TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums British Virgin Islands Comments from a recent trip

This is not a trip report per se, just some comments from a recent 11 day stay with a good friend on Tortola. I have been coming to the BVI for over 25 years, sailing and visiting friends on land. I just returned from 11 days with my friend who has been a BVI resident for over 30 years and a Tortola resident for about 15. I stay with her about 2x/year. Here are some observations from my latest trip (just came back less that a week ago).

1--We have always gone to Scrub. Never been charged an "entrance fee" but always allowed to use the lounges and the pool. We always have lunch there and have bar drinks and tip genenerously. It came to our attention upon calling the office, that this time that although they no longer impose a fee for usage for non guests and non slip users, you can no longer use a lounge or the pool even if you eat and drink there. They do not want, and deny access to anyone not staying on property or in a slip even if one eats and drinks. Nix for Scrub.

2--Quitos--Quitos has attemped to upscale the upstairs into a high end restaurant. Not trying to be "snobby" but as a NYC native, and someone who has traveled extensively for both business and pleasure, I do understand their goal. The restaurant is lovely, the service attentive and the ambiance most enjoyable. The appetizer I had was excellent (crab/avocado) and the amuse bouche a pleasant surprise. My friend and I ordered lobster and the chef came out and described the preparation. It was a total disappointment. Completely dry and tasteless, only a tiny slice of lemon and no clarified butter. Not at all worth the price.

3--Marina Cay--after noting that we were not welcome at Scrub we opted for Marina Cay. I had not been there in several years and frankly had low expectations. However, it was quite busy (Scrub rejects) and the lounges and the beach welcome. It was as I had remembered--nothing special--I had a salad that was decent, not memorable and the bar service was adequate. Lacked the up scale of Peter or Scrub but at least we were allowed to use all the facilities. The shop was well stocked and the service pleasant.

These are just experiences from a long time BVI denizen. Of course I will be back, just not to Quitos or Scrub. Perhaps opt for Peter where we have always been welcome!!

Hope this gives some hints to newbies or even oldies!! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/dine.gif" alt="" />

I'm more surprised you were able to use Scrub without paying in the past then to hear you weren't able to now. It was always my understanding that if you were going to make use of the pool..etc that you paid a guest fee.

Sue?

I would highly recommend trying The Sugar Mill for dinner now it has new owners..tops in food, service and ambiance IMHO..Another pleasant surprise for lobster lovers( not me) is Tropical Fusion in Long Bay..service is not swift but C loved her half ( large ) lobster for $35 with all the buttery extras..

Sugar Mill on the list for sure......3 more sleeps until I see that turquoise paradise again...

Another big vote for Sugar Mill - we LOVED our dinner there last year and can't wait to go back. Making our reservations this time so we can have a cocktail down by the beach for the sunset and then head up for dinner. Mal, is the bar by the beach open for sunset cocktails?
Kim, we'll see you at Quito's!

The beach bar is only open in the evenings on Fridays for happy hour and bar b q..but all day for brunch on Sundays. You are welcome , and encouraged, to take drinks down there for sunset. Make sure you introduce yourselves to Mary and Dennis the owners who will make you feel very welcome.

Be prepared for a very long dinner event. I've been there 3 times since December. 2 visits took over 3 hours and 1 visit was a more reasonable 2.5 hours.

Not that I'm in a rush and I understand island time, but some of the servers are just slow and have clearly not been trained.

Mal, thanks for the info. We did introduce ourselves to Mary last year when we dined there. She's very sweet!

Jason, one of my pet peeves in when we are rushed through a fine dining experience. We like to take our time, enjoy our food & drinks, and each other's company. :-)

I enjoy a nice dining experience too, but I don't enjoy waiting for 30 minutes to place an order without water or a drink on the table. Then being rushed to quickly order without being told the specials or given time to think about them. Add noisy kids into that mix and it's not a great combo.

Like I said, some servers are great and some just clearly haven't been trained. The good news is that the food is always great just not always worth the aggravation.

Rule #1: get a drink in a customer's hand as soon as possible - makes up for lots of misteps after that <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/toast.gif" alt="" />

Cottagegirl

Rule #1 also makes for a lot of profit as well. Empty hands and dry throat allows for the customer to cease being a customer before spending a dime.

Had lunch at Sugar Mill. No problem with using lounges, very welcome--even bought us drinks!!! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/dine.gif" alt="" />

I stayed at sugarmill 4 nights recently, ate and drank and spent a fortune. I thought Dennis obnoxiously tried to manage a mis-managed reservation on their part and then made it all about me. On another point, he obnoxiously replied to my question about Sage Park and said... Its trees on a hillside, don't go there, come buy my little island tour where we'll pack you into a van with 10 other tourists and drive you around for 6 hours.... No thanks, Sage Park was fabulous and we're happy we got to see it and the magnificent views.

Food at sugarmill is marginal... Not great at all, and I've eaten in the very best restaurants. Its not bad food but it's not anything special either...

To the credit of the staff at sugarmill, they were fantastic. Management has a LOT to learn.

Ambiance at sugarmill was very very nice, too bad our visit included this unfortunate mismanaged small incident that was exacerbated by poor management.

The best sunset dinner and or drinks are at Bananakeet, no comparison. I had an AMAZING special pork dish there, wife's Primavera was equally AMAZING and the sunset views are spectacular.

Sorry, I won't be back to sugarmill, can't spend my hard earned money there again.

Long time fans of "Bananakeet"..but had the worst dining (none dining ) experience ever there. With two friends from California we booked a table for 5.30. At 7 the owner told us our order was in. At 7.45 a waitress we knew told us we were still behind two other large parties. They did comp our drinks but I did not want anymore.We never saw our food and left I told the new owner that I did not like being lied to. We headed to The Sugar Mill and they saved the day with great apps and soup at the bar. After years of loving the Chris owned 'Keet this was very sad indeed...and thanks to Dennis and Mary the evening was saved..sorry you had a bad experience but "The Mill" is our go to..even if its just soup at the bar..

Who is the new owner at Bananakeet?

I believe it is the lady who owns the property and leased it to Chris..local lady with blonde hair..

Very interesting as my experience was exactly the opposite. Reviews on Trip Advisor seem to reflect the obnoxious attitude I experienced from Mr Dennis at sugarmill. Atmosphere and staff were magnificent, management... Ehhh... Needs remedial training. He has zero experience in the service industry and his management reflected that. Food at sugarmill is nothing to speak of, average at beat.

You can only speak as you find..off to the Mill for dinner tonight..

I can easily see how running a business here would make people have bad days so I'll be heading back to Sugar Mill to give it another shot. Looking forward to a great experience next time!

Had dinner at both Bananakeet and Sugar Mill last week and both were outstanding. Sugar Mill was a long experience, but their website is upfront about it...and we had good service throughout. We did overhear an interesting exchange between the bartender and a waitress though. The bartender apparently was tired of making Mojitos so she said to the waitress, "tell them we're out of sugar". Rather ironic, I'd say.