My husband, our girls - 10 & 5, and myself, spent 9 days at the Morrning Star side of the Marriott Property (july 3 to 12). Morning star is right on the beach - Lovely spacious rooms w/LCD TVs. We could hear the waves from our room. The first couple of days into our vacation, we experienced very poor customer service from the restuarant staff, poor maintenance of our rooms, TV channels not working, internet not working properly, pools were dirty, rude attitude of people working there. After contacting the Managers - Hector (Manager of Windows by the Harbor) and Karl(Manager of Morning Star) our stay was completely turned around. Our every need was taken to consideration. Karl fixed all our issues and personally called us many times to followup. Janna at the front desk looked after us as well. We got to know her so well. I call all this top-notch customer service! Please don't listen to all the complains listed about this hotel. The management went out and beyond for us. The island is so beautiful - and the morning star beach is just fabulous. Warm turquoise water and powdery sand is all here at the Marriott. And the Cruzan Rum drinks - yummy! Do try the Voodoo juice at Coco Joes, and the mojitos at Havana Blue, you'll think you're in paradise. I definately recommend the Havana Blue - the blue color is so mesmerizing! I give this property a huge Thumbs Up! Janna (you're the best!), Hector, Karl - love you guys! Thanks for making our vacation so special.

My wife and I are mid-30s, U.S. middle-class folks who have done a bit of travelling, but are by no means ostentatious and are not the quibbling sort, though we do expect a certain standard of the hotel we choose to spend our limited vacation time and hard earned dollars with. With that bit of background and knowing our vantage point, let me say you cannot go wrong with this resort. We were visiting during the off-peak season for USVI, which may have contributed to our pleasant experience. I would estimate that the Morning Star portion of the resort was at about 45% occupancy on average the 9 nights we stayed. The night we arrived in St. Thomas we went to the Budget car rental desk in the airport to retreive our rental car (1st time to ever spring for the convertible on vacation) which was supposed to be a Sebring convertible, we were the last flight in at 8:50pm EDT and were informed (though having reserved a specific model) all they had left was one car and it was a real piece. By the grace of the Almighty, the Ford Focus delight with its mauled front quarter panel and metal on metal brakes limped us along to the hotel. We had reserved a beachfront room. We checked in and were put into room 5112, 1st floor adjacent to the open-air lobby and Havana Blue restaurant/bar. It was a corner room with limited view of ocean. When we dropped our bags and had a moment to gather ourselves we realized we could hear the sweet sounds of the ocean waves collapsing on the beach as advertised but also could hear the normal chatter of the restaurant and lobby sprinkled in as well. We immediately inquired with the fellow working the late-shift at the front desk if there was another room available that afforded less noise. He informed us that only the hotel Operations Manager had the authority to reassign rooms. We had read reviews that detailed this infamous character and how he tended to hide behind his outgoing message. We returned to our room a bit troubled. When we awoke in the morning, our mission was to quickly sort out the rental car issues and look into changing rooms to possibly a 2nd floor room that would provide a better oceanview above the trees and further away from the clamor of the common areas. We played the escalation game with Budget and eventually had them agree to find our reserved model of car at one of their locations and drop it off to us at the hotel. Thinking that was sorted out we began calling the # given for the hotel Operations manager (Mr. Magnuson) and leaving messages. We eventually went to the front desk and complained of not get a return call in 5 hours. Happy to say , after raising only a slight stink, Mr. Magnuson did begin to leave messages in our room that he would arrange to move us to a more suitable room, which they were able to do by the 2nd day (rm# 5126 - nice view). The car showed up that same evening from Budget. WooHoo! All sorted out, time to start unwinding to a state of relaxation. 2nd night we made a reservation at one of the two Bluebeards Castle resort restaurants (Room With a View). Again off-season, most of the evening we had the entire upper floor to ourselves with two real friendly waiters standing idly by to fill any request or answer any question we had about anything. The view of the sun setting and night falling over the illuminated populous downtown Charlotte Amelie mountain-side cityscape was phenomenal and highly recommended. Food was also very good ($120 w/one bar drink on the tab), about the average rate for a nice meal on these islands. Driving back to the hotel afterward (driving on the left, is not that difficult, and is almost natural after your second drive, its only the first couple times you make a right-hand turn that seems odd), we heard the car chirping at us, paying no attention, until I caught a wiff of the radiator overheating and looked at the temperature gauge, for which the needle was buried above the H. Another call to Budget in the morning and another car delivered that day. I normally drive a full size pickup and let me tell you after driving on St Thomas and St. John (car ferry, also recommended activity to drive to all the beaches along the north shore of St John, we drove till the road ended at the eastern tip), when you rent your vehicle, ask for the Jeep Wranger X (ask specifically for new X model Jeep), as they are nice, all automatics and A/C. Kick myself for not getting the Jeep. By the end of the vacation I know there were several chunks of plastic under carriage missing from our Sebring as a result of dips and potholes you will encounter. So the Jeep is the way to go here. All this may sound horrible, but you can't beat the freedom of having your own ride and not being at the mercy of public transporation, and all the taxis are either large vans or pickups converted into trolleys so they are multi-fare mass transit modes of transportation. On to some more highlights and tips of the trip. You must take the cable car up to Point Pleasant (located in Havensight , where the cruise ship docks and shops are). More great views on top of island of St Thomas. You can see Puerto Rico and most all the neighboring Virgin Islands from up there, and there is a place to grab a frozen drink and bite to eat ....also a Parrot show up there you must watch. Deep Sea fishing. I worked with Adventure Tour coordinators up at Frenchmen's Reef concierge desk to hook up with others in the area to fill a charter. Fishing Charters do not pair folks up to fill a boat, it's up to the customers to do. Found 3 others and the four of us went out for 6 hours at a cost of $900 for the charter ($225/person) all top water fishing, caught mostly Baracuda, worst day of offshore fishing I have ever had, unexpected and rare in the waters around these islands for sure. Captain pulled out all his tricks but it just wasn't our day. All charters run about the same price. The charter I took was on the boat "Bluefin" anchored on P Dock at AYH (American Yacht Harbor), which is a storefront complex on the right-hand side coming into Red Hook that masks the marina behind it. This is where they all are. Up a little past AYH is where you can catch the car and passenger ferries over to St. John (again recommended). The car ferry served as a nice unanticipated sunset over the water cruise one evening coming back from St John, of course the wife didn't perceive it in the same vein as a sailship or catamaran evening sail, but it sufficed because we never got around to taking one. We went over to St John to watch fireworks on July 4th. Show was great. Restaurants are packed so if you find yourself in USVI this time of year, be sure to eat before going over from STT or make a reservation at Wharfside or one of the other restaurants there in the Cruz Bay so you can sit and watch the fireworks while you eat. Ideas to to save on meal expenses, visit the small grocer in Havensight shopping strip, load up on stuff you will eat for breakfast, snacking and ice cream. Also, beer, wine, water. As a rule, we bring several bottles of water in our luggage, which saves a little money and also vacates extra stowage for souveneirs on your return trip home. We ate only twice a day most days, eating a late breakfast and early dinner. Some days we ate brunch at CoCo Joes on the beach, food was good, think IHOP on the beach. One evening we ate at Windows up on the hill at Frenchmens Reef. Converse to previous reviews we read, we thought the price was fair and the food was very good. Our last night we ate at the highly touted Havana Blue. It is a very swank, hip, suave place to eat, great atmosphere, where food is art, and each bite should be slowly savored, or the plate will be empty before you get started. They have an assortment of menus for wines, dinners, desserts, after dinner drinks and cigars. You will drop substantial change here, but this is where women appreciate being taken and are made to feel special and taken care of so suck it up fellas. The beach at Morning Star is very nice, has more than enough shade with trees and umbrellas, for the fair skin and short reprieves during the browning process. For entertainment we found feeding grapes to the Iguanas on the beach from our lounge chairs without getting tail whipped provided hours of enjoyment. Bring your own beach towels so you do not have to fool with the silly 5pm turn-in time rules, vacates more room in luggage for souveneirs. Larimar, the stone of the USVI. If your lady wants to buy some of this jewelry, don't pay sticker price. We found a multi-stone Larimar necklace for $260 US and ended up haggling that necklace, a bracelet and pair of earrings (all Larimar stones) for $100. Well this must end somewhere...enjoy your time here, we did !

My wife and 3 year old daughter spent 7 days at the Marriot on St. Thomas in July of 2006. I highly recommend it to any family especially with small children. The rooms were comfortable and in excellent condition. The grounds of the hotel were well kept and beautifully landscaped. There was a large number of bars and restaurantes in the resort that gave us a choice for dining each day without leaving the property. The best feature of course was the beach. Morning Star beach is a perfect beach to spend a vacation with small children. It was never crowded. There were fresh towels and a beach bar available. There was even a small store to purchase water and sand toys. The sand and water at the beach were magnificient. The surf was very gentle providing a perfect experience for a small child who is not able to swim. We felt very save taking our 3 year old daughter in the water. Consider purchasing a SPEEDO floating vest. It's great peace of mind when you take a small child swimming with you in the ocean.

If you stay at the resort, try to stay at the Morning Star Beach portion of the property. We were on the first floor and our room was always just a few steps away as we spent our day at the beach. If you stay in the tower on the cliffs, it is a bit of a trip down to the beach.

My husband, 10 yr old daughter, and I attended a family wedding at this property 06/30-07/06. The property is broken up into several sections. The main building (highrise) has either harbor, sea, or resort views. We ended up in this section w/ a super harbor view. Rm. 1508. There are a couple of wings sprouting off of the main building w/ various views as well as a new section being build for vacation time shares (Cove) and the beach area (MorningStar). I'm Rating on a 1-10:

Room: nice, but needs updating/painting/etc. Fridge & coffee maker a plus, daily cleaning & turn down very nice/prompt, in rm toiletries were ok (had a funny smell). Some mold, but you're in the Caribbean...Rate: 7

Hotel Employees: very nice/friendly. Much nicer that other islands. Had very good work ethics. Rate 9

Restaurants: Expensive. No way around it. Kids meals were a good deal however. about $7 and that included the milk. Hamburger w/ fries $15 pp. A nice dinner at the Harbor or Havana Blue approx $35 pp and up. We ate at all the restaurants and they were all very good, but not necessarily a good value. One night we tried to have a pizza delivered and couldn't find one. The morning breakfast buffet is $20 pp/kids $10. Drinks are good, again expensive. Averaged about $6 each. We bought our own sodas/beers in the pantry market in the main lobby to save $$. We were given several free tickets for Rum punch drinks when we checked in. We also had wine & liquor in our rm to make drinks - cheaper then ordering at the bar. Rate: 8

Hotel Property: vast/sprawling. For the most part nice. It's starting to show it's age and needs some updating. I'm used to the newer resorts in Mexico/Punta Cana and this one doesn't stack up. This is suppose to be a 6 star - in Mexico it would maybe be a 4. The property does offer lots of good wild life/floral/fauna. There is a nice waterfall on the property, several lg pools, a beautiful small private beach, lots of eateries, bars, gazebos, nice workout rm, lit tennis courts right on the beach (sort of a waste of beautiful ocean front in our opinion) . You can walk a lot here. Rate 8

EP or All Inclusive: We almost always go all inclusive, however this time we did not because we were here for a wedding/wedding functions/etc. No one in our group went AI so I don't know if it was a better way to go or not.

Excursions: Great. Took the 3 hr St. Thomas City tour and learned all about the island. Also went to St. John for a day, snorkeled, etc. Took a sunset cruise on the Dancing Dolphin. All were wonderful, reasonably prices, and educational. Rate 10

We recommend this island and proptery as long as you know going in it's older, pricey (compared to Mexico, Jamaica, Punta Cana), and needs some updating. However, it's quiet charm, wonderful employees, and most PERFECT view make up for any short comings. Enjoy. We Americans should be proud of these beautiful USVI's.