PCCA Journal 4th Quarter 2013 - page 40

PCCA Journal|4
th
Quarter 2013
40
P
CCA will hold its 69th Annual Convention, March
14-19 at the Frenchman’s Reef & Morning Star
Marriott Beach Resort on St. Thomas. After a five-
month, $48 million renovation in 2011, the hotel
reopened as the premier luxury resort in the U.S.
Virgin Islands.
Occupying a peninsula on St.
Thomas’s southern tip between
Charlotte Amalie harbor
and the open Caribbean
Sea, the resort offers
two ways to
experience an
unforgettable
Caribbean
vacation. The
Frenchman’s
Reef Tower rests
on a dramatic
cliff overlooking the Caribbean’s most majestic
yacht harbor and is always humming with activity.
The Morning Star Beach Resort, a more intimate
enclave, sits on the sea’s edge, which guests
can relish from private,
S
t. Thomas is known as an idyllic vacation spot
today, but its history is not so peaceful. In the 18th
century, the island was at the center of a bustling
pirate culture, as swashbuckling pirates such as
Blackbeard and Drake traded stolen wares in the
port of Charlotte Amalie. This world-renowned Caribbean
island is home to amazing beaches, gorgeous sea and
landscapes, and unbelievable duty-free shopping.
In Charlotte Amalie, just a short ferry ride from
PCCA’s hotel, visitors stroll along cobblestone
alleyways, admire antique West Indian furnishings
in historic homes, explore 17th century Danish
fortifications, and enjoy an array of distinctive
restaurants and bars. Founded in 1681 by Danish
settlers, the town is listed in the National Registry
of Historic Places. Many bargain-hunting tourists
head straight for the famous shopping district where
renovated merchant warehouses contain shops
selling everything from cut-rate diamonds, perfume,
and fine textiles to monstrous cigars.
St. Thomas is also an ideal home base for island
hopping around the Caribbean before or after the
convention. Ferries out of Charlotte Amalie go to
St. John, St. Croix, and Water Island as well as the
British Virgin Islands of Tortola, Virgin Gorda, Jost
Van Dyke, and Anegada. (Note: to visit the British
Virgin Islands, you will need a passport.)
A wealth of information about the islands is
available at
Local Attractions
• Coral World Ocean Park
• Paradise Point Aerial Tram
• Bluebeard’s Castle/99 Steps
• Dronningens Gade (Main Street)
• The Butterfly Garden
• Magen’s Bay Beach
Charlotte Amalie: A Place to Plunder
Frenchman’s Reef & Morning Star Marriott Beach Resort
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