St. Thomas holiday condo

We just returned from our stay at Alan's condo, and had a wonderful experience. It had by far the best view of any place we've previously stayed in the Caribbean. We enjoyed snorkeling the reef right out in front nearly every day, and appreciated the shade of the sea grapes along the beautiful beach. We found the grounds very well maintained, and the beach was cleaned every day. Yes, the beach bar is not opened, but we really didn't miss it. We'd rather have our own happy hour on our balcony, enjoying the magnificent view. We could tell the interior had some recent improvements like new tile in the kitchen and bathroom. Though the number of dishes and glasses was a little on the sparse side, we managed just fine.

We debated prior to our arrival on whether or not we'd rent a car while on St. Thomas. It turned out that we didn't and we managed just fine. We made good use of the Safari taxis ($1 per person - $2 if you go a longer distance like into Charlotte Amalie). They run every 5 minutes or so from the road right out in front of Sapphire Beach. Just be prepared for a steep hike up the driveway. A couple of times we walked back to Sapphire from Red Hook, which is only 0.4 miles away, but be careful since there's no shoulder for part of the way and the roads are narrow, curvy and hilly. We'd definitely suggest you not walk it at night! We also took regular taxis when we needed to - $4 per person to get home from Red Hook.

We did a couple of day trips over to St. John to explore the reefs there. We caught the 6:30 a.m. ferry and both days we had the beaches and reefs all to ourselves! We snorkeled at Trunk Bay, Leinster Bay/Watermelon Cay, and Saloman Bay, and they were all fantastic.

Alan's property manager, Sam, was very gracious and friendly. We appreciated him taking us for a stop at the main grocery store, Plaza Extra, prior to bringing us to the condo. When we needed additional groceries, we used the Marina Market in Red Hook, which had a good selection of items.

Check out Happy Hour at Duffy's Love Shack in Red Hook from 4-6 pm - you can't beat $1.50 drinks!

We very much enjoyed our week at Alan's place at Sapphire Beach, and would love to stay there again the next time we're on St. Thomas.

My wife and I traveled with another couple recently and rented both units. The condos were great with exceptional views of Sapphire Beach and neighboring islands. One unit was a little more updated than the other, but both were in great shape. Sapphire Beach is located on the east end of the island away from all of the crowds found in town. Redhook is very close by and has a lot of great places for dining and entertainment. We enjoyed staying in these units and will definitely be booking another trip with Alan again very soon. I would recommend these units to anyone looking for a great price in a great location.

Alan was great!!! Mywife and I had a great time.The condo was very clean and what a veiw,I hope to go back next year at the same time.The only down fall was had to go to Redhook for food,Dinning out,nightlife,rent a car if you go.I enjoyed staying on beach all day.Thank you so very much Alan we will be back jay&Lisa