usvi-on-line
Gardenia (Cloud 9 Villas)
-
cubsfanone
- Posts: 14
- Joined: Fri May 18, 2007 1:19 pm
- Location: Cincinnati, OH
Gardenia (Cloud 9 Villas)
Hello Friends,
Another long time "lurker" here who is finally coming out of the shadows. Thanks to all of you for already helping with my travel plans! My fiancee and I will be making our first visit to St. John for our honeymoon later this year and this forum has been very helpful to us already.
We had made arrangements for accomodations that unfortunately have fallen through - a long story that I won't bore you with. So, we are scrambling to find suitable accomodations for our honeymoon which is now just 10 weeks away! We aren't in need of anything too luxurious, just nice, clean, private accomodations from friendly people.
We've come across Gardenia - a garden apartment rented by Cloud 9 Villas (www.cloud9villas.com/Gardenia). It looks very nice, though I've been unable to find many reviews of the property. Please help if you've stayed there or even if you've stayed at Palmello (just above Gardenia) we'd love to hear what you thought! We're also open to any suggestions that you may have for another villa that would be good for us (our hope is to spend between $700 & $1000 for a week). Though the less expensive the better
Thanks to all for your help. I look forward to being a part of this great forum.
Thank you,
Brian
Another long time "lurker" here who is finally coming out of the shadows. Thanks to all of you for already helping with my travel plans! My fiancee and I will be making our first visit to St. John for our honeymoon later this year and this forum has been very helpful to us already.
We had made arrangements for accomodations that unfortunately have fallen through - a long story that I won't bore you with. So, we are scrambling to find suitable accomodations for our honeymoon which is now just 10 weeks away! We aren't in need of anything too luxurious, just nice, clean, private accomodations from friendly people.
We've come across Gardenia - a garden apartment rented by Cloud 9 Villas (www.cloud9villas.com/Gardenia). It looks very nice, though I've been unable to find many reviews of the property. Please help if you've stayed there or even if you've stayed at Palmello (just above Gardenia) we'd love to hear what you thought! We're also open to any suggestions that you may have for another villa that would be good for us (our hope is to spend between $700 & $1000 for a week). Though the less expensive the better
Thanks to all for your help. I look forward to being a part of this great forum.
Thank you,
Brian
Hi and Congrats on the honeymoon! St. John is such a perfect choice!
I can't give a review of Gardenia, but wanted to say that we are staying in Sundance next month which is another Cloud 9 property. When I looked into this rental I found nothing negative about Cloud 9. I took that as a good sign. I think the location of Gardenia sounds good and since you are looking for affordable it meets your needs. You can get out and about to see the amazing views and beaches. Make sure you spend one evening watching the sunset from somewhere else since it says you can't see the water from that villa. I've actually looked at that property for a more affordable trip for us.
Good luck!
I can't give a review of Gardenia, but wanted to say that we are staying in Sundance next month which is another Cloud 9 property. When I looked into this rental I found nothing negative about Cloud 9. I took that as a good sign. I think the location of Gardenia sounds good and since you are looking for affordable it meets your needs. You can get out and about to see the amazing views and beaches. Make sure you spend one evening watching the sunset from somewhere else since it says you can't see the water from that villa. I've actually looked at that property for a more affordable trip for us.
Good luck!
Maggy stayed at an apartment called Stairway to the Stars that fits your bill. She describes it in her trip report at http://www.virgin-islands-on-line.com/f ... ighlight=.
It does not have A/C, but its high on a hill overlooking Coral Bay. It's listed on vrbo.com at http://www.vrbo.com/79945. VRBO is a good place to look for the lower cost owner-managed places.
Good luck, have fun. You picked the right spot for your honeymoon.
Cheers, RickG
It does not have A/C, but its high on a hill overlooking Coral Bay. It's listed on vrbo.com at http://www.vrbo.com/79945. VRBO is a good place to look for the lower cost owner-managed places.
Good luck, have fun. You picked the right spot for your honeymoon.
Cheers, RickG
S/V Echoes - Coral Bay - St. John, VI
I have been in Gardenia before. It is the bottom floor of another Cloud 9 villa. It is clean, no question. The managers office is on premise too, so if there are any problems, Marcy would take care of them quickly. And no, she doesn't live there, so she is not all over you!
We are going down this Saturday with six couples and one of the couples is staying in Gardenia. I can give you much better details next week after I hear firsthand from the couple staying there.
Ben Chill
We are going down this Saturday with six couples and one of the couples is staying in Gardenia. I can give you much better details next week after I hear firsthand from the couple staying there.
Ben Chill
Hubby and I stayed in Gardenia 2 years ago before we moved and although it was clean I personally would not stay there again.
There was nothing wrong with it, it was just not what I was expecting. The pictures on the website are old so it was alittle bit of a surprise to me when I saw the actual apartment - the linen was not as pictured - clean yes, but "tired" There are 2 beds in the room not only one as is shown on the website. The "main" (king I think) bed as you would say was old and I felt in need of replacement and you kind of rolled to the middle, so we slept in the other bed which is next to the refrigerator so the noise kept us from sleeping soundly (well me anyway as I'm a light sleeper
) We had to roll the TV, which is on a little cart, to the bed so we could see it.
I didn't like that you only had liquid Dial for soap in the shower, OK for hand washing in the bathroom just not what I think of as a good thing to shower with - I know it's just me but....
The resident dog that is there was sooooo cute and loving - he would just come and sit with us I really wanted to adopt him when we moved here but I didn't think they would appreciate it
All in all it's not a bad place to stay - no view at all which is stated (I think) on the website so we were not expecting one and the little area of garden you have is nice, it is clean and you will need a car, but agin for me, not what I was expecting.
Hope this helped
Pia
There was nothing wrong with it, it was just not what I was expecting. The pictures on the website are old so it was alittle bit of a surprise to me when I saw the actual apartment - the linen was not as pictured - clean yes, but "tired" There are 2 beds in the room not only one as is shown on the website. The "main" (king I think) bed as you would say was old and I felt in need of replacement and you kind of rolled to the middle, so we slept in the other bed which is next to the refrigerator so the noise kept us from sleeping soundly (well me anyway as I'm a light sleeper
) We had to roll the TV, which is on a little cart, to the bed so we could see it.I didn't like that you only had liquid Dial for soap in the shower, OK for hand washing in the bathroom just not what I think of as a good thing to shower with - I know it's just me but....
The resident dog that is there was sooooo cute and loving - he would just come and sit with us I really wanted to adopt him when we moved here but I didn't think they would appreciate it
All in all it's not a bad place to stay - no view at all which is stated (I think) on the website so we were not expecting one and the little area of garden you have is nice, it is clean and you will need a car, but agin for me, not what I was expecting.
Hope this helped
Pia
-
cubsfanone
- Posts: 14
- Joined: Fri May 18, 2007 1:19 pm
- Location: Cincinnati, OH
Thanks for you responses. Rick, Stairway to the Stars looks perfect for us - thanks for the recommendation - though sadly they are booked for the week we'll be there. I've bookmarked them for a future trip though! VRBO.com also looks like an amazing resource, thanks.
It does seem that everyone has been happy with Cloud 9, so I'm confident we'd be happy with their service. They've been friendly to deal with so far. Ben, thanks for the info about Gardenia. We'd love to hear what your friends think after there stay there next week.
Thanks again,
Brian
P.S. In case you are counting...cubsfanone's posts = 2, RickG's posts = 1116! Hmm, I wonder who the expert is?
It does seem that everyone has been happy with Cloud 9, so I'm confident we'd be happy with their service. They've been friendly to deal with so far. Ben, thanks for the info about Gardenia. We'd love to hear what your friends think after there stay there next week.
Thanks again,
Brian
P.S. In case you are counting...cubsfanone's posts = 2, RickG's posts = 1116! Hmm, I wonder who the expert is?
-
cubsfanone
- Posts: 14
- Joined: Fri May 18, 2007 1:19 pm
- Location: Cincinnati, OH
Pia, thanks for your honest review. It seems that you truly do get what you pay for - not a bad place to stay but not as "nice" as other properties. It's always difficult to truly determine the quality of a place based on a few pictures on a website, so I appreciate hearing from someone who has been there. Have you stayed in any "similar" properties that you would recommend?
Thanks!
Brian
Thanks!
Brian
Oh, it does say on the web that that it is new but it must be at least 4-5 years old minimum as we stayed there in Feb of 2005 and the condition appeared to be at least 3 years or so back then. I just wish owners would be more truthful in descriptions or at least update their pictures and info on the website more often.
Pia
Pia
-
cubsfanone
- Posts: 14
- Joined: Fri May 18, 2007 1:19 pm
- Location: Cincinnati, OH
I stayed there for a week with my brother in May. We found it to be great for the price. No it is not brand new, but very clean and well equipped.
There is a wicker love seat in the unit, 2 bar stools, night stands, one king size (which is 2 twins) bed (these are on the softer side), and one queen side bed (this bed is firm). Cable TV is great. There is a window AC unit which does a nice job cooling the place off. The shower does have liquid soap. Hot tub works fine. Unfortunately, when we were there the mosquitos were on a rampage all over the island, so we did not venture outside much. The foilage off of the patio is very nice and there are local critters to be seen. There, however, was no doggie, which personally i would have been thrilled with! The kitchen is very well equipped, even a blender! There is also some tupperware type containers too. 3 coolers and beach chairs as well. While there i also checked out the upstairs unit, i liked the lower, Gardenia better. Altho the upstairs unit has 2 BRs and a stack washer/drier, I still liked Gardenia more.
For the price, its one heck of a bargain. I would definitely return. Marcy is great!
Sue
There is a wicker love seat in the unit, 2 bar stools, night stands, one king size (which is 2 twins) bed (these are on the softer side), and one queen side bed (this bed is firm). Cable TV is great. There is a window AC unit which does a nice job cooling the place off. The shower does have liquid soap. Hot tub works fine. Unfortunately, when we were there the mosquitos were on a rampage all over the island, so we did not venture outside much. The foilage off of the patio is very nice and there are local critters to be seen. There, however, was no doggie, which personally i would have been thrilled with! The kitchen is very well equipped, even a blender! There is also some tupperware type containers too. 3 coolers and beach chairs as well. While there i also checked out the upstairs unit, i liked the lower, Gardenia better. Altho the upstairs unit has 2 BRs and a stack washer/drier, I still liked Gardenia more.
For the price, its one heck of a bargain. I would definitely return. Marcy is great!
Sue
Here is a link that has several things in your price range http://caribehavens.com/. Also, at the top of this forum is a $950 construction special on a 4 bedroom house. Now, I know since it's your honeymoon you may not want to have workmen around 
but for the price you get a heck of a lot of house and a pool!
but for the price you get a heck of a lot of house and a pool!Paula
Gardenia
Meritage Cottage is renting for $1000 per week this summer and early fall. I seems to be upscale, romantic and has beautiful views. king bed and jacuzzi on the deck. I believe it is located in Chocolate Hole.
It is available through Charminghideaways.com. Their website has great photos. It is also available through Carefreevacations.com. Great agency to work with.
It is available through Charminghideaways.com. Their website has great photos. It is also available through Carefreevacations.com. Great agency to work with.
I've bookmarked a few lower price villas/condos/apartments in anticipation of our return to STJ. These are the ones that are under $1000/wk. I haven't seen either but maybe the gang here can give you more info.
http://www.sailviewstjohn.com/
http://www.caribbeandays.com/stjohn/1be ... view.shtml
http://www.sailviewstjohn.com/
http://www.caribbeandays.com/stjohn/1be ... view.shtml
...ron
Time to start working on convincing the wife that we have to go back soon!
Time to start working on convincing the wife that we have to go back soon!
RickG, you have a very good memory! And we liked Stairway to the Stars very much.
Cubsfanone - I'm sorry it was booked your week. Before we decided on that apartment, I found VRBO very good and all enquiries I made I got fast and nice answers to. There were several of these places we considered. This one looks nice: http://www.vrbo.com/10284
Hope you find a suitable nice place for your honeymoon.
Cubsfanone - I'm sorry it was booked your week. Before we decided on that apartment, I found VRBO very good and all enquiries I made I got fast and nice answers to. There were several of these places we considered. This one looks nice: http://www.vrbo.com/10284
Hope you find a suitable nice place for your honeymoon.