Here’s a pretty thorough update from The New York Times on the recovery in St. John in the U.S. Virgins, six months after Hurricanes Irma and Maria, reporting that major resorts are still closed and the cleanup is continuing. The story quotes a frequent visitor from Connecticut who says, “There are two ways to look at it. Some people say, ‘What a mess.’ On the other hand, you still have the beautiful views and the beautiful beaches.”
Flights from the U.S. are about half of what was normal before the hurricanes, and the head of tourism says tourism is down about 60 percent, largely due to a lack of hotel rooms. The two largest resorts on the island, Caneel Bay and the Westin St. John Resort Villas, are both still closed, and will be for some time. The beach at Trunk Bay, shown above, was fairly deserted. The National Park was hit hard, but restaurants and shops in Cruz Bay are open and lively. Mongoose Junction, with its 30 stores, is back in business. And you can still see the British Virgin Islands off in the distance. Read more:
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/19/travel/st-john-hurricane-recovery.html
