Check Destination St. John. Looks like their off season rates start mid-April so these should work for your budget range. Also we found Destination St. John to be great with working with us for better rates (when we booked with them for this summer), so doesn't hurt to ask. Look at A Winsome House, ...

We just reserved a jeep with Amalie in STT for our first trip to STJ....for many of the reasons mindehankins spelled out above. Did a lot of reading through previous threads on here and TripAdvisor before deciding to do so. Also talked to Magdalena with questions and concerns before booking. Based o...

We came very close to booking Rapture for our first visit to STJ but ended up having to change travel dates and the villa was already booked for that timeframe. However, beforehand, did have a lot of questions for the villa managers (St. John Ultimate Villas) and our understanding is that Rapture is...

Enjoying your trip report so far. Now that we're past the villa booking process for our first trip (lots of fun, but lots of work ;-)), focusing on the other details of our trip is our next thing to do.....and trip reports like yours really are very helpful! Agree with Agent99, park and fly can be s...

When I inquired with Destination St. John about Winsome House, one of them mentioned that the solar cover may not be there anymore, but she sounded unsure. May want to clarify with them if that's important to you.

Looked at Winsome House when perusing the Destination St. John website. Really like the looks of that villa and have "bookmarked" it for a future trip (when the kids are a bit older). With young kids ourselves, it didn't work best for us right now either (with no interior access bedrooms)....

Have you looked at Time Out villa (with Destination St. John)? Also a 2 bedroom in the Chocolate Hole area. Just planning our first visit to the island, so haven't stayed there ourselves. But would have seriously considered it if it were available for our dates. Destination St. John said it was rece...

Thank you so much for posting. Really good info, especially about Andara. Like others, this villa is definitely on our list for any future trips. Would have really considered it even for our first trip this summer....but all booked up for most of June-July and would've had to wait 'til mid-August......

Hi T~ From one newbie to another, just wanted to say glad to see you here! :) Unlike you, have yet to set foot on STJ....but the family & I are so excited to be planning for our first trip this summer....and already feeling like it may be a place we'll come to love as you have. You're absolutely...

Looked into this villa ourselves for our first trip to STJ. Found it on vrbo. Don't know much about it except that it used to be called the Bordeaux Mountain House. Saw an older video of it on the villa's current website. Agree that it looks to be a gorgeous villa and also agree its new name is a li...

Thank you Teresa! That's very helpful feedback. And yes, looks like we'll be there this Summer vs. end of November.....for a couple reasons. One being, as you mentioned, better chances for calmer (and warmer) water in the summer months. Secondly, better rates vs. the premium Thanksgiving rates (whic...

Liamsaunt, thank you so much for the feedback. Yes, it is very helpful.....so much so that I think it's helped us to finally make the decision to go with Rapture....and feeling a great sense of relief! :-) Now just need to figure out actual dates, flights and car rental. Thank you again for your help.

Thank you both for your feedback. Very helpful. Also took a look at Vista Caribe and yes liked that villa too....but I think it was fairly booked up for most of our time frames when we originally were considering it. May have to see what its availability looks like for next year's dates. Also will t...

Hi everyone! Started lurking on here a few weeks ago and have found this forum to be very helpful as we start planning for our first trip to STJ. Now reaching out to hopefully get some help (being the indecisive person I am) with our villa choice and travel time (when to go). Noticed some folks here...