Villas- DeBolina, Casa Bueno, Blue Palm ??

sherban · Post by **sherban** » Fri Feb 01, 2013 6:27 pm

Hello Forumites- We are currently looking at three villas for June, we are traveling as a family of four...with two kids who are 11 and 14. Our priorities are safety, view, pool, house. I was wondering who has first hand knowlege of these villas and what feedback you might have? Also would appreciate any links to your photos from your trips.

Don't need to discuss price, we are managing that, mostly interested in suitability for a family and the quality of the view pool and house...

Thanks in advance for your inputs!

Cheers-
Sherb

lprof · Post by **lprof** » Fri Feb 01, 2013 8:50 pm

Hi! We stayed at Casa Bueno 11/2009. My trip report is here:
http://www.virgin-islands-on-line.com/v ... torder=asc
We liked the location and the villa very much.

You may have done some searching and seen these comments from other threads:
http://www.virgin-islands-on-line.com/v ... o&fid[0]=1

Casa Bueno is currently for sale; I do not know that would make any difference in the rental experience.

Nice to see you back on this forum... have a wonderful STJ vacation!

Diana2 · Post by **Diana2** » Fri Feb 01, 2013 9:29 pm

Casa Bueno gets my vote. It's got it over the other two with a much better location. It's a great villa with wonderful views. All paved road.

sherban · Post by **sherban** » Sat Feb 02, 2013 9:25 am

lprof wrote:Hi! We stayed at Casa Bueno 11/2009. My trip report is here:
http://www.virgin-islands-on-line.com/v ... torder=asc
We liked the location and the villa very much.
You may have done some searching and seen these comments from other threads:
http://www.virgin-islands-on-line.com/v ... o&fid[0]=1
Casa Bueno is currently for sale; I do not know that would make any difference in the rental experience.
Nice to see you back on this forum... have a wonderful STJ vacation!

lprof- Thanks so much for the feedback, your pics and review are very helpful!

lazylane · Post by **lazylane** » Sat Feb 02, 2013 1:59 pm

Here's my review for DeBolina from March 2011. I can send pics later, they are on another computer that I don't have access to right now!!

DeBolina was one of my favorite villas to date and the location was positively fabulous!! It was our first time staying on Ajax Peak and I would definitely recommend it! The villa was very comfortable and has 4 bedrooms and a very comfy loft area that one of our group who is a single guy latched onto!! It was the only one that didn't have a/c. Lots of steps, but we are kind of used to that. It is located almost at the end of Ajax Peak Rd so there is lots of privacy and lots of private areas inside to escape to and it is well furnished. My only complaint was that the deck furniture was not too great and I love deck sitting at night. The pool area was great too and it was actually warm and got sun almost all day. We loved the convenience to the north shore beaches and it's only about 5 minutes or so to Coral Bay. Being up high on Ajax Peak, the breezes were excellent and absolutely NO BUGS. The road is paved part way and rather bumpy the rest of the way, but that's St. John!!

This review was originally submitted by lazylane.

EagleRayLover · Post by **EagleRayLover** » Sun Feb 03, 2013 6:15 am

We also stayed at Casa Bueno and had a wonderful time. We went with two other couples and never felt crowded! The pool was a good temp all but the first night as we needed to get the solar heater turned on/up! Amazing sunrises and lots of birds- bananaquits and hummers!

ccasebolt · Post by **ccasebolt** » Sun Feb 03, 2013 8:56 am

We stayed in DeBolina this past April. I loved the location on Ajax peak (first left after the smoothie stand as you head toward Coral Bay). It is very close and convenient to the north shore beaches, especially Maho, Francis, and Waterlemon. The road off the Centerline is paved; the turnoff to the villa is not, so I'd say only about 1/4 mi of unpaved (but not steep) roadway - not a problem at all. The driveway is a steep switchback, but it is paved and wide enough to turn around at the top, so you don't have to back down. We didn't have any trouble with the driveway or parking situation.

The villa is large - our family of four stayed with another family of five and there was plenty of room. The kids established "Club Coconut" in the loft and spent most of their indoor/evening time playing up there. The pool is located on the side of the villa, rather than off the living room area as is typical of many villas. It can be accessed from either the main entryway (back of the villa) or from the lower level (up half a flight stairs from the lower level twin bedroom's deck). The location of the pool might not be everyone's cup of tea, but it was a good arrangement for us as we were easily able to restrict the young childrens' access to that area.

The view overlooks Coral Bay and the BVIs - it is to die for. I agree with Lazylane as far as the deck furniture goes. The four adults in our party could easily sit on the deck, but there wasn't enough seating for all of us plus the kids - it was no matter as they spent most of their evenings in "Club Coconut" anyway

DeBolina's main floor common area (living room, dining room, kitchen) are large, light, and bright, with sliders/windows on three sides. The kitchen is extremely well equipped, the living room and dining room furniture is comfortable and sturdy. The villa is not what I'd call "high end" - no granite or marble, etc, but it is very nice, hardwood floors in the common area, tile in the bedrooms - perfect for families with kids IMHO. I'll upload some pics in a separate post.

If you have any specific questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

--Chris

ccasebolt · Post by **ccasebolt** » Sun Feb 03, 2013 9:41 am

Sunrise from the main deck:

Loft AKA Club Coconut:

View from Club Coconut:

View from the deck off the lower level master:

Living room/dining room/kitchen area taken from the deck:

View from the main deck:

Pool view (it's worth noting that they have since replaced the small white table shown on the website with a larger, much nicer table with umbrella (below):

sherban · Post by **sherban** » Sun Feb 03, 2013 11:59 am

Thanks Lazylane, EagleRay, and ccasebolt...you folks are great! The members of this forum are so helpful and always have been...love this forum.

We need to move into our final phase of villa negotiation here at home...we're looking at DeBolina, Blue Palm, Casa Bueno and Casa Luna!

They all look good so we'll have to do some thinking...I prefer view over everything else and am leaning towards the villas on TOP of the mountains!

Thanks again!

sherban · Post by **sherban** » Sat Feb 16, 2013 7:57 am

Thanks for all the inputs and feedback on these villas, we have reserved DeBolina.

All the villas looked great and it was hard to choose but it's done and we are looking forward to staying at DeBolina!
http://www.windspree.com/home.php/11/DeBolina/

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