A review of villa Alta Vista has been posted.

lprof · Post by **lprof** » Wed Nov 28, 2012 11:08 pm

We truly enjoyed this house and its unique floor plan, and we would love to return for another stay. I am happy to answer any questions.
http://www.virgin-islands-on-line.com/v ... -view.html

I have posted some pictures of Alta Vista here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/floridalin ... 227795940/

PA Girl · Post by **PA Girl** » Thu Nov 29, 2012 9:40 am

I am not familar with that house. It looks nice, I added to my file.

I have ask about the fireplace. Was it wood burning? Gas? It is strange to see a fireplace in a STJ house.

lprof · Post by **lprof** » Thu Nov 29, 2012 9:53 am

PA Girl wrote:I am not familar with that house. It looks nice, I added to my file.

I have ask about the fireplace. Was it wood burning? Gas? It is strange to see a fireplace in a STJ house.

Two fireplaces. Both gas... one in the great room upstairs and one in the outdoor dining area. We did not turn them on. This house had a little bit of an European feel to me. The layout is different and took a little getting used to. Six is the max number for rentals, but I expect the owners enjoy sharing it with more people; it is really a small footprint but offers separate and private spaces as well as the large great room.
I know that at least two other forumites have stayed there and liked it.

Chet · Post by **Chet** » Thu Nov 29, 2012 1:19 pm

Each of the guest bedrooms have a sleeping loft and a twin mattress - perfect for a couple with a kid.

Sol Inclination has a pass-through stone fireplace that opens on both the living room and kitchen. Gas of course. The night we arrived was cold and rainy so we turned it on and cuddled comfortably toasty on the couch.

The Alta Vista great room fireplace seems more functional. The furniture can be shifted to cluster in front of the flames. The outside fireplace is fronted by the dining table and chairs - not so good, and will require creative redecoration of existing furniture.

lprof · Post by **lprof** » Thu Nov 29, 2012 2:01 pm

Chet wrote:Each of the guest bedrooms have a sleeping loft and a twin mattress - perfect for a couple with a kid.

Guess we didn't try out ALL the beds!

We noticed the ladders and lofts in those rooms, but once we got everything turned off in the pods we locked them and forgot them. There was a porta-crib in the master closet, and I believe the great room sofa hid a bed.

BTW, someone left something behind in the master closet... I left it there.

PA Girl · Post by **PA Girl** » Thu Nov 29, 2012 8:38 pm

Chet wrote:Each of the guest bedrooms have a sleeping loft and a twin mattress - perfect for a couple with a kid.

That is good to know. We have a7yo and I am just most comfortable keeping him close to us in a strange house with a pool.

I adore fireplaces. We have two in our house and one in our cabin, all wood burning, as well as a big outdoor fire pit. We burn them constantly. I often cook in one for Friday night dinners and we have them going all weekend long. Yet, I just can't understand the appeal in the VIs. Maybe I haven't ever been cold enough?

Diana2 · Post by **Diana2** » Thu Nov 29, 2012 8:57 pm

I'm very interested in this house. So how do you get to this house and how was the view? Was the pool heated? Did you use it? Is there air in the bedrooms?

lprof · Post by **lprof** » Fri Nov 30, 2012 7:11 am

Diana2 wrote:I'm very interested in this house. So how do you get to this house and how was the view?

Diana, you turn off Centerline at Chateau Bordeaux (like you are going to Casa Bueno) but continue on for almost a mile. This villa is mid-island so the water and BVI view is distant, but I loved seeing the white sands of Yost, and picking out White Bay, Grand Bay; watching planes come in to Beef Island; seeing the cruise ships, looking like matchbox toys, coming and going in Drake Channel. The view as presented on the websites featuring Alta Vista is accurate, yet I thought it better than I expected.

Was the pool heated? Did you use it?

No the pool was not heated; we got into it very briefly. I am a cold water wimp; my husband was in the pool longer, but also found the water too cold to enjoy for long.

Is there air in the bedrooms?

Yes, all the bedrooms and the great room had ample air conditioning and ceiling fans.

UF Prof · Post by **UF Prof** » Fri Nov 30, 2012 11:47 am

A few small updates/corrections to lProf:

Lofts in the bedroom pods. While we were there, only one loft had a mattress, and only a mattress, in it. The floors of the lofts are not finished yet and consist of a plywood sub flooring. There is not much head room in the lofts but for a small child, it might be sufficient.

The pool. There is a single solar panel which I assumed was for heating the pool. In Nov, the pool did not receive a lot of direct sun and did tend to be a little chilly, at least to Floridians. The pool was not cold, probably around the lower 70s.

Overall, the villa was exceptionally well furnished and very comfortable and came with some spectacular sunsets.

ColumbiaSCTraveler · Post by **ColumbiaSCTraveler** » Fri Dec 21, 2012 11:12 pm

So can you access the living area from an INSIDE staircase, or do you have to go outside? What is on the level with the master besides the kitchen area? THANKS for sharing....this is on our short list, along with Reef Madness and Ellison. Any others I should consider? (We're going back in August - 5th trip in 5 years. Counting down the minutes already!)

bdkane · Post by **bdkane** » Sat Dec 22, 2012 3:53 pm

ColumbiaSCTraveler wrote:So can you access the living area from an INSIDE staircase, or do you have to go outside? What is on the level with the master besides the kitchen area? THANKS for sharing....this is on our short list, along with Reef Madness and Ellison. Any others I should consider? (We're going back in August - 5th trip in 5 years. Counting down the minutes already!)

Re: Alta Vista, The main "living room" area is located on the upper level and is accessible ONLY from an outdoor stairway.

Picture it as 3 individual pods/units - the left and right pods are ground floor level, very similar bedrooms, en suite baths, the center ground floor pod is the kitchen that opens to the patio and from there you enter a 3rd bedroom and bath. Then just outside the kitchen door this is a staircase leading to an upper level which is only over the center pod, it is however pretty large made up of 3 different "areas", one with a dining table for 6/wet bar/ice maker, another with a television and couch, the third is a comfy sitting area in front of a fireplace, it also includes 2 outdoor decks, one front and one back - as well as a 1/2 bath. It is not a very large villa but being it has a great use of space, it has the feel of being much larger than it is, easily accommodating 6 adults. The view is amazing but is "distant", still - it will take your breath away every morning.

Reef Madness is smaller with a maximum of four adults, it also has a "cozy" feel. The are 2 bedrooms both accessible from outdoors and a main house with a kitchen / dining / living area, it is great for getting together. I love the view here as well - yet its totally different. You will hear the occasional Donkey or goat, you may see the children playing on the field, at night you may hear - very lightly - the sounds of people coming from Skinnys or music from Island Blues - I refer to it as an "interactive" view.

You cant really go wrong with either of these, for me it would be based on how many people I'm traveling with, I have not been to Ellison so cant comment on that one.

Good Luck ! Villa hunting is half the fun

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