Our family traveled back to Crystal Cove again this year after staying there about 4 years ago. As many of the other reviews indicated, Crystal Cove and Sapphire Beach can't be beat. We stayed in one of the A buildings during July 09, again rented thru Dave at bestbeach.com, with Norma (housekeeper) taking good care of us. Crystal Cove is not an "all one price" resort. So if you want that look elsewhere. But it does offer excellent condos, a beautiful beach and excellent snorkeling right out your front door with beautifully kept grounds. As others have noted, the adjacent resort has gone downhill, but that didn't bother us much.

Other observations/tips: –
The first night we stayed at the Best Western Emerald Beach by the airport, nice hotel, nice beach.
Snorkeling at Sapphire – my son and I snorkeled anywhere from 2 to 5 hours a day. Sapphire Beach has excellent coral reefs out near the tip on the right and fish were plentiful. The seagrass in the middle of the cove had multiple sea turtles and rays. It was a bit windy for some of the days, but you could still do some good snorkeling. Fish like cheese slices and frozen peas!
Snorkeling elsewhere – Lindquist Beach right up the road from Sapphire is like a mini Magen's Bay. Maintained by USVI with a beautiful beach. No reefs but lots of shallow water with seagrass with squid, turtles, rays and a barracuda. Coki is nice, but go early before the crowds, it is a more sheltered beach which is good on windy days. Secret Harbor had a colorful reef and lots of varied fish.
Magen's Bay – we went on a cloudy day which wasn't the best. Don't go on a cruise boat day and be prepared to spend $30 to $50 for entrance, chairs and food/drink. It is a beautiful swimming beach, and decent snorkeling up the reef far to the left.
Restaurants – excellent meals at Molly Malone's in Red Hook, Mim's at Bolongo, and Mafolie overlooking Charlotte Amalie. Carryout from Texas Pit BBQ was tasty and the rotisserie chicken from the Food Plaza past Red Hook was good and an excellent deal.
We splurged on a day sail on the Jester which was very enjoyable. Capt Roy, Mo and Dave took good care of us. Snorkeled over by Honeymoon Beach on St. John. Jester is definitely a good day sail option. Tip: make sure you child has been on a sailboat before and doesn't get seasick, need I say more...
Snorkeling pictures -- buy a Canon D10 digital underwater camera for about $300 if you are going to do alot of snorkeling. Fantastic pictures and a great investment. When I came out of the water and showed other snorkelers my pictures, I bet I could have sold 10 of these cameras, the pics are that good

Overall a great vacation which we will definitely do again in a few years. Bestbeach.com's Dave does an excellent job with his rentals and process for reserving a unit. We have had 2 great vacations staying at Dave's condos and will definitely comeback.

We had trip booked to Cristal Cove. When we checked in, we got "free upgrade" to "Suphire Beach" which is just next to it. Never, never, never take that free upgrades!!

The room was disguisting, dirty walls, everything is old and broken.
We originally booked suite, with this upgrade we got one large room, which got non woking panel space divider in the middle. It had kitchen too with all non working appliences. When I tried to use hair drier in the bathroom it almost electricuted me. So no appliences except the refrigirator. If you want to cook you have to drive or take cab (10$) to go to the store. All the food is generally more expensive then in the US.

We have small kids and came there in the evening. There was no place to buy even water without driving someplace..

The room was right on the beach so that was a plus and the sea was good. In the evening this place looks dead, everyone is driving to the town for dinner. No broadwalk or anything like this to walk in the evening, you can only sit in the restaurant or take ferry to St. John.

We have travelled to quite a few beaches in our time, and I must say that this was close to being the perfect vacation. Peaceful, relaxing, yet plenty to do if we wanted to.
We stayed in A-5, just steps from the beach and the gorgeous water. Within 10 minutes of walking out the door we could be in the middle of the water looking at beautiful, healthy reefs and an unbelievable variety of sealife, including turtles!
Our condo was a ground floor unit with 2 baths (very important since we were travelling with 2 teenage daughters), a very nice granite kitchen, and a covered porch where we ate breakfast and lunch or just hung out and enjoyed the view with a break from the sun. The condo shows a little wear since it is a beach property, but after a good night's sleep we realized we were in absolute heaven. Norma came by daily (except Sunday) to clean (what a treat in a condo!) and did a great job - a really big help to Mom! Norma is a delight and is a wonderful source of information about the island. She really helps make the place feel like home. Having a washer /dryer in the condo is a huge plus (bring some detergent), since you may want fresh beach towels each day.
The beach was beautiful and peaceful. The trees provide a nice shady spot to read and relax, and the water is spectacular. What makes it even better is that you can step inside and grab a cold refreshment whenever you need it! The watersports center is low key and very helpful. One minute from the condo and you could be planning a morning dive trip. They gave our 16 year old daughter scuba diving instruction and had her out on a beautiful reef with us in 1 1/2 hours.
A very nice marina is about a 5 minute walk. We wandered up there and found a beautiful boat (Stylish Too) to charter for a day trip to the BVI. Chris and Teal were a great crew and took us out with another couple for a spectacular, relaxing, fun day and visit to Jost van Dyke.
We had a car (we passed on the Wrangler - a fun idea but pretty pricey), although driving on the left was a bit nerve-wracking. The town of Red Hook is just a mile away and is a great source for restaurants, groceries, and a really nice pharmacy which carried alot of beach supplies. You can catch the ferry (about $10 pp) there to St. John's for a nice afternoon (taxi to Trunk Bay is about $7 pp) and evening. St. John's is gorgeous and is definitely worth seeing, but honestly, we were happiest in our haven at Crystal Cove! For us, the best part was that the location of this condo made it possible for everyone in the family to do what made them happy. One could head inside while another snorkeled, another walked the beach, and still another napped under a tree on the beach.
Restaurants - visit Mim's and/or Iggy's for spectacular views, Duffy's for happy hour (they pour heavy :-)). Better yet, grab some rum and mixers at Marina Market (they also have a nice deli) and make Pina Coladas back at the condo!
Groceries are pretty expensive though shrimp, beer, and wine (what more could you need?) weren't too outrageous. You may want to bring snacks and staples with you in your suitcase - PB, bagels, crackers, cereal - it will save you some $$ and make it easier when you get there. Pack more sunscreen than you can ever imagine needing, and don't worry about too many clothes and shoes. A couple of decent outfits, bathing suits, a coverup or two and some flipflops is about all you'll really need.
If you are looking for wild parties and casinos, this is not the place for you. If you love the outdoors and want a relaxing, fun family vacation with plenty of opportunies for activity (if you want it) this place is truly a gem.

Words can not describe fully the experience you will have in the Condo. Just bring you clothes and food and you will be set everything else has been thought of. The kitchen is very well equiped, I have seen haouse with less, Livingroom very spacious and comfortable, bedroom very spacious and real matteresses. Just a few short steps and you will be on avery wonderful snorkle spot, sea turtles, sting rays, conch, and more just a few steps away. Red Hook is not far away for night life. Their is a tennis court and a salt water swimming poof to use. Norma the housekeeper is wonderful and knowledgeable about the area for first timers. The room guide is also a good thing to read even for someone who has been to the island before. This resort does not suffer from the problems other resorts on island have as to being corporate owned, or a timeshare. We have stayed at a few other resorts on island and have had bad experiences. Our overall experience was excellent and would rent again and again.