Is Sapphire beach run down or not? Read some reviews on TripAdvisor.

[vmom]

Am very confused about some of the recent reviews on Sapphire Beach. I was reading reviews on TripAdvisor.com

 

Some of the recent reviews rave about Sapphire being a good family beach with rest rooms and food/beverages available. Some really great 5 star reviews.

 

Other recent reviews from the same time period gave it 1-2 stars saying the view out to the sea was beautiful, but the buildings and general Sapphire area was very run down and crowded.

 

I looked at some recent pictures and all the pictures seem to be facing out to sea so it is difficult to get a picture of what being on the beach is really like.

 

Is it dirty and old? Old with character? Fun? Too crowded or just the right amount of people without feeling crowded?

 

I have been to Coki and although we had a great experience that was a few years ago and don't want to deal with aggressive pushy locals.

 

My other thoughts were to go to Emerald/Lindbergh beach on the other end of the island.

[merinski]

Am very confused about some of the recent reviews on Sapphire Beach. I was reading reviews on TripAdvisor.com

 

Some of the recent reviews rave about Sapphire being a good family beach with rest rooms and food/beverages available. Some really great 5 star reviews.

 

Other recent reviews from the same time period gave it 1-2 stars saying the view out to the sea was beautiful, but the buildings and general Sapphire area was very run down and crowded.

 

I looked at some recent pictures and all the pictures seem to be facing out to sea so it is difficult to get a picture of what being on the beach is really like.

 

Is it dirty and old? Old with character? Fun? Too crowded or just the right amount of people without feeling crowded?

 

I have been to Coki and although we had a great experience that was a few years ago and don't want to deal with aggressive pushy locals.

 

My other thoughts were to go to Emerald/Lindbergh beach on the other end of the island.

 

We were in Saphire last year. It is a very beautiful beach. Behind you is an old resort, but we really didn't pay attention to it. There is a rental place , we had our own snorkel stuff. The washrooms are like a beach one, not bad. Nothing pushy, when we went it wasn't crowded. We didn't eat there, we heard that they have to go somewhere near by to get food & it may take awhile. I think you can get a drink at the rental place. We took water with us. I do recomend it.:)

[Ms411]

That is why I'm trying to post slideshows of as many Caribbean as I can so you can see everything for yourself.

 

I walked the entire beach from the time I exited the taxi, and took pictures of bathrooms, beach, etc. It's on Cruisecritic somewhere.

[allentownahoy]

Sapphire Beach is fine. It is a beautiful beach. The bathroom is relatively clean but it is a beach bathroom which usually means sand and damp floor is possible. If snorkeling is important this is the beach to come to. If you do not plan to snorkel Emerald Beach is lovely, closer to the pier and has restaurant/bar.

[vmom]

That is why I'm trying to post slideshows of as many Caribbean as I can so you can see everything for yourself.

 

I walked the entire beach from the time I exited the taxi, and took pictures of bathrooms, beach, etc. It's on Cruisecritic somewhere.

 

 

Pictures of the land area would be nice. Thank you.

 

It is frustrating when I read so many very differing reports about this beach on TripAdvisor.

[mitsugirly]

The beach itself is beautiful. I definitely would never say it's dirty or anything. We actually thought it looked like Paradise. We didn't find the buildings to look bad either (at least the one's in front where you are dropped off at the turnaround at by the taxi, which is the condos with the webcam).

 

Take a look at this webcam at the resort and see what you think...

 

http://www.caribbean-on-line.com/caribbean-web-cams/sapphire-beach-st-thomas-webcam.shtml

[mitsugirly]

I know you said the pictures are usually pointing out toward the water (yea, of course they are that's just how beautiful this water is)...but I'm going to share mine anyhow...

 

This shows some of the beach area and water around Sapphire:

 

 

 

Beautiful sand, definitely not nasty:

 

 

 

Grape trees line the beach in front of the resort, so you have plenty of shade when needed:

 

 

 

It wasn't really crowded the day we went there (off season in September)

 

 

 

The only real picture I got facing toward the condos, but you can find more online:

 

[vmom]

Wow beautiful! Love the water.

 

How far do you have to go out for the snorkeling? When we were at coki several years ago the fish were right there, didn't have to go beyond a few steps out.

 

With Sapphire, is the snorkeling a long distance out? I would love to do some snorkeling, but don't feel confident enough in my swimming ability to go a distance from the shore.

[mitsugirly]

Wow beautiful! Love the water.

 

How far do you have to go out for the snorkeling? When we were at coki several years ago the fish were right there, didn't have to go beyond a few steps out.

 

With Sapphire, is the snorkeling a long distance out? I would love to do some snorkeling, but don't feel confident enough in my swimming ability to go a distance from the shore.

 

Sapphire is the perfect place for beginners. When you are standing in front of the condo's, to the right is all rock/coral with all the snorkeling your little heart desires...as SOON as you walk in to the water. It comes all the way up to the beach.

 

To the side of that is the sand, so if you get tired of snorkeling, you can go over to the sand and stand.

 

Also, a major plus is that it goes WAY out, far away from the beach and it is still shallow. You will look up out of the water and think oh my we are really far out, but yet it's still shallow in the snorkeling area. It's pretty neat!

[Ms411]

Here's my slideshow of Sapphire Beach.

 

http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=1250463

[mom22tinks]

Here's my slideshow of Sapphire Beach.

 

http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=1250463

 

What a great thing! Thanks for sharing. This was great!

[blue_water]

Beautiful beach and the condo resprt is a great place to rent a condo. We spent a week there and loved it!

 

Here's a webcam that someone was good enough to install at their condo

http://www.sapphireinthesun.com/

[WestCoastCruiser123]

Are there beach chairs available for rent? Thanks.

[blue_water]

Yes there is a dive center that rents chairs, floaties/mats, snorkel gear, etc. No umbrellas but there is natural shade along the beach if you want that.

[vmom]

Here's my slideshow of Sapphire Beach.

 

http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=1250463

 

Wow Great slide show. Thanks!

[vmom]

Beautiful beach and the condo resprt is a great place to rent a condo. We spent a week there and loved it!

 

Here's a webcam that someone was good enough to install at their condo

http://www.sapphireinthesun.com/

 

 

Thanks for sharing this link. I bookmarked it so I can take a look over several days and times of days. Very helpful!

[Langley Cruisers]

Just back from Sapphire. The cab driver was rather disappointed that Sapphire was so run down and that we had chosen it, but oh well. We found it older and a bit run down, but it has everything one needs. Yes, natural shade and chairs can be rented for $7.00 each (we chose not to). The food stand has burgers and sandwiches, very good (we had the Mahi Mahi burgers, YUM!). The beer is cheap.

 

The beach is coral! We wished we had brought our water shoes. I bumped my foot several times but it didn't bleed (thought for sure I had cut it but didn't, thank goodness).

 

All in all a nice beach day but we wouldn't go back. Have been to Magens 3 times, and now Sapphire. Next time will probably try Emerald but the cab driver said the Ritz Carlton is phenominal. We shared a cab with 2 others who went there before we were dropped off.

[blue_water]

By "rundown" I assume you are referring to the pool bar and restaurant that are currently not in operation? That is a shame, and hopefully at least the poolbar is re-opened some time.

But yes the Banana Cabana has a great mahi mahi sandwich as you noted, and there are other eating options as well.

The condo resort is very nice and we loved our week there. The beach restrooms are like any other beach restrooms, they can get "used" on a busy day and sandy and wet.

There's no reason for the driver to be "disappointed" that I can think of unless he wanted to steer you to another spot where he gets kickbacks which is sometimes the case (SH and Coki).

And to clarify for vmom, there is a sandy swimming area as well as a reef area and sea grass area. You may find a few rocky areas as in other beautiful bays, water/aqua shoes are perfect for any beach destination.

 

Vmom that webcam helps alot when the snow is flying' outside your window!

[Ms411]

You're welcome, everybody who thanked me for the Sapphire Beach slideshow.

 

On that same site, I have slideshows for Emerald Beach, Coki Beach, Secret Harbor Beach, Magens Bay Beach, Lindqvist Beach (AKA Smith Bay Park), Brewers Beach, and a few St John beaches if anybody's interested.

 

Please "like" them for me so others can better find them.

 

So much to be thankful for! Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.

[Langley Cruisers]

...There's no reason for the driver to be "disappointed" that I can think of unless he wanted to steer you to another spot where he gets kickbacks which is sometimes the case...

 

Mmm, no I'm thinking more that he is a simply a local who is saddened by the general disrepair of the Sapphire Beach area. Perhaps he saw it in its glory days and it was a very nice property at one time... I can't really say.

.

.

[blue_water]

Yes, could be, we just didn't consider the Sapphire Beach area to be in disrepair other than the restaurant and pool bar nit operating but they've been closed for sometime. This is a condo resort rather than a full-fledged resort, and some drivers do prefer to drop folks at places their friends are vendors at to help them. That is very common on STT...

But for anyone looking for a great spot to return to for a longer stay on STT the Sapphire Resort & Marina is very nice. We love the two-tiered pool, beautiful clean beach, and the island views, security is excellent and Red Hook is nearby. Just need to choose the right condo for a perfect stay.

[allentownahoy]

on what beach is the Ritz Carlton located?

 

Just back from Sapphire. The cab driver was rather disappointed that Sapphire was so run down and that we had chosen it, but oh well. We found it older and a bit run down, but it has everything one needs. Yes, natural shade and chairs can be rented for $7.00 each (we chose not to). The food stand has burgers and sandwiches, very good (we had the Mahi Mahi burgers, YUM!). The beer is cheap.

 

The beach is coral! We wished we had brought our water shoes. I bumped my foot several times but it didn't bleed (thought for sure I had cut it but didn't, thank goodness).

 

All in all a nice beach day but we wouldn't go back. Have been to Magens 3 times, and now Sapphire. Next time will probably try Emerald but the cab driver said the Ritz Carlton is phenominal. We shared a cab with 2 others who went there before we were dropped off.

[blue_water]

The Ritz is on Great Bay just the other side of Red Hook, a short drive from Sapphire.

And just past our favorite beach bar on STT, Latitude 18.

[Stevestl]

We were there the day before Thanksgiving and enjoyed our time on the beach. We didn't use the restrooms, so can't speak to that. Beach was sandy, water clear and saw lots of fish and rays. We rented snorkeling gear at good prices. We had just come from the Bahamas and really appreciated the low key atmosphere. They had people renting jet skis, selling food, bev and clothes, but there was no yelling like in the Bahamas. Food was good. We ordered from the restaurant that had servers walking the beach. Had blacked fish, cheese fries and quesadillas. Wasn't quick, but not a big deal. There was a lady selling beer and rum drinks that were quite tasty. Also a lady selling cover ups, etc that were reasonably priced. I would recommend this beach.

[cherylakers]

We have been to Sapphire to snorkel, but now I am think about Coki.

 

Can anyone compare the 2 for me. Which one has the better snorkeling. What ammenities are at each beach and how far from the ship each one is?

 

Thanks

Cheryl