Fifty-three rooms on a private four-acre island in the middle of Christiansted harbor, reached only by a two-minute complimentary ferry, with the island's only true urban-beachfront address and the protected-harbor view of the 18th-century town.
"The ferry runs every fifteen minutes, the island is yours, the most theatrical check-in process in the U.S. Virgin Islands."
Hotel on the Cay occupies the entirety of Protestant Cay, a four-acre coral island in the middle of Christiansted harbor, exactly 300 yards from the boardwalk on the King Street wharf. The cay takes its name from the 18th-century Protestant cemetery (the Catholic and Lutheran burials were on the mainland; the Protestants took the island), and the property is the only hotel in the U.S. Virgin Islands you cannot drive to. The complimentary two-minute ferry runs every fifteen minutes from 7am to midnight from the King Street pier; outside those hours the hotel arranges a private launch on call. The arrival is a small theatrical event, and most guests retain a slight childish satisfaction about it for the duration of the stay.
The 53 rooms are arranged in two- and three-storey low blocks around the central pool and tennis courts, with the rooms divided between the harbor-facing side (the working booking, sunset over the boardwalk, with the schooners and the Christiansted waterfront in view) and the open-water side (the larger beach and the breaking surf of the protected cove, the kayak launch beach). The rooms are all configured the same way: a private balcony or patio, a kitchenette with a small refrigerator, microwave and coffee setup, either two queens or a king with a sleeper sofa, ceiling fan paired with the air conditioning, and either a cable TV or a DVD player. The renovations after the 2017 storms have updated bathrooms and bedding without changing the basic layout.
The cay's beaches are the central asset and the central differentiator from the rest of the island. The southwest-facing beach is a quarter-mile crescent of soft sand with a reef break and a coral wall about 80 metres out, the snorkeling is excellent and unusual for a hotel beach, because the foot traffic is limited to hotel guests and the day-tripping families who buy a ferry pass and a day at the beach bar. The Cay Pool Bar (open-air, beachside, the central evening venue) runs a full lunch and dinner menu of the standard Caribbean register, jerk chicken, conch fritters, grilled mahi, a long rum list, and the daytime cabana bar runs frozen drinks and pool service from 10am. Tennis, kayaks and snorkel gear are complimentary; the hotel runs an evening fire-and-music programme on the beach two or three nights a week in season.
The reason to book is the location, there is no other property in the U.S. Virgin Islands where you are 300 yards from the centre of the town, on a private island, with a real beach, at a three-star room rate. Walking the Christiansted boardwalk for dinner (Savant, Zion Modern Kitchen, the Brass Parrot at the Buccaneer is a 10-minute taxi east, and the small dive operators are on the boardwalk itself) is the central evening ritual; the ferry runs late enough that you can be on the boardwalk for an 8pm dinner and back in your room by 11pm. The trade-off is room standard, the rooms are honest three-star, not contemporary boutique, and the property is honest about that. The structural advantage is the address.
For a family holiday Hotel on the Cay is the children's-imagination pick, they are staying on an actual island, in actual sight of an actual town, and they take a ferry to and from their actual hotel three times a day. The room configuration (two queens or king-with-sleeper-sofa) takes a family of four; the in-room kitchenette covers the breakfast question; the swimming-and-snorkeling beach is the safest on the island. Christiansted dining is a 90-second crossing away.
For a Caribbean honeymoon the proposition is the address rather than the room, a private island, a quarter-mile beach, the Christiansted boardwalk for dinner, at half the rate of the headline north-shore resorts. Book a harbor-view room on the upper floor for the sunset over the schooners; arrange the private-launch return for late dinners.
For a bachelor or bachelorette group the cay is the logistically right answer on St. Croix: the group is on a private island with a beach bar, a swimming pool, and a 90-second ferry to the Christiansted bar strip, and the property can take a group block of 8, 12 rooms cleanly. The Cay Pool Bar will host the welcome dinner; the boardwalk takes the late-night programme.
Hotel on the Cay
Protestant Cay
Christiansted, St. Croix 00822
U.S. Virgin Islands
Ferry from King Street wharf, Christiansted, runs every 15 minutes, 7am, midnight; Henry E. Rohlsen Airport (STX) 25 minutes by taxi to the wharf
53 rooms in low-rise blocks
Harbor-View Room from $195/night
Open-Water Room from $235/night
Suite from $345/night
All rooms with private balcony & kitchenette
Check-in: 3:00 PM
Check-out: 11:00 AM
Complimentary ferry 7am, midnight
Private launch on call after midnight
Private 4-acre island in Christiansted harbor
Quarter-mile snorkeling beach
Beachside swimming pool
Tennis court
The Cay Pool Bar (open-air)
Complimentary kayaks & snorkel
90-second ferry to boardwalk dining
Free WiFi throughout
From $195/night for the harbor-view room. The upper-floor harbor-views are the working booking. Book 60 days ahead for the December, April season; group blocks of 8+ rooms get priority ferry scheduling for arrivals.
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