Bolongo Bay Beach Resort, St. Thomas

Feel like you belong –
at Bolongo Bay Beach Resort…

This year, Bolongo Bay Beach Resort, on the south shore of St. Thomas, is celebrating it’s 40th Anniversary. Owned and run by the Doumeng family, this casual and comfortable resort sits on 1,000 feet of sandy beach and boasts 62 beachfront and oceanview rooms.

Bolongo-Bay-10-O
The story of how the Doumeng family ended up in St. Thomas is an interesting one. Dick Doumeng was a watch salesman in Long Island in 1968 when he took his family on vacation to Puerto Rico. During a day trip to St. Thomas, they fell in love with the island. The Doumeng’s then did what many of us only dream of doing. Dick quit his job, the family sold everything and they moved to the US Virgin Islands! The Doumeng’s eventually took over the management of Bolongo Bay Resort in 1974 when it was just a small 36 room hotel. Over time they transformed Bolongo into one of the first beachfront resorts on the island.

Bolongo-Bay-12-O
Fast forward a few decades and the reins have been passed to Dick’s sons Richard and Paul, along with their wives Katarina and Colleen. We had the pleasure of staying at Bolongo Bay recently and met with Richard, Katarina and Colleen. They, along with other family members and their very pleasant staff (including 3 that have been with Bolongo the entire 40 years!), take pride in making their guests feel like family too. It’s easy to see why there’s a high percentage of return guests at Bolongo!

To celebrate their 40th Anniversary, Bolongo is offering special anniversary package rates, 40 free room nights through activities at the resort and more! Be sure to check the Bolongo Bay website for more information.

These are just some of the  highlights of our stay at Bolongo.

Bolongo-Bay-14-O
A banner at the front desk welcomed, by name, all of the guests arriving that day.

Room-1-O
We were escorted to our room which was just steps away from the beach, comfortable and nicely sized.

Room-2-O
Room-3-O
A in-room welcome back package is provided for return guests!

Room-4-O
We enjoyed our morning coffee on the deck with a beautiful view of the bay.

Bolongo-Bay-19-O
The Bolongo Bay swimming pool offers a beach view, lots of lounge chairs and a swim up bar
.

Bolongo-Bay-20-O
Bolongo-Bay-8-O
There are comfortable areas to relax with friends and enjoy the view.

Bolongo-Bay-18-O
Bolongo guests have complimentary and unlimited use of non-motorized water sports such as kayaks, paddle boards, Hobie Cats, aqua tricycles, swim mats, snorkel gear and paddle boats.

Bolongo-Bay-21-O
Not to be missed – the weekly snorkel rum hunt, where bottles of rum are hidden in the bay and guests snorkel to find it. If you find it – you keep it!

Bolongo-Bay-7-O

Lobster-Grille-5-O
We enjoyed fine dining  at the Lobster Grille

Lobster-Grille-3-O
Eggs Benedict with grilled pineapple

Lobster-Grille-1-O
Jerk Pork Tostadas

Lobster-Grille-2-O
and Lobster Arancini. Mmmm…

Iggie's-4-O
And spent plenty of time  at Iggies – a fun and lively on-site beach bar featuring tasty food, drinks and live music – 7 nights a week!

Iggie's-3-O
Iggie's-7-O
Awaiting a taste of Iggies infamous Voodoo Juice poured with skill by our bartender “Mr. Awesome”.

Iggie's-10-O
Happy Hour specials include Rum Punch made with Cruzan Rum.

Iggie's-6-O
We relaxed in the sun in colorful chairs on the beach, and played a little volleyball and cornhole in the sand.

Iggie's-2-O
Unfortunately we weren’t there for Carnival Night – held every Wednesday at Iggies, but hear it’s a favorite evening of entertainment for guests and locals alike. Carnival Night features a buffet of Caribbean specialties, live music, Moko Jumbi Stilt Dancers, a conga line, dance contest and a fiery finale that includes flame eating and glass dancing.

Bolongo-Bay-24-O
A lovely place for a wedding on the beach. Some guests have also chosen to get married aboard Bolongo Bay’s beautiful 53 foot catamaran – Heavenly Days.

Heavenly-Days-1-O
We were treated to a lovely sunset harbor cocktail cruise on Heavenly Days, which also offers a day sail to the island of St. John and a half day trip to Turtle Cove to snorkel with the turtles.

Heavenly-Days-11-O
Heavenly-Days-5-O
During our sunset sail, the captain masterfully maneuvered the cat along the coastline, into Charlotte Amalie and around Water Island. The crew gave us some history of the area while pampering us with refreshing cocktails and hors d’ oeuvres.

Heavenly-Days-6-O
Heavenly-Days-3(a)-O
The sunset was spectacular that evening,

Heavenly-Days-10-O
Heavenly-Days-4-O
and the lights of the resort were reflected in the waters of the bay upon our return.

On our last night at Bolongo, after spending some time enjoying the live music at Iggies, we savored the cool ocean breeze and moonlight from one of the hammocks near the beach.

Bolongo-Bay-23-O
Perfect.

Bolongo Bay offers something for all ages and travelers. It’s a comfortable, casual and friendly resort that offers great travel deals and a lot of amenities for its guests. Choose a room only rate or the popular all-inclusive plan that includes food and beverages. The convenient location between Charlotte Amalie and Red Hook makes it ideal for island exploration!


To find out more about Bolongo Bay Resort, be sure to visit their website, join them on their Facebook page, or contact them directly:

Bolongo Bay Beach Resort
St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands 00802
Reservations: (800) 524-4746
[email protected]

Oh – and if you’re a US resident, you don’t need a passport to get to Bolongo!


Find Bolongo Bay Beach Resort and Iggies on our St. Thomas Map


To see more posts on St. Thomas and other islands, check out our Island Blog Directory

 

Copyright©Rum Therapy Beaches, Bars & More, Tropical Travel Guide, 2013, 2014
Pictures and other content may not be re-used without written consent from Rum Therapy, LLC

Cow Wreck Beach Bar, Anegada

On the west end of the beautiful island of Anegada in the British Virgin Islands lies a stunning expanse of brilliant white sand beach and a bar, both with the unusual name of Cow Wreck.

copyright Rum Therapy
According to the Cow Wreck Beach Resort website,  this stunning white sand beach was named Cow Wreck after a ship filled with cow bones (used to make buttons and other things in the 19th century) wrecked off of the northwest coast of Anegada. Cow bones drifted ashore for many years afterwards, thus the name Cow Wreck Beach.

copyright Rum Therapy
copyright Rum Therapy
There’s plenty of room to relax with one of their signature drinks, Cow Killer or Wreck Punch at the bar and the word is they have excellent conch fritters. As fresh as you can get them, no doubt, given the number of conch shells used in the surrounding landscaping.

copyright Rum Therapy
copyright Rum Therapy
copyright Rum Therapy
copyright Rum Therapy
Once you have your fill of food and drink, be sure to take plenty of time to enjoy walking the miles of stunning and deserted white beach, and play in the clear turquoise water.

copyright Rum Therapy
copyright Rum Therapy
copyright Rum Therapy
copyright Rum Therapy
copyright Rum Therapy
copyright Rum Therapy
And if one day at Cow Wreck is just not enough, you might consider renting one of their cozy rooms or villas right on the beach…

Cow-Wreck-17---O
Cow Wreck Beach Resort Villa

copyright Rum Therapy
We rented a car in Setting Point to drive to Cow Wreck so that we could explore along the way, but there are also taxis available in Setting Point.

To find out more about Cow Wreck Beach Bar or Cow Wreck Beach Resort,

Check out their website: Cow Wreck Beach Resort

To see more posts on Anegada and other islands, check out our Island Blog Directory

Copyright©Rum Therapy
Pictures and other content may not be re-used without written consent from Rum Therapy, LLC.  All information is correct to our knowledge at the time of writing, but be sure to verify current information before your visit.

Angels Rest, St. John

Angels Rest, a 40 ft. pontoon boat and bar, was on our list of places to visit while in St. John recently. We’d seen Angels Rest a few years ago while driving past Coral Bay, but with the recent buzz about it, we were on a mission to find out more.

We emailed Capt. Peter (Peter Hoschl) to find out if he’d be at Hansen Bay in front of Vie’s Snack Shack the day we were in St. John and being newbies to Angels Rest and probably not the best group of swimmers around, we asked if there was a dinghy for pickup on the beach. We loved his answer.

“Ahoy there my fellow rummies, the best way to get a hold of me is call before you head out there, everybody swims out to the bar, I am usually anchored out about 100 ft . off shore, no pick-me-ups.

See ya there, I got water wings for ya if you get toooo rumed up.”

Tel#. 340-514-6270  Capt. Peter.  M/V  Angels Rest


This was gonna be fun!

We made our way out to Vie’s on the east side of St. John and east of Coral Bay, and got our first glimpse of Angels Rest.
(UPDATE – Vie’s Snack Shack has recently closed, but we heard that you can still access Hansen’s Bay by driving just a little past Vie’s and access it though the next property – check with Capt. Peter to confirm the best way to get there)

Angles Rest - copyright Rum Therapy
Thinking the swim out would be fine but we may need water wings to get back, we made our way into the clear, blue water.

Angels Rest - copyright Rum TherapyCapt. Peter greeted us as we swam up, made it to the platform and pulled ourselves in.

Not knowing what to expect, we were pleasantly surprised at the interior – bright colors, a beachy feel and a great view of the bay made it a place we felt like we could hang out for quite some time – and we did!

Angles Rest - copyright Rum Therapy
Angles Rest - copyright Rum Therapy

Watch for fish (or people) under your feet as you sit back and relax with a beverage

Angles Rest - copyright Rum Therapy
Angels Rest sound system

Angles Rest - copyright Rum Therapy
We ordered a round of Capt. Peter’s special rum punch (mostly rum with a little punch) and chatted with him about Angels Rest. A great guy who loves to meet and talk to his guests, we loved hearing the about his travels and how he’d ended up in St. John building a pontoon that would someday become a floating bar which doubles as his personal home. He also offers day charters (with gourmet meals)  – or longer charters including a honeymoon charter!

Angles Rest - copyright Rum Therapy
Quite the storyteller, we found ourselves very entertained with his enthusiastic tales of adventure.

Angels Rest has a deck on the top for patrons to enjoy as we with some seating. The upper level has a great view of the beach and bay.


Angels REst - copyright Rum Therapy
After a few hours, we took one last look around,

Angels Rest - copyright Rum Therapy
thought about using the water wings…

Angles Rest - copyright Rum Therapy

Grabbed one of Capt. Peter’s business cards,

Angels Rest - copyright Rum Therapy
And said goodbye to some new friends.

When we asked Capt. Peter why he chose the name Angels Rest for his pontoon, he said,
“We are all angels, and we all need a place to rest!! So why not have a hangout where all us angels can rest together.”

Exactly.

To find out more about Angels Rest, where it will be when you are visiting St. John or chartering and day trips,
Join the Facebook page: Angels Rest
Email Capt. John: [email protected]
or call him: (340)514-6270

 

Find Angels Rest (when in front of Vie’s in Hansen Bay) on our St. John Map

To see more posts on St. John and other islands, check out our Island Blog Directory

 

Copyright©Rum Therapy 
Pictures and other content may not be re-used without written consent from Rum Therapy, LLC