As many have stated, this place is extremely run down and the staff clearly is tired of hearing the same complaints over and over. No working phones, so you have to go into the office for in person enclosed interactions each time you try to find out if there are finally sheets or towels (1/4 mile walk each way for us...up to 1/3 mile for some rooms). No help with luggage, not even a cart we could use....took us 4 trips to get our stuff to the room and back out (that's over 4 miles of walking!!). Lots of bugs in our non-clean room (including the biggest cockroaches I have seen and I have stayed in the tropics a lot). After day 2 with no towels (and having spent over 3 hours dealing with the desk...it's only staffed 1/3 of the time...makes that walk even more annoying!) we finally made the one hour round trip drive into town to buy towels. Check in was hours later than their stated time. The sofa bed (filthy) was the ridiculous (literally visibly lumpy from nearly exposed springs). Those lucky enough to have screened porches sent their kids to sleep on the cushioned benches (that was not our unit -- our porch had way too many bird droppings and far too many bugs to make that a viable option). Cleaning only happens 3 days a week. Staff is clearly incredibly overworked and as a result, unhappy to be there. Management doesn't return messages...obviously everyone there is aware this place isn't running properly, but there apparently isn't anything anyone can do. The apathy is difficult to take when one goes in expecting an actual resort type stay. We discovered when we went searching for a broom that apparently each room has its own (tiny, like maybe 20 gallon) water heater. In our building, our unit appeared to have been replumbed to share a water heater with another unit, which explains why we so rarely had hot water. As others mentioned, there seems to be a sewage problem, so they have emergency pumps running (very loud) and the smell is nauseating in the main area. Happily we were on the far side of the property, so we didn't get it anywhere near as badly as a lot of people did. I don't understand at all what the "resort" fee is for. They do not provide towels. The hot tub is full of plants. There are no beach/pool toys, no activities...even the showers to get sand off from the beach don't work. What service is the fee covering? Several families we talked to lamented literally being hungry. They did not obtain a car, relying instead on this being a “resort” and the “restaurant” being listed as open. It is not. They have an extremely limited to go menu available from the bar. One family said nothing on the menu was real food, and certainly not viable to continue trying to live on for every meal for a week’s stay. Apparently they had stayed before when there were multiple restaurants as well as convenience stores on property. Those are all closed. It is a beautiful location. But unless you bring your own supplies and come in expecting to be entirely self sufficient, expect a lot of unpleasantness. And do not expect any response from management. And try to be kind to the poor staff who is forced to deal with all the unhappy guests for whom they have no real power to help. Platinum members, forget any perks. Come in expecting a somewhat better than roofed camping situation and you are likely to be pleasantly surprised. Expect more and you’re likely to come away unhappy.…
The resort is located very privately and secluded on the north side of the island, in itself that makes is heaven on earth to me! Entrance is gated with a guard on duty 24/7 to restrict entrance to guests and authorized parties (and currently is also doing temperature checks on everyone entering in accordance with Covid regulations). Due to its location a rental car is pretty much a must unless you are planning on just hanging out on the resort's beach or are willing to pay the $30 one way taxi fare to get into Christiansted or Frederiksted. Parking is free in the guest parking lot just across from the lobby and within easy, though slightly downward sloping (or upward on your way back to the car) walk on paved walkways that are easily navigated even with luggage or a stroller. It is set right on a wonderful sandy beach with just enough coral and a couple of tide pool areas to make it equally nice for sunseekers as those that like to snorkel and enjoy some sea life... the beach teams with crabs, the tide pools hold urchins, tiny fish and snails, the water teams with tropical fish such as tangs, damsels, angelfish and even stingrays. There are beach chairs available for use (beach towels available at the front desk) and a volleyball net set up for those that like to be a bit more active. And though all beaches on St. Croix are public this beach certainly at least felt private and probably doesn't get much outside traffic due to it's location. There is a hiking trail that leads from the resort up a steep hill through dense foliage (very pretty) to a rocky beach and a set of gorgeous tide pools to the west of the resort... well worth the hike! The 2-story buildings are spread out over beautiful and well maintained resort grounds, providing an open feel with a sense of privacy not often found. Our room was on the ground floor and the patio just steps off the beach... we kept the patio doors wide open day and night to let in the ocean breeze and the sound of the waves, truly exceptional! Inside it was clean and comfortably furnished including a king bed and a separate sitting area (both of which had a TV though other than watching the Bills play on Sunday we didn't turn either one on). There were 6 units in our building (3 ground level, 3 on 2nd floor) and they were so well insulated that we couldn't hear any other guests at all. Due to Covid restrictions housekeeping was reduced to Mondays and Thursdays but if needed fresh towels and/or supplies were available through the front desk. The pool and spa were sparkling clean and set right off the Beach Bar with a gorgeous view of the beach. There were plenty of lounge chairs as well as tables with chairs and umbrellas set around it to offer guests room to sunbathe or even work from their laptops via free WiFi. The Saman restaurant was unfortunately still closed due to renovation, however, a breakfast buffet was available daily and the Flamboyant Lounge & Beach Grill was open daily from 4-9pm. Though it was not a full up restaurant it offered sit down service with a selection of appetizers as well as pizza and a small selection of entrées. Food was good, staff friendly and accommodating giving off a warm island feel and working hard to keep customers satisfied. There was a full bar with a sufficient selection of beer as well as wine, and the mixed drinks were great (the Cruzan Confusion being my favorite). There are several really good/excellent restaurants within a 15 mile radius though a few were closed due to Covid... two are an absolute must for dinner, AMA at Cane Bay (about 2 miles from Carambola) which is right on the beach with the waves literally crashing at your feet) and Savant on a quiet street in Christiansted away from the hustle and bustle (about 12 miles from resort). Both offer an amazing atmosphere and excellent food (fine cuisine) with full bar and ample wine lists. Other great restaurants we tried were The Beach Cafe at Sandcastle, Louie & Nacho's (both on Dorsch Beach Frederiksted), Leatherback Landing (Cane Bay), and The Mill (Christiansted boardwalk)... food and drink as well as service was good at all of them! In conclusion, we were more than happy having chosen the Carambola Resort as our accommodation for our trip to St. Croix. It fit our bill to the T and exceeded our expectations. Is it for everyone? Certainly not if you expect to be in the middle of the action, crammed into a hotel bunker with rows upon rows of multi-level buildings and entertainment presented to you every moment of the day. But should you be like us and seek a tranquil, intimate retreat to just relax, take in the natural beauty of the island and make your own plans, to explore St. Croix as you wish... all at a very very reasonable price... then it doesn't get any better than this!!!…
Love this place. First visited it about 10 years ago. It is not in the condition it was back then, but it appears that they are slowly renovating it. The rooms were decent, again--showing their age but still comfortable. House keeping only came twice (2nd at last day), which I believe was due to Covid but I would have expected more than that over seven days. The most surprising part for me was the lack of friendly service. Despite Covid, it was pretty busy when we were there. There was only one bartender a lot of the time, and he or she was struggling to keep up. They had no electronic point of sale system so they had us signing old paper slips for food and drinks. I have no idea if I paid the correct amount for food and drinks while we were there. It was almost three weeks before my card was even charged so how on earth am I suppose to remember what we bought?!?! Even the check-in was pretty depressing. No smiles, no "welcome to Carambola", just "can I help you". Not exactly what I was expecting on our first day of vacation in the Virgin Islands. I stay at a lot of Marriott hotels and generally receive a much warmer greeting at even a Fairfield Inn. Obviously Covid has affected the travel industry a lot, but some pretty common sense practices seemed to be ignored that have nothing to do with Covid. We'll probably look elsewhere next time we visit St. Croix. The island is great though. Lots of great places to eat. There is a hiking trail you can access from the resort that takes you to the Tide Pools. Very cool spot!…
My family and two other families have just returned from 8 days/nights at the Carambola hotel and "resort" in St. Croix. We booked a Luxury Suite and received instead a cockroach infested, no towels, leaking air conditioner dark musty dump of a room. There was ONE BARTENDED for the ENTIRE resort the entire week. Pool was disgustingly dirty. Towels had to be BEGGED for in the room because we had to use the original towels issued to soak up the leaks in the roof and with the AC. We found giant, live cockroaches on the toilet seat one morning and beside our bed on two separate occasions. The staff that we did meet in the bar (Lisette) was wonderful but she was working COMPLETELY by herself serving food, drinks and handling take out orders for the ENTIRE RESORT. We registered our complaints with the front desk staff at least 3 separate time without any assistance. There was no bellman to help with luggage and rooms were only serviced minimally. The place was clearly a nice place at some point in time (probably before Hurricane Florence) but it is a dump now. MARRIOTT SHOULD BE ASHAMED TO REPRESENT SUCH A PLACE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Save yourself a painful experience and stay in a tent before choosing this place.…
I was torn between a 3 and a 4 rating. 5 star views and potential, but a 2 to 3 star elsewhere. This place has so much potential to what I can only imagine was it’s past glory. Covid-19 and past hurricane has this place down a bit. They are in need of additional staff. They are understaffed and doing their best to keep up. The location is unbelievably beautiful! The resort has great bones but needs some TLC. The ocean view rooms are amazing. There is a spot where beach entry is sandy, but a lot of it is rocky. Good snorkeling behind the rocky part, enter from sandy side. Also good hiking on the other side of the guard building. They are trying but need help for deep cleans (dust bunnies, deep corners and crevices). Service is lacking due to them being understaffed. So expect to wait longer when needing anything, and have to have patience. Our friends had to wait a day for extra sheets for their sons fold out couch bed took a while to get someone to unclog their toilet. Breakfast was to-go: a buffet line to choose scrambled eggs, also with cheese, bacon, sausage, potatoes, and either waffles, pancakes or French toast depending on the day. Coffee, juices to go as well. Hats off to the maintenance man while we were there. He seems to be everywhere doing just about everything. Look at the pictures to get an idea of what it looks like so you can judge for yourself. …
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