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If you are a meeting planner looking to combine both luxury and unique incentives for your spe- cial client, then St. Croix and St. Thomas may be for you. I recently packed my bags and found these U.S. Virgin Islands an ideal setting for luxury accommodations, ideal meeting spaces and incentives that include unique opportunities to increase one's knowledge. Whether it's researching your ancestry or the latest in sustainability prac- tice, St. Croix and St. Thomas have much to offer groups. My four-day visit began to St. Croix with an American Airlines flight from Washington Dulles to Henry Rohlsen Airport where I was whisked away to the elegant Renaissance Carambola Beach Resort and Spa. Nestled at the base of a lush rainforest on St. Croix's unspoiled North BY EDITH BILLUPS WANT TO COMBINE BOTH LUXURY AND UNIQUE INCENTIVES FOR YOUR NEXT MEETING GROUP? THEN ST. CROIX AND ST. THOMAS MAY BE FOR YOU FAM REPORT B M & T ••• January/February 2016 ••• www.blackmeetingsandtourism.com 28 shore, the Carambola's 28 acres features 25 two-story build- ings with gorgeous views of the sea and the surrounding trop- ical gardens. Each suite offers a kitchenette and large screened in porches where one can fully take in the sound of the sea, stunning sunrises and rainbows. The Renaissance Carambola offers 12,670 sq. ft. of dis- tinctive indoor and outdoor meeting space, including eight meeting rooms. From the 2,150-sq. ft. Palm Tree Terrace to a spacious poolside area, the Carambola can accommodate groups of 10 to 120. If visiting, be sure to meet Chef Brett who on the night that I dined prepared a delicious vegetarian meal for me with ingredients from local farms. lf diving is your interest, you'll also want to visit the Sweet Bottom Dive Center, which offers the closet access to the Davis Bay Wall, just 100 yards off the beach. My second day in St. Croix began with a tour of the Ridge to Reef Sustainable Farm, which was one of the highlights of my trip. For a suggested $10 donation, one can tour this 160- acre organic farm, the first certified in the Virgin Islands, and have a hands on educational experience. Manager Andy Pac and partner Jessica Rockstein, the resi- dent chef, will personally give you a tour of the inner workings of the farm that sells organic food to local residents, including many local chefs. Our tour started with bushtea at the com- munity center, a structure built with greenheart beams, wama- ra rafters and tadaboo siding, woods all sustainably harvested from a rainforest in Guyana. Solar panels on the roof provide electricity for the farm and the many monthly events. These include six-course dinners prepared by top local chefs where diners also get a lesson in how the food was grown. On our tour, we checked out a variety of fruit trees, nut trees and plants with exotic names like the "lip- stick plant' and 'stink- ing toe' tree. We learned how pigeon peas act as soil feed- ers that add nutrients to the soil and stopped by the farm's tilapia pond. We also visited the site where the farm conducts an annual Bush Skills Day where partici- pants learn skills used by their ancestors as well as island resi- dents. Ridge to Reef offers group retreats and farm stays to peo- ple from all over the world who want to Ritz Carlton, St. Thomas Exterior