Frenchman's Reef & Morning Star Marriott Beach Resort Rating: 4.0 Pearls

St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands

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Stunning views of the bay

It took me two days to circumnavigate the property, map in hand. I wandered past warm, contemporary lobbies, a helicopter landing pad, a sputtering waterfall, taped-off construction sites, convention tables stacked with coffee cups, and many ads for the Marriott Club time-shares at Frenchman's Cove (just down the road).

Made up of 478 guest rooms, this is one of the largest resorts in the U.S. Virgin Islands. It attracts a typical Marriott cocktail of families, staggering sunburned young couples, rowdy wedding parties, retiree gangs, tour groups, and a healthy slathering of conventioneers. But given its size, you get more here than at most other resorts on St. Thomas -- two gorgeous pools, a long stretch of beachfront, a quality spa and fitness center, ample bars and restaurants (including one of the most fashionable restaurants on the island), an in-house scuba tour operator, and enough space between it all to find some relative peace and quiet.

As the name implies, the Frenchman's Reef & Morning Star Marriott Beach Resort is actually two distinct hotels. They share a sharp triangle of Marriott-owned land, an inlet facing Charlotte Amalie (St. Thomas' bustling cruise-ship-dominated capital). Morning Star holds a crescent of beach on the eastern end of the property, looking out on yachts and sailboats. The Frenchman's Reef is on the western side -- appropriately called the sunset wing -- and it overlooks docked cruise ships and the lights of Charlotte Amalie, which glow like stars up the hillside at night.

To some, the Marriott might seem a little lifeless -- it's a big-chain resort without the small-scale family-run intimacy of a hotel like Bolongo Bay. But what it lacks in personality it makes up for in its modern rooms with superb beds and top-tier features that rival the Ritz-Carlton's.

Unlike at the Ritz-Carlton, you won't get a warm greeting on arrival, and it might take some sleuthing to find one of the many porters to help with your bags. Being such a large hotel, its staff isn't likely to remember you by name (or bother trying) and you might get stuck waiting for your breakfasts or waiting in line to check-in. But the hotel, in general, upholds the service standards of a hotel in its price range.

• Room service available 6:30 a.m. to 11 p.m.
• No poolside or beachside drink service; though there's a swim-up bar at the Frenchman's Reef pool
• Occassionally slow service in the restaurants or at the bar; some guests have complained about waiting over an hour for a salad, three hours for dinner, or 20 minutes for a cocktail at the Rum Bar.
• Knowledgeable desk staff; able to help with finding the ice machine or choosing a place to eat on-site.
• On-site Adventure Center for help booking day trips to St. John island, scuba excursions, or anything else on St. Thomas
• Staffed concierge
• Boat shuttle to Charlotte Amalie

View on a Larger Map

The resort is located just outside Charlotte Amalie, the biggest city in St. Thomas and the hub of all of its cruise ship activity. The resort itself is on some prime real estate -- it presides over the central port -- but getting to a shopping district or anywhere to eat means a painful, 30-minute walk along a winding road without sidewalks that I swear, on my grandfather's exaggerations, is actually uphill both ways.

Or, you can just take a taxi for about $6 per person to the cloest "town," which isn't Charlotte Amalie proper, but rather a less-attractive network of strip malls, bars (like the late-night local haunt, the Shipwreck Tavern), fast-food joints, and congested roadways that sprung from the cruise-ship port nearby. Most notably, the Havensight Mall includes a bookstore, a post office, and about two dozen jewelry and electronics stores like Bernard K. Passman, which features black coral jewelry, and Gems and Jewels, which has an on-site gemologist and a collection of rare stones.

• 20- to 40-minute, $12 taxi ride from the airport (depending on traffic)
• Free on-site parking
• When buying booze, snacks, or snorkel gear, everyone in town will point you to the Kmart just up the road (about an $8 cab ride or a grueling 35-minute walk from the hotel).
• Charlotte Amalie, the historic shopping and boozing hub (for over 300 years), is about a $10 (per person) cab ride away. The Marriott also offers a boat shuttle to the shopping center.

Wide, soft-sand beach

Outside the Morning Star resort, the Marriott has a wide, soft sand beach. The beach is scattered with weathered sandcastles and stocked shoulder to shoulder with lounge chairs (free to use).

But getting to the beach from Frenchman's Reef requires the following steps: 1) take the elevator to the 2nd floor; 2) walk past the Harbor Pool, the Sunset Bar and Grill, and the wedding gazebo; 3) take the "scenic elevator" down another two floors, past a waterfall and a helicopter pad; and 4) walk along the wood-planked and PVC-piped boardwalk past the tennis courts, the seaside pool, the beach shop, and Coco Joe's restaurant and Iguana Bar. Bring a map and a sturdy pair of flip-flops.

• Though I only spotted soft sand, warnings of sharp coral are posted along the beach (perhaps for liability purposes).
• The bay does, however, bring a somewhat harsher battering of waves than you'd find on the beach at the Ritz-Carlton -- good for boogie boarders, bad for toe dippers and nervous parents.
• Water sports like kayaks and Jet Skis are on the far end of the resort.
• Scuba expeditions depart from the harbor (outside Frenchman's Reef).
• The coral cliffs outside Frenchman's Reef side of the resort offer some great snorkeling -- but there's no beach.

The standard room, called a "Resort View Room" (its actually a parking-lot-view room), is on the Frenchman's Reef side of the Marriott Resort. Its large, clean, and very well equipped. Were it not for its tiny balcony in the standard rooms, the rooms at the Marriott would easily contend with the guest rooms at the Ritz-Carlton St. Thomas and rooms at the Westin St. John as among the best, most comfortable standard rooms in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

• Rooms start at a comfortable 400 square feet (about average for St. Thomas); standard rooms have either one king-size bed or two double-size beds
• Excellent "Marriott Revive" beds: pillow-top Serta Perfect Sleeper mattresses; high-quality sheets; thin feather duvet; cozy polyester-blend blanket; two oversize foam pillows for back support and two feather pillows.
• 19-inch LG flat-screen TV with pay-per-view movies and networks from Puerto Rico
• Clean bathroom (though there was some slightly discolored grout)
• Hot, high-powered showerhead; dainty tub, ergonomically molded for bathing
• Aromatic toiletries from Bath & Body Works
• 100-percent terrycloth bathrobes (sans slippers)
• Standard, Resort-View rooms don't have a balcony (the sliding-glass door opens to a 2-inch wide gated ledge); all other room types have a balcony.
• Two safes, one large enough for a laptop
• In-room coffeemaker and an empty mini-fridge
• Large work desk with a red leather executive chair, and a broad, granite-topped dresser (available in all room types)

The Fitness Center

The resort has two impressive pools, each overlooking the water, each with a healthy share of iguanas flopping past. Note: Iguanas are vegetarians. They look sharp but are actually very soft and friendly -- one guest I spoke to likened them to "kitty cats."

• Frenchman's Reef pool wraps halfway around the property. On one side, the pool is walled in by a cascading waterfall and a volleyball net. It leads under a bridge to the swim-up bar, and is met on the opposite side by a larger swimming area with a fountain at the center.
• On the Morning Star side of the resort, beside the tennis courts, is a slightly smaller pool with a hot tub in the center and some waterfall ornamentation on either side. The less popular of the two pools (maybe because it's farther from the bars), it was generally preferred by families.
• Voted "Best Fitness Center in the Virgin Islands" every year since 2005 by the V.I. Daily News, the fitness center is equipped with some of the best workout gear available -- Life Fitness cardio machines with individual video monitors and a barrage of muscle-building contraptions. But the swanky fitness center at the Ritz-Carlton has better equipment, fitness classes, and personal trainers available.
• With a popular hair salon and a full menu of features, the spa is especially popular among brides-to-be.
• Kayaks, Jet Skis, and a scuba diving organization are all on-site. For any off-site excursions, the Adventure Center outside the Frenchman's lobby will make all the arrangements.
• For snacks and gifts, the Star Market and Presto Market are open until 2 a.m. (located outside the lobby on both sides of the resort). But they're grossly overpriced ($8 for a bag of chips!); head to the nearby Kmart.

One of two large pools on site

Topped only by the typically more expensive Westin St. John, Frenchman's Reef & Morning Star Marriott Beach Resort is still a solid choice for families.

• Two large pools on-site, but no dedicated kids' pool
• Standard guest rooms have either one king bed or two doubles; all can fit a rollaway bed and a crib; one-bedroom suites with a sofa bed are also available
• No adjoining rooms
• No kids' club, or organized daily activities

Though it lacks an opulent sparkle, the resort's cleanliness was easily on par with the Ritz-Carlton St. Thomas. We found it easy to ignore a few scuffs and the occasional carpet stain.

• Along the edge of the pool, some of the paint had crumbled free. But this, like the few dead bugs, doesn't seem to both most guests.
• Some guests complain about rooms on the lower floors, or those on the Morning Star side of the resort, feeling a little musty.

Lunch at Coco Joe's

The Marriott has a habit of price gouging for mundane meals. In general, the quality of the food at the Frenchman's Reef & Morning Star Marriott Beach Resort is good, not great, and the prices -- about $22 to $38 for one of the on-site entrees, or $19 for the breakfast buffet -- can double the cost of your vacation, quickly. Seeing as there's nothing else to eat within walking distance of the hotel, you'll have to either rent a car or take a $6- to $10-per-person taxi into Charlotte Amalie if you want anything else. And still, the options are somewhat limited and the food tends to be equally mediocre and overpriced. But this is the case just about anywhere in St. Thomas.

• Room service available 6:30 a.m. to 11 p.m.
• For breakfast, the only options were the $19 mediocre buffet at Windows on the Harbour -- basic omelets, OJ, tough waffles with blueberries and almonds, weak coffee, and lukewarm sausage -- or Coco Joe's on the beach for some typical morning options (as well as a quality crab cakes eggs benedict for about $16).
• For lunch, you can again head to Coco Joe's -- the mahi mahi with mango relish and fries is good, for a bun-style sandwich, but at $16 its still a bit over priced. The Sunset Grill, on the Frenchman's side, is only open for lunch and has basically the same things, at about the same prices.
• For dinner, stick to the Marriott's basics -- burgers, buffalo wings, fish and chips -- anything you can comfortably order at an airport. The Captain's Cafe offers all of these, and though the setting is windowless (it felt like a dive bar in a strip mall), the prices were somewhat reasonable ($14 to $19 for a sandwich).
• Everyone seems to tout Havana Blue as the go-to cuisine of St. Thomas. Styled like a chic Miami hangout -- down-tempo Afro-Cuban remixes, ample candles, and indigo lighting -- the ambience is the draw, not the Latin-fusion cuisine. The grilled snapper relleno ($38) stuffed with chorizo sausage and topped with a wasabi puree -- the server's suggestion -- was overcooked and somehow, amazingly, incredibly bland.
• The wine list at Havana Blue is arguably better than anywhere else on the island.