Carambola Beach Resort St. Croix, US Virgin Islands

“Worst Resort Stay Ever – Avoid Carambola at All Costs!” “If you’re looking for friendliness, security, cleanliness, and an overall resort feel – this is NOT the place.” Review: I booked a 7-night stay at Carambola in St. Croix through AA Vacations in August 2025, and it was the worst resort experiences I’ve ever had. From the very beginning, the lack of hospitality was evident. The front desk reps don’t even acknowledge your presence when you walk into the vestibule—you have to be the one to greet them. The guest rooms are shockingly outdated and poorly maintained. There are no phones in the rooms, which means if you have a question or emergency, you must physically walk to reception. Our door lock was dry rotted and fell apart, leaving our room unsecured for the entire day even after we reported it to reception that morning. The wood finishes in the room were grimy and gritty, ants were present, and there was no microwave, which is a problem since food from local markets can’t be warmed up. The amenities are equally disappointing. No lifeguards at the beach or pool, no towel service, and no poolside bar despite being advertised. Not all of the TV channels worked, and at no point during our stay did any staff member check to see if things were going well or if anything could be improved. The resort is also extremely isolated, perched alone on a mountain with nothing within walking distance—no shops, no restaurants, no recreation. You can’t even take a walk off the property safely, since the only access road is a narrow, unlit, curvy mountain road. To make matters worse, the resort forces you to rely on their contracted car service, which is overpriced and unpleasant. We paid $150 for just over two hours of service, and one of the cars had roaches—confirmed by the drivers themselves who carried a can of roach spray in the vehicle. Yes, a roach crawled out during one of my rides. Overall, this was a horrible stay. The front desk staff is unfriendly and unaccommodating, the property is unclean and unsafe, and the entire experience lacks the basic hospitality you’d expect from a “resort.” While it may be quiet, it in no way meets the standard of a resort-quality experience. Bottom line: I would not recommend this place to anyone. Save yourself the frustration and book somewhere else where your time, money, and comfort are valued.

BLUF: Overall, not a bad experience my wife and I enjoyed our time here. If staying here recommend renting a car to save $$$ from getting to the resort from the airport, and you’ll save money by being able to have the ability to go get your own food and drinks if need be. Having previously lived on an island, no matter how often pest control sprays you will see bugs occasionally. Expectation management. Status (Ambassador lens): I paid with points and used my nightly upgrade rewards to upgrade from a partial Oceanview to an Oceanview. I am glad I did! As noted below, we had to move rooms for one night and while the room was set up the exact same way, not having the view made a world of difference if having a cool vibe and ambiance is your thing. Breakfast was comp’d which was great because I would not have been eating here if it wasn’t. Everything from the restaurants, etc. gets billed to your room and then taken off at the end. Location: It’s pretty remote which is nice and peaceful. There are a few restaurants 5-10 minutes down the road that are priced pretty decent for what you are getting considering where you are. It's a little dated, but IMO its not as dated as I would have thought based on other reviews. There are 26x building units on the property. When checking in and checking out you can get assistance from the bellhop with moving your luggage via a golfcart to your room. Service: On the first night my wife and I noticed a significant amount of black mold on the ceiling. The front desk was able to move us into another room for the night, and we were back in our original room the next afternoon once they had come cleaned. No issues with the staff making separate accommodations for us. Dining: The mahi mahi sandwich was pretty good with tons of flavor and my wife enjoyed the crab cakes as well. Breakfast, like other reviews have said its pretty steep at $32 for an adult buffet. But I will say the omelet bar was really good, I don’t know about $32 good, but still pretty good. Pool: not used Beach: Great views at the beach and it was an added bonus having chairs that were free for use, although the seaweed was rather bad during our stay. Fitness Room: The equipment is a little older but the dumbbells go up to 75lbs which is pretty good for a hotel gym. There are 2-3x treadmills, a few ellipticals, two flat benches, a leg press machine and a cable machine. Recommend: Buying your own bottled water from Cost U Less or Plaza East. At $3 a bottle that can add up quick!

Pretty disappointing experience. Tho a beautiful location the beach is too rough to swim in, in 4 days our room was not cleaned. Service was friendly but poor. When we arrived at check-in time at 4 we had to wait 90 minutes to get into our room. The clerk just shrugged, said they were running behind and gave us a very limited drink coupon. The bar restaurant is limited and the tattered menus send a signal…. And disappointed the only breakfast option was a $32 buffet. Rooms are nice with lovely balconies but nice views are easy to come by here.