UPDATE | NPS Reverses Course On Public Access In Seeking Developer For Caneel Bay Resort

Editor's note: This updates with Interior Department response for change of direction with Caneel Bay Resource prospectus.

Prospective developers interested in reviving the Caneel Bay Resort at Virgin Islands National Park can expect to spend more than $100 million on the project, according to the National Park Service, although the agency curiously has backed off on a few of its earlier requirements for the idyllic location.

The project to revive one of the most luxurious lodgings in the National Park System, one where nightly room rates quickly went past $600, will be almost like starting from scratch due to the hurricane-ravaged remains of the resort. Indeed, revival of the previous lodge might be impossible and razing what's left and starting anew might be easier. That heavy lift perhaps is why the Park Service is willing to sign a 60-year lease with the winning bidder.

Somewhat unclear, though, is why the Park Service dropped some of the conditions it decided on back in 2023 to require of the company that won the right to rebuild the resort.

The Best Of Plans

The request for proposals (RFP) is the latest step in rebuilding a luxury resort at Caneel Bay on the island of St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Laurance S. Rockefeller in 1956 donated the land that today makes up Virgin Islands National Park. At the time, he retained roughly 150 acres for the Caneel Bay Resort.

In 1983, the Jackson Hole Preserve, which Rockefeller had established, donated the land to the park; but it came with a Retained Use Estate (RUE) agreement that gave the Preserve free use of the property and its facilities for 40 years. At the end of that four-decade period — September 30, 2023 — the RUE document dictated that the buildings and their improvements be donated to the Park Service.

In September 2017, the national park and resort were pummeled by back-to-back hurricanes, storms that essentially put the resort out of business. While the Park Service tried to work out a long-term lease for the property with its previous lessee — EHI Holdings, aka Caneel Bay Acquisitions, Inc. — the negotiations fell apart, a related lawsuit was dismissed, and the Park Service regained the property.

While the Park Service, in planning for redeveloping the Caneel Bay area and its tony resort, said in a 2023 planning document that it would require that 5 acres of the setting be provided for public day-use, that language has been dropped from the RFP released in May. Additionally, the current proposal lacks a requirement for a 78-acre "conservation zone" that would allow "all park visitors ... to connect with the natural areas of the park" that was included in the July 2023 planning document.

And while that planning document specified that 67 acres within the 150-acre resort property would be set aside for lodging, dining, gift shops, employee housing, and related infrastructure, the current RFP contains no specific acreage-footprint for those facilities. Also missing were intentions for a community area where organizations could "operate a community center, heritage center, or amphitheater for cultural events, educational programs, and other activities."

"This community area can be developed in a manner that will enhance the guest experience at the Caneel Bay area, as well as benefit the local community," the document said.

The St. John Source initially spotted the changes when comparing the two planning documents.

Interior Department staff said Monday in an email that the change in the request for proposals was prompted by a change in philosophy by the Trump administration.

"Since July 2025, the National Park Service has worked with leaders from gateway communities in the U.S. Virgin Islands and reviewed the project to ensure consistency with Executive Orders, Secretary's Orders and Department priorities focused on enhancing visitor experiences and expanding competitive investment opportunities," the email said. "As a result, the National Park Service decided to cancel the Request for Qualifications process and re-solicit the redevelopment of Caneel Bay through a broader Request for Proposals process. To accelerate redevelopment, the National Park Service did not issue a new Request for Qualifications and instead released the Request for Proposals without limiting eligibility to firms that participated in the earlier qualifications process.

"Because the Request for Proposals process is ongoing, many project-specific details and redevelopment plans will be evaluated as proposals are received and reviewed. The National Park Service will assess all submissions in accordance with applicable procurement requirements and project objectives."

The email did not directly answer why the Park Service dropped the provisions adopted in 2023 that would ensure greater public and community access to the area.

Riffraff

Under that 2023 plan, the Park Service envisioned a "21st century eco-resort" with up to 166 overnight accommodations, which was the limit of the resort that was largely destroyed by back-to-back hurricanes in the fall of 2017.

Not everyone was thrilled with the prospect of the general public being given day-use access to the property.

"I believe you are destroying what was once a wonderful eco-friendly luxury resort by giving public access to all the main beaches and the dining areas," wrote one commentor on the 2023 plan. "My wife and I and another couple came to Caneel for 11 years every January and stayed for either two or three weeks every time. We loved the low key nature friendly atmosphere and most of all the privacy and seclusion. St. John has a multitude of public park beaches but had only one truly first-class resort that was worth the high cost.

"If you do what you are proposing and allow day trippers full access to what others are paying for to stay there, then you will destroy the privacy that made it first class," the writer continued. "Now you will be neither a public beach or a private resort but a public park with overnight rooms. You might as well kill all the jobs you think are coming back because no one will pay a high price for a public beach, and the operator will not have the cash flow to pay locals to provide what once was first class service in the dining areas and the rooms."

Another writer critical of the 2023 plan complained that under the day-use provision, "[T]he resort guests might have to deal with a lot of 'riffraff' using the facilities that the resort guests are paying to use. Although you only show 5 acres for day use, what is to prevent the day users from going to any of the beaches? What is to prevent the day users from getting drunk at the resort bars, or bringing their own booze in a cooler?"

In response, Park Service officials said the 5 acres for day-use was settled upon due to the large number of public comments seeking access to Caneel Bay.

"The NPS has carefully reviewed and taken into consideration the high volume of public comments received over the course of three years in shaping the preferred alternative,” said then-Southeast Regional Director Mark Foust. “NPS heard and incorporated the need for ensuring greater public access, promoting a National Park Service experience, protecting the special resources at Caneel, and strengthening the local economy with high-quality jobs. We look forward to creating the best possible future for Caneel Bay and the people of St. John and the Virgin Islands.” 

Another interesting aspect of the current RFP is mention that whoever wins the lease to rebuild and operate the resort would need to negotiate rights to "Caneel Bay Resort" if it wanted to use that name or its related design marks, which were trademarked by the resort's previous operator.

Interior Department staff did not immediately respond Thursday to a Traveler inquiry into why the RFP dropped some of the requirements listed in the 2023 document.