St. Thomas Sapphire Beach

[PoppyandNana]

I read a couple of reports on the internet that Sapphire beach is run down, rentals have disappeared, no food concessions etc. Basically a place you dont want to go to.

 

Can anyone confirm or deny any of these reports?

[bcaha]

I haven't been there in years, but I do have this saved on my computer. http://www.sapphireinthesun.com. A web cam from sapphire. Last time we were there was 2006. At that time there was a small restaurant on the premises with lots of iguanas.

[Ramjet1997]

My 2 cents on Sapphire Beach:

 

We have taken Royal Caribbean tours twice to Sapphire Beach. Both trips were mediocre at best. Both times we had a small beach area which was "our defined area", and both times we had lots of seaweed and not so pleasant ocean smells.

 

And on top of the above, BOTH times we were greeted as we got off the excursion bus by a man who introduced himself as "Nigel", and he started his greeting by saying, "first let me apologize for the condition of our beach".

 

Not sure if we were at the TRUE Sapphire Beach, but we will avoid this excursion and this beach on future trips.....

 

Food and drink was limited, and we were unimpressed by the surroundings and the ongoing "maintenance" that was taking place each time - seemed like they never finished anything......

[Luvcrusn]

We stayed at Sapphire Beach on early spring 2009. At that time the restaurant was closed. On the days that cruise ships were in port some restaurants sent a server to the beach to take food orders but it was pretty hit and miss. The only place to get food/drink if you didn't have your own condo was a hot dog cart and it was a trek down the beach to get there. Try Emerald Beach if you are looking for a nice beach. It's a short cab ride from the pier and they have a hotel there with restrooms, restaurant, bar and lounge chairs and umbrellas for rent. Easy to get a cab back.

[Luvcrusn]

My 2 cents on Sapphire Beach:

 

We have taken Royal Caribbean tours twice to Sapphire Beach. Both trips were mediocre at best. Both times we had a small beach area which was "our defined area", and both times we had lots of seaweed and not so pleasant ocean smells.

 

And on top of the above, BOTH times we were greeted as we got off the excursion bus by a man who introduced himself as "Nigel", and he started his greeting by saying, "first let me apologize for the condition of our beach".

 

Not sure if we were at the TRUE Sapphire Beach, but we will avoid this excursion and this beach on future trips.....

 

Food and drink was limited, and we were unimpressed by the surroundings and the ongoing "maintenance" that was taking place each time - seemed like they never finished anything......

Yep, you have the right one. Used to be great, but that's going back 40 some years:(

[Tatka]

We found Emerald beach which is close to the port to be the same in quality as Sapphire.

[Barwick Cruiser]

We were at Sapphire in Feb 2016, so a year ago and it was lovely. The beach was clean and the water was clear. We went snorkeling on our own from the beach and saw turtles and lots of fish. There was a restaurant there with a server that took orders from where we were sitting on our lounge chairs and the food was delivered back to us. There were washrooms available also. We didn't take a tour but just hopped in a cab from the port. Was a very relaxing day and we'd definitely go back again.

[PoppyandNana]

We were at Sapphire in Feb 2016, so a year ago and it was lovely. The beach was clean and the water was clear. We went snorkeling on our own from the beach and saw turtles and lots of fish. There was a restaurant there with a server that took orders from where we were sitting on our lounge chairs and the food was delivered back to us. There were washrooms available also. We didn't take a tour but just hopped in a cab from the port. Was a very relaxing day and we'd definitely go back again.

 

This is from another poster a few back:

 

"Sapphire Beach. Both trips were mediocre at best. Both times we had a small beach area which was "our defined area", and both times we had lots of seaweed and not so pleasant ocean smells.

 

And on top of the above, BOTH times we were greeted as we got off the excursion bus by a man who introduced himself as "Nigel", and he started his greeting by saying, "first let me apologize for the condition of our beach"."

 

These two comments are in direct opposition to each other. Which one is right?

[Luvcrusn]

This is from another poster a few back:

 

"Sapphire Beach. Both trips were mediocre at best. Both times we had a small beach area which was "our defined area", and both times we had lots of seaweed and not so pleasant ocean smells.

 

And on top of the above, BOTH times we were greeted as we got off the excursion bus by a man who introduced himself as "Nigel", and he started his greeting by saying, "first let me apologize for the condition of our beach"."

 

These two comments are in direct opposition to each other. Which one is right?

 

Probably both, the Caribbean, depending on time of year and tides gets in fluxes of seaweed. We had it once in Bermuda

[Tatka]

There was no seaweed on any St Thomas beaches a week ago.

[Latitude Adjustment]

I am a condo owner and can vouch the beach at Sapphire is great, the snorkeling/diving is top notch with usually great visibility. If you put in the time in the water you will see turtles, schools of squid, spotted sea rays and of course tons of fish. My place is rented out for most of this season and just about everyone staying there loves the beach itself. Thankfully a small beach bar/grill opened right on the beach a few months ago which is a nice addition to the dive shop and restrooms. I would highly encourage anyone who cares to visit a lovely beach with some great snorkeling to check it out.

[Charles4515]

I am a condo owner and can vouch the beach at Sapphire is great, the snorkeling/diving is top notch with usually great visibility. If you put in the time in the water you will see turtles, schools of squid, spotted sea rays and of course tons of fish. My place is rented out for most of this season and just about everyone staying there loves the beach itself. Thankfully a small beach bar/grill opened right on the beach a few months ago which is a nice addition to the dive shop and restrooms. I would highly encourage anyone who cares to visit a lovely beach with some great snorkeling to check it out.

 

 

 

That is the way I always found it. I wonder if some are confusing Sapphire Beach with Coki Beach. I took someone to Sapphire and they resisted saying they had been there and described it like some did above. Then when we got there they realized Sapphire wasn't the beach they had been to. I figured out that the beach they had gone to before and didn't care for was Coki.

 

 

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[Luvcrusn]

I am a condo owner and can vouch the beach at Sapphire is great, the snorkeling/diving is top notch with usually great visibility. If you put in the time in the water you will see turtles, schools of squid, spotted sea rays and of course tons of fish. My place is rented out for most of this season and just about everyone staying there loves the beach itself. Thankfully a small beach bar/grill opened right on the beach a few months ago which is a nice addition to the dive shop and restrooms. I would highly encourage anyone who cares to visit a lovely beach with some great snorkeling to check it out.

 

So happy to hear that. We've been visiting Sapphire Beach since our honeymoon (a million years ago) and always thought that it was beautiful. After our stay in 2009 when the restaurant was closed we've not returned. Perhaps we rented your condo when we were last there, are you in to high rises or the two story?

Edited January 15, 2017 by Luvcrusn

[Barwick Cruiser]

That is the way I always found it. I wonder if some are confusing Sapphire Beach with Coki Beach. I took someone to Sapphire and they resisted saying they had been there and described it like some did above. Then when we got there they realized Sapphire wasn't the beach they had been to. I figured out that the beach they had gone to before and didn't care for was Coki.

 

 

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You could be right about a mixup in beaches. We've been twice to Sapphire and would happily go again. We didn't do a tour so weren't limited to a specific section of the beach but were able to take our chairs wherever we liked. Never had a bad smell there or seaweed although I can imagine that if the tides or current are unusual you could get seaweed coming in.

 

Since you mentioned Coki, when we were last at Sapphire we sat near others from our ship and they were told by a cabbie not to go to Coki because they'd had so many complaints of thefts...that was back in Feb 2016 so might be cleaned up now.

[Latitude Adjustment]

So happy to hear that. We've been visiting Sapphire Beach since our honeymoon (a million years ago) and always thought that it was beautiful. After our stay in 2009 when the restaurant was closed we've not returned. Perhaps we rented your condo when we were last there, are you in to high rises or the two story?

 

I do have a lovely studio condo in Sapphire Village which is just a few minutes walk slightly uphill from Sapphire Beach. The condo has some great water views on the balcony but I did not own it in 09. We truly lovely going and staying there ourselves and do so at least 4 times each year but we primarily rent it out, I do have it listed on VRBO.

 

And I will agree Coki is somewhat sketchy although some truly great water which drops off quite a bit not far off the beach. And some very good beachside restaurants all next to each other. I have never had a problem there but it is something to be aware of. Sapphire is completely different, very quiet and laid back with some very lovely water and great views of St. John. We just simply love this SE end of St. Thomas, great to have Red Hook nearby as well.

Edited January 16, 2017 by Latitude Adjustment