Carambola Beach Resort St Croix US Virgin Islands

Customer ratings & reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

1636 reviews

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  A Neglected Piece of Paradise

  A Neglected Piece of Paradise. We went for a long weekend, booked on Bonvoy App that erroneously rated this property 4.2 /5 and charged us much more than Expedia and Bookings. Com. Unfortunately, this resort is managed by a mediocre team, unable to achieve the potential of this beautiful place. I tried to do some research. Built back in the mid 90s by an American Developer, the Hotel is made of one main building and multiple two-story bungalows that were done nicely. Apparently, it has changed many hands over the years and had lost the Marriott flag probably 10 years ago. We immediately knew that this was not a Marriott Tribute property based on the front desk reception staff that was unfriendly and unprofessional. The grounds were nicely designed, but you can tell that the upkeep is missing. The swimming pool was green with algae in-spite of the daily cleaning by a diligent staff member who basically lacked the chemicals needed to shock the pool! We never used it… The beach is beautiful and clean of debris, but no beach staff to maintain the chairs or umbrellas like one would expect at a Marriott beach resort. The beach bar was staffed by friendly staff but the food and drink were basically subpar. We had dinner the first night we arrived and the server who was very friendly did not care to clean our table before serving the food?? Everywhere we went on the property, we could tell that it was once a beautiful resort, but now has fallen into disrepair, and it is really sad to see! I feel sorry for many of the local staff that were really trying to do a good job and treated their guests well. Hoping that reviews like mine would make Marriott Bonvoy more truthful to their devoted members and maybe convince the current owners of this beautiful property to find a new management.

  Apr 19, 2025
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  Terrible - run!

  Black mold in room, dead bugs, dried mud stuck to room floors, expensive mediocre breakfast and dinner; burger at bar was good but was carried to us by the man who was sweeping up around the pool. Multiple requests for room cleaning and safety issues to be fixed were acknowledged and promised but were not fulfilled during our weeklong stay. I could go on. It was gross. The beach was nice but I would not pay anything to stay or eat there and am suspicious of any recent positive reviews because we talked to several other guests having the same problems. It’s like the owners are just letting it go.

  Apr 10, 2025
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  Off-beat Charmer in a Beautiful Private Beach Front Bay

  The Carambola is nestled in a secluded seemingly private cove insuring a quiet, tranquil location — no crowds, and no annoying motorized sea activity. Nice beach with shady spots under umbrellas or trees, mild surf to plunge into and water deep enough to swim and snorkel make for a great Caribbean Sea experience. The hotel grounds are spacious and abound in plenty of beautiful tropical plants. The rooms are located in small two story bungalows spread across the grounds, with comfortably sized terraces affording ocean views. The rooms are spacious and nicely furnished. The staff at the hotel were helpful and friendly. We had a couple of minor issues with the room and all were addressed promptly. Eddy in particular went out of his way to take care of us and Michelle made sure our room was tidy and clean! We mostly drove our rental car to meals elsewhere on the island, which we typically do anywhere. The limited experience we had with the hotel’s dining facilities was not impressive though again the staff was very helpful (Leah was very friendly and accommodating) and the venues themselves were excellent (great poolside bar service, beautiful ocean views from the open air dining room); the breakfast buffet was a little plain, though adequate, and the made to order omelets station was excellent. Overall, the hotel shows signs of insufficient upkeep, with worn infrastructure in spots, the grounds not tended to as well as they should be (e.g. palm fronds left on the ground, broken chaise shoved up against the beach deck, pool not chlorinated, etc.) That said, none of this neglect took away from enjoying anything we wanted to do on the property, and arguably actually contributed to creating a sort of off-beat casual charm, unlike say, a more posh resort with pristine spaces immaculately attended to by an army of workers. No worries about how you look at the Carambola! Moreover, when you consider what a more posh place would charge, the Carambola is a bargain, an excellent value for the money. When you throw in its attributes (friendly staff, spaciousness, beach), the Carmbola is definitely a place we look forward to staying at again!

  Apr 06, 2025
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  Friendly but Marriott fails its name.

  Let’s start positive. Staff are very friendly! Love Dave, Lynette, Cayenne and the rest. Everything else is SO disappointing! For $375/nt before taxes the place is run down, trash bins overflowing, sans in the pool, outside showers not working so you can rinse from the beach, trash is literally thrown/blown in bushes and on the grounds, and the rooms are dated. No microwave, no real coffee cups, not even a plastic wine glass in the room. The only breakfast option is a $32 breakfast buffet that’s is ok but $32 for normal fare? Our room is missing door to the toilet area. The tv literally gets five stations. Yes all first world problems but for the price the Marriott name does not deliver.

  Apr 02, 2025
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  Amazing low key Caribbean resort

  We stayed at the Carambola last month between our time at the Westin St John and the RC St Thomas and loved, *loved*, LOVED the resort. It is in no way a RC but really quite wonderful in it's own way. Pros: Gorgeous villa-like rooms with large balconies w/comfy seating. If you can find availability I strongly recommend getting an Oceanfront suite so you can enjoy the views and the sound of the waves crashing on the rocks below (and rate OF higher than Beachfront). Beautiful resort in general w/lots of dark woods, white fabric, and tan marble/tile. The lounge/library/billiard room was a great place to hang out as well. Wonderful ocean and beach. When we were there the waves were a perfect (for us) 1.5-3 ft w/no breakers. Plenty of chairs by the beach and a reasonable number by the pool. Great food, drinks, and service at the high end restaurant, Saman. I recommend getting reservations in advance for the Open Air Terrace tables. Full complimentary buffet breakfast for two people at Raman for those Platinum and above. Great WiFi. I had read reviews that the WiFi was iffy but they apparently fixed this as I had great service from one end of the resort to the other. AMA Cane Bay is a short drive away and a truly spectacular dining experience. I strongly recommend reserving the Oceanside Grotto Seating. Eh: Pool is nothing to write home about but perfectly fine. Flamboyant is the casual restaurant w/good drinks, reasonable food, nice views, but spotty service. Particularly on Tue/Wed when they are the only game in town. Cons: While the staff is friendly and do their best, they are flummoxed by service requests that fall outside their purview. Our first full day we needed pool/beach towels and found to our surprise that there is no obvious place to get them. After a round of "How do we get pool towels...The tall guy by the pool hands them out" with a waitress at the pool bar, then another one with the front desk, I had one with the bartender and followed up with "There *is* no tall guy by the pool." He sighed, took pity on us, and sent a waitress off to find some for us (goodness knows where). Saman is closed Tue and Wed (and AMA Cane Bay is closed Sun and Mon). Which wouldn't matter so much except that the lack of an onsite store, no kitchenette, and the isolation of the resort make for an unfortunate combination. Carambola *is* smack dab in the middle of nowhere. Aside from the nearby Waves Cane Bay resort that holds AMA and the Sunset Bar it's a long bumpy ride to civilization. And the city of the west side of St Croix, Frederiksted, is something of a mixed blessing. We were warned to avoid visiting the town when there are cruise ships in port...but a lot of the shops and restaurants close when one isn't in port. Still charming though.

  Mar 25, 2025