A redevelopment plan for Caneel Bay at Virgin Islands National Park has been approved by the National Park Service/Carolynn Sugg via flickr

A redevelopment plan for the Caneel Bay Resort property at Virgin Islands National Park, while favored by a majority of those who commented on it, drew harsh comments from some who favored a posh resort without "riff raff" seeking to use the resort's amenities.

Under the plan approved Wednesday, a "21st century eco-resort" could offer up to 166 overnight accommodations, which was the limit of the resort that was largely destroyed by back-to-back hurricanes in the fall of 2017. The plan did not, however, provide any detail for the lodgings or price ranges. It did call for day use areas for park visitors not staying at the resort, perhaps at Honeymoon Beach, Little Caneel Beach, and Caneel Beach.

The thought of opening up to the general public the roughly 150 acres on Caneel Bay that hosted a luxury resort for decades was anathema to some who had traveled to the resort on the island of St. John for years.

"I believe you are destroying what was once a wonderful eco-friendly luxury resort by giving public access to all the main beaches and the dining areas," wrote one commentor. "My wife and I and another couple came to Caneel for 11 years every January and stayed for either two or three weeks every time. We loved the low key nature friendly atmosphere and most of all the privacy and seclusion. St. John has a multitude of public park beaches but had only one truly first-class resort that was worth the high cost.

"If you do what you are proposing and allow day trippers full access to what others are paying for to stay there, then you will destroy the privacy that made it first class," the writer continued. "Now you will be neither a public beach or a private resort but a public park with overnight rooms. You might as well kill all the jobs you think are coming back because no one will pay a high price for a public beach,and the operator will not have the cash flow to pay locals to provide what once was first class service in the dining areas and the rooms."

Another writer complained that, "[I]t seems to me that your proposed increase in day use from cruise visitors, people visiting Cruz Bay, and others could be a real problem for the new resort. The resort guests might have to deal with a lot of 'riffraff' using the facilities that the resort guests are paying to use. Although you only show 5 acres for day use, what is to prevent the day users from going to any of the beaches? What is to prevent the day users from getting drunk at the resort bars, or bringing their own booze in a cooler?"

National Park Service officials, though, said the public wanted greater access for all to the area.

"The NPS has carefully reviewed and taken into consideration the high volume of public comments received over the course of three years in shaping the preferred alternative,” said Southeast Regional Director Mark Foust. “NPS heard and incorporated the need for ensuring greater public access, promoting a National Park Service experience, protecting the special resources at Caneel, and strengthening the local economy with high-quality jobs. We look forward to creating the best possible future for Caneel Bay and the people of St. John and the Virgin Islands.” 

And yet, some were critical of the decision to return lodging to Caneel Bay, saying there is a strong lodging industry on the island through rental-by-owner options, and that there is little, if any, need for additional jobs.

"Rebuilding a hotel is absolutely not necessary for the economy or current tourism needs on this island. The economy is bursting at the seams," wrote one individual. "We are at carrying capacity already with the number of tourists on this island. As a business owner on island for over two decades, I can state with authority that business has never been better. However, staffing is nearly impossible because everyone is already employed. Employment is NOT needed. Even the [Virgin Islands National Park] should be well aware of all of these facts. It would not even be possible to staff a hotel without adding employee housing. There is absolutely zero need for more accommodations on St John.”

Another added that "[T]he St. John economy is not suffering. Ask the retailers in Cruz Bay, or the taxi drivers, or the villa and Airbnb owners. Business has been booming on St. John since the pandemic. Ask the restauranteurs; diners can't get a reservation at most restaurants with tablecloths unless they plan days in advance. Ask the car rental agencies with their fleets of shiny new Jeeps, or the charter boat businesses. Most are looking to hire staff because business is so good, but they can't find employees because there's a critical shortage of rental housing on St. John.”

Rockefeller's Legacy

Laurance S. Rockefeller in 1956 donated the land on the island of St. John that today makes up Virgin Islands National Park. At the time, he retained roughly 150 acres for the Caneel Bay Resort. In 1983, the Jackson Hole Preserve, which Rockefeller had established, donated the land to the park; but it came with a Retained Use Estate agreement that gave the Preserve free use of the property and its facilities for 40 years. At the end of that four-decade period — this September 30 — the RUE document dictated that the buildings and their improvements be donated to the Park Service.

While the Jackson Hole Preserve initially held the RUE, it was passed down to other companies, and finally in 2004 to Caneel Bay Acquisitions, Inc., which is owned by a private equity firm.

The National Park Service decided in 2010 that a competitive bidding process should be conducted to find a lodging concessionaire for Caneel Bay once the RUE expired; while CBI was given an opportunity to negotiate a lease for the resort, negotiations to that end never gained traction.

Back-to-back hurricanes in 2017 heavily damaged the Caneel Bay Resort/NPS

Then, in September 2017, the resort was pummeled by back-to-back hurricanes, storms that essentially put the resort out of business. Gary Engle, CBI's principal, then worked with U.S. Rep. Stacy Plaskett, D-Virgin Islands, to craft legislation that would extend the RUE for 60 years, a time period Engle maintained was needed to attract investors for the estimated $100 million it would cost to restore the resort's glamour. But that legislation failed to gain traction.

In 2019 Engle offered to essentially terminate the RUE and sell the resort to the federal government for $70 million, an offer that was rejected. Then, in June 2022, his company sued the government over ownership of the 150 acres, claiming that the Caneel Bay Resort legally belongs to the company that has operated it since 2004.

The Park Service has not yet finalized plans for seeking concessions contracts for commercial aspects of the plan.