Bolonga Bay

[mitsugirly]

Hello friends...I'm needing your help. 

 

Can any of you share your experience and personal pictures of Bolonga Bay if you have been here/ (Either by day on a cruise or stayed here). 

 

I am real interested in your thoughts. Is there snorkeling here? Is there a sandy beach?

 

TIA

[blue_water]

Hi mitsugirly.

Are you thinking about a day visit from a ship, or staying here?

We’ve gone to BB to look at condos for sale and to enjoy Iggie’s Oasis few times while staying at Sapphire. Love the jerk wings and other dishes.

 

The beach there is very pebbly, the small beach by the resort pool is sandier but still rocky. No real snorkeling there that I recall, but as you know we’re not avid snorkelers. I’d ask that specific question of residents and frequent guests of BB to get good feedback, as BB is not a typical spot for day visitors.

 

One note, pre-Covid-19 Iggie’s was moved to the pool location where the Lobster Grill restaurant was previously. Guests and visitors from other hotels have access to the pool while enjoying the bar. That was not intended for cruisers, but I doubt they ask for hotel ID’s unless the resort is very busy…

[mitsugirly]

We are considering going back to St Thomas for a land vacation. We really loved staying at Sapphire but the family is wanting a "new" experience if we go this time and I know there's not a lot of places to stay that are on the beach. This was one of the options. 

 

I'm not sure if I'd want to go if the beach is rocky or pebbles. 

 

The only other options I have found so far is Margaritaville (which looks beautiful but doesn't have a "kitchen" with stove to cook on) and Limetree Resort. Any thoughts on those?

[mitsugirly]

23 hours ago, blue_water said:

I’d ask that specific question of residents and frequent guests of BB to get good feedback

Almost forgot, where do you ask this at?

[blue_water]

1 hour ago, mitsugirly said:

Almost forgot, where do you ask this at?

I meant to say the STT forum on TripAdvisor, lol…sorry. That has been a great resource for us as we researched the island…
https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowForum-g147404-i172-St_Thomas_U_S_Virgin_Islands.html

[blue_water]

1 hour ago, mitsugirly said:

We are considering going back to St Thomas for a land vacation. We really loved staying at Sapphire but the family is wanting a "new" experience if we go this time and I know there's not a lot of places to stay that are on the beach. This was one of the options. 

 

I'm not sure if I'd want to go if the beach is rocky or pebbles. 

 

The only other options I have found so far is Margaritaville (which looks beautiful but doesn't have a "kitchen" with stove to cook on) and Limetree Resort. Any thoughts on those?

We’ve not stayed at either so can’t help there. But I’m not impressed with Margaritaville or the beach there after reading reviews from guests and comments from locals who visit. I joined the Limetree Beach Facebook group to learn more about that and I am planning to book a stay there through an owner next visit. Although it is hard not choosing Sapphire…🙈
 

But check out Limetree, looks like a nice option!

[beautifulbill]

The beach at Margarettaville is polluted and not safe to swim in.

Bolongo is an older property and has a rocky beach so I would not choose either property. 

I am not familiar with Limetree but have read good things.

The only places I recommend are Sapphire Beach Resort and Marina and Secret Harbor. You can pick the unit you will stay in on VRBO at Sapphire but at Secret Harbor they assign you a place.

[mitsugirly]

7 hours ago, blue_water said:

We’ve not stayed at either so can’t help there. But I’m not impressed with Margaritaville or the beach there after reading reviews from guests and comments from locals who visit. I joined the Limetree Beach Facebook group to learn more about that and I am planning to book a stay there through an owner next visit. Although it is hard not choosing Sapphire…🙈
 

But check out Limetree, looks like a nice option!

 

I will have to see if I can find the Limetree Beach fb group and join. It looks nice there and I found a nice place listed. I'm leaning toward there. Margaritaville didn't have units with a stove and that's a must for us to be able to cook breakfast and a few dinners. It could get very expensive eating out every time. 

 

 

4 hours ago, beautifulbill said:

The beach at Margarettaville is polluted and not safe to swim in.

Bolongo is an older property and has a rocky beach so I would not choose either property. 

I am not familiar with Limetree but have read good things.

The only places I recommend are Sapphire Beach Resort and Marina and Secret Harbor. You can pick the unit you will stay in on VRBO at Sapphire but at Secret Harbor they assign you a place.

 

 

Oh, that's sad to hear about Margaritaville. Bolongo Bay was just something that popped up. We went there last time (for dinner at Mimi's) and I wasn't impressed with the part that we were in (by the restaurant, which is VERY rocky) and pool area on the end. But after I looked it up and got pictures online it looked like it had a decent beach (on down, which is why we didn't see it I guess). 

 

Glad to know you have heard good things about Limetree. That's reassuring. 

 

Secret Harbor we liked the beach so thought that might be an option. But I really hate not picking the unit and being assigned ahead of time so you know the exact place and what it looks like. Ugh. 

 

7 hours ago, blue_water said:

I meant to say the STT forum on TripAdvisor, lol…sorry. That has been a great resource for us as we researched the island…
https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowForum-g147404-i172-St_Thomas_U_S_Virgin_Islands.html

 

Oh lordy! I have never had any luck with the TA forums. People over there are so mean and rude any time I have ever asked a question. Ehhh

[blue_water]

45 minutes ago, mitsugirly said:

 

I will have to see if I can find the Limetree Beach fb group and join. It looks nice there and I found a nice place listed. I'm leaning toward there. Margaritaville didn't have units with a stove and that's a must for us to be able to cook breakfast and a few dinners. It could get very expensive eating out every time. 

 

 

 

 

Oh, that's sad to hear about Margaritaville. Bolongo Bay was just something that popped up. We went there last time (for dinner at Mimi's) and I wasn't impressed with the part that we were in (by the restaurant, which is VERY rocky) and pool area on the end. But after I looked it up and got pictures online it looked like it had a decent beach (on down, which is why we didn't see it I guess). 

 

Glad to know you have heard good things about Limetree. That's reassuring. 

 

Secret Harbor we liked the beach so thought that might be an option. But I really hate not picking the unit and being assigned ahead of time so you know the exact place and what it looks like. Ugh. 

 

 

Oh lordy! I have never had any luck with the TA forums. People over there are so mean and rude any time I have ever asked a question. Ehhh

Yes I haven’t been to Margaritaville so don’t rely on me. And I agree wholeheartedly about SH.
Yes I know one or two there like that. One in particular is very knowledgeable, but doesn’t really look at resorts…more of a sailor dude…

[blue_water]

On 2/4/2022 at 6:40 PM, blue_water said:

Yes I haven’t been to Margaritaville so don’t rely on me. And I agree wholeheartedly about SH.
Yes I know one or two there like that. One in particular is very knowledgeable, but doesn’t really look at resorts…more of a sailor dude…

Meant to add that Beautiful Bill is a great source for all things STT. He has a beautiful condo on Sapphire and he was very helpful to us when we first researched STT. 

[blue_water]

On 2/4/2022 at 5:43 PM, mitsugirly said:

Oh lordy! I have never had any luck with the TA forums. People over there are so mean and rude any time I have ever asked a question. Ehhh

And yes some of the TA forums are indeed a sh#$show, but these VI and BVI forums are a breath of fresh air in comparison…Just a different traveler than on many of the other Carib and Mexico forums 😉.

But the reviews are also helpful if you take the time to find the more useful ones…

[mitsugirly]

34 minutes ago, blue_water said:

And yes some of the TA forums are indeed a sh#$show, but these VI and BVI forums are a breath of fresh air in comparison…Just a different traveler than on many of the other Carib and Mexico forums 😉.

But the reviews are also helpful if you take the time to find the more useful ones…

 

 

I'll have a look at it. 

 

I think we have decided on Point Pleasant this time. The views are incredible. 

[blue_water]

10 hours ago, mitsugirly said:

 

 

I'll have a look at it. 

 

I think we have decided on Point Pleasant this time. The views are incredible. 

Yes we looked at that years ago (for those views) but we never stayed there, Sapphire just captured our hearts I guess..

 

Great option!

[beautifulbill]

Point Pleasant has great views but it is on a very big hill and you have to be half billygoat to get up and down. There also is no beach.

[mitsugirly]

On 2/13/2022 at 6:15 PM, beautifulbill said:

Point Pleasant has great views but it is on a very big hill and you have to be half billygoat to get up and down. There also is no beach.

 

That cracked me up. "Billy goat". 😆

[beautifulbill]

I went to dinner at Limetree this week. The place looks much improved . There are two restaurants there, Donovan's (a steak house) where we ate and Lani. They are side by side so are quite noisy. Donovan's was very expensive and really a disappointment. All of us agreed we wouldn't go back. Also Limetree is a timeshare and as I understand it they will not give you the key to your room until you sit through the sales pitch. When I arrive someplace that's the last thing I want to go through. 

[blue_water]

I was following posts on the Limetree Facebook page but haven’t in some time. But it looks very nice there, and I know many are renting directly from owners (at least it sounded like that). I’ll start following that again as it does look like an alternative to Sapphire and Secret Harbour…

[mitsugirly]

Yea, I was following Limetree on there as well and found (for the most part) people were only willing to rent them from Sunday-Saturday (or something like that) and not odd days (we are going Wed-Friday for 1 1/2 weeks) so it wasn't working out with trying to rent from the owners on there. So, I tried on the booking site and almost all (or a big majority) of the listings were being serviced by the same person. She was talking to me and answering questions until I questioned her about her multiple listings and the pictures all being the same when they didn't match the listing and boom! She stopped replying. I was just trying to figure out which pictures went to what listing and obviously I offended this "superhost" to the point that she wouldn't talk to me anymore. I approached her several more times with the last asking if she was willing to help me and she finally replied "I can try" and I told her exactly which type of unit I wanted to rent and if she could point me to the correct listing and she never responded again. I finally gave up and decided she wasn't about to get my hard earned money...if only I could tell the people she rents for what terrible service I received from her and no telling how many times she's lost a potential renter because of it. 

 

I moved on and ended up booking at Point Pleasant where they answered every question I had right away and didn't leave me hanging (after a lot of research and reading reviews of several different places we were deciding on). 

 

I think we will enjoy the views and it will be a new experience for us. 

[blue_water]

Kim you are a “super-researcher”, much like me, and that can overwhelm or turn off the folks I’m questioning for sure…😄 But that experience may have revealed a less than desirable situation there…

[mitsugirly]

On 3/9/2022 at 9:17 AM, blue_water said:

Kim you are a “super-researcher”, much like me, and that can overwhelm or turn off the folks I’m questioning for sure…😄 But that experience may have revealed a less than desirable situation there…

Yea I mean I didn't think it was too much to ask to "know" which place it was I was getting. I can be super picky so if I see a picture in the description with a loft bed I kinda expect that to be what I'm getting and not a hotel-type room with the bed in the living room area with a pull out couch. 🤷‍♀️ I didn't think it was too much to ask for. 

Edited March 12, 2022 by mitsugirly

[beautifulbill]

Limetree is a time share resort hence the Saturday to Saturday rentals. You would need to sit through a timeshare sales pitch before they will give you a key to your place.

I'd be careful renting at a timeshare  resort.

Your best bet is to go to vrbo and screen for the places that have what you want. For example, if you want great views Point Pleasant is a good choice but there is no beach if a beach is a priority.

[mitsugirly]

I already booked Point Pleasant a little over a month ago. I do know they offer the small beach down below, a very small snorkeling area and some have talked about the deserted beach of sugar bay resort. Do you have any info on being able to use that beach?