5/11/25

To: Hotel on the Cay Members
From: Fran Scuderi, HOTC Secretary

Good Morning, Good Afternoon or Good Night!, depending on when and where you are reading this. I am so sorry for the delay in this writing. I hit the ground running when I got back from St. Croix April 5^th and am just now able to write you. Thank you for your patience.

First, let me say… This “reality” thing is so overrated! We all know that feeling when we get back stateside and ask ourselves the same questions each time. “What are we doing up here? Why are we killing ourselves ? We belong in St. Croix!”. And the big one,  “WHEN ARE WE GOING BACK!”.  But I digress…

As promised, here are my observations at the time of my stay. I’m sure things have improved even more since then. –

Upon my arrival at the Ferry –  King Christian side,  not much has changed. I noticed absolutely NO SIGNS of sewage, smells or otherwise reported un-pleasantries. It’s the same beautiful welcome home view.  There’s a new Steak and Seafood restaurant where the upscale Latin restaurant used to be next to Breaker’s Roar. Pricey, but nice.

HOTC Side –
1.) The HOTC dock house has been substantially improved, with new decking, built in benches and guard railing, and a newly expanded and painted interior with new flooring. (Nice touch)
2.) It appears the ponds in front of the hotel are slowly being removed. They were a pain to maintain anyway, so no big loss there.
3.) The reservation office is much the same. A bit stark, but the same wonderful smiles from Sara and company behind the counter.
4.) They are in the process of painting the whole place white with black trim, just like the King Christian, which makes me think they should call it “ The Queen Christian”! But that’s just me talking.
5.) The hotel itself is definitely seeing some renovations. The entire 2^nd floor facing the beach was being renovated while I was there. Because they had me in room 301?? (last room, Buck side by veranda), it was annoyingly noisy from the gator coming up to get supplies from underneath at 8am. And the workers appeared to have lost all concept of the fact that there were hotel guests there. They would yell from the top of the veranda steps down to the rooms they were working on. I finally got so mad one morning  that I went out in my drawers and yelled, “YOU REALIZE THIS IS A HOTEL, RIGHT ?? IT’S 9am AND PEOPLE ARE STILL TRYING TO SLEEP!!”  They scoffed at me, to which I responded, “Well maybe I should call the guy who signs your paycheck!!!” That seemed to get they’re attention. Then I called and complained to the front desk. After that morning, there was no more yelling. I guess they got the message.
6.) Apparently, they’ve decided to replace the rusting balcony room railings with concrete block, much like King C. My first thought was, “Will those aging concrete balconies handle that weight?”. I guess (and hope) they’ve done their structural homework. To me, it seems ashamed to block off the beautiful views looking out the slider doors. But once again, it’s not our decision anymore. I’m sure it will look nice when they’re done.
7.) The Beach Bar is much the same. The bathrooms were somewhat improved, with new white paint and new vanities and tile. The bar itself is the same…but!!…Daniel and Maggie’s ‘Rolling Smoke BBQ’ has been relocated to the back left corner of the building, and is now facing back to the bar, just past where the stage was. (Yes, they removed the stage) It’s all the same space, with the acceptation of the back corner being nicely closed off to accommodate the BBQ kitchen with a service window. There is now more room for tables and chairs, which simply get repositioned to make room for the music on the weekends. The most noticeable part is that the view by the bar to the beach is now expanded, since the BBQ pits are out of sight. In the seated areas, they have added imitation potted cactus plants scattered about. And most likely came from the Mexican restaurant that was under King C. Nonetheless, they add ambiance.

My only negative observation from the Beach Bar was that the karaoke host on Thursdays(?)  needs to keep it PG. Some of the songs (which he was singing to fill in the gaps) were so loaded with profanity, Nig… this and Fu… that every other word!  If I was there with my wife or children, I would have been furious. It’s a hotel, not the Ghetto!!! And we’re in the Caribbean!! I went up to the bar to say something, but the bartender was singing along. Geez. I figured I’d pick my battles since there was hardly anyone on the beach. But my thought was, “I’m trying to watch the sunset. Play some island music.” Not sure if that ever got addressed by management. But if that were us running it, I would’ve fire him on the spot. I’m hopeful it was a one-off. If not, say something!
8.) The back part of the Cay where the tennis courts were is now completely cleared. The small dirt road back there is now covered like a canopy from the Grapetrees. It’s beautiful and a nice stroll.
9.) The HM building is all but closed up. The park bench out on the point is still there to enjoy, as well as the veranda. And don’t be afraid to go turn the lights on, on the veranda! The switches are to the right of the sink area.  The first few nights it was dark, but I thought, “No Way!” This is still the veranda. As per tradition, I jokingly read some folks what I call, their “VERANDA RIGHTS” on several nights with some Cruzan Dark, beers, and snacks, of course. Some things never change. 🙂

With that, I would conclude that it’s still our beloved Cay. The sun and fun are still there where you left it. I hope you can enjoy your next stay as much as I did. It will always be home away from home. The renovation noise is to be expected and perhaps they’ll work on it more in the off season, but I think you’ll like what they’re doing.

Til then, hope to see you on the CAY next time!
Have a wonderful summer.

Warm Regards,
Fran Scuderi
Secretary