usvi-on-line
Joe's BBQ or Cygnus Villa, Choc. Hole??
Joe's BBQ or Cygnus Villa, Choc. Hole??
Thanks much to all for prior input re. Joe's BBQ/Gallows point vs. Palm Terrace. Has anyone ever stayed at Cygnus Villa? Thumbs up or down? Now scrambling to find good villa for 5 people available this June for our dates...Suggestions welcome and appreciated. Children increasingly concerned we'll have to sleep at Joe's!
Cheers,
Dave
Cheers,
Dave
Cygnus
Cygnus is a great villa. It was nearly perfect. The only negative was the lack of a/c in the 2 upper bedrooms. The 2 lower bedrooms have it. So, if you have some in the group that don't mind, then I'd go for Cygnus. If no one is comfy without a/c, I'd pass.
I think Flip-Flop can offer you a perspective on it as well.
I think Flip-Flop can offer you a perspective on it as well.
I don't think you would be disappointed with Cygnus especially if there are no more than two adult couples. In my experience, older teen kids don't really care much about their accomodations.
Cygnus is a very nice villa. I stayed there way back in 2001 (Gromit has stayed there multiple times, most recently I think in 2003 or 2004 so maybe she'll chime in). I have never stayed there again because by nature I am too too curious to stay in the same place twice.
You enter the house from the back/driveway through a little sitting area. Very cute, never ever spent time there. From the porch/entrance you walk into the dining room. As you face Chocolate hole you will have the dining room on your left, the kitchen on your right and your living space straight ahead of you.
To the left of the living room (still facing the water) you've got the pool bedroom (or the east master) - that's the one my husband and I scored. It was fantastic. Very large, lots of storage space, comfy king bed facing the beautiful water. To the right of the living room you've got another great bedroom, not quite as big as the pool side one, but still very nice. Both bedrooms and the living room share a wonderful deck that runs the length of the house with HUGE, I do mean HUGE, sliding doors. Both bedrooms also have high ceilings & fans so you will get plenty of air circulation. We'd close up the house when we headed off to the beaches and when we'd return it would be stuffy ... instantly upon opening up the sliding doors the house was lovely.
The Positives:
* Great location, Chocolate Hole. Especially for first timers. (Not saying you are, I am not sure). You can even walk/hike down a little trail to the beach there. It is a rocky one though, just so you know.
* Great views
* 2 close to equal master bedrooms upstairs.
Possible Negatives:
* No A/C in the bedrooms. We did not need it upstairs as there were good breezes, but I think it could get stuffy downstairs in the two other bedrooms.
* Two upper bedrooms are/were way nicer than the downstairs ones. Views, decor, etc.
* The downstairs bedrooms would be fine for older kids, a little dicey for young kids (again, I am not 100% sure but I think you are going w/ Teens).
Other things to consider:
* the pool was not as big as I had imagined it to be based on the pictures ... though it was still plenty big enough for the 4 of us.
* the indoor living space could be tight if you have a group bigger than 4 or 5.
* I did not care for the downstairs part of the house. It could just be the contrast between the awesome upper bedrooms and the somewhat homely lower ones. It felt like a basement to me. I do think they have updated down there since 2001, but I can't say for sure.
I would without hesitation recommend cygnus to a couple or two couples traveling together. I would hesitate to put a third couple downstairs, no matter how nice they are they will feel slighted.
I hope this helps & am happy to answer any other questions you may have! Just give a holla.
Cygnus is a very nice villa. I stayed there way back in 2001 (Gromit has stayed there multiple times, most recently I think in 2003 or 2004 so maybe she'll chime in). I have never stayed there again because by nature I am too too curious to stay in the same place twice.
You enter the house from the back/driveway through a little sitting area. Very cute, never ever spent time there. From the porch/entrance you walk into the dining room. As you face Chocolate hole you will have the dining room on your left, the kitchen on your right and your living space straight ahead of you.
To the left of the living room (still facing the water) you've got the pool bedroom (or the east master) - that's the one my husband and I scored. It was fantastic. Very large, lots of storage space, comfy king bed facing the beautiful water. To the right of the living room you've got another great bedroom, not quite as big as the pool side one, but still very nice. Both bedrooms and the living room share a wonderful deck that runs the length of the house with HUGE, I do mean HUGE, sliding doors. Both bedrooms also have high ceilings & fans so you will get plenty of air circulation. We'd close up the house when we headed off to the beaches and when we'd return it would be stuffy ... instantly upon opening up the sliding doors the house was lovely.
The Positives:
* Great location, Chocolate Hole. Especially for first timers. (Not saying you are, I am not sure). You can even walk/hike down a little trail to the beach there. It is a rocky one though, just so you know.
* Great views
* 2 close to equal master bedrooms upstairs.
Possible Negatives:
* No A/C in the bedrooms. We did not need it upstairs as there were good breezes, but I think it could get stuffy downstairs in the two other bedrooms.
* Two upper bedrooms are/were way nicer than the downstairs ones. Views, decor, etc.
* The downstairs bedrooms would be fine for older kids, a little dicey for young kids (again, I am not 100% sure but I think you are going w/ Teens).
Other things to consider:
* the pool was not as big as I had imagined it to be based on the pictures ... though it was still plenty big enough for the 4 of us.
* the indoor living space could be tight if you have a group bigger than 4 or 5.
* I did not care for the downstairs part of the house. It could just be the contrast between the awesome upper bedrooms and the somewhat homely lower ones. It felt like a basement to me. I do think they have updated down there since 2001, but I can't say for sure.
I would without hesitation recommend cygnus to a couple or two couples traveling together. I would hesitate to put a third couple downstairs, no matter how nice they are they will feel slighted.
I hope this helps & am happy to answer any other questions you may have! Just give a holla.
Cygnus
Just adding to the great things Flip-Flop had to say about Cygnus. We stayed in May 2005 and they must have done a few updates since her stay. The two lower bedrooms did have a/c by the time we stayed there. And while they were nowhere near as nice as the upstairs bedrooms, they were nicely furnished. It's sort of a trade off, you can have the GORGEOUS upper bedrooms with no a/c or the simpler downstairs bedrooms with a/c! We took the downstairs large bedroom for the privacy. It had it's own entrance on the side of the house and was very big. Had a hammock hanging just outside and it's own T.V. (my husband loved that). Plus, we like artificial air when we sleep! 
We had a group of 6 adults and we were all comfortable and felt like we had plenty of space.
V.
We had a group of 6 adults and we were all comfortable and felt like we had plenty of space.
V.
-
jmarstonpa
- Posts: 12
- Joined: Mon Aug 07, 2006 5:04 pm
June Dates
What are your dates in June? (Full disclosure - we own a villa that might meet your needs and it has a week open in June because our daughter, who was going to use it, recently (grrrr) let us know she won't be able to, so it is open).
Jeri
Jeri
-
Teresa_Rae
- Posts: 2053
- Joined: Mon Oct 09, 2006 5:44 pm
- Location: Downstate IL
Hey there! I saw my buddy flip flop was volunteering my input 
We've stayed at Cygnus at least three times over the years (might be four- ugh!) - usually with four adults total but we also had as many as 6 adults staying at a time.
Here's the deal: we love the location of this villa. Over the years they have continued to update its amenities. Nice deck furniture, nice gas grill, updated bedrooms downstairs etc.
The views are beautiful, breezes are great -- so upstairs with no A/C is really not an issue.
Flip flop is right about the pool. But we've had up to six adults and no probs. It doesn't get a lot of afternoon sun b/c its on the side of the house.
The bathroom downstairs isn't great and the common bathroom upstairs is shared with one of the master bedrooms. While Flip flop had the pool bedroom we had the bedroom with its own private deck.
My only words of caution are check the construction schedule of the Pond Bay club (I think thta's the name of the project). I just know this whole project has been going back and forth and I seem to remember seeing that this was moving forward. Not sure how much you can see of this project from Cygnus or what kind of disruption of views etc are involved. But you would be VERY WISE to check. My only other complaint is that the owners, who at one time lived on island, would leave a vehicle parked in the driveway permanently. It was kind of a pain. Also, they had their "caretaker" stop by occasionally to check in. This was REALLY annoying to me and personally turned me off because he always wanted to get into a long conversation. It was just a bit weird and not something I am used to (although I AM a social creature by nature) I just felt like my Dad was checking up on me. Although in all fairness if something wasn't wworking, he's right there to take care of it!
All this being said, this is a charming villa with great amenties, location and a decent pool. Everything is solid. I also happen to think it's a very good value for the money. BUT do check on that construction!!!
We've stayed at Cygnus at least three times over the years (might be four- ugh!) - usually with four adults total but we also had as many as 6 adults staying at a time.
Here's the deal: we love the location of this villa. Over the years they have continued to update its amenities. Nice deck furniture, nice gas grill, updated bedrooms downstairs etc.
The views are beautiful, breezes are great -- so upstairs with no A/C is really not an issue.
Flip flop is right about the pool. But we've had up to six adults and no probs. It doesn't get a lot of afternoon sun b/c its on the side of the house.
The bathroom downstairs isn't great and the common bathroom upstairs is shared with one of the master bedrooms. While Flip flop had the pool bedroom we had the bedroom with its own private deck.
My only words of caution are check the construction schedule of the Pond Bay club (I think thta's the name of the project). I just know this whole project has been going back and forth and I seem to remember seeing that this was moving forward. Not sure how much you can see of this project from Cygnus or what kind of disruption of views etc are involved. But you would be VERY WISE to check. My only other complaint is that the owners, who at one time lived on island, would leave a vehicle parked in the driveway permanently. It was kind of a pain. Also, they had their "caretaker" stop by occasionally to check in. This was REALLY annoying to me and personally turned me off because he always wanted to get into a long conversation. It was just a bit weird and not something I am used to (although I AM a social creature by nature) I just felt like my Dad was checking up on me. Although in all fairness if something wasn't wworking, he's right there to take care of it!
All this being said, this is a charming villa with great amenties, location and a decent pool. Everything is solid. I also happen to think it's a very good value for the money. BUT do check on that construction!!!
*Another fine scatterbrained production
Hi I stayed there in jan. it was great it was my third time there. We have stayed in other villas if we want to be on the water it's where we rent. The path down to the private beach is great and choclate hole is my favorite for snorkleing If you have any ? give me a PM I have alot of pics of it if you want to see them.
Tom
Tom
thanking you all
just to say thanks again to waterguy, betty, vickih, flip-flop, gromit, teresa rae, et. al. for your input. much appreciated...already working on a pre-pre-pre-trip report...
dave
dave