Hurricane Policy
In the unlikely event that we should experience a hurricane this season, there are several things you should know:
- WE DO NOT ALLOW GUESTS TO REMAIN IN OUR VILLAS DURING HURRICANES!
- In the case of a hurricane you will receive a prompt full refund of your rental and hotel tax from the day you vacate the villa. You may choose to keep your funds with us and use them toward your next rental. We highly recommend that you purchase trip cancellation insurance to cover other canceled expenses. Check with your travel professional or with us for a list of carriers.
- If predictions indicate a hurricane is headed our way and there is enough warning time you need to make every effort to fly out of St. Thomas before the storm is upon us. Delaying your departure plans may trap you on the island when no space is available on departing flights and after the storm you can expect to wait several days before normal airline travel is restored.
- The Catered To staff will be monitoring the storm’s progress. If we feel strongly that we may be in the path of an approaching hurricane, we will notify you and advise you to fly off the island or to check into a St. Thomas hotel that is equipped with an emergency generator for the duration of the storm.
- IMPORTANT: Once you make plans for a hotel or to leave the island, you MUST contact Catered To to let us know where you are and what you're doing ... we must keep track of all of our guests! Kindly make sure you call and speak with us before you depart.
- The Catered To staff will try and assist you with advice but all guests must hurry to make their own airline or hotel reservations. In this emergency situation we will be busy supervising the shuttering and closing of all of our villas, office and preparing our own families and homes for the oncoming storm. We will appreciate your understanding and your full and willing cooperation to help yourselves under these circumstances.
- Your villa will be shuttered up, electricity and gas will be turned off-island wide. Telephone and cable service will most likely be down also. All items from the patios and decks: furniture, grill, pool equipment, etc., will be put in your villa. There will be neither running water nor flushing toilets. Your villa will no longer be luxurious or even comfortable. Our government will impose a curfew for the day of and sometimes days after a hurricane so you will not be able to leave the property and, of course, the weather will be terrible!
In an extreme situation where there is insufficient time for you to leave the island please come by the Catered To office and we will give you a list of items you should have. This will include a flashlight and batteries, a battery operated radio, and storm preparation instructions in the unlikely situation that you must ride out the storm in one of our rental villas. YOU MUST COME TO THE OFFICE TO PICK UP YOUR HURRICANE LIST.
The Weather Channel (Channel 45) broadcasts a tropical report every hour at 48 minutes past the hour. This source and other information sources have, in the past, given us ample warning of the approach of a storm that will affect the Virgin Islands. When cable and/or TV go out, listen on FM to Isle 95 at 95.1 or on AM to WSTA Lucky 13 at 1340.
Hurricane Ivan passing south of St. John in 2004.
