Hi Chelle

According to the information in the Daily News the owners felt that the property was in very bad condition. They have decided to close the hotel because of the amount of complaints that they were receiving from guest. The owners also felt that without the renovations at the St thomas property it would adversely affect their other operations with the bad publicity. I think they will be spending about 12 million to bring the property up to their standards. It should be very nice once completed.

Wow. I just can't believe it. We were just there the last week of June and I found the place to be wonderful. We didn't see no problems. I wonder how long they will be closed for??

They have applied for EDC benefits and have threatened to remain closed indefinitely if they don't receive some sort of tax relief from the V.I. government.

Many hotels who wish to preserve their momentum make improvements in phases. I do not feel secure in their statement about renovations, especially since some employees who had attended union activities met with disciplinary action... at least that is according to news reports. Get the scoop:

http://www.onepaper.com/stthomasvi/?v=d&i=&s=News:Local&p=1083386333

They are laying off people who have spent many years under different owners, with only one week's severance. They are within the law, but they are most definitely not doing a very "nice thing"... no good will effort there.

After Hurricane Hugo, many V.I. merchants kept folks on payroll rather than lay them off in spite of the fact that they could not do any business at all for many weeks, even months.

In fact, they (Grand Beach) are then going to come to the V.I. Government to give them a tax break when all is said and done... where is the break for the people who will be out of work?

Me and my husband made some friends with some of the employees at the Palace. I just spoke to one of them and she was VERY UPSET. She has put in many years there and had taken great pride in her job and now she is without one. This is terrible for the people who work there. Heart breaking.

I was suppose to get married at the Grand Beach Palace in October. I got the call today from my travel agent and said no wedding. They are closing indefinetly. I also spoke to someone at the resort today and they are not going to reopen at all. They are closing their doors August 28th. Such a shame. Now I am starting over looking for another resort and less than 3 months away.

Jules:

Try the Point Pleasant Resort.....Agave Restaurant....next to the Grand Beach Palace.
(340-775-7200) Many weddings are held there....it's really a nice place with an incredible view.

"Stay in a unit on top of the hill."

Hope all goes well.

F.I.

You said you got a call from your travel agent advising of the closing. We have reservations through Apple Vacations for Sept and have not heard a word. In fact, the travel agency did not know about it and said they have not heard from Apple. Our vacation is already paid for 6 nts, do you know what happens in this situation? Is there any way to contact Apple directly since we are getting nowhere with our travel agent?
Thanks for any help you can give.
B-

There are more than one reason for the closing. The main one, according to the hotel General Manager was low occupancy. Usually less than 35%. There was also talk of a union for the employees. The US Steelworkers Union had scheduled a time to talk to them. And they did say they probably wouldn't open without receiving EDC benefits. These benefits allow the company to pay no property taxes or taxes on gross receipts for 10 years.

If you paid with a credit card, you shouldn't have any problem getting your money back. With cash, that's another story. Good luck.

Run, don't get involved in a nightmare vacation. The facility is dead, a complete mistake. Grand Beach Palace, is a lifetime movie waiting to happen. If you are thinking about visiting the facility I can say from first hand experience any amount of money spent on a stay would be to much. The staff is un-professional, the facilities out dated and the beach in need of repair. And given this I will not even mention the food.

Extremely PO'd

Vicki: I would think that some of your concerns are due to the Mexican company announcing they are going to close it down. But the beach in need of repair? The bay has a great deal of sea flora in it which washes up on the shore- perhaps the disgruntled employees have not been raking it. As to the food, I have always said that all-inclusive is NOT the way to go on St Thomas. The whole episode is a sad one. 🙁

WOW! I was just at the Grand Beach at the end of June and thought everything was wonderful. The beach was very nice and the whole place was very well taken care of. I guess I just don't understand which parts were not appropriate. Me and my husband aren't picky at all and didn't ask to be waiting on hand and foot by all.........I realize that this was not a 5 star hotel but in my opinion, neither is The Ritz in New York City. After our visit, we had decided to come back to the Palace this fall, but now we'll have to settle for someplace else. To each his own.

We've stayed there 4 times the past few years as the Renaissance Grand--other than in 2003-- usually the week after Thanksgiving. I really enjoyed the resort for its location on the island the fact that it was not all-inclusive at the time. Overall I would have recommended it to others (maybe not the restaurants). The grounds were always kept neat and the beach was combed daily--don't know how things changed (or didn't) since its new ownership. Will be also looking for a new place for my next return.

What happened to Blazing Villas which are on the property? we stayed in them two years ago and thought the resort was fine....jean

Blazing Villas operates within the property. I hear they had a meeting with the hotel officials that told them basically they don't care! They told them they will lock up the place and leave and no one can find them. Maybe they had ullterior motives when they bought the place. They fired many long term emplyees and replaced them with their own. I am told they are rude to employees and things are really bad. They may even close on the 13th! Their occupancy was t about 15% most of the year. Can't run a hotel like that. Problem could have began with the Marriott moving all of the reservations they made over to theFrenchman's Reef. Consequently, they have been at 95% all year!
Maybe they will sell it and be gone!
Ronnie

Ronnie:

Think we can pick up this property cheap?

F.I.

Last August when we were there, a business man (investor) who we happened to met while having dinner at Agave mentioned to us that the then Renaissance GB will go time share after it sold. At the time we didn't know it was even for sale. Renovations went slowly there because Marriott held it back not wanting it to compete with Frenchmans. They thought they would put a casino in the old lobby building at the top of the hill. Nothing ever happened with the gameing issues but the potential for that resort being the best on the island is obvious to anyone who has ever been there, whether they ever have gambling or not.

We have stayed there 7 times over the last 6 years and are sick about the situation and the fact that WE just can't stay there this time. We knew many of the old staff and entertainers, all of which were wonderful. It's the nicest piece of property of that size with the best views on the island. Couple that with Fungi's and Agave and Romano's and Coki Beach within easy walking distance made it a gem of a place to kick back and not even leave the site for days if we got too lazy.
Many will miss GB.
LB

Had a five night reservation for the end of June into early July, and endured one night there ONLY because we were told we couldn't move until the next day. Lovely lobby and public space, although the grounds needed to have debris picked up and the "caution tape" wrapped around sewage outlets near the entrance removed.

A new HVAC system (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) would probably do wonders. The first room I was shown smelled terribly of mold and mildew, had stains on the curtains, and bird droppings all over the terrace. It was located right next to the Housekeepers "shack". I asked for another room, and was shown to a lovely room with a terrific view. Again, mold and mildew smell, and condensation literally running down the walls in rivulets. The marble floor was wet, due to condensation as well. The bathroom was covered with condensation, the mirror edges were caked with dried-on dirt, and air vents coated with greasy dirt. More stains on the drapes, bird droppings on the terrace, and furniture with gouges and scratches. Oh, and black hair all over, including in the refrigerator!

The third room - poolside and much smaller than the hillside rooms - had a mosquito problem all night long, more mold and mildew smell, dirty vents, etc. We were shown two more rooms in the AM, as they were reluctant to have us leave and issue a refund. Grounds around the pool were nice, although staff was feeding a large group of cats with piles of meat scraps from the kitchen on the lawn nearby. It took us most of a day to have Management retrieve our pre-paid voucher from accounting (asked at 9:00 AM and received just before 5:00 PM, although were told to wait in the lobby as it was coming soon!) so that we could move and get a refund. We paid cash for the one night there and we moved to the Wyndham for half the price (non-inclusive at the Wyndham) and had a fabulous room with an incredible view - in terrific shape and with none of the problems encountered at the Grand Beach Palace. The occupancy at the Grand Beach appeared to be very, very low, and as we waited in the lobby for our refund, saw other guests asking for refunds and leaving too. I find the "closing because of the union" hard to believe; the property had high single digit/low double digit occupancy and can't possibly pay the overhead to stay open. Extensive renovation is required, and except for three of the staff, training in customer service and a hospitable demeanor is needed.