A 151-suite resort on the half-mile crescent of Davis Bay, the quietest beach on St. Croix's north shore and Laurance Rockefeller's original 1960s vision. The property left the Marriott Renaissance system on 26 May 2026 and closed at the end of that month for a reported $50 million rebuild under new ownership; no reopening date has been announced.
"Rockefeller's quiet north shore, sixty years later, still the beach you choose when you do not want to be found."
Carambola Beach Resort occupies 28 acres on Davis Bay, the half-mile crescent of white sand pressed between the rainforest hills and the Caribbean on St. Croix's north shore. The original property was conceived in the late 1960s by Laurance Rockefeller (the same family arm that established Caneel Bay on St. John and the Mauna Kea on Hawaii's Big Island) as a low-rise resort designed to disappear into the landscape, an aesthetic the property held to through its final Renaissance-flagged season. The drive in, from the Henry E. Rohlsen airport over the centre of the island to the rainforest road that drops down to Davis Bay, is the longest of any St. Croix resort transfer; it is also the most theatrical, and sets the tone for everything that follows.
The 151 accommodations are configured as one-bedroom suites in low two-storey blocks tucked among the palms, there is no high-rise on the property and no building more than two storeys from the sand. Each suite is roughly 700 square feet with a king or two doubles, a sitting room with rattan furniture, and a full balcony or patio that faces either the bay or the gardens. The bay-view suites in buildings 1 through 4 were the ones to ask for; the garden suites were cheaper and quieter but ten metres further from the water. The aesthetic is honest Caribbean, terracotta tile, white walls, mahogany louvres, ceiling fans paired with air conditioning, rather than the cool grey contemporary palette of the Loren or Rosewood on Bermuda.
The beach is the central asset and the central reason to book. Davis Bay is a half-mile crescent of unraked white sand with a coral reef break a few hundred yards offshore, the snorkeling at the eastern end of the bay is the best of any developed beach on the island, and the sea-turtle nesting season (April through October) brings hatchlings to the same stretch of sand on quiet nights. The resort runs a beach kiosk for kayaks, paddleboards and the snorkel-gear rentals; certified diving runs out of the adjacent Cane Bay village 10 minutes east, which is the centre of Caribbean wall-diving. Five minutes inland the Carambola Golf Club, designed by Robert Trent Jones Sr. and consistently ranked among the top three courses in the Caribbean, extends an unrushed, well-priced playing day for resort guests.
Dining, until the May 2026 closure, was a three-outlet operation: Saman (the all-day main restaurant, breakfast buffet and Caribbean-fusion dinner with an open kitchen and a small wine list), Flamboyant (the beachfront lunch and casual-dinner bar, the better of the two for sunset), and Mahogany (the cocktail bar in the lobby pavilion, with live local music three nights a week). The wine programme is brand-standard rather than ambitious; the rum list, by contrast, runs to thirty estate-bottled selections from Cruzan (the on-island distillery, 25 minutes south), Foursquare in Barbados, and the harder-to-find single-cask bottlings the bar manager has been collecting since the post-storm rebuild. Service is the slightly inconsistent Caribbean four-star standard, warm and unrushed at its best, slow in the breakfast rush, but the staff retention rate is high and the depth of local knowledge unusual for the Marriott portfolio.
For a Caribbean honeymoon the Carambola proposition is the quiet north-shore beach, Davis Bay sees a fraction of the foot traffic of Magens or Trunk Bay, the suites are set back among the palms with private balconies, and the dining table at Flamboyant can be set on the sand at sunset. Book a bay-view suite in building 2 or 3; ask the concierge to arrange a private snorkel trip to the eastern reef and the Cruzan distillery tour as the off-day excursion.
For an anniversary the property's calm pace and Rockefeller-era pedigree are the central pitches, the beach is the same beach that brought Laurance Rockefeller's friends here in 1969, and the layout has not changed materially. Book the bay-view suite, arrange a wine pairing at Saman, and use the off day for a round at the Robert Trent Jones Sr. course or a sail to Buck Island.
For a solo retreat the Carambola is the right shape, a half-mile of unraked sand, low building density, and a clear walking route from the eastern reef to the Cane Bay village. Book the smaller garden suite (cheaper and quieter), take the morning snorkel, and read on the beach afternoons. The resort is intentional about not running entertainment programming that forces interaction.
Carambola Beach Resort
Estate Davis Bay
Kingshill, St. Croix 00850
U.S. Virgin Islands
Henry E. Rohlsen Airport (STX) 35 minutes; Christiansted 30 minutes; Cane Bay dive village 10 minutes east
151 one-bedroom suites in low-rise blocks (pre-closure configuration)
Closed for redevelopment; reservations not taken
Last published rates ran from $249/night (garden suite)
Founded 1969 (Laurance Rockefeller vision)
Left the Marriott Renaissance system 26 May 2026
Closed end of May 2026 for a reported $50M rebuild
Reopening date not yet announced
Half-mile Davis Bay private beach
Reef snorkeling off the east end
Robert Trent Jones Sr. course (5 min)
Three restaurants (Saman, Flamboyant, Mahogany)
Beachside infinity pool
Spa pavilion
Sea-turtle nesting beach (Apr, Oct)
Free WiFi throughout
The resort stopped taking reservations on 1 June 2026 and is now closed for its redevelopment. For a comparable heritage stay on St. Croix, The Buccaneer above Christiansted carries the island's long resort lineage and remains open year-round; we will update this page when a reopening date is confirmed.
See The Buccaneer →131 rooms on a 340-acre former sugar plantation, the Caribbean's longest continuously family-owned resort, with three beaches and oceanfront golf.
The full editorial ranking of St. Croix hotels, from Christiansted heritage rooms to the north-shore resorts and the west-coast Frederiksted boutiques.
The conventional USVI pairing, three nights of Carambola's north-shore quiet on St. Croix with three nights at Lovango or the Westin on St. John.
A ranked shortlist, a special offer worth booking, and the overpriced stay to skip. Straight from the editors.