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Villa Catalina or Sundance?
Villa Catalina or Sundance?
I've read a few reviews on Catalina but don't see anything about Sundance through Cloud Nine villas. Anybody out there have any feedback about either of these villas? Any help would be appreciated.
Hi Musicman, 4 of us stayed at Sundance last May. Below is from the trip report on the old forum. If you have any other questions, ask away! We really did enjoy this villa. The views were excellent and you're 5 minutes from Cruz Bay.
>>I'll stop here and review a bit about Sundance villa. It's got 3 bedrooms, all with A/C. The great room/kitchen area also has a/c now and it was nice to have (for the first time!). The view is killer. Lovely Hart Bay below and a clear view over to STT at night. I can't imagine how hot it must have been before the a/c in the living area with the sun beating down on it all afternoon. However, this does keep the pool at a comfortable temp. I'm very spoiled now having a pool to cool off in at the end of the day!
There are two master bedrooms, one on the main level, and one downstairs, poolside (accessed from the outside). The upstairs master has a garden shower unlike any I've encountered on St John. It's a jungle view and very large. One half is the sink/toilet area and the opposite half is the shower. In between there are river rocks that help drain any extra water outside. There are also lots of large potted plants next to the shower area. Above the shower of the bathroom is screen with latticework to support it. It was interesting the night it rained fairly hard, that it rained in the bathroom! Very St John!
The master bedroom by the pool (downstairs) has your more typical outdoor shower area (but you could be seen from the deck above if someone were to look, and no, I didn't!!). Both bedrooms were roomy and had pretty comfortable beds.
I didn't even look in the 3rd bedroom, but it also has it's own shower.
The kitchen was well stocked with pots, pans and spices (and a brand new fridge!) and there was a nice dining area. The couch and two chairs were so-so comfortable, but then again we didn't use them except for a few nights.
The only thing that bothered me at Sundance were the mosquitos. They were extremely bad. In four trips I've never seen it like this. I think with all the mature vegetation it blocked part of the breeze. Or, it was just bad during this time of year. We couldn't be outside without spraying down. Not even 5 minutes. The first few days it was a pain, but after that it becomes the norm. Oh, and before I forget, the villa has a resident cat that we loved all week. Leo is deaf and can't see very well, but he knew every morning as soon as we got up and was yelling for attention. There was food for him in the fridge, and he kept us company every day!
>>I'll stop here and review a bit about Sundance villa. It's got 3 bedrooms, all with A/C. The great room/kitchen area also has a/c now and it was nice to have (for the first time!). The view is killer. Lovely Hart Bay below and a clear view over to STT at night. I can't imagine how hot it must have been before the a/c in the living area with the sun beating down on it all afternoon. However, this does keep the pool at a comfortable temp. I'm very spoiled now having a pool to cool off in at the end of the day!
There are two master bedrooms, one on the main level, and one downstairs, poolside (accessed from the outside). The upstairs master has a garden shower unlike any I've encountered on St John. It's a jungle view and very large. One half is the sink/toilet area and the opposite half is the shower. In between there are river rocks that help drain any extra water outside. There are also lots of large potted plants next to the shower area. Above the shower of the bathroom is screen with latticework to support it. It was interesting the night it rained fairly hard, that it rained in the bathroom! Very St John!
The master bedroom by the pool (downstairs) has your more typical outdoor shower area (but you could be seen from the deck above if someone were to look, and no, I didn't!!). Both bedrooms were roomy and had pretty comfortable beds.
I didn't even look in the 3rd bedroom, but it also has it's own shower.
The kitchen was well stocked with pots, pans and spices (and a brand new fridge!) and there was a nice dining area. The couch and two chairs were so-so comfortable, but then again we didn't use them except for a few nights.
The only thing that bothered me at Sundance were the mosquitos. They were extremely bad. In four trips I've never seen it like this. I think with all the mature vegetation it blocked part of the breeze. Or, it was just bad during this time of year. We couldn't be outside without spraying down. Not even 5 minutes. The first few days it was a pain, but after that it becomes the norm. Oh, and before I forget, the villa has a resident cat that we loved all week. Leo is deaf and can't see very well, but he knew every morning as soon as we got up and was yelling for attention. There was food for him in the fridge, and he kept us company every day!
sundance
bride and i stayed at sundance 0ct 04 for our 1st stj trip. we loved her and the only problem was lack of ac in great room at that time. we have subsequently stayed at a c9 villa 4 more times (moonsong which is next door dec 04 & c9 on gifft hill oct & dec 05 and again last week). c9 is our fav, all 1 level, can be completely opened up and unbelievable views but not nearly as convenient as sundance and her next door neighbor, moonsong (which is small for 2 couples). had such great time we extended last weeks stay 2 days but had to move down hill back to moonsong. great views we remembered but for 1st time on any trip we had a mosquito problem at moonsong eventhough you could tell a lot of very mature vegetation had been recently removed. there was off and raid there but i was eatened before i knew what happened. we also had a first time problem with noseeums late on our second day at francis bay just before we moved down to moonsong. an invasion maybe?
cloud nine villas are owned by same couple who are usually in residence except summers. we have found all their villas clean and well equipped and maintained though not luxury. we are always very comfortable at their villas, marcy appel the manager is excellent and very responsive. if you talk to marcy tell her ann and jerry b said hello and we hope to see her again soon.
we only stay at villas with good views of stt for sunsets and lighting of stt in evenings. if you are looking for similar views, we loved temptress ans treasure ridge on upper rockridge rd and there are several others near by (la playa and allesandra are neighbors). i have looked at catalina as a possible but believe while she has good sw views, her views of stt and sunsets except near winter soltice will be limited.
papabou
ps the prior post mentioned leo the cat (real class act) at sundance. he keep the lizards in check and always welcomed us home each day, but he recently died. marcy said she thought he was 15+-.
cloud nine villas are owned by same couple who are usually in residence except summers. we have found all their villas clean and well equipped and maintained though not luxury. we are always very comfortable at their villas, marcy appel the manager is excellent and very responsive. if you talk to marcy tell her ann and jerry b said hello and we hope to see her again soon.
we only stay at villas with good views of stt for sunsets and lighting of stt in evenings. if you are looking for similar views, we loved temptress ans treasure ridge on upper rockridge rd and there are several others near by (la playa and allesandra are neighbors). i have looked at catalina as a possible but believe while she has good sw views, her views of stt and sunsets except near winter soltice will be limited.
papabou
ps the prior post mentioned leo the cat (real class act) at sundance. he keep the lizards in check and always welcomed us home each day, but he recently died. marcy said she thought he was 15+-.