Split stay between two villas?

Bluestreak12 · Post by **Bluestreak12** » Mon Sep 09, 2013 2:10 pm

We just finished our first vacation in St. John this past July. My wife loved it so much we are hoping to get back next summer also. We are kind of split on villas and are considering two 5 night stays in different ones. Has anyone ever done this before and are there expenses in doing so that I'm may be overlooking?

I know we won't have access to a villa for 5 hours or so, but the only issue we see is spoilage of any refrigerated food. I guess there is also a remote chance that our Jeep could be broken into while snorkeling and we would lose all of our luggage. We are mainly considering this because we can't get everything in one villa that we would like in our price range. If we split it, we would have a little of everything, albeit not at the same time.

Oh, I never go around to a trip report, but here is a link to my photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/12919567@N06/

They are not nearly as good as some that I've seen on here, but I hope to do better next time around.

stjchica · Post by **stjchica** » Mon Sep 09, 2013 2:12 pm

I think that will just be a personal decision..
For me, I wouldn't want to take the time to mess with changing villas, etc...

Bluestreak12 · Post by **Bluestreak12** » Mon Sep 09, 2013 2:17 pm

I really don't want to either, but we're torn between villas and can't come to a consensus. Hopefully it wouldn't be too bad since it is just the two of us. For us, I don't see it taking more than an hour to throw everything in the jeep. Location and amenities are the main reason we are considering it.

We'll also keep looking of that perfect villa for us. There are just so many out there and so many different websites that have them.

toes in the sand · Post by **toes in the sand** » Mon Sep 09, 2013 2:33 pm

I can see that doing a split would give you a look at two villas but when I get on island time I limit my activities to those that are absoluely necessary for; my survival (eating, sleeping, grocery shopping etc), my fun factor (getting up off my towel to snorkel, hiking etc) and those things that are required for me to make the madatory trip back home (packing, ticket printing, jeep return, ferry etc). If it is going to take precious minutes from my StJ stay the move between the two would have to be between two places that I just couldn't choose between . It would also have to be to find that "go to place" if I was looking for that repeat villa to come to whenever I visit. If it is just get AC in one place or a pool in the other then I would suggest that you have to increase your budget and enjoy yourself the whole time you are here.
That being said, this trip we are staying at a house for 7 nights then moving to Cinnamon Bay Campground for 3 nights. This activity is falling into the fun factor qualified activity.

Have you noticed that for some villas there is a minimum stay and that when you rent for 5 days you pay more per day than if you stay for a week? Many will not have the minimum stay requirements during the off season. Some have a cleaning fee tacked onto a stay less than 7 nights. You may find yourself staying in one place for 7 nights and another for 3 nights. Also, one thing we are finding out this trip is that the rental car agencies (at least the 4 that I checked) will give you the weekly rate for the first 7 days but hit you for the daily rate for the remaining.

Bluestreak12 · Post by **Bluestreak12** » Mon Sep 09, 2013 2:40 pm

Thanks for the insight, toes. I didn't take into account the cleaning fee, but I was aware of the five day minimum stay. I also think I'm more likely to get a discount for staying all the time at one villa. I'm all for upping the budget a little to stay at one villa the entire time, but my wife is a little more thrifty than I am. As long as we are on St. John and has a decent view, she is okay with the villa. I would like to have a pool and a hot tub but we can't find something like that in our price range.

The first villa we are considering is high up on the western hillside of Coral Bay. It has a fantastic view and a hot tub. The second villa has a pool with not as great of view but it is closer to the north shore beaches.

I think we are definitely leaning towards one villa, but wondered if we could make two work.

lark22 · Post by **lark22** » Mon Sep 09, 2013 3:17 pm

We did exactly that a few years ago and really enjoyed it! You do lose part of the in-between 'moving' day, but if you plan carefully, it's not a big deal. It also had the effect of making our visit feel longer because of the change of scene, kind of like two vacations back to back! It's also a good chance to try an extra villa for a future trip.

I say give it a shot! The worst thing that can happen is that you decide that you don't want to do it again in the future...

Bluestreak12 · Post by **Bluestreak12** » Mon Sep 09, 2013 3:35 pm

Thanks Lark22 for the input! We'll look more into it. Right now, we are just in the planning stages and we don't have our time period down yet as it depends on what our daughters are doing next summer. I was hoping someone would tell me it was worth the effort before I spend any more time considering it. The whole two vacation idea sounds appealing and I think that is why I'm considering it. I don't think the moving will be a big deal as we are constantly on the run back here at home. I think it definitely helps that it is off-season and 10 months out so there are still a lot of openings left.

liamsaunt · Post by **liamsaunt** » Mon Sep 09, 2013 3:57 pm

My husband and I used to do split stays all the time, when it was just the two of us traveling together. Now that we travel with a larger group in the summer we tend to stay in one place.

We did this because we liked to rent villas with different views for our splits. We really enjoyed switching that up. For example, we did Cinnamon Tarn (Catherineberg overlooking the North Shore) followed by Argonauta (Pillsbury Sound to STT views) once. Another time we did a villa in Chocolate Hole followed by a villa way up on the mountain in Coral Bay.

Are both houses through the same rental company? We would choose both homes from the same company, and found that we were allowed to stay at the first house until the second was ready if nobody was checking in right behind us. Or, if it was a flip day for the villa we were moving out of, we were allowed to bring our stuff to the second house prior to check in, or to bring our bags to the management company office until we could get in to the second house.

Pia · Post by **Pia** » Mon Sep 09, 2013 4:10 pm

What two villas are you considering ?

Pia

Bluestreak12 · Post by **Bluestreak12** » Mon Sep 09, 2013 4:25 pm

We are only pretty much set with one villa so far. We saw Skyflower when we were there (thanks Sharon!) and were really impressed with it. We loved the outdoor showers, the hot tub and the view.

We would also like to have a pool and wouldn't mind being a little closer to the north shore beaches and Cruz Bay for part of our stay. Our second choice was Bayview, but we may be able to also bump up the budget to include Cinnamon Tarn (thanks to you LiamsAunt!) and Cinnamon Ridge. I haven't really searched Giftt Hill, but that is an option also. Our main criteria for our second villa is a private pool, a great view and location closer to north shore beaches and Cruz Bay. If we could afford Bay Rum Breeze for the entire stay, we would do it in a heartbeat.

dreamshark · Post by **dreamshark** » Mon Sep 09, 2013 6:33 pm

Hey, there Blue! Nice pictures. Where did you see the squid? I can tell that you really enjoyed the Ram Head hike, judging from the number of pictures you took.

We did a split stay on our first trip - 3 days in a cottage at Cinnamon Bay and then a week in a villa in Chocolate Hole. Definitely gave us two very different experiences, which was fun. I was considering a split stay when planning this trip. Here's how I approached it. I'd look for villas that had "holes" in the schedule, and then try to match them up with each other. Most villa owners prefer to rent for at least a week and usually charge extra cleaning fees or nightly rates for short stays. But if they have an awkward hole to fill in their schedule, they will sometimes give a discount for a short stay. Another approach that I still think would be fun is to do 3-4 days in someplace really cheap in Cruz Bay (like Samuel's Cottages) and then move to a more upscale place with a mountain view for 5-7 days. In the end I found Skyflower, which was so perfect for our family that I couldn't pass it up. But I'd still like to try a split stay in two wildly different locations sometime. It's definitely a kick to start out someplace very Spartan and then move up to more luxury.

Skyflower was absolutely wonderful, but it's pretty much the same view as OPH. If it's variety you're looking for, you might want to try a different mountaintop next time. If what you're really looking for is both a pool and a hot tub in one location, here's a couple to check out (both with great mountaintop views, but different vantabe points):

- Periwinkle Cottage (the Coral Bay one): http://www.vrbo.com/176761
- Viewtiful (Mamey Peak): http://www.privatehomesvi.com/viewtiful.htm

AquaGirl · Post by **AquaGirl** » Mon Sep 09, 2013 9:46 pm

On our first trip to STJ in 2007, my husband and I couldn't decide if we wanted to stay in the Coral Bay area, or closer to Cruz Bay. So we stayed at Concordia for 5 nights, and Coconuts villa for 7 nights. We loved both places and were glad we did both. When we were at Concordia, we mostly went to beaches and restaurants in that area. We did go into Cruz Bay a few times (once for a day sail and once for something important, but I don't remember what it was). We didn't like making that drive and if we did this again, we would just stay in the Coral Bay and East End area while we were in that vicinity. It did feel a bit like 2 vacations since the locations and views were so different.

We took a big soft-sided cooler to carry the cold stuff for the transfer day. The villa company let us go to Coconuts villa and drop off our cold stuff and luggage. We would not have wanted to leave it in the Jeep unattended. We would also be concerned about things in our luggage getting really hot since the vehicle really heats up. I've had bottles of lotion and shampoo "explode" in my car in the summer and make a big mess.

The last few trips, we stayed at the villa the whole time, rather than splitting the trip. It was definitely less hassle and seemed more relaxing than packing everything up and moving. We felt very "settled in" when we didn't have to think about packing up and moving. Our trip next year we are considering spending some time at Caneel, then a week at a villa, so we will do another "split trip".

Check out Coconuts, Plumeria or other villas on Gifft Hill. The views from Gifft Hill are wonderful.

I love that you could pack everything up and throw it in your Jeep in an hour. Somehow, we take a lot of "stuff" and it gets spread around, so we couldn't possibly pack up in an hour. LOL!

Happy trip planning!

Bluestreak12 · Post by **Bluestreak12** » Mon Sep 09, 2013 9:56 pm

B&J, thanks for the helpful information! I never considered shampoo blowing up in the car. I'm probably being optimistic in the hour timeframe.

Hopefully the villa management company would let us drop off our stuff also.

I was typing my post when you replied, but Gifft Hill is a definite possibility for us. Coconuts is our first (and only) choice in that area, but it is mostly booked already in July. Hopefully we can make it work out. Maybe we'll have to stay more than ten days to make it happen.

loria · Post by **loria** » Mon Sep 09, 2013 10:38 pm

we have done this on two trips... one with kids and one without (sort of) first from concordia to a villa then from a larger villa to a smaller place (after the kids left )
i have to say, it really eats up a day , so if your time is important-- then i would reconsider. we also ran into issues the first time with the greeter/cleaner person who just was not on time (actually about 90 minutes late) -- i get island time-- really been going there a long time, but while trying to juggle baggage, kids, groceries (which were spoiling) that was an issue. we tend to do a lot of cooking in-- so have stuff that needs to be kept cold and so having it hang in a car is not an option...... the second place the folks (and i am sure there are legit reasons for this) were unwilling to let us leave our bags on the deck and our jeep wasn't the most secure and we were traveling with cameras, laptops etc... so blah... for me it just wasn't worth the stress.. i like to be out all day on the beach or in/on the water...and switching just didn't fit with that plan.... just my experience. i should also add that i really feel like i need to completely clean up a place prior to leaving... so that just makes it all the more of a pain!

AquaGirl · Post by **AquaGirl** » Mon Sep 09, 2013 10:56 pm

I forgot to mention that we stayed at Bayview in 2007. There are views from both sides of the house, which was very nice. The view to the north shore is a bit "narrow" since the trees have grown and obscured some of the view. The patio was very pleasant for sitting in the shade, and the balcony had great views out to Coral Bay. The only thing I wanted to mention is that we had toilet issues when we were there and had to call the villa manager for a plunger. We noticed that others had written about the same issue in the guest book. If you decide you want to stay there, you should probably ask if the issue has been resolved. It almost seemed like it may have been an on-going issue since several people mentioned it. However, there were some people who used to post on this forum that stayed there several times and loved it (I think their forum name was Bob & Anita).

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