Fourteen rooms in an 1852 Danish-Caribbean townhouse on Government Hill above Charlotte Amalie harbour, the oldest continually operating inn in the U.S. Virgin Islands and the only historic-quarter address worth booking.
"Breakfast on the verandah looking down at the cruise ships and the 17th-century fort. No resort apparatus, just an 1852 townhouse, fourteen rooms, the Charlotte Amalie historic quarter at the door."
Galleon House occupies a townhouse on Government Hill, the steep cobbled lane running up the slope behind the 17th-century Fort Christian, built in 1852 during the latter years of Danish West Indies rule. The 99 steps of Government Hill (the bricked stair that Charlotte Amalie cruise-ship visitors photograph) start at the corner outside the hotel gate. The property has operated continually as an inn since the mid-twentieth century, which makes it the oldest continually operating inn in the U.S. Virgin Islands, and one of the very few accommodation options inside the protected Charlotte Amalie historic quarter.
There are fourteen rooms, all individually furnished, split between the main 1852 building and a second small building behind it. Categories range from compact standard doubles in the historic structure (some with shared verandah access rather than en-suite balconies) to junior suites with private balconies looking down to Charlotte Amalie harbour and the cruise terminal at Havensight beyond. Every room is air-conditioned with a ceiling fan, a private bathroom, in-room safe, refrigerator, and either a queen or king bed; the building is Danish-Caribbean colonial in character, yellow stucco, white louvres, blue-and-yellow trim, the kind of interior that does not pretend to be a contemporary boutique hotel and is correct not to.
A complimentary home-cooked breakfast, fruit, eggs, the day's pastries, strong Caribbean coffee, is served on the open-air verandah at the front of the property, which is also the principal common space and the principal selling proposition. The verandah looks south across the rooftops of historic Charlotte Amalie to the harbour, to Hassel Island and Water Island, and on cruise mornings to four or five visiting ships lined up at the West Indian Company dock. A small saltwater pool sits in the courtyard. There is no restaurant for dinner; guests walk five minutes down to the Main Street and waterfront restaurants, Cuzzin's Caribbean, Petite Pump Room, Tickles Dockside Pub, or to the open-air Vendor's Plaza market.
Galleon House is not a beach hotel. The nearest swimming beach (Morningstar) is fifteen minutes away by car or by complimentary downhill walk to the waterfront ferry. The selling proposition is precisely what the property is: an 1852 historic-quarter townhouse, walking distance to Fort Christian, the synagogue, the Camille Pissarro birthplace at 14 Dronningens Gade, and the cruise port and ferries, at a rate that almost no Caribbean property of any quality reaches. For travellers who want to spend their St. Thomas trip in the old town rather than at a resort, this is the only honest answer on the island.
For solo travellers who actually want to be in a town, to walk the historic quarter at dawn, eat at family-run restaurants, ride the ferry to St. John for a day trip, Galleon House is the right base. Quiet, small (fourteen rooms), the verandah breakfast is a real common space, and the staff knows every guest's name by the second morning. Far more interesting than another resort room at three times the rate.
For an anniversary trip built around the historic Caribbean rather than the beach, Fort Christian, the 1796 synagogue (the second-oldest in the Western Hemisphere), the Pissarro birthplace, the Danish colonial architecture, the harbour-view junior suite with private balcony is the right room. Dinner at Oceana on the waterfront below, breakfast on the verandah the next morning.
31 Kongens Gade, Government Hill
Charlotte Amalie
St. Thomas 00802 · U.S. Virgin Islands
Fort Christian 4 min walk · St. Thomas synagogue 5 min · Vendor's Plaza 5 min · Cyril E. King airport 12 min taxi
14 air-conditioned rooms
Standard Double from USD 145/night
Junior Suite with balcony from USD 195/night
Continental breakfast included
Adults-only environment
Check-in: 3:00 PM
Check-out: 11:00 AM
1852 historic building · Inn since mid-20th c.
Cash and card accepted
Verandah breakfast · Outdoor saltwater pool
Harbour-view balconies (some categories)
Free WiFi · In-room safe and refrigerator
Walking distance to all Charlotte Amalie sights
Free street parking in vicinity
From USD 145/night. The harbour-view junior suites are the booking that justifies the trip; book two to three weeks ahead in winter, last-minute often available May, November.
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