Carambola Beach Resort St. Croix

Let’s face it, the reviews on this place are about as mixed as they come. I was trepidatious at best booking here. My boyfriend and I wanted to scuba dive, relax on the beach and chill at the pool. Mission accomplished. We booked an oceanview room in building 14 which I thought was extremely spacious, had the most comfortable bed with a huge tv (could use a few more channels, I think we had 6) and a ceiling fan along with a whole living area complete with another tv and a ceiling fan. The wall A/C worked perfectly, kept the room nice and cool. Everything was remote control so you never had to get up to adjust the fans or A/C. We left the giant bifold doors open all night and the sound of the ocean lulled us to sleep (my absolute favorite thing). The double sink bathroom and walk in shower were huge. There was a walk in closet to use to hang clothes with a safe. Plenty of room in the mini fridge for any drinks or snacks. There was an adorable padded wraparound bench on the balcony that’s perfect for relaxing. Maid service was ok. It wasn’t everyday but what we requested we received. Walking to the bar to get ice was a bit of a pain. We used the pool a few days and it was refreshing and nice and quite large. They could definitely use more chairs around the pool deck. The beach was absolutely gorgeous. It was used to film the ending scene in Trading Places. There were always chairs to use on the beach and a volleyball net if you wanted some exercise. We used the dive shop there, Sweet Bottom, for a few shore dives and they were absolutely wonderful. Even stayed late to accommodate an evening dive for us after they were due to close. I believe I saw guests renting snorkel gear there on occasion too if need be. The restaurants were ok but honestly there’s enough fun places with great views just down the road that it’s not really a big deal to leave the premises. But if you want a burger or some bar food, Flamboyant fits the bill. Drinks were good at the bar. Everyone that worked there was always so kind to us. We ate at the “fancy” restaurant there one night, Saman. The service was phenomenal but the menu was limited and portions small but it was good. Saman also has the breakfast buffet, we didn’t buy the package that included breakfast because we were typically up early and off the resort diving. Cane Bay is just down the road and was fabulous, especially for diving. The resorts sister shop, the other Sweet Bottom, is located at the Landings Restaurant. Most days theres a great breakfast food truck called Sunny Shore Up at Cane Bay. You can enjoy breakfast while sitting on the beach and they even serve alcohol. The Landings Beach Bar has fantastic food, good service, large bar and live music some nights. Off the Wall does breakfast, lunch and dinner and has a fun oceanfront bar. But do not miss AMA for dinner. We booked the grotto table and felt like we were in the middle of the ocean eating and the food was off the charts. You’ll definitely want to rent a car if you stay here but you’re not far from Christiansted or Frederiksted. You really have the best of both worlds staying at Carambola because you can check out both towns and everything in between. A must visit is to the Mt Pellier Hut Domino Club to feed the beer drinking pigs!! Plus its just a great, chill bar with super nice owners. Bottom line, if you’re looking for the super high end 5 star luxury all inclusive Marriott kind of vacation, this is not your place. It’s not perfect, it does have its flaws but honestly it’s not nearly as bad as some of these reviews make it out to be. I guess it’s just all in what you’re looking for in a vacation. We’re pretty self sufficient, don’t need much attention on vacation and like to venture out of the resort but still enjoy a beautiful beach and a refreshing pool so it was an absolute paradise for us. I’ll never regret booking here and look forward to going back. Hope you all do as well.

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.

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.

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!

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.