usvi-on-line
Ixoria Villa
Ixoria Villa
Has anyone ever stayed there.I don't remember anyone ever talking about it on the forum.I have always been impressed by the view and the price and have always wondered why no one has ever talked about it.My middle daughter graduates from high school next year and somehow they have come up with the notion that it is a God-given right to go to SJ the year they graduate.
Just Wondering.
Just Wondering.
We've looked at it a couple of times. It was freshened up around 2001 and we saw it right afterward; the CV site it was again refurbished last year. It's a classic design with most of the amenities on the same level. Its at a great spot for North Shore and Coral Bay action. It gets later sun than the Coral Bay houses. I really do like the house and the refurbishment looks great.
Why have we never rented it? It lacks clothing optional privacy for the pool deck. It's private, but not super private since the access road goes right below and there are 8 or 10 houses down the road. There is some road noise with the North Shore/Centerline intersection close enough to see, but that's not a problem for us.
Cheers, RickG
Why have we never rented it? It lacks clothing optional privacy for the pool deck. It's private, but not super private since the access road goes right below and there are 8 or 10 houses down the road. There is some road noise with the North Shore/Centerline intersection close enough to see, but that's not a problem for us.
Cheers, RickG
S/V Echoes - Coral Bay - St. John, VI
My wife and I stayed at Ixora with my sister and brother-in-law in early May 2008. We found Ixora to be a great set-up and liked the proximity to the North Shore beaches and the smoothie stand. The main building has the living room and kitchen with the bedrooms on either side of the main room, which we liked from a privacy perspective. The view from the deck is awesome, as advertised. The kitchen was in the process of being upgraded with granite countertops.
On the downside, we really felt that the rest of the villa needed some maintenance attention and would not rent it again because of those concerns. The wood deck had been painted previously and the paint was starting to chip off - the deck needed to be replaced. We had a big storm one night and a bunch of paint chips washed into the pool. Unfortunately, the pool pump was really weak and did not effectively filter the pool, so we called the service. The pool guy came by and made a half-hearted attempt to clean the pool. During that same night storm, we awoke to water dripping on our bed - it was coming out of the ceiling fan casing! We moved to an upstairs bed room and were just crawling into bed when my wife saw a huge tarantula on the ceiling - which was game over for her! We ended up sleeping in the living room on the couches for most of the night, which is really unacceptable when you're paying $400+/night.
Anyway, we called CV to complain and the next day the owner himself came by (he was visiting the island). When I commented on the condition of the villa, he basically recommended that we look into another villa that he owns on Bordeaux for our next trip!
To make a long story short, I would recommend staying away from Ixora. If you are still interested in Ixora after this story, I would rent directly from their website www.villaixora.net to save 10% off the rates posted on carribbeanvilla.com.
On the downside, we really felt that the rest of the villa needed some maintenance attention and would not rent it again because of those concerns. The wood deck had been painted previously and the paint was starting to chip off - the deck needed to be replaced. We had a big storm one night and a bunch of paint chips washed into the pool. Unfortunately, the pool pump was really weak and did not effectively filter the pool, so we called the service. The pool guy came by and made a half-hearted attempt to clean the pool. During that same night storm, we awoke to water dripping on our bed - it was coming out of the ceiling fan casing! We moved to an upstairs bed room and were just crawling into bed when my wife saw a huge tarantula on the ceiling - which was game over for her! We ended up sleeping in the living room on the couches for most of the night, which is really unacceptable when you're paying $400+/night.
Anyway, we called CV to complain and the next day the owner himself came by (he was visiting the island). When I commented on the condition of the villa, he basically recommended that we look into another villa that he owns on Bordeaux for our next trip!
To make a long story short, I would recommend staying away from Ixora. If you are still interested in Ixora after this story, I would rent directly from their website www.villaixora.net to save 10% off the rates posted on carribbeanvilla.com.
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aroobagirl
- Posts: 316
- Joined: Fri Apr 13, 2007 2:58 pm
- Location: Fairfax, VA
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aroobagirl
- Posts: 316
- Joined: Fri Apr 13, 2007 2:58 pm
- Location: Fairfax, VA
Hi folks.....well we know this place very well, as we've stayed there 9 times in 10 years and have already booked for next year. Here's some feedback on major points:
Regarding clothing optional, the pool area is totally private from the access road, but you can see houses in the distance somewhat. We feel it's very private.
The house definitely neeeded updating and we gave this feedback to the owner about 3 or 4 years ago. The owner updated the house significantly before we visited in April 08: The kitchen got the granite counters, new fixtures and appliances. They updated the tv and stereo system. They also upgraded the bathrooms with new lighting, counters, sinks and fixtures.
Someone mentioned the wooden deck, but when we visited this year in April the wooden portion of the deck had been replaced with red tiles matching that of the rest of the pool area.
Also, regarding spiders....yes, we saw one tarantula in 10 years of visiting here. Its not a surprise, we're on a caribbean island in the middle of a mountain. Our kids thought it was awesome and got a kick out of it. It never bothered anyone at all and I don't think this is a problem.
There are some very specific reaasons why we keep renting this place:
1. Exposure. It's perfectly exposed to the prevailing southeast tradewinds and around 1100' in elevation. So there's always a breeze, and it doesn't have the late afternoon hot exposure to the western sun. Rather, the sunrises are spectacular, and we often have to put a blanket on while sleeping, its very pleasant.
2. Bugs. The great breezes seem to keep the bugs away for the most part.
3. Location. It's in an ideal location for easy access to Coral Bay and north beaches. The driveway is right beyond the intersection of the centerline road and the north beach road, by the Columbo stand. So it takes us about 5-10 min to reach anything from Francis to Trunk. It's about 5 min from Coral Bay, and Salt Pond to Leinster is about 15 to 20 min. We usually avoid the crowds in Cruz Bay, we like the east end better, it's a lot quieter.
4. House design. It's classic old Caribbean, with three buildings connected by covered walkways, with the main living area in the middle building shared by all. It offers a great amount of privacy, and there are two master bedrooms that are spacious and separated (one at each end of compound).
5. Size. The house can sleep 10....it has 5 bedrooms all with large beds, and we think they're very comfortable. There are 4 full bathrooms, plenty of room to spread out. The washer and dryer is also located outside of the living areas under a roof area, you never hear it.
6. Views. As someone mentioned before, the views are spectacular, looking down on Coral Bay and the east end, and the BVI in the distance.
7. Pool. I like to do my laps while on vacation, gotta work off those rum drinks! The pool is a 60' lap pool, I don't think there are many that large in STJ. Our kids have always loved this pool also. There's also a hot tub that our 20 somethings enjoy every night.
8. Quiet. Although you can periodically hear cars on the centerline road, you can't see them and you barely hear them unless it's something like a big truck.
9. Price. For this size house, and for what you get in addition to the perfect location, we think the price is very reasonable. We're not paying for A/C that we feel is a waste, and it's absolutely not necessary in this house because of this high elevation.
We've had very few problems over the years, but whenever something did occur such as a broken blender, or this past year an outside light fixture got broken by the washer/dryer....Caribbean Villas fixed it within hours, they were very responsive.
We think this is a very special house on STJ and we have looked at many and we always come back here for the above reasons.
good luck!
Regarding clothing optional, the pool area is totally private from the access road, but you can see houses in the distance somewhat. We feel it's very private.
The house definitely neeeded updating and we gave this feedback to the owner about 3 or 4 years ago. The owner updated the house significantly before we visited in April 08: The kitchen got the granite counters, new fixtures and appliances. They updated the tv and stereo system. They also upgraded the bathrooms with new lighting, counters, sinks and fixtures.
Someone mentioned the wooden deck, but when we visited this year in April the wooden portion of the deck had been replaced with red tiles matching that of the rest of the pool area.
Also, regarding spiders....yes, we saw one tarantula in 10 years of visiting here. Its not a surprise, we're on a caribbean island in the middle of a mountain. Our kids thought it was awesome and got a kick out of it. It never bothered anyone at all and I don't think this is a problem.
There are some very specific reaasons why we keep renting this place:
1. Exposure. It's perfectly exposed to the prevailing southeast tradewinds and around 1100' in elevation. So there's always a breeze, and it doesn't have the late afternoon hot exposure to the western sun. Rather, the sunrises are spectacular, and we often have to put a blanket on while sleeping, its very pleasant.
2. Bugs. The great breezes seem to keep the bugs away for the most part.
3. Location. It's in an ideal location for easy access to Coral Bay and north beaches. The driveway is right beyond the intersection of the centerline road and the north beach road, by the Columbo stand. So it takes us about 5-10 min to reach anything from Francis to Trunk. It's about 5 min from Coral Bay, and Salt Pond to Leinster is about 15 to 20 min. We usually avoid the crowds in Cruz Bay, we like the east end better, it's a lot quieter.
4. House design. It's classic old Caribbean, with three buildings connected by covered walkways, with the main living area in the middle building shared by all. It offers a great amount of privacy, and there are two master bedrooms that are spacious and separated (one at each end of compound).
5. Size. The house can sleep 10....it has 5 bedrooms all with large beds, and we think they're very comfortable. There are 4 full bathrooms, plenty of room to spread out. The washer and dryer is also located outside of the living areas under a roof area, you never hear it.
6. Views. As someone mentioned before, the views are spectacular, looking down on Coral Bay and the east end, and the BVI in the distance.
7. Pool. I like to do my laps while on vacation, gotta work off those rum drinks! The pool is a 60' lap pool, I don't think there are many that large in STJ. Our kids have always loved this pool also. There's also a hot tub that our 20 somethings enjoy every night.
8. Quiet. Although you can periodically hear cars on the centerline road, you can't see them and you barely hear them unless it's something like a big truck.
9. Price. For this size house, and for what you get in addition to the perfect location, we think the price is very reasonable. We're not paying for A/C that we feel is a waste, and it's absolutely not necessary in this house because of this high elevation.
We've had very few problems over the years, but whenever something did occur such as a broken blender, or this past year an outside light fixture got broken by the washer/dryer....Caribbean Villas fixed it within hours, they were very responsive.
We think this is a very special house on STJ and we have looked at many and we always come back here for the above reasons.
good luck!
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Berlingirl
- Posts: 499
- Joined: Mon Aug 07, 2006 6:09 pm
- Location: New England
Mike, I am guessing as his signature (um...ticker) says its been one month and two weeks since STJ, he probably went during New Hampshires school break, which this year was the last week in April. 
We're from the same part of the country, but I wouldn't make it without A/c in the bedrooms at least. (personally speaking for my family anway). We've been in the USVI in the Spring (usually April), Summer (july) and Fall (Oct) before so all except the Winter for us.
We're from the same part of the country, but I wouldn't make it without A/c in the bedrooms at least. (personally speaking for my family anway). We've been in the USVI in the Spring (usually April), Summer (july) and Fall (Oct) before so all except the Winter for us.das ist ungefar richtig Berlingirl....yep, we were there the last week of April, NH vacation, we need to update that ticker with the count down to next year, but that's too discouraging, its so long from now!
I think this issue of a/c versus non a/c is really dependant on the villa location in STJ. If it ever gets hot, the rooms at Ixora all have ceiling fans, I think in 9 visits we've probably turned our own fan on maybe 5 times when going to bed....then typically waking up two hours later because we were cold.
by the way, we do have a/c in our house in NH, and we use it all the time in the summer when the humidity hits,....we don't like the heat, ....
be that as it may, often we'll drive down to Coral Bay for dinner and it's really hot down there, but when we return up the hill, we have a nice cool breeze. The elevation and exposure makes a big difference. Bottom line, I think if your villa faces west and you're on the downslope of a hill blocking you to the east, you will get that late afternoon sun and miss the prevaling breezes. Some people prefer this to get the sunsets, we just prefer the breezes.
One last point,....we did a surfing vacation in Rincon, PR this past Christmas holiday week. We got a condo and it was somewhat blocked from those southeasterly trade winds. The place got hot and we used the a/c for sure in the bed rooms. C'est la vie baby, we enjoyed the a/c there for sure!
have fun!
I think this issue of a/c versus non a/c is really dependant on the villa location in STJ. If it ever gets hot, the rooms at Ixora all have ceiling fans, I think in 9 visits we've probably turned our own fan on maybe 5 times when going to bed....then typically waking up two hours later because we were cold.
by the way, we do have a/c in our house in NH, and we use it all the time in the summer when the humidity hits,....we don't like the heat, ....
be that as it may, often we'll drive down to Coral Bay for dinner and it's really hot down there, but when we return up the hill, we have a nice cool breeze. The elevation and exposure makes a big difference. Bottom line, I think if your villa faces west and you're on the downslope of a hill blocking you to the east, you will get that late afternoon sun and miss the prevaling breezes. Some people prefer this to get the sunsets, we just prefer the breezes.
One last point,....we did a surfing vacation in Rincon, PR this past Christmas holiday week. We got a condo and it was somewhat blocked from those southeasterly trade winds. The place got hot and we used the a/c for sure in the bed rooms. C'est la vie baby, we enjoyed the a/c there for sure!
have fun!