By the Caribbean Journal staff
An historic Caribbean resort is set to make its long-awaited comeback next year, Caribbean Journal has learned.
Marriott’s Renaissance St Croix Carambola Beach Resort and Spa is set to return in the spring of 2020, according to the company.
The property is currently undergoing renovations, and will be managed by fast-expanding management firm Aimbridge Hospitality upon its return next year.
The hotel was originally built on a sprawling 23-acre site by Lawrence Rockefeller in 1986, set on Davis Bay on the northwest corner of St Croix, home to some of the most spectacular scenery on the island.
The resort has long been one of the two top hotels in St Croix, along with the beloved Buccaneer Hotel.
The beach at the Buccaneer.
Of course, St Croix has been in the midst of a mini-hotel boom in recent years, with the debut of the hip The Fred hotel in Frederiksted and the recent dramatic transformation of the Company House hotel in Frederiksted.
Another St Croix hotel, the Caravelle, is in the midst of a major renovation project of its own.
The Renaissance’s return will be a major injection of energy for a destination that has already been undergoing a tourism rebirth in the two years since Hurricane Maria devastated the island.
An aerial view of the lush 23-acre site.
All of the resort’s signature amenities are likely to return, from its spectacular private beach to its on-site Carambola Golf Club, designed by legendary course architect Robert Trent Jones, Sr.
The resort will open a few months after another top USVI hotel, the Ritz-Carlton on the island of St Thomas, makes its planned debut on Dec. 1.
And according to a recent statement from Aimbridge, two more Marriott resorts will return to the USVI in 2020: the iconic Marriott Frenchman’s Reef and the Autograph Collection Morningstar Beach Resort in St Thomas.