We visited in June 2020 right after the post COVID USVI reopening and for the record the hotel did contact us numerous times to re-confirm whether we are still coming and mentioned at first that the breakfast will be served in the room, and later that the restaurant will be closed during our stay and therefore the price is getting reduced - and for that they have my utmost respect! We did pay about $334 (including tax etc.) ultimately for our 2 nights at Mafolie so at least that somewhat helped... what did not help is that the place really needs a tone of TLC and the pool area was in complete chaos/renovation paused during our stay, which sadly was a huge selling point for us since Mafolie Hotel is not on the beach...
Location: Mafolie Hotel is situated in between a rather busy 2 streets (did not bother us in the room to be honest but you do hear it and see it when outside of the room, regular cars are fine but the heavy duty trucks are sometimes an issue, a very temporarily one) on a hill that provides pretty spectacular views of the Charlotte Amalie - the drive to the airport is about 10 to 15 minutes, while about 5 minutes down the hill to "downtown" Charlotte Amalie where plenty of restaurant/shopping etc. options are available
Room: very basic, yet with probably the most modern and up to date A/C we had in our 5 hotel stays during our 2 weeks trip to USVI - this is just one of a few areas of Mafolie Hotel "paradoxes" to me :) the terrace/patio accessed via separate door from the room was superb for chilling and reading books, the bed was fine but the linens should have been updated (normally I don't care but the it was not the most spotless one)... same thing for the bathroom - small and functional but the "hygiene level" for me as a man was just not there... I only once had a chance to experience a similar level but that was in the a super remote area of Grenada but we are talking about pretty much Charlotte Amalie of USVI! For 2 nights I dealt with it, if I had to stay longer I sadly must say certain things simply weren't to the standard and I would probably reconsider the stay. Painful part about the room also was that WIFI simply did not work - normally I do not care but when you are in the hotel where the restaurant is closed and pool pretty much shut down (yes I could swim but...) you really want to check for other options in the area and each time I would have to leave to the patio :) not a terrible deal breaker but it was annoying :)
Grounds: the place is very nicely settled into the hill and everywhere you go the views are great, there is also some art on the walls and a little KOI pond and some nice greenery, the swimming pool lounge area that sadly during our stay was WORK IN PROCESS (probably since March COVID pause) - the hotel is not big but it definitely packs some views for certain! I only wish that restaurant was open during our stay because it looked amazing and it has outstanding reviews here on TripAdvisor! A good thing worth mentioning is that this place, due to its location, has a lot of stairs and no elevator - if that's an issue for you make sure to consider that or ask the hotel in advance for the assistance with the luggage - it is quite an exercise with the latter :)
Pool: well... that was one of the things that we were not told about and it did affect our stay adversely - for the record we could swim in the pool but to spend any time in the area where everything looks like a tornado just went through it just didn't feel the same - I hate complaining and try to stay open minded and be respectful but this was a huge selling point for us to stay on the hills, with the views from the pool since the rest of our trip was pretty much all direct beach access... well comes worst you can always go to Magens Bay (which after one time we didn't feel like going again, just not the same)
Food options: during our stay, as respectfully mentioned by the hotel, the restaurant was closed and we knew that beforehand... I can only imagine how different our stay would be with the restaurant open and the pool area fixed up... but then again I can only review and rate what I experienced - the hotel did work with another place in the meantime that would deliver to the hotel - though we simply ended up driving for meals to the Charlotte Amalie/Havensight area as there are plenty of great options for all breakfast, lunch and dinner - it's literally a 5 minute drive downhill so you can't go wrong here
Things to do: so normally you have the pool and patio with outstanding views, if that is not enough Magens Bay is close by, so is Charlotte Amalie for the walking around type of day - a bit further is the east coast of St Thomas with Sapphire Beach and Coki Beach, or you can always take a short ferry to Water Island, or a bit further drive Red Hook to St John and BVI (there are ferries from this part of the island as well)
Overall: this is a historic property and it clearly seen better days, I wish we did see in those days - it's odd to say "it has a tone of potential" with all its history but that's just how it felt, I wish we had seen it and experienced it during its prime time or at least when the pool area is back to normal and the restaurant open - for what we paid I am OK accepting it but if I had to spend what some people in the reviews mentioned and deal with it again I would not be too happy - that being said before you go and book make sure things are back to "normal"
