St. Thomas provides the perfect backdrop for a proposal you’ll never forget.
There are a lot of reasons to fall in love with St. Thomas. The velvety sand. The shimmering waters. The views from Drake’s Seat and Mountain Top, lookout perches located high in the lushly vegetated hills. The seafood—conch, crab, and all manner of fish—pulled fresh from the ocean and plopped onto your plate. The friendly people who call this Caribbean island nation, a territory of the U.S. since 1917, home.
Coincidentally, those are also excellent reasons to fall in love in St. Thomas—or to cement your love with a promise of forever. You’d be in good company; it seems that everyone you meet here has a fairy-tale-worthy love story. On a recent visit, I saw a couple getting married on the beach, so deep in their bliss that they didn’t care when oblivious beachcombers strolled into their photographs. I spoke to a woman who met her husband while on vacation to the island 20 years ago and never returned home, and another who abandoned everything to move here and be with the man she loved (granted, not a huge sacrifice when considering all of St. Thomas’ attributes).
The mood is no different at Frenchman’s Reef & Morning Star Marriott Beach Resort. Located on a cliff overlooking Charlotte Amalie Harbor, the property—which is split into the Frenchman’s Reef eight-story hotel tower and the adjacent Morning Star beachfront condominium-style accommodations—offers impressive panoramas from every vantage point. The hotel’s restaurants and bars certainly make the most of their surroundings. Aqua Terra Oceanfront Grill features a wall of floor-to-ceiling windows from which guests can watch cruise ships come in to port. The sprawling Rum Bar terrace is the ideal place to sample flights of local spirits and admire the lights of downtown Charlotte Amalie.
The resort provides entertainment options for all types. The main infinity pool (there are four in all) could easily keep you entertained for as long as its name implies. Active types should check out the hotel’s Adventure Center, where you can book a romantic sunset sail or a night kayaking trip. Or kick back and relax with a couples massage at the Lazule Sea Spa.
You’ll also want to venture into Charlotte Amalie, the island’s largest city and shopping and dining epicenter. Main Street is packed with shops, bars, and restaurants, including Gladys’ Café, a local favorite known for its hot sauces and its friendly, laidback waitstaff.
Of course no trip to the Caribbean would be complete without time spent on the beach, and St. Thomas is no slouch in that department. Magen’s Bay is one of the most popular and beautiful beaches on the island, but you can find an Instagram-worthy sandy spot just about anywhere the surf meets the shore.
If your special someone hasn’t gotten on bended knee by now, take your sweetie to one of Frenchman’s Reef’s numerous terraces that afford relatively private views of the sunset. Or perhaps you’d prefer the gazebo that overlooks the ocean, which, along with the hotel’s four ballrooms, hosts around 200 wedding ceremonies and receptions each year. If you feel assistance is in order for the proposal, enlist the help of Frenchman’s Reef’s Cupid on Call service, which can help with any details needed to make your moment memorable.
Once he’s popped the question, celebrate with a delicious dinner at the sexy Havana Blue, located on the beach on the Morning Star side of the property. Or hop a ferry to St. John, a neighboring island paradise just 20 minutes from St. Thomas’ Red Hook port. Grab a seat at the bar at the open-air Waterfront Bistro, and let Jonathan, the affable bartender, tell you the story about how he convinced his now-wife to leave New York and escape to the islands with him. Then order another round, and tell him your love story.
