St. John Photo of the Day
Skim Boarder at Cinnamon Bay

Press Release: St. John Film Society

FREE MOVIE NIGHT
Tuesday March 15, 2011
7:30 PM at Sputniks in Coral Bay

ST. JOHN FILM SOCIETY ANNOUNCEMENTS

A TRIBUTE TO ANNIE LOVE:
A short 8 min film by local filmmakers
Jeremy Garza and Trent Myers

Followed by our feature presentation:

HEART OF THE SEA
by Lisa Denker, Charlotte Lagarde (57 min) 2002

HEART OF THE SEA is a portrait of Rell “Kapolioka’ ehukai” Sunn, who died in January 1998 of breast cancer at the age of 47. Known worldwide as a pioneer of women’s professional surfing, at home in Hawaii Rell achieved the   stature of an icon – not only for her physical power, grace and luminous beauty, but for her leadership in a community that loved her as much as she loved it.

By the time she lost a 15 year battle with breast cancer, Rell’s legacy had grown far beyond athletic feats. HEART  OF THE SEA tells her larger-than-life story.

Remember to bring your own chair & call Juliette at Sputniks (775-7373) if you would like to order one of her delicious roti.

St. John Music Schedule Wednesday March 9

Beach Bar – The Diviners – 4:00 – 8:00, 777-4220
Castaways – Steven Sloan – 7:00, 777-3316
Coconut Coast Studios – St. John Flutes – 5:30 -7:00 – 776-6944
High Tide – Chris Carsel – 7:00 – 10:00 – 714-6169
Island Blues – Big Rick – 7:00 – 10:00 – 776-6800
Larry’s Landing – James Jams – 10:00 – 693-8802
Shipwreck – Tom Mason & the Blues Buccaneers – 8:00 – 10:00 – 693-5640
Sun Dog Cafe – Open Mic with Mark Wallace – 7:00 – 10:00 – 693 8340
Westin, Cruz Bay Prime – David Laabs – 6:30 – 10:00 – 693-8802

A word of caution: I’m doing the best I can to present an accurate music schedule, but to be sure, it would be a great idea to call the restaurant or bar beforehand to confirm.

Weekly Music Schedule

another flood - more mud

Westin Resort, Great Cruz Bay, St. John US Virgin Islands
The Westin Hotel on St. John, which had been doing so nicely in making repairs after last month’s flooding, took another blow yesterday. Flood waters from Guinea gut once again entered the Westin grounds fouling the pool and eroding the beach. At least this time the pool repairs should be a little quicker as the resurfacing has already been done.

Westin Pool Back in Service

Westin Resort, Great Cruz Bay, St. John US Virgin Islands
Repairs and improvements at the flood damaged Westin Resort on St. John are proceeding nicely. The pool, which has been closed since the aftermath of Hurricane Otto, was refilled yesterday and is back in service today.

The Beach Café Restaurant is scheduled to reopen tomorrow.

Sand Art

Meanwhile Marni is back at work on the beach fabricating beautiful works of sand art, which are actually created and designed by the the people who ultimately purchase the art. Cool idea, looks like great fun! For more information, call Marni at (340) 998 9102 or e-mail her at designsbymarni@earhlink.net

Westin Resort, St. John US Virgin Islands (USVI)
Several of our blog readers have been asking for updates on the conditions at the Westin Resort since the damage incurred by the heavy rains a few weeks ago.

The pool is still not in operation, but workers were present and the job of refinishing seems to be progressing nicely.

The tennis courts have been cleaned up and all the old surfaces removed, but thus far, that’s it. Rumor has it that the hotel is thinking about putting down a hard surface instead of the old synthetic turf, but because of the significant expense involved, it appears doubtful.

The Kid’s Club, Arcade and Conference Rooms are still out of commission. The Beach Cafe is still closed and is being temporarily replaced by the Cruz Bay Prime above the hotel lobby.

My take is that work is being done, but certainly not at particularly feverish pace, and I would be surprised if much is completed before Thanksgiving.

Will keep you informed…

G

Westin Resort, St. John, Great Cruz Bay, US Virgin Islands (USVI) 10/15/2010

Westin pool drained once again - scheduled for cleaning & resurfacing

The Pool
Last week I came across the water trucks filling up the Westin Pool and reported that repairs were under way and that the pool would be ready in a day or two. Not so.

Either by mistake or by design, when the pool was filled to a level whereby the pumps could circulate the pool water through the filter system, the mud within the pipes, pump and filters were released into the pool. This resulted in a clean pump and filter system, but a dirty pool.

The pool has been draining and is almost dry and the mud and debris is being cleaned up. Apparently the Westin is taking this opportunity to resurface the pool, something that needs to be done periodically.

The long and the short is that the pool won’t be ready for a while, but my guess is that it will be competed before the Thanksgiving Holiday.

The Beach, Beach Bar and Beach Restaurant
The beach is being cleaned up and should look back to normal soon. The restaurant will need some time as it appears that the hotel may be taking this opportunity to make some improvements as well as repair the flood damage

Kids Club, Arcade and Ballroom
The gym is up and running, but the Kids Club, Arcade, ballroom and conference rooms have all suffered flood damage. At this point everything that got wet has been removed and is either being cleaned up or replaced. Again this might take a while, but again I suspect this too will be ready before the end of November.

Tennis Courts
The green surfaces have almost all been removed. They will either be replaced or there is talk that the hotel may opt to recover the courts with a hard surface.

Still Lookin' Good!

Tennis Court

Playground - Ready to Go

My Recommendations
I’ve been receiving a lot of e-mail asking my advice for people scheduled to arrive at the Westin this month. The following is my personal take on the issue:

Visitors should be coming to experience St. John, to me the accommodations are secondary with the caveat that they be comfortable.

The pool is nice, but the beaches are better. The best beaches by far are on the north side of the island, so missing out on the man made beach at the Westin is no big deal. The hotel is even offering a shuttle service to Hawksnest, Trunk and Cinnamon Bays.

The Westin rooms are indeed comfortable, so I would be happy to be on St. John even without all of the normal hotel amenities. The real fun is snorkeling, diving, hiking and the beautiful National Park Beaches – all still available after Otto.

So, I personally would not cancel my plans to come to St. John, with one exception. If you are bringing young children, kids too young to be turned on by snorkeling, hiking, beach going or diving, then no Kids Club, no arcade and no pool would be a big deal and I would reschedule my trip.

There is something for the kids, though, the playground is up and running.

I repeat, this is just me. Please make your own decisions and please continue to monitor the progress at the Westin

From the Westin Website:

Inclement Weather Update
Due to extremely heavy rain October 5-7, 2010, related to Tropical Storm Otto, the area around The Westin St. John Resort & Villas experienced heavy flooding resulting in damage to the property. The resort operations’ team is working quickly to return to normal operations. The resort is open and under limited operations; however, the hotel is waiving all cancellation fees as well as the Resort Charge from now until November 14, 2010.

A resort update:
• Beach Café Restaurant is scheduled to reopen October 27, 2010.
• Snorkel’s Bar & Grill is closed & is scheduled to reopen November 14, 2010.
• The resort is utilizing Cruz Bay Prime as its main restaurant.
• The Pool is closed for repairs & is scheduled to reopen November 14, 2010. Our customers will be able to use the pools located in the Virgin Grand Hillside villas. The resort will also be offering complimentary round trip shuttles at three set times per day to St. John’s most beautiful beaches: Trunk Bay, Cinnamon Bay and Hawks Nest Beach.
• The Kids Club & Arcade are closed but are anticipated to reopen November 10, 2010. Our Activities Department is providing babysitting service as well as activities for all ages around the resort.
• The Tennis Courts are closed & are scheduled to reopen October 27, 2010
• The government has issued an advisory of “swim at your own risk” for all Virgin Islands beaches until the water quality can be tested and deemed safe. For the most up to date information please visit www.dpnr.gov.vi/notices.htm *
• The Westin Work Out Facility & Spa are open.
If you would like to reschedule your upcoming reservation to a later date please contact our Reservations Team at 888 627 7206 or email STJon.01098@Westin.com.

*DPNR update 12:00 noon 10/15/2010
The following beaches meet water quality standards and are safe for swimming or fishing:

St. John

St. John US Virgin Islands: The Pool at the Westin Should be Back in Operation by Tomorrow or Friday

The flooding caused by Hurricane Otto particularly effected the Westin Resort with damage to the pool, some of the guest rooms, the beach area and beach restaurant and the tennis courts.

Repairs are underway and should be completed shortly. Guests that stayed during and after the flooding reported that they were treated exceptionally well by the management and staff of the hotel.

St. John Water Trucks Line Up to Fill the Westin Pool

Hoses Bring the water from the Trucks to the Pool

Backhoe at Work Making Repairs at the Beach

The economic recession has been hitting the Caribbean rather hard. After all, when times are tough and people feel they need to tighten their financial belt, I would think that travel and vacation spending would be one of the first things to go. Statistics from the Virgin Islands for October visits are down some 39% and in order to mitigate this trend, the Virgin Islands, like other Caribbean destinations are offering deals, discounts and incentives.

On St. John, the Westin Resort and the Estate Concordia Campground are participating in the USVI’s Winter Escape incentive, which includes $300.00 in Travelers Checks, $50 credit on meals and attractions, $1500.00 worth of discount coupons, a fifth night free and the SPF100 Sunshine Protection Plan, which reads : If it rains on your vacation, we’ll give you $100.

You’ll have to book before January 31,  for travel until March 31, 2009

New York Time, Sunday Travel Section

By MICHELLE HIGGINS
Published: January 25, 2009

“…Entire islands are on sale. The United States Virgin Islands, where visitors dropped 39 percent to 104,969 for the month of October, has an Extended Winter Escape promotion for travel through March that includes $300 in American Express traveler’s checks, $100 in vouchers toward island attractions and restaurants and a fifth night free at various hotels including the Frenchman’s Reef & Morning Star Marriott on St. Thomas and the Westin on St. John…”