Forty oceanfront rooms on a 40-acre property east of Christiansted, paired with a working 154-slip marina, a protected snorkel reef in front of the rooms, and direct sea-level views of Green Cay and the Buck Island National Monument.
"Snorkel-from-your-room, sail-to-Buck-Island geography, the right address for guests who plan to be in the water more than they are out of it."
Tamarind Reef Resort sits on a 40-acre parcel of the north-east shore of St. Croix, four miles east of the centre of Christiansted, on a stretch of coast that faces directly across the protected channel to Green Cay (the small uninhabited island a quarter-mile offshore) and on out to Buck Island, the only U.S. national monument that is also a coral-reef snorkeling site. The property opened in the late 1980s as part of the Tamarind Reef Yacht Club; today the configuration is a 40-room hotel on the shore side, a 154-slip marina on the protected harbor side, the Galleon restaurant on the marina, and a small Caribbean spa pavilion between the two. The same family-anchored ownership has held the property for the last twenty-plus years.
The 40 rooms are arranged in two-storey low blocks running parallel to the beach, with every room either ground floor with a private patio onto the sand or upper floor with a private balcony, and every room with a direct oceanfront view that takes in Green Cay and (on clear afternoons) the green hump of Buck Island beyond. The standard room is roughly 380 square feet with either a king or two doubles, a small refrigerator and coffee setup, flat-screen TV, ceiling fan paired with air conditioning, and a tile floor. The rooms are honest three-star, the value is in the geometry, not the finish, and the bathroom and bedding refresh in the post-storm rebuild left the basics in proper shape.
The reef is the thing. The hotel takes its name from the protected fringing reef that begins twenty metres from the rooms and runs the length of the property, the snorkeling off the resort beach is among the best on St. Croix, with the elkhorn and brain coral structures intact, and a resident population of green sea turtles that feed in the seagrass meadows immediately inside the reef. The hotel runs a full kayak and snorkel-gear loaner programme, a tennis-court complex (four hardcourts, two lit), a beachside swimming pool, and a small spa. The marina side runs the working charter-and-dive boats out to Buck Island (the centrepiece excursion of any St. Croix trip), the wall dives at Cane Bay, and the half-day fishing boats that work the drop-off two miles offshore.
Dining is the Galleon, the restaurant on the marina deck, open-air, breakfast and dinner, and a smaller poolside grill that runs lunch. The Galleon's kitchen, run by a long-tenured chef, is regarded as one of the better restaurants on the east end of the island for the local-catch fish (mahi, wahoo, the occasional spear-fished hogfish) and the rum-and-citrus cocktail programme; the wine list is short but properly chosen, and the rum list is long. The marina side gives you the loose conviviality of charter captains and yacht owners eating dinner, a different feel from the closed-resort dining rooms elsewhere on the island, and one of the property's quiet strengths. Service is unfussy and personal: small staff, long tenure, and a manager who is on the floor at most evening meals.
For a family holiday the reef-from-the-room geography is the central pitch, the children can swim, snorkel and kayak directly from the room, the marina side runs the family-friendly Buck Island excursion as a half-day trip, and the room configuration (two doubles, or king with separate trundle) takes a family of four. The tennis courts and the swimming pool round out the day; the Galleon is unfussy enough for an early family dinner.
For a solo retreat the right structure is the dive-and-read week, Tamarind Reef is roughly two kilometres from the Cane Bay dive village, the marina runs the Buck Island half-days, and the in-water programme is good enough to fill the morning and the late afternoon. The Galleon's bar is sociable rather than performative, a comfortable place for a solo dinner if you want a conversation, equally comfortable for one if you do not.
For a low-key anniversary the property's marina-and-reef configuration gives the right milestone day, a private half-day charter to Buck Island for the anniversary day itself, then a quiet evening at the Galleon. Book the upper-floor oceanfront for the Green Cay view; arrange the private snorkel charter at least two weeks ahead with the marina office.
Tamarind Reef Resort, Spa & Marina
5001 Tamarind Reef
Christiansted, St. Croix 00820
U.S. Virgin Islands
Christiansted town 4 miles / 12 minutes; Henry E. Rohlsen Airport (STX) 30 minutes; Buck Island ferry from the on-site marina
40 oceanfront rooms
Standard Oceanfront from $188/night
Premium Oceanfront from $258/night
Junior Suite from $345/night
10% resort fee applies
Check-in: 3:00 PM
Check-out: 11:00 AM
Opened late 1980s; family-anchored ownership
154-slip marina on the protected harbor side
Protected fringing reef off the rooms
Direct Green Cay & Buck Island views
Beachside swimming pool
Four tennis courts (two lit)
The Galleon restaurant (marina-side)
154-slip marina & charter desk
Resident sea turtles in the seagrass
Free WiFi throughout
From $188/night for the standard oceanfront. The upper-floor oceanfronts with the Green Cay view are the working booking. Reserve the Buck Island charter two weeks ahead through the marina office; book 60+ days ahead for the December, April season.
Book This Hotel →131 rooms on a 340-acre former sugar plantation, the larger, more polished neighbour at the east end.
Forty oceanfront rooms on a 1,200-foot private beach, the adults-only equivalent on the other side of Christiansted.
Fifty-three rooms on a private island in Christiansted harbor, the urban-Caribbean alternative if the reef geography is less critical.