walk or run through town if you want to exercise outdoors. And the ocean with a sandy beach is right across the street if you want to stay close by.
Another feature we really like is the quality of the residences. We feel really safe and secure due to the sturdy doors and locksets and the materials of construction are top notch. Air conditioning really helps us sleep well and the walls are thick and dense, which helps keep noise out. Flat screen TVs with cable service allow us to keep up on current events and weather forecasts. The sizable kitchen allows us to prepare our own meals if we so wish.
Grande Bay is by far the nicest and most convenient place we have ever vacationed, including stays in Mexico and the BVIs.
Because we love St. John and plan to vacation there regularly, we felt it was worth the investment (initial outlay plus maintenance fees) to purchase two weeks under a fractional agreement. We are now guaranteed two weeks every year for only the annual maintenance fee, which is pretty reasonable. And if for some reason we cannot make it, we can rent the week out or trade it with a fellow resident for a different time. There are also other options but we are hoping we are always able to return. The sales process was not a high pressure pitch and because we plan to always come back to St. John, the simple payback on our investment is around 7 years, which we found acceptable. Grande Bay also has a financing program at reasonable rates if anyone happened to need it. The sales team was very helpful and answered all of our questions while not being pushy.
Lastly, once someone purchases a time share or fractional interest in a property, one might think that the sales people and property management would move on and forget about you. At Grande Bay, this could not be further from the truth. We are treated just as well, if not better, as before we purchased the fractional. The sales staff remembers us by name and invites us to all the social events they sponsor while we are on island. We get the chance to meet other residents who have already invested and also some who are prospective buyers. We feel we are treated like family by the sales team, managers, and staff. By the way, the staff keeps the facility in great shape and maintenance is top notch. Like the old Cheers TV show theme song, it is fun to go “where everybody knows your name, and they’re glad you came”. We can’t wait to get back.
Gena and Paul VanderMeulen

We go on 1 family vacation per year so we really did our research when deciding on a location and where we would stay. 25 years ago, my wife and I visited Saint John while on our honeymoon and it has always been one of our favorite places, so the location was an easy choice. We looked on line and read a lot about the Grande Bay Resort, including many customer reviews. The Grande Bay exceeded our expectations. We had 5 people in our party, ages 17-balding (me). The 3 bedroom unit that we had was very spacious, with a great kitchen, and nicely decorated. We had a bay view, which was beautiful. The bottle of rum on our kitchen counter was a nice surprise and kicked off our week in style. I am now addicted to Cruzan Rum and blame the Grande Bay. The staff was tremendous. During our vacation planning process, we worked with Emily, Colby, and Danielle. They were all extremely helpful, knowledgeable, and great to work with. Danielle did a fantastic job connecting us to dive/snorkel activities and restaurants. The entire staff had great energy and was very nice. The location of the Grande Bay is perfect. You can walk to any restaurant, bar, or local shop. You can watch Ziggy the Pig do his morning walk to the beach. The on-site Jeep rental is the way to go and I would recommend that to anyone staying at the Grande Bay (thank you Dawn). The island is beautiful and the Jeep is needed for the hair pin mountain turns and creative parking challenges at some of the beaches. Speaking of beaches, thanks Emily/Megan for suggesting Salt Pond.......what a raw, undiscovered jewel! The only thing I can think of in terms of improvements is the small health club area. Due to the limited dumb bells, I was forced to do more 12 ounce curls at night. I guess that's a decent trade off.....
I hope we can come back next year. Great vacation and facilities!

I travel to St John annually (sometimes more if I can) and typically stay in a villa with my family. A few months ago, my wife and I had a chance to sneak away to St John without kids, but only had five days. Villas require a week rental in most cases, so that was out, and we did not want to stay at the Westin or Caneel Bay because we would need a car and would be restricted to the resort for the most part.

We had seen Grande Bay being built over the years and decided to check it out. We were a little apprehensive at first becuase we have read about all the opposition to Grande Bay's development and impact on the community. We are believers that development on St John should be halted, but .we put our issues aside and decided to check Grande Bay out first hand.

We were very happy with our stay.

1. Great new apartment sized rooms with kitchen, living room, and bedroom. We just had a one bedroom but you could get a two or three bedroom.

2. Location was awesome! We love walking in to town to have dinner and enjoy all the festivities that take place in little Cruz Bay. We walked to Honeymoon, Solomon, and Caneel beeches, three of the days we were there. Great easy hikes on well marked trails that start right in town.

3. Easy to rent a car from resort concierge...One day we rented a car for the day and spent the morning in Coral Bay having brunch at Miss Lucy's, and then finished the day with some cheese and wine on Francis Bay and watched the sun set. The resort has its own covered parking garage...really nice.

4. Resort has free coffee and danish if you like in the AM. They have a fantactic excercise facility and a very nice sized pool if you just want to hang out and catch some sun at the resort. You could even walk just across a narrow street and sit on a beautiful beach right in front of the resort.

All in all, for the money it is a great place to stay...especially good for couples without kids.

One note...they are in the business of selling time shares. They were not pushy at all, but keep in mind that you most likely will be asked to check out their pitch. We didn;t.