Magens Point Resort - St. Thomas, USVI

Sitting a two-minute ride from Magens Bay Beach, Magens Point Resort puts you within walking distance of St. Thomas' most famous beach. However, the beach definitely isn't secluded. With a restaurant of sorts and concessions renting snorkel gear and selling tee-shirts plus other
gewgaws, the beach gets pretty busy, especially on busy cruise ship days.

If you don't like crowds, you're better off lounging on your balcony with a good book. Or you can play the challenging golf course at Mahogany Run. If you do head off to Mahogany Run, you'll face the same difficulties as President Clinton did on his two vacations in St. Thomas. Recently, Tiger Woods showed up for a round of the course's 18 holes.

When you're tired of the beach or golf course view from your spacious room, take a stroll around the lushly-planted property. Nestled in the hills overlooking Magens Bay, this 42-room
low-rise resort sold most of its rooms as timeshares, but they're available for your vacation when the owners are not on island.

The rooms are modern, with rattan or wood furniture, ceramic tile or carpet floors, ceiling fans and air-conditioning. Kitchens come with mini refrigerators, microwaves, cook tops, toasters, and coffee makers.

Unless you want to spend all your time lounging around the pool, playing tennis on the resort's two courts, or taking the free shuttle to Magens Bay Beach or Mahogany Run Golf Course, you'll need a rental car or taxis to get you out and about.

While you can enjoy breakfast, lunch and dinner at the resort's Tropicala restaurant - the menu features seafood and local food- you'll probably want to venture out for an occasional meal. The bright lights of the island's main town, Charlotte Amalie, are about 10 minutes away by car. You'll find lots of interesting restaurants, excellent duty-free shopping and sightseeing at the island's historic properties.