Please help us pick a villa!

[katie111]

This will be our 4th trip to St John but the first one that my in-laws have not planned. It will be myself, my husband, and my 3 kids ages 7, 10, and 11. We are traveling Aug 7-17 (or thereabouts depending on flights). Last time we stayed in Coral Bay which was lovely, but we found that we spent a lot of time in the car so this time we want to be closer to Cruz Bay. We would like a decent size pool, a good view, A/C in the bedrooms, good outdoor space, and a less than 10 minute drive to Cruz Bay. We would ideally like to keep the budget under $5,000 with tax but realize we may have to go a little higher. Here's my (not so short) list so far and my concerns with each:

Southern exposure- pool appears to be on the back of the property so not sure how much we would want to sit out there to watch the kids in the pool.

Villa De AMores- read some issues about no shower in the master bath as well as an infestation of caterpillars on the deck

Serendipity- lovely but over budget. Is it worth it?

Le Lapin II- not sure if I like that the pool is somewhat separate from the house. Makes it hard to make dinner/watch the kids.

Idyllic- read that this can get very hot and has little breeze but it does have full a/c. Slightly over budget.

Hummingbird Hill- Not sure if it's too far from Cruz Bay?

Arco Iris- have read mixed reviews on wires blocking the view as well as being on a somewhat "busy" corner. Not sure about the separation of the bedrooms with kids.

Thanks so much for your help! Not trying to be super picky but just trying to make the best choice! Also, would love any other suggestions you may have!

[stjchica]

I always liked this one, but have never stayed there...It's avail starting Aug 10th though..
http://www.vacationvistas.com/Villas/vi ... _john.html

[gmanka]

You might try aurora. 4 br with 2 masters and ac in bedrooms. Very close to town but private. Have stayed there several times with family and love it. Outdoor showers, large pool, decks etc. I have rented direct from the owner so save some $ that way.
gmanka@katzmanka.com

[EagleRayLover]

You may want to check Ceilodonna or Altagracias both of whic I have babysat at in the past couple weeks and are in chocolate hole. The third is Maria breeze which was also lovely!

[katie111]

Thanks so much for the replies. Unfortunately, except for Ciellodonna which is unavailable, these are all way over our budget. We are trying to keep the budget under $5,000ish for 10 nights. Would love any other suggestions or any opinions on the ones that I have listed.

Thanks!

[timetogetaway]

We stayed in Calypso Del Sol in 2007. Great villa with nice sized pool, screen porch and 3 bedrooms. All with their own bath. Also close to Cruz Bay. Don't know about availability.

[islandjo2010]

I prefer Coral Bay but understand you want something closer to Cruz Bay. Personally, I don't think Gifft Hill would be too bad of a drive and this villa has always intrigued me. It may be a bit over budget for 10 days, but I wonder if you inquired about only using the 2 upper bedrooms if they would work with you...king master and a kids room with 2 twin trundle beds!
Soul Island http://www.vrbo.com/210811

Best of luck with your search!
Jo

[Pickle]

We stayed at Le Lapin II about 9 years ago. As you mentioned, the pool is rather away and a few/several steps down from the kitchen. You wouldn't have a clear view of the pool deck although it's not completely out of sight. The pool deck was spacious and quite nice. It got sun pretty much all day.

The house received great breezes while we were there, mostly blowing from the East. It is nice to have views towards the East (Hart Bay & Dittlif Point), West (part of St. Thomas) and North (mountains with clusters of houses). There were some wires in view on the Hart Bay side if that's significant to you. The road up to the house was pretty bumpy back then but that might have changed by now.

We have fond memories staying at Le Lapin II. It's not upscale but I don't think that's what you are looking for anyway. I would think the property is good for a family with children. A lot or very little could've changed in 9 years. Hope you'll get more recent info here.

[CHM]

Check out Infinity Villa in Virgin Grand. They are having a summer sale and it appears to be available during your dates. It is rented through Caribbean Villas and is also listed on VRBO. We are staying here for the first time in 3 weeks, but we have stayed in Virgin Grand the last three years. The view is amazing and close to Cruz Bay but not too close . The villa has interior stairs and the lower pool bedrooms have door alarms for kid safety.

[petepie]

Try Morgan Point through carefree getaways. I don't know if you have any concerns about kids being in bedrooms in separate pods from you, or in rooms accessed through an exterior stairway only, but if you do, you should ask the villa companies for floor plan info. For some reason, the coral bay villas seem to have interior access to bedrooms, and the cruz bay ones do not.

[Bigcheeze]

We have stayed at Le Lapin 2x and Hummingbird Hill now 3x over the past 12 years. The Views from both Villas are awesome...Breezier for sure at Le lapin and a 360 degree view....surf sounds from Hart Bay below... Pool and deck at LL was huge and very nice...deck and windows from the Kitchen looked out at the pool...and the view to the west on STT was incredible...the drive was bumpy...one lane.

HHill is one of our favs as its one level, great artwork and layout...easy drive from Cruz Bay, yet still able to head to Centerline if you want to head to Coral Bay or the Beaches of Frances and Maho without going through town and traveling North shore. Again a high, spectacular west view of STT never gets old either in the morning sipping coffee or at night when the lights twinkle in the distance.

[Wanda Creech]

Try Still Waters
Sea Cay
One Love
Paradise Revisited
Kia Ora
I think they would be in your price range. Don't know if they are available.