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End of the Year Update on the Westin

December 20, 2018
December 20, 2018

It’s been a bit since we’ve updated you on the Westin, and with its reopening date quickly approaching, we figured now would be a good time to fill you in on what’s going on with the property.

For starters, the resort is on schedule to reopen on January 4, 2019. I stopped by the beach Thursday morning and workers were buzzing throughout the property. I could see them feverishly working to rebuild Snorkels Bar & Grill (the pool bar), as well as doing some finishing touches on the landscaping and many of the buildings. Crews were even moving sand around the beach to fill in some of the bare spots.

Now here’s the official scoop from the Westin…

Snorkels Bar & Grill will be the only restaurant to reopen in January. It will serve breakfast, lunch and dinner. Lemongrass and Knox & Ollies will not be reopening. A new restaurant is slated to go into the former Lemongrass space later in 2019. The building that housed Knox & Ollie’s has been torn down, and there aren’t any plans to replace it. Instead, a building that looks somewhat like a pergola is currently being built in that space. Mango Deli will reopen in the former Marketplace spot in January. It will sell breakfast sandwiches, light fare and sundries.

At least two of the property’s buildings will not reopen in January – buildings 33 and 34. The tennis courts will not reopen until May. The playground area looks to be in fine shape. I haven’t seen it up close as the property remains closed to non-workers, but I have a pretty good vantage point from my deck. 🙂

The pool area is currently being worked on and the official word from the Westin is that it will reopen in January.

The dock repairs were completed earlier this month. Daydreamer and Island Time were at the dock early this morning. The new ferry is not currently in the bay.

And speaking of the new ferry, here are the details straight from the Westin:

“If you choose the private Westin ferry service, you will check in at the Westin reception desk at the airport and leave your luggage with the airport staff for direct transport to your villa. You will enjoy the 45-minute ride across the island of St. Thomas to the Red Hook ferry dock in an enclosed, air-conditioned van that is equipped with Wi-Fi. Upon arrival at the Red Hook dock, you will be met by Westin staff who will escort you to the private Westin ferry for a 15-minute ride directly to the resort dock, where you will be welcomed by the resort staff and offered transportation directly to your villa.”

The cost for the ferry is $120 roundtrip for adults and $90 roundtrip for children between the ages of four and 17. Children three and under are free. For those of you who pay for the Westin ferry, you are able to go back and forth between the Westin and St. Thomas as often as you’d like during your stay. The ferry will be running on a set schedule as seen below:

Westin 2019 ferry schedule

Here are a few pics and video that we took Thursday morning:

main area dec 20 2018

beachfront units dec 20 2018

Former Lemongrass dec 20 2018moving sand dec 20 2018

westin boats dec 20 2018

And there you have it… “News” you can use today, folks! If you’d like to see the Westin rebuild in real time, be sure to check out my webcam at www.newsofstjohn.com/webcam. Have a great one everyone!

8 thoughts on “End of the Year Update on the Westin”

  1. I have 2 timeshares at Westin St. John and it is impossible to get into for 2019. I have called them 4 times with “just keep looking”. So frustrating. It looks like it will be 2020 before we can maybe get back based on availability.

  2. We also have a Westin Villa that we are renting … It’s a 2 BR / 2 Bath on the main resort grounds – the dates are Sat Feb 2nd thru Sat Feb 9th and we will rent the it for $2500! Even better if you can split that between 2 couples and each pay $1250 … now that’s a steal! Email us!

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