--- title: "St. Thomas All-Inclusive Resorts vs a Villa: What You Get · Virgin Islands Villas" url: https://virginislandvilla.com/st-thomas/all-inclusive-vs-villa description: "Which St. Thomas resorts sell an all-inclusive plan as of October 2026, what Bolongo's covers, and what a villa's owner rate, fees and 12.5% room tax cover." updated: 2026-10-09 source: https://virginislandvilla.com/st-thomas/all-inclusive-vs-villa --- [St. Thomas](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-thomas) · Villa or resort # St. Thomas all-inclusive resorts, or a villa? Of the St. Thomas all-inclusive resorts people search for, one sells an all-inclusive plan on its own site as of October 2026: Bolongo Bay Beach Resort, on the south side, with three meals and drinks in the rate. The other way to spend the week is a villa: a whole house, your own kitchen, the owner's rate. Written by Virgin Islands Villas · Facts checked Oct 2026 ## Does St. Thomas have all-inclusive resorts? One, on the evidence of the resorts' own sites as of October 2026. Bolongo Bay Beach Resort sells an all-inclusive plan and has done since 1989, by its own account. The other three names that come up beside it, Frenchman's Reef, Secret Harbour and Sapphire, sell rooms and condominium suites, and none of their sites offers a plan that puts meals and drinks in the rate. The search results blur this because a resort with restaurants, a pool and free kayaks reads as all-inclusive in a listing. Secret Harbour Beach Resort says it plainly on its own FAQ: it "has all-inclusive amenities yet is not priced as an all-inclusive". So the real choice on St. Thomas is narrower than the lists suggest: Bolongo's plan, a hotel room where you pay for each meal, or a house with a kitchen. ## All-inclusive resort or villa: the week side by side The rows below come from Bolongo Bay Beach Resort's own pages, the Bureau of Internal Revenue and what every villa listing on this site shows, as of October 2026. Neither side carries a price here: the resort quotes its rate for your dates, and each villa shows its owner's. | | Bolongo all-inclusive | A villa | | --- | --- | --- | | What the rate covers | The room, three meals, drinks except top-shelf brands, non-motorized watersports | The whole house, for your party alone | | Where you eat | The resort's open-air restaurant, à la carte | Your kitchen, and any restaurant on the island | | Space | One room or more, of 65 | Every bedroom the listing states | | The price you see | The resort's, for your dates | The owner's nightly rate, for your dates, on the listing | | Fees on top | Ask the resort; its FAQ lists none | A cleaning fee where the owner sets one, shown in the estimate | | Room tax | 12.5% of the room rate | 12.5% of the rent, under 90 days | | A car | Not needed to eat | Recommended almost everywhere on the island | | Who you pay | The resort | The owner, with no service fee here | The tax row is the one most comparisons leave out. The Bureau's Form 722 counts anyone renting a villa, condominium or timeshare for under 90 days as a hotel guest, so the 12.5% applies on both sides, and it is charged on the room, not on food or drink. ## Where Bolongo Bay is, and what its plan covers Bolongo Bay is on the south side of St. Thomas, 14 minutes by car from Charlotte Amalie on our measured drive, and the resort sits on a 1,000-foot beach of its own description. It has 65 guestrooms, per the resort's site as of October 2026. The plan, in the resort's words, "offers three meals and drinks (excluding top-shelf brands)", and the FAQ adds that meals are served à la carte at the one open-air restaurant and that non-motorized watersports are included: kayaks, paddle boards, Hobie Cat sailing and snorkeling, as of October 2026. Two details from the FAQ change who it suits. The resort also sells room-only rates, so all-inclusive is a choice, not the only way to stay. And it is not adults-only, though it says that for many parts of the year, such as school term, it has no children staying. The tradeoff: one restaurant for every meal of the week. The beach in front has its own page, Bolongo Bay, with the bar on the sand and the water. ## Frenchman's Reef sells rooms, not a plan Frenchman's Reef is now two hotels above Morningstar Beach: The Westin Beach Resort St. Thomas and Buoy Haus Beach Resort, An Autograph Collection Hotel. Its own site lists nine places to eat and drink and a set of room offers as of October 2026, and none of them is a meal plan. You pay for each meal where you eat it. Morningstar Beach is 11 minutes by car from Charlotte Amalie on our measurement, and the resort puts the airport about 20 minutes away by its own arrivals page. Limetree Beach, the next cove along, sits in front of the Limetree Beach Resort by Club Wyndham. Both beaches have their own pages, with what a visitor who is not staying may use. ## Secret Harbour and Sapphire are condominium resorts Secret Harbour Beach Resort and Sapphire Beach Resort and Marina are the two East End names in the all-inclusive searches, and both are closer to a villa than to Bolongo. Secret Harbour offers studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom condominiums with full kitchens, privately owned and assigned by room type, per its own site in October 2026. Its FAQ states the bill as well: rates carry the 12.5% Government Room Tax, a 10% energy surcharge and a 1.25% taxable charge. Sapphire Beach Resort and Marina's FAQ speaks of the beach as steps from your condo, and its site mentions no meal plan at all. Both sit near the ferry to St. John: Secret Harbour Beach is 6 minutes by car from the Red Hook terminal, Sapphire Beach 4 minutes, on our measured drives. If a kitchen and a beach below the door are what you want, Secret Harbour and a villa on the East End are the same kind of week, and the difference is a building you share or a house you do not. ## What a villa on St. Thomas covers A villa here is a whole house rented from the person who owns or manages it. The listing shows the owner's nightly rate for your dates before you write, and the estimate below it adds what the owner charges on top: a cleaning fee where they set one and the 12.5% room tax. Any refundable damage deposit is in the listing's terms. The owner sets the minimum stay and the cancellation terms, and you pay them directly. You pay the owner, not a platform, and there is no service fee here. What the rate does not cover is everything Bolongo's does. Groceries, dinners out, drinks and a rental car are yours, and a car is recommended almost everywhere on the island, because the beaches, the shops and Charlotte Amalie are a drive apart from most houses. The areas guide sets out which part of the island puts you closest to what. ## Who should pick the all-inclusive A couple or a small party on a short stay who want one bill, no car and no cooking. If the week is a beach, a pool, a kayak and dinner without a reservation, Bolongo's plan does the arithmetic for you, and drinks are in the price, which no villa rate includes. A villa suits the opposite party: a family or a group who need more than one room, who will cook some nights and eat out on others, and who will drive to different beaches anyway. Three bedrooms in one house is one rate; three rooms at a resort is three. The villa suits anyone for whom the kitchen and the doors that close matter more than a drink in the price. Questions people ask **Does St. Thomas have all-inclusive resorts?** One sells an all-inclusive plan on its own site as of October 2026: Bolongo Bay Beach Resort, on the south side, with three meals and drinks, top-shelf brands excluded. Frenchman's Reef, Secret Harbour and Sapphire sell rooms and condominium suites with no meal plan. Bolongo also sells room-only rates. **Is there a Sandals resort in St. Thomas?** No. Sandals' own site, read in October 2026, lists resorts in Antigua, the Bahamas, Barbados, Curaçao, Grenada, Jamaica, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and Turks and Caicos, and none in the US Virgin Islands. The all-inclusive plan on St. Thomas is Bolongo Bay Beach Resort's. **Where is Bolongo Bay?** On the south side of St. Thomas, east of Charlotte Amalie, 14 minutes by car from town on our measured drive. The resort of the same name sits on the bay's beach, which it describes as 1,000 feet of sand, and runs a bar on it. Charlotte Amalie and the cruise dock are the way in from the airport. **Is a villa cheaper than an all-inclusive on St. Thomas?** It depends on how many of you there are and how you eat. A villa's rate is for the whole house, so it is split across every bedroom, but food, drink and a car come on top. The resort's plan covers meals and drinks for each guest. Compare the owner's rate for your dates with the resort's quote. At a glance · checked Oct 2026 **All-inclusive plan** Bolongo Bay Beach Resort The only one of the four resorts in this guide whose own site sells one, read October 9, 2026. Since 1989, by its own account. **What Bolongo's plan covers** Three meals and drinks, top-shelf brands excluded Meals à la carte at its one open-air restaurant; non-motorized watersports included; room-only rates also offered (Bolongo Bay Beach Resort, home page and FAQ, October 2026). **Bolongo's size** 65 guestrooms Bolongo Bay Beach Resort's home page, October 2026. Not adults-only. **Frenchman's Reef** No all-inclusive plan Two hotels, The Westin Beach Resort St. Thomas and Buoy Haus Beach Resort; the site lists room offers, no meal plan (Frenchman's Reef, October 2026). **Secret Harbour, Sapphire** Condominium resorts, no meal plan Secret Harbour's condos have full kitchens and it is "not priced as an all-inclusive" (its FAQ); Sapphire Beach Resort and Marina's FAQ puts guests in a condo and its site mentions no plan. Both read October 2026. **Hotel room tax** 12.5% of the room rate On a hotel room, and on a villa, condominium or timeshare rented for under 90 days; food, drink and gratuities are outside it (Bureau of Internal Revenue, Form 722 V.I., read October 2026). **Sandals in the US Virgin Islands** None Sandals' own site lists resorts in nine other destinations, read October 2026. More on St. Thomas - [St. Thomas cruise port](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-thomas/cruise-port) - [St. Thomas map](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-thomas/map) - [St. Thomas weather by month](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-thomas/weather) - [Things to do in St. Thomas](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-thomas/things-to-do) - [Flights to St. Thomas](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-thomas/flights) - [How to get around St. Thomas](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-thomas/getting-around) Facts checked against [Bolongo Bay Beach Resort](https://www.bolongobay.com/faq/), [Frenchman's Reef](https://www.frenchmansreefstthomas.com/), [Secret Harbour Beach Resort](https://www.secretharbourvi.com/faq.htm), [the Bureau of Internal Revenue](https://bir.vi.gov/content/form/39e7855a-4f53-4fea-88a1-e4860ed51d0f/index.pdf) and [Sandals](https://www.sandals.com/). Checked October 2026.