Windward Passage Hotel

, Charlotte Amalie, Virgin Islands U.S.
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Windward Passage Hotel

, Charlotte Amalie
Veterans Dr - Charlotte Amalie - 00804-0640 - Virgin Islands U.S. Hotel Website | 340-774-5200
176 Traveller

Reviews - Windward Passage Hotel

Historical Traveller Reviews of Windward Passage Hotel

A Bargain in Paradise

from daggar
I read all of the reviews for this property here, and they were decidedly mixed. In my mind, it was the people who were expecting the 'resort' experience who were unhappy, and that was not what we were looking for. So I booked.

The place was absolutely fantastic. Short walk to downtown. Short walk to Frenchtown where the food and wine are fantastic. They also have a complimentary shuttle across the island to Magen's bay. And the ferry terminals are just across the street taking you anywhere from St. John's to several of the BVI.

Was the hotel a little dated? Sure. Was it clean? Yes! Were the people friendly? Yes. Is this a resort? NO. Did we have a great time? Absolutely!

While I was there, some irate person checked out saying they were moving to the Marriott Frenchmen's Wharf. It turns out that I was staying at the Holiday Inn for a week, then moving to the Marriott for a 5 day business meeting.

The Marriott was nice. It had nice restaurants on site. It had a beach. You couldn't walk to anything around it. Unless they sold it, you had to take a cab to get it.....and cabs are expensive....and the St. Thomas streets are ridiculous.

If you are looking for the resort experience, go the Marriott route. If you are looking for a nice respite with tons to do within reach, I highly recommend the Holiday Inn.

Had big problems

from joeandgina
The hotel was o.k. at best. Seemed old and a little run down. The room was adquate. Just a regular room. We had a view of the water which was nice. The retaurant was expensive and the food was marginal at best. The service was poor. The real problem is my 8 year old son got stuck in the elevator. They had no plan and no clue how to get him out. Since he is a diabetic and was somewhat panicked it was an emergency. After messing with it for at least an hour as I was trying to get the fire dept involved, 2 guys came up from the bar and pryed the doors open. It is too bad they did not take their customers care more seriously. The hotel manager was very gracious when I talked to her about it the next day. They need to update and train their staff better. Needless to say we will not return to this hotel again. Not only because of the problem, it just was not a good experience all around.

Not Worth the Money

from broadcast9
We stayed at the Windward Passage Hotel for one night- which was one night too long.

We arrived after having booked a king- non-smoking which we paid an extra $20/night for. We were placed in a double smoking room. I went down to the front counter- and was given a new room after some explanation that I could not understand about checking rooms.

Lo and behold- the new room was a king- but smoking. At that point- we were tired and it was late and clearly the staff could not care less about our smoking preference. Nor did they remove the $20 charge for non-smoking from the bill.

On the plus side, the hotel was moderately clean. Sheets were very clean- and the bathroom was fairly decent. Good view of the harbor.

Don't expect anything to be open though if you arive after 5pm. The downtown area shuts down completely- except for panhandlers and taxi drivers who stop their taxis with people in them to pitch you. If you are there to shop- this is an excellent location- if not- then stay elsewhere.

We ended up eating in the hotel restaraunt- which was pretty decent.

Just Returned From U.S. Virgin Islands

from kjs2000
Just returned from a five day vacation in St. Thomas/ St. John. We had been there before on a cruise and wanted to return. We wanted to spend most of our time on St. John, but couldn't find any last minute deals, so we stayed at the Holiday Inn on St. Thomas. With the recent increase in airfare, we felt that this trip was reasonably priced -- airfare, transfers, and hotel for five nights for $499 per person. As a result, we did not have high expecations for the hotel.

The hotel is a bit dated, but has been recently remodeled. It was your basic economy hotel -- two double beds and a bathroom. It also had a mini-fridge. Both the room and the bathroom were clean and the maid brought plenty of fresh towels each day. The AC worked great (and helped drown out the crowing roosters at 4:00 a.m.), but sheets and our clothes always had a slightly damp feel. Surprisingly, the room did not smell. There was not a safe in the room as advertised.

Most days, we took the ferry to St. John and returned to the Holiday Inn only to sleep. On the day that there was no cruise ship in port, we took the hotel's complimentary shuttle to Magan's Bay. It was very nice perk. The beach and the swimming were great, but there is little in the way of snorkeling. We virtually had the place to ourselves, but understand that it can become very crowded when there is a ship in port.

We did not eat at the hotel. Most evenings, we ate dinner on St. John. However, one night we dined at Herve's on St. Thomas. The food was very good, but a bit over priced. Herve's is within walking distance of the Holday Inn, but I would advise against walking after dark -- even with a group of people.

Overall, we had a lot of fun and really had a chance to unwind. This hotel was fine for the price we paid, but then again, we were not expecting a luxurious room.

Great hotel for the price!

from A TripAdvisor Member
Have stayed here several times ( 1999, 2003, 2005) this year was the best. The staff was helpful-from the housekkeping staff bringing me extra towels and a pillow to the front desk staff- always smiling and asking if there was anything else they could do. I had an ocean view- I highly recommend requesting one or else you are lookikg out the back where there seems to be some ongoing constuction?? and general urban noise. The food was a bit overpriced, but it seem like that everywhere. Great location if you want to shop, take the ferry to St.John. We love to scuba dive and find this hotel centrally located to all the places we want to explore.

A pleasant surprise!

from A TripAdvisor Member
Due to an unexpected trip delay, we reserved this HI without knowing anything about it except price simply because it was the first available room we could find.

We were pleasantly surprised! The hotel is at the end of the waterfront shopping area on the Charlotte Amalie harbor. Obviously HI took over an existing property and a sign said that refurbishing was underway but we thought the facilities were attractive and more than satisfactory. No front water-view rooms were available when we arrived so we were given a standard room on the side of the hotel. The room was perfectly satisfactory although it overlooked an alley and park/playground. The next day we were upgraded to a front water-view room – the furnishings were newer and the view was picture-postcard spectacular! We could watch cruise ships, pleasure boats, and seaplanes coming and going on a background of calm water and pretty hills. Since the hotel is on a main street, there was some traffic noise. The restaurant had decent food - service was slow at 1 breakfast and yes, it seemed overpriced, but so did other restaurants we visited. (Green House restaurant nearby was very good.) The small pool area was very pleasant and the hotel had a free shuttle to Megan’s Bay beach. We could walk easily to all “downtown” shopping.

Concerning the hotel staff and service, I don’t think we’ve ever stayed at a place where so many people were so helpful and eager to please – when we inquired about nearby restaurants open for Sun. dinner – many places are closed – the operator called back several times with info on what was open, prices, and menu selection; when we asked about shipping things home they sent up a large box and packing tape; they quickly obtained directions to several places we asked about; etc…

If we return to St. Thomas I would definitely consider staying here again.

Rooms – 3/4 (view from front water-view room rates 5+)
Service - 5
Value - 4
Cleanliness - 4
Dining - 3
Pool - 4

what a differance a year makes

from A TripAdvisor Member
We stayed at the hotel ayear ago in 2004 and were so happy we went back in 2005. We will not be back in 2006! The room was over looking the dump, the fist year we watched the ships come in and go out this year we watched the garbage trucks. There was a rooster that woke us up at 4:00 am every morning.The toilet would not flush, the shower dripped all night.We had to beg for towels almost everyday to shower with.The breakfast was greasy and very over priced.We went to the Greenhouse for dinner and it was great. The people were friendly and we had a very good time. We asked for direction at the front desk no one knew anything. I was very disappointed this year, They waited to ask until the trip was almost over to ask if everything was o.k. The people are cold and not helpful in the least. We are looking for a new hotel for this year.

Do not, not, not stay at this hotel

from A TripAdvisor Member
My husband and I stayed here five days during a wedding we were attending. The room was so awful that we almost turned around and paid extra to stay somewhere else. We probably should have. Our room looked out on a junkyard-type place where several guys drank, played cards and watched soccer until about 4 am every night. The "safe" in the room was missing a key, which the front desk staff accused us of stealing when we asked for a new one (?!?!). After begging them to send someone up to fix the safe so we could use it, they finally sent someone 4 hours later. This particular person smelled so bad that the room smelled like B.O. for the next 6 hours. That is no joke! I thought that kind of smell was an urban legend.

The hotel itself was located in a very shady area of town and was surrounded by a huge metal fence. We didn't feel safe walking around there durng the day, let alone during the night. The food at the Holiday Inn was terrible and expensive, the staff was rude and inconsiderate, the beds were uncomfortable and didn't even have fitted sheets (instead they used a full size flat sheet for a queen bed).

So if you are looking for a hotel where you'll be accused of stealing, fear for your safety, all the while trying to keep your full sheet from slipping off your queen sized bed and listening to drunk guys yell at a tv, then this is the place for you!

t Expect Too Much

from MIkeyG1965
I've stayed in much worse places, but I've stayed in better.

If you are looking for a getaway vacation spot, don't stay here....you will only be disappointed.

I have been to St. Thomas once before and stayed at Marriott's Frenchman's Reef Resort; however, this time it was a last minute business trip and because of the time of year (Christmas and New Years), the Marriott was booked.

I was upgraded to a suite, which was okay. Just larger with a couch and a couple of cheap chairs.

There are nicers places to stay for vacations in
St. Thomas and if you can afford it, try those first.

Central spot for an overnight stop

from AdeleL
We stayed at the Holiday Inn for a night on our way to a weeklong barefoot boat cruise (now that's another story; think camping on a boat in a tropical storm). The Holiday Inn was clean, had a good rate, was quiet and had a nice pool. It was close to downtown and was safe for walking. Our window overlooked the softball field (and a corner of the ocean) and we stopped and watched a game later in the evening. The staff gave us an excellent suggestion for dinner; we went to the Hook, Line and Sinker which is heading away from Main Street, a few blocks beyond the ferry. The restaurant is on a dock and overlooks the water. Casual, reasonably priced food. We liked it so much that we stopped again for lunch on our way home.

Top Local Tips for Charlotte Amalie

Pricey Eating Difficult Paying Bring a lot of cash and keep it safe! Most places (safe the Green House and The Tavern at the Waterfront) refuse to split up the bill. Many places prefer or only accept cash - particularly if your bill is under $50. Charlotte Amalie has many reasonably priced options for lunch (due to cruise ship tourists) but dinner is another matter. Cheap options include: bbq stands, the Chinese restaurant two blocks from the Holiday Inn, and Pizza Hut. The latter two didn't settle well with my stomach. One middle of the road option is Cuzzin's Restaurant, but the service we received was atrocious and the food sub par. The best food we ate was at Meson Amalia - crab stuffed plantains with risotto - for a college-pocket-stretching $23. My group loved The Tavern at the Waterfront the best: the food was amazing, the service friendly, music great, desserts heavenly (MUST TRY) and the owner chatted with us for an hour. Another Tip: Most places are closed Sunday - save that night for the Greenhouse.

Great Dinner at Banana Tree Grill Loved dinner at Banana Tree Grill. Excellent drinks. Very competent food. Wonderful and very caring service. And the view overlooking the cruise boats in the harbor is just spectacular. It's an open-air restaurant with great breezes running through. Try the tempura lobster tail.

Taxi from the Airport to the Holiday Inn Be careful, the airport taxi runs $6 per person plus $2 per piece of luggage the the Holiday Inn only 2 miles away!

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Other names for Windward Passage Hotel

  • holiday inn charlotte amalie
  • charlotte amalie holiday inn
  • Address: Veterans Dr - Charlotte Amalie - 00804-0640 - Virgin Islands U.S.
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