Tropical Storm Dorian continues to track south of St. John. Such great news! And we have more great news to share today… And this news is BIG!
A new resort is planned for St. John, and we’re super excited about it! Oh and we have more news to share today… ZoZo’s is coming back! How amazing is that??!! Honestly, that makes me so happy.
New Resort Coming to St. John: The St. John Resort and Beach Club on Lovango
Let’s start with the new resort. It’s going to be called the St. John Resort and Beach Club on Lovango, and if all goes as planned, it will open in 2021. You may be thinking, Lovango isn’t St. John, it’s Lovango. Well actually Lovango is one of St. John’s cays. So it is St. John. 🙂
Let’s rewind time about two weeks back. I received an email from Mark Snider who’s the person planning to build the St. John resort along with his wife Gwenn and son Matt. Mark said he was on island and wanted to chat about his new project, but I was off island at the time visiting family. I noticed in Mark’s email signature that he owns hotels in Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard, two small islands off the coast of Massachusetts. I mentioned how I was planing on visiting Nantucket the following weekend and asked if we could meet up on that island. Mark owns The Nantucket Hotel, so we agreed to meet there. (It’s a beautiful hotel if any of you happen to be vacationing in that area.)
Let me start by saying that Mark is a very nice guy, who is super excited about this new endeavor. But what’s even better is his vision. I truly think you are all going to be excited about this.
The St. John Resort & Beach Club will be completely off grid. It will rely on solar and wind power, and it will have its own desalinization plant. The resort will have 14 home lots and 25 cottages, all of which will be located toward the top of Lovango. The home sites will be sold off to private owners, and they can choose to live there year-round or part-time. If they opt to live there part-time, they can rent their homes to vacationers during the times that they choose not to occupy them. The 25 cottages will have three bedrooms each. They can be rented as three bedroom units, or separately depending on season. Again, the resort portion is expected to open sometime in 2021 (subject to permitting of course).
Now on to ZoZo’s…
Top Restaurant Set to Return to St. John: ZoZo’s H20
ZoZo’s H2O will open at the St. John Resort & Beach Club on February 1, 2020. It will be the same ZoZo’s from Caneel Bay that we all know and love, but in a new location. The restaurant will be built on each side of a boathouse that currently sits on the property. The boathouse itself will be used as a bar area. It’s pretty much as close to the water as you can get without actually being on the water. Here is a pic of ZoZo’s new location…
Gorgeous, right??!
When ZoZo’s H2O first opens in February, it will serve lunch only from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. seven days a week. It will be the same upscale ZoZo’s fare, but simply a lunch version. They plan to be open until June. At that time, they will close while building occurs elsewhere on the property. A boat shuttle will be provided and will pick guests up from Cruz Bay and Red Hook.
“We’re excited to get back,” ZoZo’s owner John Ferrigno told me last week.
And we’re just as excited to have you back John!
ZoZo’s H2O will reopen for lunch and will begin serving dinner in December when the beach club portion of the resort opens. The beach club will be open to the public, although membership will be required.
Wow, that’s a lot of news!
We have so much more to share, so we will tell you the rest tomorrow. Stay tuned for additional details on the beach club, staffing opportunities, how islanders can stay for free and much more!
In the meantime, have a wonderful day everyone!
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Great News & great concepts! I do wonder why both the resort & restaurant couldn’t have been developed on St. John Proper?
So thankful it is not on St John proper. However, not a fan of any additional development anywhere. Just another “exclusive” enclave .
I absolutely agree with you Kathleen!
Sounds amazing. How do you find out about purchasing one of the homes?
Sounds wonderful BUT I’d love to see ZoZo’s back on St John
Agree
Do you have any contact info for the owner, or if there is a general contractor their information? I’m a Charleston based interior contractor (cabinets, trim, tile) looking for enough work to justify relocating there. Shoot me an email at [email protected]
How long of a ride is that from Cruz Bay? Sounds very exciting
about 20 minutes.
It’s about 2 miles so just over half the distance from Red Hook to Cruz Bay
Very exciting news! Is St. John Resort & Beach Club starting to collect email addresses of “interested parties”? If so, please add me or let us know who to contact..
Another part of the Virgin Islands ruined by greed. Maho, Hansen, now Lovango? I guess it’s inevitable, but I hardly recognize my home any more…
Agree…St John is not what it used to be. Pave paradise and put up a parking lot.
You are so right Jimmy! What a mess they made of Maho! We could not believe how they destroyed one of our favorite beaches on St. John! We had no desire to go there at all! We were so disappointed when we drove by.
We
How did they ruin it?
How do you get there from St. John? They need a water taxi between the two islands.
Did you read the article Susan? It said “boat shuttle will be provided”.
And thats what happens when nothing is done with Caneel. Now they just lost their 5-star restaurant to another resort. As long as ZoZos comes back, I’m happy. St. John Resort & Beach Club, here we come. I need more info please. Sign me up!
5 star? Really?
yes, absolutely 5 star.
Its a long way from Willimantic !
I live in New Orleans and we have many fine dining restaurants here and I’ve tried most of them. Zozo’s still had some of the best food I’ve ever had the opportunity to try. definitely five stars !
I agree with Kathleen. Glad it’s not on St. John. As I mentioned recently, too much building already on St. John. It will, however, be good tourist business for St. John. People can come over and enjoy the beaches, restaurants and shopping.
Been to St. John for 15 years. Other than repairing the hurricane damaged buildings what new building are you talking of? Sadly Caneel isn’t even being rebuilt. I agree they’ve made Maho a mess, though.
This was a great day to read your news letter first of Dorian is still tracking south that is such great news. The idea of a new resort is exciting. But hearing my favorite restaurant in the world is making a come back is AMAZING.
25 cottages!!!! 3 bedrooms. sounds like a house to me. then 14 lots for homes!. nothing like bring Nantucket and martha’s vineyard to the islands. let’s pack them in just like america. and ZOZO. how many hours do i have to work to eat there?
How exciting. I would love more information on the club and houses.
Endless development will continues until there is no nature left
Is mooring available? What are the lot prices. What Amenities , would you please PDF a plat map of your available lots with topography and price.
E.Jane, they don’t even have the permits yet.
So lunch from 11-7? Will that be one menu? And the shuttle ferry will be how employees of the restaurant will be getting to work one presumes. It would be worth noting that in days with rough seas and they can’t run the ferry there will be no one working at the restaurant or anywhere else…you will be on your own when you are vacationing or living there, unless they are planning on housing restaurant workers, maids, and general employees on the island, which is doubtful. Kind of scary if there is a storm and things are barely working on STT and STJ.
Very exciting! We loved Zozo’s. Will it be open for dinner in July 2020? They only plan to be open until June.
Never happen.
This will need to go through the CZM major permitting process, including ZOZO’s and will simply take longer to do. No way even without permitting that it could be contructed by early 2020 – just a few months away.
Some details including the developer name are in the VI Daily News a couple of weeks ago. It is very preliminary and conceptual right now. An idea worth exploring and understanding in my opinion — and there will be public involvement in the decision process — as with all Coastal Zone Mgt areas. That’s how we keep St. John and the VI faithful to its beauty!
Sharon, ZoZo’s is going in an already existing building on the water front.
This is a great idea. The timetable is too aggressive.
There will be revisions that will need to be addressed.
Any contact info for this new resort?