Carambola Beach Resort St. Croix

I don't know if our expectations were skewed having just stayed at Marriott Momi Bay in Fiji or seeing all the photos online, but if I had to describe this resort in one word: UNDERWHELMING. I think the biggest gripe I have is given that the resort is so isolated and away from any towns, you are basically limited to what is on the resort, especially restaurants. Having only 1 option for breakfast, 1 option for lunch, and 1 option for dinner(except for Thurs-Sun)...as a guest, you really get tired of your dining options quick! Service was just average most instances. We had to flag the servers down just to ask for menus at Flamboyant half the time, even when the restaurant wasn't busy. Breakfast at Saman was rather poor. Not many options. Pastries and bread items were not restocked. Silverware, glasses for juice station were not restocked. It was quite disappointing for a "resort". The pool was decent, but where's the hot tub? I rarely saw any staff in the pool area. No wait service to order drinks?? There were used towels lying in random places that were left there and not picked up. I knew they were just left there because there was a time when we went to the pool and were the only ones there but there were towels laying there. If staff was active with upkeep, they would've been picked up and in a laundry bin. Our room was nice with more than adequate space. Although a bit outdated in some respects. There was some poor design choices, like not being able to open the window shutters completely because it was blocked by the nightstand. Also, there should be more trash bins. None near the toilet was just a head scratcher. The overall service from the staff was hit and miss. Some of them went out of their way to greet us with smile. Some made no eye contact at all. We are used to the "island hospitality" but we didn't really feel that at Carambola. I don't know if some staff felt underpaid or just plain didn't like their job, but it wasn't always a positive vibe. Folksy and Patricia were two standouts. Kudos to them for always being genuinely nice and accommodating! The beach was very private and beautiful. We were not told about the rocky surface on the portion of the beach by the pool. We soon figured out the best place to go into the water at the beach was further down closer to where the volleyball pit was. Also, being labeled as a "resort" there were absolutely ZERO daily activities. Why? No pool aerobics. No arts & crafts activities. No indigenous shows/exhibitions. No kids activities. This is the first resort we've been to where there was none of that. A local band playing during dinner on the weekend was the only thing that came close. We found the resort quiet and relaxing, but we had so much higher expectations. The facilities are in dire need of some upkeep(those sidewalks with tree roots bulging out are such a safety hazard!) I would have to see major improvements before coming back here.

We stayed at Carambola Beach Resort Feb 1 to Feb 5 2025. I almost cancelled our reservation due to the terrible reviews. That would have been a mistake. The beach is stunning with views and beautiful clear ocean (not rocky). Our room (85) was recently renovated and was perfect (partial ocean view). I do not know what people are complaining about in other reviews. The staff were friendly and attentive. The pool bar and dinner (at Saman) at the hotel restaurant was fantastic. Yes there are minor issues with maintaining such a large property but there were staff working hard everyday. The grounds are beautiful. We are looking forward to returning. Thanks to all the wonderful staff at Carambola.

My husband and I enjoy every minute the view of the ocean was fantastic and the staff was very kind, helpful and happy. The restaurant was very good and variety, the swimming pool so pretty with the palms and the gazebo. The room was very clean and the view was nice, we like how the chairs in the beach was organize. My husband and I highly recommend. 👏🏻❤️👍🏻

Upon arrival there was no signage telling where the front desk was, we were rudely and loudly shouted at by a security guard saying that we could not enter the door that we were walking towards which appeared to be the lobby. We asked the guard where the front desk was and he pointed in a direction down the main pathway, he then walked away. Check in was simple, the front desk agent gave us a paper map of the resort and drew a line with a pen of where to find our room, yet this did not help us. We asked for a golf cart to take us and our suitcases to our room and were told that there was not one currently available, staff later told us that most of the carts were out of service and had been for many months. The pathways and sidewalks to the rooms are very dark and narrow, one travels along the back of the restaurant crossing speed bumps and gagging you with the smell from the dumpster, most of the walkways around the resort are broken, uneven, covered in mud and overgrown. The resort sits on one of the most beautiful properties in all of St. Croix, The beach is extensive, clean and not rocky on the west end. Palm trees line the beach offering shade and the water is shallow allowing you to swim far out without having to tread water. Wooden walkways to the beach were rotted away, broken and marked off with caution tape. Most of the outdoor showers and spigots either did not work at all or had broken plastic fixtures. The beach only had around 20-30 beach chairs and 4 umbrellas, not nearly enough for a resort of this size and we typically had a hard time finding a seat, Multiple broken beach chairs and tables laid at the edge of the beach, littering the beautiful view and beachside trash cans were overflowing and not emptied during our stay. The firepit on the verandah (Shown on the website) was broken. The 2 hot tubs were non-existent, one was filled with concrete while the staff attempted to hide the second one by filling it with potted plants. The pool was very large and clean with different depths and kept at the perfect temperature. Some guests brought their own speakers and were playing very loud music and ruining the vibe, when staff was notified, no actions were taken. We booked an Oceanfront room and loved how spacious the room was with an incredible ocean view. All of the windows could be opened allowing a great ocean breeze, when closed, the air conditioning worked very well to cool a room of its size. On the first night of our stay we noticed that the Wi-Fi was not working. We notified staff of this issue and they stated no other rooms were available for us to move too and that we would be notified of an opening, we never were. On the second day, our TV was not working and the water coming out of our sink was brown. When the maintenance employee came, he told me that the wifi in our building had not worked for many weeks and that the tv cut in and out because of poor signal from St Thomas, he stated that the resort needed to switch providers but has yet to do so. He also stated that the water from our sink was sea water and that the filters and chlorine levels would need to be checked, we never saw an improvement. The staff issued us only a $200 credit but never seemed to correct any issues, this resort charges an absolute fortune for a stay with no amenities . The food and drinks from the flamboyant restaurant were wonderful and priced average for a nicer resort. During the first 3 nights of our stay, food typically took 30 minutes to an hour to reach us after ordering and always arrived cold. When we asked the restaurant servers about this they stated that the kitchen in the outdoor restaurant had been broken for nearly 2 months, food was being cooked in the saman kitchen and was being wheeled on a cart to flamboyant. We saw the food arrive on a plastic cart, uncovered, and it would sit by the bar until the servers found the time to bring it to your table. The restaurants and bar were clearly understaffed, it typically took 10+ minutes to be recognized once seated and the service was very slow, there is only 1 bar on the property and the bartenders tell me that it is too small for the amount of guests being served and very unorganized. We spoke to multiple different department managers and most of them were not friendly and didn't seem interested in helping improve our stay. One of the food and beverage managers, Daniel Herrera, was frequently seen standing around talking & not paying attention to the restaurant servers that were overwhelmed. There are no activities such as water sports, tennis courts, spa or gift shop. The resort is visibly in debt, dilapidated, with no signs of improvement. The restaurant servers and bartenders were some of the friendliest, most professional people that I have encountered in the USVI. They were the shining stars of our trip! We enjoyed relaxing on the beach for our 5 day stay but we left feeling ripped off, the price charged for this resort is absolutely absurd. The corporate needs to refund us the amount this was actually worth and send some secret shoppers to investigate. As a travel agent, I will warn everyone I know to spend their money elsewhere.

Our team stayed at the Carambola Beach Resort for a couple days. The staff was very friendly and accommodating. The sleeping rooms are large and comfortable. The Board Room has a beautiful view. The group did not have any meals except for breakfast.