Virgin Islands Trip, Sugar Bay Resort!

I've got tons of pictures from our recent trip to the Virgin Islands, so I thought I'd break them down into several posts.   We arrived at the airport on St. Thomas, and were immediately welcomed with free samples of Cruzan Rum ... not a bad welcome!  Since we arrived during St. Thomas' week of Carnival, the airport was packed.  However, we quickly found a taxi that was filled with others going to our resort ... the all-inclusive Sugar Bay Resort and Spa.  The ride gave us our first glimpse of St. Thomas as we rode around steep curves and through narrow alleys towards our resort located on the East of the island.  Our first impression of the island was as we expected ... beautiful blue water, tropical foliage, rolling hills, and other islands within sight.  It was so cool to be able to see so many islands sitting so close together!

First view of the Sugar Bay Resort from our taxi

We arrived in the evening, so after we checked into our room we explored the resort and chose to have dinner at the Ocean Club lounge.  We had a few drinks while we waited for my pizza and Ken's roast beef po-boy.  They were both excellent!  We went to bed fairly early because we were anxious to wake up the next day and check out the resort in the daylight.  

The next morning we awoke to the most gorgeous views from our balcony!  Every morning we eagerly pulled back the curtains to see paradise ... what a way to start every day.  Oh, how I miss these views!

BTW, I had contacted the manager prior to our trip and told him that we were looking forward to our visit and sharing our experience on our web site.  Frank, the manager, quickly responded and gave us a free room upgrade!  Instead of the pool view (which is also beautiful), we were given this amazing bay view.  I'll be writing a thank you note to Frank in the very near future!

The first picture above was our view directly out of our balcony, while the second picture was when looking to the left from our balcony.  Every morning we'd look at those sailboats anchored out and imagine the day when "Nirvana" is anchored in the blue Caribbean waters!  The second picture also shows the beach at Sugar Bay.  There were two little sailboats that we were excited about taking out, but unfortunately they were in need of repairs and not available.  Oh well, that's really the only negative comment I have so I'm  not complaining.  Orange kayaks were available (see it in the picture), but we never made the time to use them ... so much to do and see!

Sugar Bay's manager, Frank, was doing a great job!

The resort was beautiful, with a gorgeous pool area that overlooked their beach and the bay.   There was also a pretty pathway with lots of palm trees, flowers ... and iguanas!

We actually got a good laugh when we watched an iguana sneak up on an unsuspecting guy that was sleeping on the beach.   I wish I would have had my video camera ... that guy jumped up quick when the iguana nipped his ear!  I know ... we're cruel, but his girlfriend was watching and laughing with us.  

View of pool bar in the morning ... we loved sitting on those bar stools in the evening!

The pool also had a nice waterfall and bridge behind the pool bar ... the pool changed colors at night!

We're not ones to stay put at a resort when there's so much to explore, but it was great to have such a beautiful place to start and end each day.  The views from the pool bar, the beach, the restaurants and our room were fantastic!

View from Sugar Bay's beach

View from one of the restaurants, where we ate breakfast every morning.

Taken from my bar stool in the pool!

The views weren't the only great thing about the resort.  There were several restaurants, which included a la carte, buffets, and snacks.  We were very happy with all of the food, and even had some great steak and shrimp dishes.  The cocktails were great too!  My favorite drink was called the "Moonlight Sail".  The name was cool, but that's not why I liked it.  It tasted great, but it had a lot of "happy juice" in it!  I'll post the recipe soon.

With this resort being all-inclusive, it was really nice to be able to order a drink or something to eat without looking at the price!  If you've been following us, you know how frugal we are and how much of a pleasure this was!  Since we liked to explore the islands during the day, we'd have a nice breakfast that would hold us over until we got back to the resort in the evening.  We did splurge on lunch and drinks at the Soggy Dollar Bar, as well as drinks and appetizers one afternoon on St. John.   

After taking in the resort the first morning, we headed to Coki Beach on St. Thomas for snorkeling.  Our next post will have more about that, as well as what else we did on our first day.

For more pictures of Sugar Bay, check out our Facebook page!

Hasta luego ... until then.   Mid-Life Cruising!