Grapetree Bay Hotel and Villas Return

Grapetree Bay Hotel and Villas Return

Sep 14, 2021 | Island News

A renowned St. Croix hotel returns! Thirty-two years after Hurricane Hugo ravaged St. Croix, an iconic hotel has returned to its former space after its doors were shuttered due to the catastrophic 1989 storm. Grapetree Bay Hotel & Villas is located on St. Croix’s East End across the bay from the Divi Carina Bay Resort & Casino. Once heralded as the most sought out hotel in the late 1960s, the widespread 45-acre property was purchased by an investment group with the project being led by one of its members, Josh Sayre. Originally from California, Sayre is an established construction manager with extensive experience in remodeling dilapidated homes and buildings. His work on island includes low-income homes built for VI Housing Finance Authority as well as a few private homes for sale. He decided to take on the hotel rebuild but knew it would require his constant presence on island. He moved to St. Croix full time to spearhead the project.

This massive undertaking required Sayre and his team of local professionals to completely overhaul the damaged property with poured concrete walls, reinforcing the structure that was left. “There was too much concrete to completely tear down the building,” said Sayre. It took two years for the main building to be complete. It features 18 guest rooms, the hotel pool plus the property’s Sea Terrace Restaurant. After renovation is fully completed, there will be 56 rooms and another restaurant on the property. The restaurant and pool officially opened to the public on August 7, 2021. Head Chef Brittany Middleton is leading the way in the kitchen with a solid team preparing a diverse selection of appetizers and sandwiches featuring locally sourced produce, house made breads, croissants and desserts. Originally, Middleton was hired as a line chef and was later promoted to head chef. The restaurant is currently open for lunch on Saturdays and Sundays only from 11am to 3pm. A few brunch options will be added to the current menu in September with fine dining in the evenings slated to be added soon.

Sayre and his wife currently serve as general manager, restaurant manager, expediters, bartenders, wait staff and everything else in between as they ramp up their hiring efforts in anticipation of the hotel’s opening in late 2021. Guests can request reservations by emailing grapetreehotel@gmail.com for inquiries on current availability. For more information, visit their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/grapetreebayhotel.

Article written by Anquanette Gaspard (agaspard@cruzanfoodie.com) for Coldwell Banker, St. Croix Realty

#StCroix #USVI #Caribbean #hotel #grapetreebay #travel #luxury #villas

Q&A: Interview with Sweet Lime Furnishings, St. Croix

Q&A: Interview with Sweet Lime Furnishings, St. Croix

Aug 31, 2021 | Island News

Living on St. Croix, we spend a lot of time outside enjoying the beautiful weather. Having outdoor living spaces are an important factor for many of our clients when they shop for a home. This month, we spoke with Pat Sellegren, owner of Sweet Lime Furnishings, about outdoor furniture:

Christie: Please tell us more about outdoor furniture that will make the most of an outdoor space. 

Pat: Let’s talk about style first. Style leads to material. There was a period of time when the options in outdoor furniture was very limited. That is not the case anymore. You can find everything from very traditional to the most contemporary look. Good furniture, whether it’s indoor or outdoor furniture, is an investment, and you have to think about it that way.

Unfinished teak is an extremely durable product. If kept out of direct sunlight and under cover, you won’t have to do much to it to keep it in excellent condition, or you can seal it. If you like the gray weathered look, it’s easy to achieve. If it’s aged, it can be brought back simply by using a teak cleaner.

There are many all weather wicker products. These products are extremely durable, and will last indefinitely. Triconville (triconville.com) is a wonderful manufacturer and their wicker products comes in a number of different weaves. A rod weave is where the it’s rounded. it also comes in flat weaves, sort of like rattan. You want to think about the frame under it, as well. A welded aluminum frame is not going to deteriorate like a steel frame. Steel frames can be riveted instead of welded, so that the rivets could pop out. If the wicker is not high-quality, it’s going to start deteriorating in in just a few years in this environment.

People think of natural rattan as being fragile, but it’s not if you take care of it. It’s not your best choice for outside unless it’s under the cover of a patio or gallery.

Polywood (polywood.com), is a brand name for recycled high density durable polyethylene plastic. It offers a 20 year warranty. It’s available in many colors, and is virtually maintenance free. There are any number of styles, from contemporary to traditional, rockers, bar height tables, counter height tables and chairs, and dining height.

There are beautiful outdoor fabrics to compliment your outdoor furniture. We recommend Sunbrella canvas on cushions (sunbrella.com). They can be taken off and washed in the washing machine on cold. Even the colors can be bleached, hung out to dry, and put back on. But, not all of their new pattern fabrics can be bleached. The fabric is extremely durable and does not rot, fade, or mildew. If the cushions are dirty, the dirt will attract mildew. It’s so nice to be able to wash it, and have it hold up literally for years. Sunbrella fabrics are comfortable to sit on without that harsh scratchy feeling. We even recommend it for indoors. It’s very easy to have a cushion recovered, so don’t think of this as only for new furniture.

Be sure to check out Sweet Lime Furnishings beautiful website: sweetlimefurnishings.com

Q&A: Interview with Seascape Pools

Q&A: Interview with Seascape Pools

Aug 31, 2021 | Island News

Here on St Croix, homes with pools are very popular. It’s an amenity sought out by our buyers. 

Recently, we talked about pools with Michael Baker of Seascape Pools on St. Croix and he has some great tips and information we want to share:

What are the different surfaces for pools?

Tile pools are common and beautiful. If tile pools are not kept clean and the chemicals monitored, algae can grow and can deteriorate the grout.

Concrete pools can be painted with a variety of pool paints and colors, or finished with a product like Diamond Brite, one of the best long-term surfaces. Since Diamond Brite has a texture, there is a tradeoff between the beauty of it and staying on top of the maintenance. The Marquee finish is smoother, so it’s easier to maintain. Painted and Diamond Brite surfaces will need to be recoated at some point during their life.

Vinyl pools are really nice, and come in many different prints and colors. With the strong UV light here on St. Croix, the vinyl can fade in 5 to 6 years, depending on how much sun the pool gets, the chemicals used, and the thickness of the vinyl. I wouldn’t recommend vinyl pools to anyone with a dog who would swim in it — dogs’ claws can easily pierce vinyl.

A vinyl liner is also a good repair option, since it can go over an existing surface to fix a leak that can’t be easily or inexpensively repaired. Fiberglass is another type of finish that can fix cracks and leaks, and is easy to maintain.

Can you talk about chlorine vs. salt system pools?

Chlorine pools use floaters with chlorine tablets in them. Think of the rubber duckies with sunglasses! Chlorine is just one of the chemicals that needs to be monitored so that the pool is comfortable to swim in and the chlorine keeps doing its job. That’s a big part of my job, monitoring and adjusting all the chemicals, not just the chlorine.

Salt water pools are the most efficient. Salt water pools use a chlorine generator to convert bulk salt into chlorine. It’s one of the best systems. The higher end systems are very dependable but I’ve found that the cheaper systems can be higher maintenance.

What about filter types?

It depends on the size of the pool as to what you should use. If you have a small pool, the smaller cartridge filters are a good choice. Over a period the time, those cartridges need to be replaced.

The PLD series from Pentair is a different type of filter that uses both a cartridge and DE (diatomaceous earth). These are the best, and are so easy to take apart, spray down the cartridge, and reload.

DE Filters are good filters. They will effectively filter out debris as small as 3 microns whereas other types of filters are in the range of of 5 to 20 microns. They can take a bit more effort to maintain, but when done correctly, the water quality is excellent.

Sand filters are great, and are the lowest maintenance filters. They are large, and take up more room. The pool water circulates through the sand very easily and larger particles of debris are filtered out. The sand does have to be replaced every 5 years or so.

Everything comes down to the chemistry and the ongoing maintenance!

Seascape Pool Center Inc.
Michael Baker
Email here

 

NASA on St Croix to Study Weather

NASA on St Croix to Study Weather

Aug 27, 2021 | Island News

We in the Caribbean experience a Saharan dust season, also know as the Saharan Air Layer. SAL has unique properties of warmth, dry air, and strong winds. It brings mineral rich dust that provides nutrients for tropical rainforests and marine life. It can also have significant moderating impacts on tropical cyclone formation. NASA researchers is on St. Croix for the next five weeks to observe the Saharan air layer and tropical weather. The team’s observations will then be merged into computer models to get improve the predictions that the computer make for both weather and climate as reported by the St. Croix Source recently.

See University of Washington professor Shuyi Chen and deputy program scientist Aaron J. Pina discuss the research they are conducting for NASA on St. Croix and how it will hopefully help scientists understand weather in the local region and how it impacts the United States mainland.

Read the full article on St Croix Source.

Photo above was taken by NASA Astronaut Doug Hurley who saw the 2020 Saharan dust plume from the International Space Station.

 

#stcroix #usvi #caribbean #climate #nasa #science #tropical #weather #saharandust 

 

The Caribbean Writer Journal: Creative Artwork and Writing Submissions for Upcoming Volume

The Caribbean Writer Journal: Creative Artwork and Writing Submissions for Upcoming Volume

Aug 27, 2021 | Island News

The USVI is home to many creative writers and artists and we are amazed by their inspiring work. The Caribbean Writer (TCW) is a literary journal with a Caribbean focus, founded in 1986 and published annually by the University of the Virgin Islands. They publish quality writing that reflects the culture of the Caribbean as well as promotes and foster a strong literary tradition. For their upcoming Volume 36, they are calling for submissions under the 2021 theme: Disruption, Disguise and Illuminations. According to the TCW website, contributors may submit works of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, essays or one act plays which explore the ideas resonating within the region and its diaspora. The Caribbean should be central to the work, or the work should reflect a Caribbean heritage, experience or perspective.

 

The TCW is also calling for artwork submissions for the cover and interior sections of Volume 36. Artists are invited to explore and depict this theme by submitting their artwork to be considered for use by TCW.

 

Submissions accepted until Dec. 31. All literary submissions are eligible for annual prizes, see details on the TCW website.

 

Read for about the theme, specifications for the writing and art submissions on the TCW website and see a related article on St Croix Source.

 

#stcroix #usvi #caribbean #literary #literature #art #poetry #culture #heritage 

 

Stargazing on St. Croix: August & September

Stargazing on St. Croix: August & September

Aug 13, 2021 | Island News

Our clear skies are perfect for stargazing on St. Croix. We don’t get tired of sitting out on the patio and taking in the natural beauty above us in the night sky. We feel so lucky to live on St. Croix. In the past the St. Croix Environmental Association, the St. Croix East End Marine Park and other groups have organized star gazing events. Getting together under the stars to learn about the constellations and how to identify the stars and planets visible from our location at 17 degrees north of the Equator is really fun. When the St. Croix This Week magazine comes out on island, we look for the St Croix Sky Watch information for the upcoming moon phases and the interesting descriptions of constellations that will be visible. Catching the new moon phases is something we look forward to. When we take clients out to look at properties, we point out the lack of light pollution and the view they’d have of the magnificent night sky.

Are you ready for some star watching on St. Croix? We hope you have a chance to enjoy it like we do! Read the St Croix Sky Watch article on page 64 of the August/September issue of St. Croix This Week magazine.

#starwatch #stargazing #constellations #sunset #sunrise #nightsky #night #moon #stars #photography #sky #nature #astronomy #space #moonlight #universe #galaxy #stcroix #stcroixvi #stcroixusvi #stcroixvirginislands #stcroixusvirginislands #realtorlife #realtorslife #realtorslifestyle #realtorofinstagram #realtorsofinstagram