It looks like Caneel is inching a little bit closer to becoming independent – and at the same time inching a little bitter further from the Rosewood name – as it debuted a new website last week.
When Caneel Bay reopens for the season November 1, it will do so as an independently managed boutique resort. Caneel made the official announcement last month saying that it had chosen to part ways with the well-known hotel group. (See our story on that here.)
The new website touts the resort as being a place to “escape and unplug,” a place for “fun for the little ones,” as well as a destination spot for a memorable wedding. The site is visually appealing but there are a few minor factual errors that bug us a little. For example, it refers to the National Park as the Virgin Island National Park sans the “s” in Islands. It also states that the majority of the island is National Park when it’s really only two-thirds National Park. (Ok, that is technically true, but it’s a bit misleading.) There are a few other factual errors, and yes, maybe I am being picky, but I really think they should have gotten it right.
You can check it out for yourself here: www.CaneelBay.com
The site also includes a brief writeup on Zozo’s, which is also set to open over at the old Sugar Mill Restaurant space on November 1. Here is what they had to say about their new restaurant:
“Perched atop the resort’s 18th-century sugar mill ruins, overlooking the stunning scenery surrounding Caneel Bay, ZoZo’s Ristorante offers a menu of northern Italian fare presented by famed local restauraeur John Ferrigno and his team. Bask in the breeze in this open-air environment while you gaze at the shimmering lights of St. Thomas, scattered along the horizon.”
(I had to add the period in at the end because they forgot that too.)
ZoZo’s menu has also been released. You’ll noticed a few old favorites in addition to a few new dishes. Here is it in its entirety:
Primo
Calamari – Fried crispy with pesto aioli and marinara – $14
Bruschette di Giorno – Changes nightly – $14
Speck Wrapped Cambazola – Blackberries, smokes paprika almonds and port wine drizzle – $15
Grilled Octopus – Cherry tomoatoes, capers and lemon rosemary stew – $15
ZoZo’s Anipasto – An assortment of Italian meats, cheeses and vegetables – $15
Oyster and Clam Bake – Blue points with pancetta, arugula and anisette mascarpone; Little necks with spicy tomatoes and crispy spaghettini – $16
Pasta
Fresh Pappardelle – Wild mushrooms, shaved pecorino and white truffle cream – $15
Beet and Goat Cheese Ravioli – Micro green pickled beet salad with fresh sage brown butter – $15
Fettucini Bolognese – Braised wild boar, hot Italian sausage and spicy pomodoro – $15
Lobster Manicotti – Herbed ricotta, Caribbean lobster relish and yellow pepper brood – $16
Insalate
Orange Salad – Baby greens, toasted walnuts, gorgonzola cheese and raspberry vinaigrette – $15
Lump Crab and Mango Salad – Toasted coconut, cucumber, local arugula and fresh mint lemon vinaigrette – $16
Pesce e Carne
Pan Seared Jumbo Shrimp – Sweet corn aged parmesan risotto and truffled herbed garlic butter – $38
20oz Porterhouse – 28 day wet aged, roasted bone marrow, crispy potatoes; haricot vert salad and chianti demi glade – $46
Caribbean Lobster Tail – Roasted eggplant, yukon potatoes, jumbo asparagus – $42
Grilled Porchetta – Mustard Green, Blood orange and fresh fennel roulade with a hot Italian sausage and white bean ragout – $38
Oven Roasted Mahi Mahi – Pistacio crust, local arugula goat cheese salad; crispy polenta and sweet bell pepper chutney – $38
Osso Buco – Slow simmered veal shank, saffron risotto and broccoli rabe – $40
Grilled Swordfish – Citrus marinade, sun-dried tomato glaze, toasted orzo salad and mango pineapple brodo – $38
Bone-in Veal Scalloppine – Creamy lemon polenta and wild mushroom marsala – $40
What do you think of the new site and ZoZo’s new menu? Let us know in the comments section or over on our Facebook page.
And their mailing address is listed as St Thomas?? With a St John Zip Code……who DID their website?
I’m confused…majority means more than 50%…so why does that bug you?
Because it can be interpreted that nearly the whole island is a park, when in fact it isn’t. Like I said, I was being picky.
The website can be fixed. But please do not change Caneel Bay too much. I stayed there on a family holiday in 1958 in Cottage 7. Decades later it remains much the same, ecologically pristine and with every water sport imaginable. Any alterations and additions over the years have been tucked away and do not encroach on the loveliness of the property with donkeys and their progeny lounging on the capacious grounds and welcoming guests, their children and grandchildren.
Laurence Rockefeller was prescient, making it part of the National Park. So with its environmental care it is thoroughly modern with old-fashioned grace and manners. No phones and televisions–please keep this detail–in the rooms. The food remains superb with great service to match. (Again, Rockefeller was ahead of his time. Cell phones make in-room phones
unnecessary)
Above all, unlike other deluxe properties throughout the Caribbean, Caneel Bay is not some boxy hi-rise like the hotels and casinos in St. Martin and elsewhere. No gargantuan swimming pools or air conditioned lobbies or advertisements for ‘fine dining.’ And, seven gorgeous beaches make Caneel even more special. Restaurants, conforming to the natural habitat, remain open to the day and the night.
Caneel was special too because when ignorant people thought St. Johnians and other islanders were not up to the job and were lazy this resort thought–and acted–otherwise. It opened up jobs to local people and trained them, proving the bigots wrong. Old-timers are still there. Would like to see, however, more local people in top management positions. They are eminently capable. Raymond at the bar is an exemplar of great and gracious service.
A website can be fixed, easily. But, please, do not alter the wonderful character of Caneel Bay. I wish the management, independent of a big corporation, well. From what I have observed Caneel is in the right hands.
Patricia Burstein
Also, I love the child-friendly image of kids in the sea. Caneel Bay was my introduction to the Caribbean and I remember doing with my siblings every imaginable activity including a guided nature trail hike, a donkey ride, scuba diving and snorkeling lessons, sailing and of course swimming. We were never bored–not for one minute. ( Much better, I say, than sitting in chairs around a swimming pool with some resort person dreaming up silly games and competitions) So that website image of children in the sea is true and worthy of kids.
There are several historical statements that are just plain wrong. Post emancipation? Slaves kept the place going. The Lutherans were the official religion of the slave period. For example, the public school was built by the Danish government to help placate the increasingly rebellious slaves. And the time zone is NOT eastern standard time, but rather Atlantic. That’s an important thing to know when the mainland turns their clocks back in the fall. We will be in a different time zone.
Although the photos are lovely there was not much research or editing. It’s a pretty mediocre website.
The new room rates are insane. Essentially two nights on scott beach is the price of a nice villa for a whole week when you add the 20% taxes on the room. We were married there in 2010, its a shame we probably won’t be able to return if they keep hiking up the prices every year.