The Frenchman’s Reef resort has been a landmark standing watch over St. Thomas’ Charlotte Amalie Harbor for greater than 50 years, and its current rebirth because the Westin Seashore Resort & Spa at Frenchman’s Reef could also be its spiffiest incarnation but.
Initially opened as a Vacation Inn in 1972, the enduring clifftop resort, the largest resort within the US Virgin Islands, was rebuilt after being destroyed by Hurricane Marilyn in 1995; in 2017, the property was once more devastated, this time by Hurricane Irma and Hurricane Maria.
Six years and $350 million later, the 392-room resort reopened final fall, buying and selling its former Marriott branding for the Westin flag and presenting as an almost new resort from high to backside; sister property Morningstar Buoy Home Seashore Resort, which additionally was broken by the storms, reopened just a few months earlier.
The essential format of the property — a three-story resort constructing atop a cliff, with swimming pools and different facilities on terraces main all the way down to the seaside — stays primarily unchanged. Views, whether or not from ocean-facing rooms or the terraces overlooking the harbor, are nonetheless unbelievable, day or night time.
Friends can drink within the surroundings from any of three swimming swimming pools, together with one with an infinity edge with a well-liked swim-up bar — the a lot photographed and aptly named Edge Bar, which additionally doubles as a daytime sports activities bar. The swimming pools share terrace area with the resort’s prime eatery, Luna Mar, which enchants diners with out of doors seating and a Mediterranean-inspired menu.
Spending time on the terraces of Frenchman’s Reef is actually an elevated expertise, nevertheless it’s hardly the one factor to do at this uniquely located, 17-acre resort. Recent off of its modern makeover, the Westin property boasts a number of eating choices along with Luna Mar, together with a espresso bar, buffet restaurant, and the Asian eatery Sugarfin, which has a surprisingly good rum choice. Westin company are additionally welcomed to dine within the eating places on the affiliated Morningstar Buoy Haus Resort, simply down the seaside.
Facilities are what you’d anticipate from a full-service resort, together with a Heavenly Spa, health heart, water sports activities, cabana leases, and — new because the 2023 reopening — a pair of pickle ball courts.
Visitor rooms at Marriott-branded properties typically have a tendency towards cookie-cutter, however the Westin renovation included a recent, fashionable room and suite makeover that options principally mild wooden flooring and furnishings, impartial linens, materials and wall therapies, and rugs in blue and sand tones which might be reflective of the ocean with out being too overtly beach-y.
Frenchman’s Reef stays, in some ways, the queen of St. Thomas resorts with its unmissable location. However due to its many ranges and expansive terraces, it’s the uncommon 400-odd room resort that manages to be each vibrant and uncrowded, with ample area to seek out your zen or stage an enormous occasion, just like the weddings that happen right here almost each weekend of the 12 months, year-round. In case you’re in search of a big-resort expertise near the motion in Charlotte Amalie that additionally delivers a level of privateness, the Westin Frenchman’s Reef stays one of many premier trip addresses on St. Thomas.
