US Virgin Islands accommodation, Maho bay camps
| country: | US Virgin Islands | ||||
| location: | St.Johns | ||||
| price: | From US $80 (summer) - US $135 (winter) per tent per night +8% tax. Additional guests from US $12 - US $15 per person per night. Children (under 16yrs) free. Winter is 15 Dec to 30 Apr, Summer is 1 May to 14 Dec. We can book UK flights
| ||||
| vouchers: | Gift vouchers can be used with this holiday |
photo gallery
1of5
1of5check out similar holiday ideas...
introduction to US Virgin Islands accommodation, Maho bay camps
Although Maho Bay Camps is probably the most highly praised ecotourism destination in the world, we had modest beginnings. In 1976, we built 18 tent-cottages on 16 foot square platforms in the Virgin Islands National Park using hand construction methods which left the natural environment virtually undisturbed. The platforms were connected by elevated walkways to avoid soil erosion which endangers the beach and fragile coral. This sensitive land use stimulated an explosion of favorable press which has encouraged our growth to 114 units, connected by an extensive network of stairs and boardwalks. Now we are celebrating over 33 years of an improved local environment as a result of this sensitive and sustainable development. We are encouraged by our growing popularity in a culture which is becoming more aware of the importance of preserving nature's precious gifts. The camp consists of wooden walkways connected with many steps. It is important that all guests bring their own flashlights to manoeuvre the steps at night.
special things to do and see here
Water Sports: Our secluded white sand beach and year-round tropical climate offer a variety of popular water sports (with expert instruction available) including kayaking, windsurfing, sailing, snorkeling and scuba diving. Our beach shop offers a wide variety of snorkel, sailboat, and windsurfing rentals, as well as a comprehensive scuba diving program. In addition, visit our activities desk to schedule sailing & powerboating excursions. Therapies and retreats: Massage, yoga. We host several retreats, including Omega Institute, which joins us for three weeks each year, and the Namaste Yoga Retreat. Many other yoga groups are also making the camp
a yearly destination. At the top of a hill, with breathtaking views of the Caribbean, a 325 square foot open-air pavilion is used for yoga practice. For the group-less person, Suki and Susan, our own yoga instructors give morning classes five days a week every week.Arts and crafts centre: Glassblowing demonstrations are a popular activity with mesmerized guests watching beautiful glasswork being made from crushed bottles in our Trash to Treasure Art Center. We also offer an array of classes for both adults and children that include a number of craft areas such as fabric batik, ceramics, glass blowing, watercolor painting, and paper making - and each class demonstrates an aspect of creating art out of recycled materials.
Walking and Hiking: The immediate area around the camps has beautiful hiking trails including walks to historic plantation ruins. The town of Cruz Bay offers active night life within half an hour via local taxi service.Weddings and Honeymoons: Celebrate your marriage in our beautiful, hillside open-air pavilion at Estate Concordia Preserve or Maho Bay Camps overlooking the incomparable Caribbean Sea. You and your guests are welcome to plan any part of your special day with us, whether you're looking for simple elegance or an affordable getaway to the most remote coast of St. John. You'll find the aqua blue expanse of ocean visible from our pavilion to be one of the most beautiful
and romantic places you can find.Dining: The Pavilion Restaurant, serving breakfast and dinner, is the premier spot to watch sunsets and enjoy a family atmosphere. Café Concordia offers spectacular expansive views of crashing waves along the southeast corner of the island cliffs. Both restaurants feature different specials for dinner and offer the best salad bar found on the island. The bar serves rum drinks, beer, and wine in addition to fruit smoothies.
rooms, food and facilities
Maho Bay Camp: The roomy tent-cottages in the camp are hidden by lush foliage, providing privacy and peace. Translucent fabric on wood frames, screened windows and open air terraces take advantage of the cooling island tradewinds. Each has a separate sleeping area with comfortable twin beds and an extra mattress behind the sleeping-couch in the living area. Linens, blankets, towels, cooking and eating utensils are all provided, including propane stove and ice cooler. Every tent-cottage has its own private deck, electric outlets, lights and fans. Barbecue areas and fresh water are available along the walkways. Conveniently located bathhouses are equipped with modern, low-flush toilets and pull-
chain showers connected to a recycling system which irrigates the surrounding vegetation. Harmony Studios: Harmony Studios are apartments available at camps. Harmony Studios provide more creature comforts for its guests including large rooms and private bathrooms. Its close proximity to Maho Bay (both inside the US Virgin Islands National Park) lets vacationers, honeymooners and families take advantage of the secluded beach, all water sports; kayaking, windsurfing, sailing, snorkeling and scuba diving. There are two types of studios at Harmony:
Bedroom Studios: These studios (upper floor and lower floor) have a king-size bed
(roll-aways are also available), kitchenette with microwave, all kitchen appliances and cooking utensils, dining table and chairs, tiled private bathrooms, all linens, and a spacious 6' x 18' deck with furniture. Living Room Studios: These studios (upper floor and lower floor) have a king-size bed, queen-size sofa-bed, kitchenette with microwave, all kitchen appliances and cooking utensils, spacious dining area, all linens, tiled private bathroom, and a large 6' x 20'deck with furniture.
Harmony blends great Caribbean vacations with the international ecotourism movement. Each of the 12 studios includes a private deck many of which have expansive ocean views.
Facilities: The outdoor restaurant on one of the two large pavilions, serves breakfast and dinner every day with a variety of healthful meals, including at least one vegetarian entree. The dining area has one of the Virgin Islands' most unforgettable views, especially at sunset.
The store is stocked with frozen foods, some produce, canned goods, breads, dairy, juices, soft drinks, beer, wine and various sundries and boutique items such as sunscreen, insect repellent, recycled paper products, etc.
The Art Gallery features handcrafted art pieces and high quality crafts in glass, clay ceramics and textiles made from recycled material created at our own workshops. Our free "help-yourself" center where departing guests leave books, sunscreen, staples and other items is a convenient recycling center for newcomers.
how to find us
St. John has no airport, so if you fly to the Virgin Islands you will land at the airport on St.Thomas (STT). A taxi or shuttle will take you to Red Hook where you'll catch the ferry for a pleasant 20 minutes ride to Cruz Bay on St. John. Ferries leave every hour on the hour from 7:00 AM to midnight 7 days a week, every day of the year. No ferry leaving St. Thomas at 9pm and 10pm during low season. Frett's taxi-shuttle makes seven trips every day from Cruz Bay to Maho Bay Camps and Harmony Studios through luxurious tropical landscapes in the USVI National Park. Frett's last trip meets the 9:00 PM ferry from Red Hook. flight arrangements
We are able to help you with any flight arrangements from the UK. Please indicate if you wish us to quote also for flights when you make your enquiry and we will strive to get you the best flights and rates possible. how this holiday makes a difference
|
We are deeply committed to:
Since the mid 1970’s the camps and its sister resort has sought to balance the comfort and enjoyment of our guests with the preservation of St. John’s beautiful and fragile eco-system. We are committed to the belief that environmental sensitivity and human comfort are not only compatible, but actually enhance the vacation experience by combining pleasure with environmental Stewardship. In the last 30 years, we have been at the forefront of experiments with many new practices have succeeded, some have failed, but all have been important learning experiences. We continue to be the pioneer of environmentally responsible resort management. Environment Waste management is a major concern in our world today. An effective waste management program can make a difference in our relationship to the natural world. This not only includes management of garbage, but also reduction of wasted energy and water resources. There are four alternatives, which can help to cut back on waste. Reduce garbage and use of resources; reuse items, energy and water resources; recycle garbage and resources and buy recycled products (to close the life-cycle loop). Beyond waste control, there are many other practices here, which have lessened the human impact on the environment, and continue to promote long-term conservation. When the camp was built, no construction roads were created, few trees were removed, footings were hand-dug, and there was minimal use of heavy machinery - this assured that the area remained as pristine as possible. Harmony Studios was built following National Park Service environmental standards and guidelines. A natural balance of wildlife on the hillside is intact: birds, mongooses, crabs, lizards, frogs, etc. roam freely, and there are continuous efforts to keep the feral cat population under control. Iguanas (natural insect population controllers) were brought from St. Thomas and are reproducing. Elevated walkways and stairs preserve ground cover and avoid soil erosion, which products the bay’s fragile coral reefs. Biocompatible cleaning products are used in place of harsh, non-biodegradable detergents. We use locally manufactured product for cleaning and as a bleach replacement whenever possible. Products known to originate from endangered plants or animals are not sold or used. We follow National Park Rules for quiet hours 10pm to 8 am. Radios and televisions are not allowed without headphones, which help avoid noise pollution and interference with natural sounds. Maho Bay Camps tries to serve the environmental movement in another important way - utilizing the many unique opportunities to educate our guests, while providing them a great vacation experience. Evening programs with speakers and slide shows (often in conjunction with the National Park Service) held weekly in the dining pavilion, covering such topics as the local flora and fauna, the “Living Reef”, the Archeological dig at Cinnamon Bay, hikes and available boat trips, and local Musicians and groups. Effective recycling has been slow to come to the U.S. Virgin Islands. There are many problems inherent in being isolated by distance and water, and it is questionable whether the energy usage and cost of shipping the collected materials to recycling centers is cost-effective. The St. John Recycle Committee is researching getting a glass crusher for the Island that will enable them to make saleable end products from recycled glass. Currently Maho has the only active recycling program on the island. We recycle a portion of the glass and aluminum. We use the glass in our glassblowing studio for all the hand blown glass art created in Maho Bay Art Gallery. In the Office, used paper is recycled into scratch pads, and used in papermaking. Copying is duplexed and envelopes are reused whenever possible. Shredding office paper is used for packing material shipping our glass art to guests buying at our gallery. Waste bed linens are dyed and sewn into home décor products such as tablecloths and wall hangings in our Textiles Studio using batik and low immersion dyes. Paper towels, toilet paper and paper napkins provided in the restaurant are made from recycled paper. The kitchen has drastically reduced the number of disposable bottles and cans by installing a draft beer and soda system at the restaurant. The restaurant and store consider packaging when ordering specific items - some products have been dropped due to excessive packaging. Unlike most resorts, there is minimal use of motorized vehicles by housekeeping to cover distances between the tent-cottages, laundry and storage areas, or by maintenance between the garbage cans and the garbage truck. Low water use toilets are utilized. We have installed water-less urinals in our bathhouses. Running water is not supplied to most tent-cottages. There are limited shower hours in the bathhouses. Showers are cold water and pull chain for guests to only use water needed. All of these efforts have resulted in extremely low water usage: 25-30 gallons per person, about a third of the average per person water usage in the U.S. Tent Cottage design and fabric capitalize on cooling trade winds and natural light. Construction amidst trees provides natural shade: electric fans are used for cooling instead of air-conditioning. As new tent-cottages are built, design improvements continue to be made for better ventilation, leading to lower energy consumption from electric fans. Water in bathhouses and the laundry is not heated. We have replaced light bulbs with compact fluorescents and put timers on electric switches in the bathhouses. Cisterns collect rainwater that is filtered and used. Community Maho Bay participates in and furnishes supplies and transportation for island clean-up projects. Guests are given the option of donating their $30 security deposit to Friends of the Virgin Islands National Park. Maho Bay encourages hiring of local people. The restaurant and store patronize local distributors, bakeries, etc., whenever possible. Items produced by local cottage industries are sold in the store. We participate in Earth Day and St. John’s Carnival. We give school and group tours of Harmony Studios, Estate Concordia our EcoTour, Glassblowing and papermaking. Approximately 400 children have toured our properties each year. We have an Artisans program that has included glass blowers, and other artists that give free workshops and demonstrations to our guests and the community. We participate in the “Coral Reef Transplant Project” with The Friends of the Virgin Islands national Park. Our staff does monitoring of Hawksbill Turtle nesting on Francis, Little Maho and Big Maho Bays. Active in the St. John Recycle Committee. We give talks on Eco-tourism to local schools and groups when invited to do so. |
Tourism can be good and bad for destinations & local people. We carefully screen every holiday against our criteria for responsible travel. 'Look behind the brochure' to find how each holiday makes a difference (see left). We don't claim to be perfect - there is no global accreditation - but we've led the way since 2001 and screened 1000's of holidays. We invite every traveller to write a review about their experiences and responsible tourism. This valuable feedback is sent to the people who run the holidays. We keep a very close eye on it and take off holidays that don't live up to our standards. |
check out similar holiday ideas...
