Hotel Snapshot
Courtesy of Buoy Haus
Morningstar Buoy Haus Beach Resort sits on a sheltered cove on St. Thomas's south shore, about six miles from the airport and closer still to the Charlotte Amalie waterfront, where cruise ships unload thousands of day-trippers most mornings. With 94 rooms, it's the smaller of two hotels on the redeveloped Frenchman's Reef site. A 392-room Westin occupies the bluff next door and shares its restaurants, pools, and spa with Buoy Haus guests. The appeal is that you get the big resort's amenities without its crowds, and a room steps from the sand.
Design & Character
Courtesy of Buoy Haus
The property’s lived several lives. It started as a naval lookout guarding the harbor entrance. In the mid-1970s it became the Caribbean's first Holiday Inn resort, with a low-rise motor inn on the beach that later turned into a Marriott. Hurricanes Irma and Maria wrecked both buildings in 2017. After years of rebuilding and renovations, the beachfront half reopened in spring 2023 as Buoy Haus, managed by Aimbridge Hospitality. The rebuild is a cluster of two- and three-story white stucco and clapboard buildings under white tile roofs, each turned at an angle so as many rooms as possible face the cove. Around 85 percent of the resort's roughly 500 employees are from St. Thomas, which counts for a lot on an island whose tourism economy was shut down for years after the storms.
The Rooms
Courtesy of Buoy Haus
The rooms run warm and cool at the same time—honeyed wood and bronze hardware and a clay-colored feature wall against pale gray upholstery, big ceramic tile underfoot, white bedding. Every room has a king bed and a sofa that opens into a queen, so a family of four could fit pretty comfortably. Half the rooms look out to the ocean and the other half look at palms and bougainvillea. There’s one proper suite, the Sea You Later Suite, with a living area off one of its two king bedrooms.
The Food & Drink
Courtesy of Buoy Haus
You’ve got Salt Shack, a waterside all-day spot recently rebuilt around wood-fired cooking: whole local fish, Caribbean lobster, and the like. (It also runs food and drink out to the chaises on the beach and around the pool.) The pool has its own swim-up bar pouring St. John Brewers beer and daiquiris built on Botany Bay rum, distilled on St. Thomas, and there’s a ton of non-alcoholic options, too. In the open-air lobby building, SandBar serves Spanish-Portuguese plates at lunch and dinner and the upscale, dinner-only Isla Blue upstairs offers Latin American/Asian fusion while you watch the sunset.
The Amenities
Courtesy of Buoy Haus
Honestly, if you’re booking a stay here, you’re likely looking for a whole lot of rest and relaxation. As far as the pool and beach goes, attendants stand at either end of the sand with towels, chaises, snorkel gear, kayaks, and paddleboards to use. If you’re looking for a ride on the water, you’re in luck: from the private dock, the hotel’s partner RED Hospitality runs a fleet of eight boats. The best of them is the Flying Frenchman, a 65-foot sailing catamaran that runs snorkel trips to St. John, Buck Island, and Water Island by day and sunset and dinner sails in the evening; there’s night kayaking too. Next door, the Westin adds three more pools including an adults-only one with its own swim-up bar, pickleball, and a daily kids’ club with lunch included that Buoy Haus guests are welcome to use.
Spa & Wellness
Courtesy of Buoy Haus
Buoy Haus doesn’t have a spa on-site, but guests are able to book treatments at Heavenly Spa next door at the Westin, where you can choose your pick of the litter from its menu of massages, facials, body treatments, and salon services. (Plus, it’s only a shuttle ride away.) Same arrangement with the gym: Buoy Haus has a modest one on property, but you can also head to the Westin’s bigger gym up the hill.
Location & Neighborhood Recs
Courtesy of Buoy Haus
Getting between the two properties is easy, too. There’s a lobby-to-lobby shuttle dressed up like a local open-air taxi, bench seats under a canopy in the back of a pickup, or you can walk the beach path and climb the hundred-odd steps connecting the two. One practical note: the pool has a lift, but the guest buildings have no elevators, so every ADA-accessible room sits on the ground floor.
Fast Facts
Location: St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands
Vibe: Boutique beach resort with a mega-resort’s amenities next door
Rooms: 94
Pricing: From $544 per night
Dining & Cocktails: Salt Shack, SandBar, Isla Blue, and a swim-up pool bar
Amenities & Services: Beach access, water activities Wi-Fi, daily housekeeping and turndown
Closest airport: Cyril E. King (STT)