St. Croix is the third and largest of the US Virgin Islands, geographically. But in terms of visibility, it’s still the little brother of St. John and St. Thomas.
That’s not its fault. The isle has had a lot of hard luck over the years.
In 1972, the island’s then-burgeoning tourism sector was set back by a mass shooting at a golf course, when eight employees and visitors were killed and many others injured in what came to be known as the Fountain Valley massacre.
Then, in 1989, Hurricane Hugo barreled through, leaving a swath of destruction that’s still evidenced by old, derelict, rusting buildings across the island. In 2017, Hurricane Irma avoided St Croix (phew!) only for her Cat 5 sister Maria to make a direct hit two weeks later. Darn.
Today, things are looking sunnier. With post-pandemic resort rates soaring, many have ID’d St. Croix as a more affordable holiday alternative that can be cheaper than the Jersey Shore. Better still, there are no passports needed here. Technically, it’s a domestic flight.
It’s also on the radar of investors, who have noted that the island remains free of ugly oceanfront high-rises (some of them surely mean to fix that, sigh). Instead, it’s dotted with boutique hotels, bars and restaurants along picturesque hillsides.
Hospitality veteran Chris Pardo, founder of Elemental Architecture, saw potential in an old barracks from 1793, sitting directly on the dock front in Christiansted, the island’s capital. In 2018, Pardo bought the property, sympathetically transforming it into the King Christian Hotel, which opened last year.
“The property is an iconic landmark that has been a popular meeting spot for the local community for decades,” he said. “Because of the building’s unusual architecture, we had the opportunity to build a restaurant, cafe, ice cream shop, coffee shop and a bar, all with ground-floor entrances that position our guests in the middle of the action.”
Reflecting the building’s Danish colonial past, the interior now consists of cool terracotta floors, exposed brick showing through white plastered walls and bright, hand-painted tiles. The blue and green jewel tones of the Peacock Room by the entryway doubles up as a small lounge, just steps from a bright, sunny pool lined with loungers, both of which are well-served by beverages from the bar.
The 46 wood and rattan rooms, some with balconies overlooking the wharf and look out to the tiny island of Protestant Cay. The 2-minute ferry ride across the water to the public beach here is free for hotel guests, where swimming, sunning and a lively bar and barbecue awaits — expect crowds of locals on weekends.
The main dining is at El Leon, a buzzy Mexican-fusion restaurant decked out in wicker and lively tropical prints, where you can order a margarita the size of your head.
Eating is as primary a pastime as sun tanning on St. Croix and to get a taste of the isle’s authentic fair, take a Taste of Twin Cities Food Tour. Guides take small groups of up to 12 people on a history-laced tasting tour of Christiansted, focusing on hole-in-the-wall gems.
Proprietor Anquanette Gaspard explains that the island is a blend of six former ruling nations (Spain, Great Britain, the Netherlands, France, the Knights of Malta and Denmark) before coming into the US fold in 1917. Merge all that with the indigenous Caribbean culture and that of Puerto Ricans who emigrated here to work the sugar plantations and Cruzian rum distilleries, and you have quite the cuisine melting pot.
By now, a pick-me-up may be needed in the form of St Croix’s own cocktail, the Cruzian Confusion, which features up to six types of local rum.
You can spend a happy evening bar hopping along the boardwalk, but don’t miss King Christian Hotel’s own tiki bar, Breakers Roar. The retro, tongue-in-cheek decor complete with old diving helmet lights and nautical hardware is only second to the drinks. Choose from classics (like the 1945 Three Dots And A Dash with rum, orange, lime, falernum, allspice dram, honey and Angostura) or the artisanal (Tamatequi, with cinnamon, tamarind, lemon, simple sugar, mezcal and tequila) served in a variety of kitsch tiki mugs. All will release your inhibitions, which is useful since it’s also a go-to karaoke spot.
It’s important to get your courage up because water rules in St Croix. Cane Bay is one of the top scuba sites in the world, where divers can drop into part of the 497-mile-long Puerto Rico trench. Those without scuba certification can view the bioluminescent critters in Salt River Bay, a nature-rich ecological preserve, or climb into a “Sea Thru Kayak” along the barrier reef-lined shore where Columbus first landed in 1493.
The best place to stay here is King Christian Hotel’s sister property, Waves Cane Bay, an old hotel that Pardo added to the portfolio in 2018 after being attracted to “the property’s location on an ocean rock cliff surrounded by vegetation,” he said. After stripping it to the studs, and opening out the view across to St Thomas, the hotel opened in 2021.
A short walk from the beach, the unassuming property hides 11 rooms all nicely updated in dark wood with soaring ceilings, and not only do they boast kitchenettes, they all have large, oceanfront balconies on which to watch the crashing waves below.
Wannabe mermaids can swim with the fishes in the natural rock-formed grotto pool before enjoying a sundowner at the Sunset Bar, where expert mixologist Greg McCourt can rustle up a mean martini.
Another big draw on the island is Buck Island Reed National Monument, a mile and a half offshore. Caribbean Sea Adventure boat tours leave from Christiansted to take you to the uninhabited tropical dry forest island, dodging turtles and jumping stingrays as you go.
On shore, you can hike, picnic and swim, but the big attraction is the barrier reef — so beautiful that, in 1961, visiting John F. Kennedy 1961 designated it a national monument.
Sadly, climate change is threatening the existence of these barrier reefs and, back on land, the Nature Conservancy’s Virgin Islands Coral Innovation Hub is trying to reverse the coral die-off.
The initiative is located within a 250-year-old sugar and rum plantation, Estate Little Princess, once run by enslaved Africans. The conservancy is working to restore the mansion and outbuildings, coming from a perspective of awareness in its unjust role, while also providing outreach to local schools.
Director of the coral program, Celeste Jarvis, and her team are working flat out, having planted 50,000 baby corals over the last three years. Still, she fears a “mass extinction event within the next few months.”
Not all news is good news, so see it while you can.
Rates at King Christian Hotel start at $249 per night; Waves Cane Bay at $449.
