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Kids love a beach and the Westin's, at 1,200 feet, is long with soft sands, shade umbrellas and palapas and complimentary kayaks, pedal boats and other non-motorized water sports. An on-site watersports company offers sailing, snorkeling, diving and other excursions for additional fees.
The ferries from St. Thomas arrive in the resort's marina, just in front of the beach. While convenient, we noticed the marina caused the water to be slightly filmy unlike the crystal clear aquamarine ocean we experienced at other beaches on the island. Despite this, we found the water quality safe and enjoyed swimming.
The quarter-acre, irregularly shaped pool also draws kids. One area of the pool, shallower than the other sections, serves younger children since the resort lacks a separate, dedicated kiddie pool. On certain evenings, families gather in and around the pool to watch complimentary Dive-In movies.
Because the resort sprawls on 47 acres, the property never felt crowded, even though more than 90 percent of the rooms had guests when we visited. Edged with hibiscus and other flowering bushes, the lawns offer lots of "breathing room" and spaces for romping.
The local iguanas also love the landscaping. Every day at 3 p.m., 20 plus critters scramble out of their green hiding places to grab lettuce and other vegetables offered to them by the staff. The iguana feeding, a memorable "event" for little kids, takes place on the lawn near the wedding gazebo and the tennis courts. Monday to Friday, typically at 11 a.m., the resort has a Crayola Craft session. For a nominal fee, you and your kids can make picture frames or other items.
When children check-in to the Westin Kids Club, they receive a welcome beach bag with a hat, colored pencils, a make-your-own-postcard kit and a kid-friendly world map with stars indicating the sites of other Westin resorts. (How's that for clever marketing?)
The Westin Kids Club host activities for ages 3 (toilet trained) to 12, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., including lunch; 9 a.m. to noon or noon to 4 p.m.; as well as evening camp from 6 to 10 p.m. Kids enter the facility by walking through the teen room, something that probably doesn't delight the teens.
The program, with its colorful children's facility (a mix of blue, yellow and orange carpet) and stacks of games and crafts, appeals more to younger kids as most of the time children play together in one group. Kids do explore the property. Counselors take them to the pool for swimming, around the property for iguana hunts and to the beach for sandcastle building.
While it's nice that the resort has a teen room, we didn't see any teens hanging out there. Partly, it was the time of year -- after Christmas break when school is back in session -- but partly because the teen room seemed more like an arcade and less like a "program," even a loose program. However, when high numbers of teens are in house, the Westin offers teen-only kayak trips, para-sailing, shopping excursions and tennis clinics.
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