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Great News from the Westin

westin sign

We receive a ton of questions regarding the status of the Westin, and today we have great news to share with all of you. The Westin is working diligently to reopen, and is currently on schedule to reopen in early January 2019. How great is that??!!

Workers are on property six days a week working to fix the damage. The beachside units suffered significant roof damage, and are currently being repaired. The hillside units, those located across the street, mostly received water and wind damage. So work isn’t as visible over there, although I can assure you it is happening.

Here are a few pics showing the work happening on the beach side. (Click the pic to enlarge.)
westin overview

westin 2

westin 3

westin lobby
The lobby

Prior to the hurricanes, the Westin was in the process of being converted from hotel rooms to timeshare villas. When the Westin reopens, it plans to have a total of 252 villas, which was the plan prior to the storms.

And one last thing I’d like to point out: The Westin continues to maintain its property despite not being open. So unlike Caneel Bay, the Westin looks fantastic to all of those who pass by. So a HUGE thank you to the folks at the Westin for caring about our community and keeping up on maintenance. Sometimes it’s the little things like that which speak volumes about a company’s character.

34 thoughts on “Great News from the Westin”

      • Is Jan 4th 2019 still a realistic opening day?
        Would be really nice to touch base with someone on the property to verify opening dates before buying flight tickets.
        Please let me know?
        Thanks,

        aida

    • We were there in late May and were told (source in St. Thomas) the Westin had brought in 100 palm trees that week, but were not going to actually plant all until hurricane season was over. There were new trees planted at the entrance at that time.

  1. I miss Caneel and what it brought to the island. Westin I’m sure helps the economy of the Island also but it’s a timeshare and a timeshare is a very unwise way to vacation or spend money unless you bought it for $1 on EBay but then you have maintenance fees until Jesus comes home. I miss St. John and I look forward to it being back. If Westin helps it come back then awesome. I just can’t and won’t stay there.

    • We own four units at the Westin and couldn’t be happier with it. It is actual deeded property so we can pass it along to our children. So our children will be able to stay for a week for only the cost of the maintenance fees vs $5,000 to $10,000 for a week at many other places on the island (the maint. fees are no where near those costs!) It also has very strong trading power when we wish to visit other places (which isn’t very often). We love that we can take excursions and dive trips right there from Great Cruz Bay, grab a taxi or walk to the market. Not sure why you feel timeshares are such a bad deal but I love mine!!

    • Not sure why you wouldn’t stay at Westin. It’s far less expensive than caneel bay, they care about the community and believe it or not I didn’t buy the six tiemshares we own on eBay for $1.

      • Would love to sell mine for $1 but no one smart will do it considering the 2,100.00/yr maintenance fee and the 150.00 tax per year. I can go to St. John and rent a place for cheaper than that especially considering how much I paid for it to begin with. Timeshares what a waste of money even on beautiful St. John.

  2. Chuck, did you know you can rent a unit at the Westin from an owner? That’s the same as renting a villa. No further commitment form you after you leave island.

  3. The feds need to honor Roosevelt’s written will and return Caneel to the National Park Service at the end of the lease in a few years. Anything less than doing this will be a travesty.

  4. So so miss Caneel Bay and wish those who perhaps never stayed there would stop the negative vibe as it’s such a beautiful paradise that we all hope will be given the opportunity to rebuild soon, too. Breaks my heart.

    • I think that a lot of the negative comments are coming from people who live here Jeanne. Many of us didn’t like how locals were treated prior to the storms on that property. After the storms we saw how they fell down in a lot of ways. In the treatment of their employees and in the treatment of the facilities. A lot of us feel they could have done a much better job. Many of us would like the resort to reopen, but under terms that are more financially beneficial to the local economy/government.

  5. We are on island, now and can attest to the activity at The Westin. The property is looking good from our lanai. The big tree in the middle of the road (in front of the entrance) was damaged…still living and putting out green leaves, but kind of sad when we first saw it. Let’s call it, “severely pruned!”. Nice to hear of more progress AND we have seen lots of progress being made here. The rebuilding is great to see! !

  6. Let me just remind everyone that Senator Plaskett – who is clearly in the pocket of the Caneel owners (CBI) – is also fighting to STOP a Cockfighting ban in the territories.

  7. Thank you for the update – we actually walked the property back in December so this is very promising. Westin is a perfect property for families. Our kidos are adults now but we all have very fond memories of the Westin……the Meme, our three kids, their friends from home, their friends on Island…we always recommend the Westin to our friends with ‘families’…..just glad they’re coming back!!!

  8. Jon
    If you bought a timeshare in the “off” season, thinking you could swap for high season, that was a mistake. If you have a high season week you want to sell for a dollar, please post so we can purchase.

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