Summerwind Villa Review (June 2013)

[54b]

Summerwind Villa (Bordeaux Mountain)
June 2013

Website: http://www.caribbeanvilla.com/property/summerwind/
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yuXLi8-T7N0

Note: This is the villa located directly below Casa Bueno, which is often talked about on the forum.

Background - Two families: four adults, three kids ages 9, 8 and 7; two jeeps; desired a pool, hot tub, decent view (some elevation), A/C in bedrooms, and washer/dryer; budget: $4,200 - $4500 for 8 "crazy" days and 8 "must be able to get some sleep" nights; each of the adults has been to STJ at least four times, this was the 2nd trip for this particular group; villa philosophy - don't need a palace, not into villa gravity, just want a place that helps us enjoy the primary reason we came to STJ, to enjoy the island and each other's company.

Location - Perfect; Admittedly, I've always rolled my eyes a bit when people on the forum made a big deal about villa location because I always felt STJ was so small it really didn't matter. But being centrally located added immeasurably to our enjoyment. We really felt like we could be anywhere on island within about 15 to 20 minutes, which is huge when trying to make dinner reservations or you "forget" something at the villa and need to go back during the day; And where it particularly paid off was for the two of us stress puppies that wanted to exercise really early while the others slept in. We'd leave at 6am and be back by 7:30am and feel like we hadn't made anybody wait or fret about not getting the most of their day. We went in a different direction every morning - Brown Bay, Francis to Waterlemon, Reef Bay, and Lind Point to Caneel. No way we would have done all those if we were staying on one side of the island or another. We also really enjoyed being able to drive the back route to the Northshore.

Privacy - Even though Casa Bueno villa is right above Summerwind, you don't know it's there with all the walls and fauna separating the two. You have total privacy and you feel very safe as the only real way into the villa is the narrow entrance at the top of the stairs next to the driveway...it's not far from the main road, but there's no reason for someone to be near your villa unless they're working on it or staying at Casa Bueno.

View - Spectacular; The images and video linked above will do more justice than I will with words; But I will add that being so high up was great as the winds kept the temperatures down and the mosquitos to a minimum; It is an East facing down island view, so it would be better suited for fans of sunrises vs sunsets; I really enjoyed getting up before first light and watching the sun come up; It was also neat to be able to see the rain move across the island.

Layout - Very vertical; We thought it was terrific, but full disclosure, you will do a lot of climbing up and down stairs and I would not recommend this villa for people with hip or knee issues; It's basically a four story condo - you park your jeep above the villa and descend one story to the main deck where the kitchen/common area (separate unit), porch, pool and hot tub are located; then down to the next story where you'll find a very large master bedroom suite with indoor and outdoor showers (separate unit); three stories down you'll find another bedroom/bathroom/laundry room (separate unit); and then the 4th story down, you'll find the final two bedrooms contained in one unit, but fully separated by a wall with their own bathrooms.

Villa Management Co./Host - We went through the Caribbean Villas management company, who i believe are based in the Northeast. They were great, easy to deal with, simple paperwork. Our villa host was Terry - great communication and flexibility; she met us outside the Chateaux Bordeaux, which is like less than a minute form the villa; very easy; we never needed to call her during the week, but had like 3 different phone numbers in case we did.

Amenities Worth Mentioning:

- The Ice Maker - I consider this the ultimate luxury on STJ and it worked beautifully, crushed or cubed; So as not to overload it, we used the ice trays when putting ice in our cooler each morning.

- Hurricane Doors/Windows - Really high tone; they open horizontally and vertically; and except for the Master Bedroom, that has a high ceiling, they basically made the other 3 bedrooms sound proof.

- A/C - Each room has a motel style wall unit (kitchen/main area has two); I know they aren't as aesthetically pleasing as central air, but they WORK really, really well and they are the way I'd go if I owned a villa; they are also extremely uncomplicated to use (we have stayed in villas where the remote control for the A/C unit was more complicated than the TV/VCR remote)

- Hot Tub/Pool - Both were very clean, comfortable and spacious; the adults liked being able to get in the hot tub while overlooking/monitoring the kids in the pool

- W/D - Both front loading, very modern units; a big plus to have when you don't want to have to pack a lot

Overall - Great, great villa; Very good value for the dollar; The verticality didn't bother us in the least. In fact it felt like a tree fort to the kids. I'd say the only drawback for us was simply the disparity between the master bedroom and other bedrooms. It wasn't a big deal and we certainly knew about it before we booked, but when you have two couples, I think it's easier if two of the bedrooms are more equal. So I'd say this villa is probably best suited for the single family with kids of any ages who prefer their own bedrooms. That said, it really was a great villa. Very clean, very modern, very up to date. It only added to our enjoyment of STJ.

[CBama]

thanks....I love info on villas....this was on my list of four bedroom villas but I wasn't sure about the view....

[54b]

thanks....I love info on villas....this was on my list of four bedroom villas but I wasn't sure about the view....

Interesting that you mention the view...I thought it was great, but it's definitely not the view you get from other villas that are closer to water. This one features a ton of the national park before with a bit of Coral bay and the channel between STJ and Tortolla off in the distance. I liked it because all the rolling hills and trees reminded me a little bit of the Texas Hill Country, but I can see why others would prefer more of an ocean view.

[GotToGetAway]

We stayed further down that road on our first trip. I thought mid island would be "close to everything," but for our first trip we really didn't like the location, we felt far away from everything. But, many trips later maybe we should revisit that mid island location. We've been staying on the South Shore the past few trips, and it's such a hike to get to Coral Bay and beyond. Plus, just a few minutes to Maho is a huge plus.

[54b]

We stayed further down that road on our first trip. I thought mid island would be "close to everything," but for our first trip we really didn't like the location, we felt far away from everything. But, many trips later maybe we should revisit that mid island location. We've been staying on the South Shore the past few trips, and it's such a hike to get to Coral Bay and beyond. Plus, just a few minutes to Maho is a huge plus.

I can see how that would be so for a first timer as you find yourself needing to be in and around Cruz Bay a lot more often - gas, groceries, sundries, info, etc. - than a STJ veteran usually does.

Over six trips to STJ, I've found that the primary driver for choosing a villa location was where we thought we'd be on most nights or early evenings. During the morning and early part of the day, you're usually adventurous and game for anything (Coral Bay seems a lot closer to Cruz in the daylight). But after a long day sweating, hiking, swimming, etc., the last thing you want to do is drive 30 minutes on winding roads in the dark, especially after a big meal with cocktails.

For us, we've found that most of our MUST GO TO restaurants (Aqua B, Shipwreck, Skinny's) are in Coral Bay and lot of the stuff we like in Cruz Bay (Beach Bar, Uncle Joe's, Joe's Rum Hut Pizza) we can get to go or enjoy it on the way back to the villa from the beach without needing to shower and clean up first.

That plus the close proximity to the North Shore beaches we like most makes mid-island ideal for us. But I think I too would encourage first timers to stay in an area like Chocolate Hole on the South Shore and anyone else, to use the "where do you want to spend most of your early evenings on vacation" filter.