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La Jolla Caribe vs. Anole: Catherineberg villa decision
La Jolla Caribe vs. Anole: Catherineberg villa decision
Hi everyone,
First post here - great forum and info! I'm a long-time St. John lover and have made the trek about 10 times, first with my parents with growing up, then with friends, etc. several times. Now I'm in the midst of planning my first trip with my fiancee and at least one other couple, possible up to three or four total couples inluding us (though most likely just two or three total).
We'd like to stay in Catherineberg due to it's view of and relative proximity to the North Shore, as well as ease of access to Cruz Bay. Many of the villas in that area are amazing, but also amazingly expensive.
It looks like Anole and La Jolla Caribe are two that are right in our price range, unless I've missed a good option in the countless searches and reading of reviews (including those on this site) that I've done.
I'm hoping someone could comment specifically on Anole vs. La Jolla Caribe in terms of the following, with the first two being the most important:
- Ability to get down to the North Shore via Johns Head Road?
- Views? I've read that Anole may be overgrown and have lesser views than La Jolla Caribe. Could be because one is higher/lower than the other? Not sure.
- Deck space and amount of sun? It looks like Anole is better for that, but with the apparent views of La Jolla Caribe, as long as it's adequate there...
- Any commentary on rooms/space comparisons? Which rooms in La Jolla Caribe have either a queen or king, or the opportunity to pull two twins together to make a king? Do they have decent views from the rooms themselves?
- Anole has a pool, La Jolla Caribe has a hot tub. I've heard varying opinions on which is nicer to have, so we're torn on that one.
Many many thanks for any help/input anyone can give. Thanks!!!!!!
Scott
First post here - great forum and info! I'm a long-time St. John lover and have made the trek about 10 times, first with my parents with growing up, then with friends, etc. several times. Now I'm in the midst of planning my first trip with my fiancee and at least one other couple, possible up to three or four total couples inluding us (though most likely just two or three total).
We'd like to stay in Catherineberg due to it's view of and relative proximity to the North Shore, as well as ease of access to Cruz Bay. Many of the villas in that area are amazing, but also amazingly expensive.
It looks like Anole and La Jolla Caribe are two that are right in our price range, unless I've missed a good option in the countless searches and reading of reviews (including those on this site) that I've done.I'm hoping someone could comment specifically on Anole vs. La Jolla Caribe in terms of the following, with the first two being the most important:
- Ability to get down to the North Shore via Johns Head Road?
- Views? I've read that Anole may be overgrown and have lesser views than La Jolla Caribe. Could be because one is higher/lower than the other? Not sure.
- Deck space and amount of sun? It looks like Anole is better for that, but with the apparent views of La Jolla Caribe, as long as it's adequate there...
- Any commentary on rooms/space comparisons? Which rooms in La Jolla Caribe have either a queen or king, or the opportunity to pull two twins together to make a king? Do they have decent views from the rooms themselves?
- Anole has a pool, La Jolla Caribe has a hot tub. I've heard varying opinions on which is nicer to have, so we're torn on that one.
Many many thanks for any help/input anyone can give. Thanks!!!!!!
Scott
Scott, I was booked to stay at La Jolla Caribe and was fortunate enough to be in STJ on another trip before the one planned for our stay at La Jolla Caribe. I asked DSJ if I could take a look at it and they were fine with it. I actually changed my villa rental. I can't per-say put my finger on it but it just wasn't the right villa for me; honestly, nothing about it was working for me. I also saw that post about Anole being overgrown, which also disappointed me because that was also on my list. I actually had wanted to book it for an upcoming trip in May. After reading about Anole and my same desire to have the northshore view, I went ahead and booked Spellbound. Take a look, maybe it would work for you??? Hopefully you'll get more responses and that will help you with your decision. BTW, almost forgot, welcome to the forum. Good luck, Ali~
STJ - I "get it"
Hi, I have not stayed at those villas, but have stayed at Cinnamon Bay estate. It was amazing with the views of the North shore and large deck. It has 3 bedrooms also each with a private bath. It also has a pool and hot tub. it is offered by SuiteStJohn.com Another forum member was disapointed by Anole last year. Not sure what happened. I don't want to put words in her mouth. But if you PM Gromit I'm sure she would explain.
Sandy
Sandy
Anole
I hope it is made public why a prior poster said to avoid the Anole as it is on my short list for December. We stayed at the Anole in May 2004. There are four king size bedrooms. The two upstairs are quite spacious and have a screened in sitting area with spectacular views. The bathrooms have huge stone showers and windows to enjoy the view while showering. When we were there the views were unobstructed. The two lower bedrooms are the same size as the uppers but without the sitting area. The deck area is very expansive with lots of places to sit. The great room opens completely. The furniture leaves a little to be desired; it's not comfortable and hopefully they have replaced it. The kitchen is adequate. We cooked in a lot and the kitchen was well-equipped to handle our needs. There was plently of paper products, detergent, cleaners, etc., and a w/d. The pool is on the lower level, and a PITA to go upstairs to get drinks and food. Toward the end of the week we would just pack a cooler and bring it down! The road up to the Anole is quite curvy, bumpy, rocky, and sometimes the donkeys block your way; plus the road is only wide enough for one vehicle. By the end of the week we were pros at getting down to the main road.
Thank you for the responses thus far - they are much appreciated! I'll look forward to receiving a PM from Gromit. I also did look at Cinnamon Bay Estate, but it's unfortunately twice the cost of either Anole or La Jolla Caribe, and out of our budget for this time.
Ali - Spellbound does indeed look like a reallt nice villa, but it's a bit more expenisve than either Anole or La Jolla Caribe, and I'm very partial to the views looking NE over Cinnamon, Mary Point, the BVIs, etc. It looks like this faces more to the West and out over Caneel.
It's interesting because most of the comments here thus far are either so-so or luke-warm. When I look at the reviews in the review section, the reviews all seem really great - especially the 4-5 reviews of La Jolla Caribe. I wonder what the disconnect is? Ali, I know you found it hard to describe what might be the issue you had with it, but if you have any more info to provide, I'd love to hear it. For our purposes, the villa itself has to be nice and accomodating with great views - the villa itself does not have to be top-end luxury. Not sure if that helps
I think we're still tending to lean toward La Jolla Caribe, so any other comments would be much appreciated. Thanks again!
Scott
I also did look at Cinnamon Bay Estate, but it's unfortunately twice the cost of either Anole or La Jolla Caribe, and out of our budget for this time. Ali - Spellbound does indeed look like a reallt nice villa, but it's a bit more expenisve than either Anole or La Jolla Caribe, and I'm very partial to the views looking NE over Cinnamon, Mary Point, the BVIs, etc. It looks like this faces more to the West and out over Caneel.
It's interesting because most of the comments here thus far are either so-so or luke-warm. When I look at the reviews in the review section, the reviews all seem really great - especially the 4-5 reviews of La Jolla Caribe. I wonder what the disconnect is? Ali, I know you found it hard to describe what might be the issue you had with it, but if you have any more info to provide, I'd love to hear it. For our purposes, the villa itself has to be nice and accomodating with great views - the villa itself does not have to be top-end luxury. Not sure if that helps
I think we're still tending to lean toward La Jolla Caribe, so any other comments would be much appreciated. Thanks again!
Scott
I have always wanted to stay in Catherineburg -- you can't beat those views! However, after trying the Johns head road once (the part down to northshore road) "just for fun" I don't think think I could do it. It took almost as much time to get down as to go all the way around via centerline. Also, I think it's a pretty significant drive (comparatively speaking, that is) to Cruz Bay. You might want to talk to someone who's driven it at night to see how long it will take.
If ease of getting to cruz bay is a priority, the folks on the forum would give you tons of recommendations for something closer. We stayed at Villa Ambiance in Chocolate Hole a year ago with two other couples, and it was incredible, with great views (not north shore views, though!) If north shoreviews are most important, I've heard great things about Cinnamon Tarn.
ANyway, just my two cents. I'm sure you'd be happy anywhere on STJ!
If ease of getting to cruz bay is a priority, the folks on the forum would give you tons of recommendations for something closer. We stayed at Villa Ambiance in Chocolate Hole a year ago with two other couples, and it was incredible, with great views (not north shore views, though!) If north shoreviews are most important, I've heard great things about Cinnamon Tarn.
ANyway, just my two cents. I'm sure you'd be happy anywhere on STJ!
Hi Scott!!! you've chosen the premium side to stay on. I have stayed in Coral Bay and Catherinberg multiple times over the last 10 plus years. My first rental was Anole and we loved it. We had 2 couples so the matching masters upstairs was nice. We had kids down stairs, they were a bit spooked by the outside stairs but got over it. We loved the forest setting, night sounds and breezes. Great place to stay but... on the N Shore if the pools are not heated they are pretty chilly and theirs is in the shade a lot. (For the N Shore we prefer a large hot tub.) So, we did not use it much but who needs it with the beaches so close? The water pressure when we were there was really a trickle and they said it had to do with the cisterns being low??? I subsequently found out it is the pump pressure and you can set it low to conserve water 
I walked by it last summer and the trees had grown a lot and we could not see the beach, I could see the BVI.
You may have read my comments in the past, I have rented La Jolla Caribe a few times and loved it. It is a 1970s island house completely made over in 2005/2006. It is not a marble fortress of Peter Bay kindred but if you like views, breezes and rooms filled with island ambience like me... this is the place. It does have AC in the media room I guess because it is the only room that does not get the breeze as well. The views include sunrise and sunset which is hard to find. you see Cinnamon beach (we give walkie talkies to the kids and they walk there, we can see them talk to us with binnoculars from any of the 3 decks) Peter Bay and point, Jost, Thatch, Tortola etc. you can even watch turtles! the walk up is steep so we usually pick up the family with the car. Anole is on the same street, a little further from John head rd and down a bit. you will master the drive from either house with ease. La Jolla has a split diveway so you can park on the top or middle level.
Upstairs has a queen in 1 BR, 2 twins and a Futon sofa in another off the LR, they have pads etc to make them into a king. 2nd floor has a queen in 1 room and 2 twins in a connecting room (these also can be made into a king). media room has 2 Futons. 3rd floor has a king that can be made into 2 twins.
they added an outside shower in the trees with hot water with a great view that is a lot of fun.
hot tub sits 7...cozy, 5 easily.
3 large decks all with lots of new furniture. Lots of extra snorkels, fins and beach stuff for guests. Very clean and fresh place. Most bedrooms have screens instead of windows, we learned to love the breezes on the N shore and greatly prefer this over AC.
you can not go wrong with a Catherinberg Villa, the breezes and views are captivating. When you are used to the drive it is 5-7 minutes to Cinnamon and just a few more to any of the N Shore beaches from any of these Villas. Cruz Bay is 12 to 15 min tops.
Gotta go, you have 2 great choices!! Leave me some rum...
I walked by it last summer and the trees had grown a lot and we could not see the beach, I could see the BVI.You may have read my comments in the past, I have rented La Jolla Caribe a few times and loved it. It is a 1970s island house completely made over in 2005/2006. It is not a marble fortress of Peter Bay kindred but if you like views, breezes and rooms filled with island ambience like me... this is the place. It does have AC in the media room I guess because it is the only room that does not get the breeze as well. The views include sunrise and sunset which is hard to find. you see Cinnamon beach (we give walkie talkies to the kids and they walk there, we can see them talk to us with binnoculars from any of the 3 decks) Peter Bay and point, Jost, Thatch, Tortola etc. you can even watch turtles! the walk up is steep so we usually pick up the family with the car. Anole is on the same street, a little further from John head rd and down a bit. you will master the drive from either house with ease. La Jolla has a split diveway so you can park on the top or middle level.
Upstairs has a queen in 1 BR, 2 twins and a Futon sofa in another off the LR, they have pads etc to make them into a king. 2nd floor has a queen in 1 room and 2 twins in a connecting room (these also can be made into a king). media room has 2 Futons. 3rd floor has a king that can be made into 2 twins.
they added an outside shower in the trees with hot water with a great view that is a lot of fun.
hot tub sits 7...cozy, 5 easily.
3 large decks all with lots of new furniture. Lots of extra snorkels, fins and beach stuff for guests. Very clean and fresh place. Most bedrooms have screens instead of windows, we learned to love the breezes on the N shore and greatly prefer this over AC.
you can not go wrong with a Catherinberg Villa, the breezes and views are captivating. When you are used to the drive it is 5-7 minutes to Cinnamon and just a few more to any of the N Shore beaches from any of these Villas. Cruz Bay is 12 to 15 min tops.
Gotta go, you have 2 great choices!! Leave me some rum...
Ok, I know Gromit tried to post earlier to get her opinion of Anole out there and had technical difficulties. She may try again but just in case she doesn't I'll just let you know what I know about Anole for sure. She's a vet and gets STJ and its delightful at times quirky charm, i.e. she is not a wimp or overreactive!
1) Very worn - nice house, nice layout but just generally run down and in disrepair (ex. the railing was not quite sturdy and rusty nails were sticking out).
2) Bugs - not skeeters or noseeums but YUCKY roaches were overrunning the house while they were there. To the point they were in the bed with them. They spent a lot of time killing them and conversing w/ the rental agent to get something done about it. The story they got was that the owners didn't use the on island pest control that most villas use and it was very noticeable.
3) Overgrown trees etc
4) the road was very rough and they'd pretty much avoid going out or home too often to avoid it. Again, not wimpy at all about the typical roads on STJ, but this road was considerably worse.
5) No electricity when they arrived.
Hopefully she will chime in but I do know she's super busy and may not get a chance so I didn't want to leave you guys hanging.
To be fair, the agency did acknowledge the issues (after the fact of course and once they were on island and dealing with them) and they did manage to get some (I am not sure how much) money back. And also, it is priced, as you noted, well below the other villas in the area. Typically there is a reason for that. Its a trade off - a great price if you are willing to take the risk to stay in a undeniably beautiful part of the island!
1) Very worn - nice house, nice layout but just generally run down and in disrepair (ex. the railing was not quite sturdy and rusty nails were sticking out).
2) Bugs - not skeeters or noseeums but YUCKY roaches were overrunning the house while they were there. To the point they were in the bed with them. They spent a lot of time killing them and conversing w/ the rental agent to get something done about it. The story they got was that the owners didn't use the on island pest control that most villas use and it was very noticeable.
3) Overgrown trees etc
4) the road was very rough and they'd pretty much avoid going out or home too often to avoid it. Again, not wimpy at all about the typical roads on STJ, but this road was considerably worse.
5) No electricity when they arrived.
Hopefully she will chime in but I do know she's super busy and may not get a chance so I didn't want to leave you guys hanging.
To be fair, the agency did acknowledge the issues (after the fact of course and once they were on island and dealing with them) and they did manage to get some (I am not sure how much) money back. And also, it is priced, as you noted, well below the other villas in the area. Typically there is a reason for that. Its a trade off - a great price if you are willing to take the risk to stay in a undeniably beautiful part of the island!
Scott, okay I found a previous thread for you that should provide a little more information. I'll try to link it, but if not you can find it through the search engine above: http://virgin-islands-on-line.com/forum ... highlight=; it was a post entitled La Jolla Caribe posted on 7/27/07 by kygirl. I hope this helps. (Not sure where she ended up, but maybe she'll see your post and can offer more information as well.) BTW, my alternative villa was Oceanport through Destination St. John, which is certainly not what one would consider a pricey high-end villa. There's no pool, but who cares, we love the beach so a pool is not a necessity for us. Anyway, point is, I don't consider myself a high maintenance kinda girl, so I wouldn't say that La Jolla Caribe didn't live up to my expectations because it wasn't more like a typical "Peter Bay" villa. (For whatever it's worth, my husband agreed with me about switching out of staying at La Jolla Caribe.) (Honestly, my first consideration in seeking out the right villa for me is about the views.) Anyway, as someone else mentioned, I think Cinnamon Tarn may be worth looking at. I think Liamsaunt has stayed there, maybe even a couple of times, and she can't seem to say enough good things about it. Maybe she can chime in with some more details for you. Okay, good luck!! Ali~
Last edited by b-as-u-r on Tue Apr 08, 2008 11:02 pm, edited 1 time in total.
STJ - I "get it"
Steve - thank you *so* much for the above post and detail. You've pretty much cemented what I was thinking, but had hoped to confirm from someone who's been there. I do indeed understand we're staying on the "premium" side of the island. When I was young, we'd "rough it" at the Cinnamon Bay campground with my folks. They'vs since started staying out in Coral Bay a few times, and I joined them at Casa Nita at least a couple of times - which was more than adequate. I've longed to win the lottery so we can stay in one of the Peter Bay enormovillas, but frankly, it's not the villa really that's important, as long as it's acceptable - it's the views and the feeling like I am close to the North Shore. I fell in love with STJ at Cinnamon Bay, and when I found out there were actually reasonably-priced villas overlooking it - not the ones in Peter Bay, of course - I decided this is where I wanted to be for next time.
When you say: "It is not a marble fortress of Peter Bay kindred but if you like views, breezes and rooms filled with island ambience like me... this is the place.", then that's pretty much all I need to hear. Sounds like we can't go wrong with it, and considering the price, it sounds like it's some of the best relative bang for the buck around.
You mention it having large decks - do they get sun most / all of the day? Always nice to catch a little sun in the a.m. or late afternoon/evening after you get back from the beaches.
Thanks again - I'll see if I can leave a bottle of Cruzan Estate rum behind with your name on it!
Scott
When you say: "It is not a marble fortress of Peter Bay kindred but if you like views, breezes and rooms filled with island ambience like me... this is the place.", then that's pretty much all I need to hear. Sounds like we can't go wrong with it, and considering the price, it sounds like it's some of the best relative bang for the buck around.
You mention it having large decks - do they get sun most / all of the day? Always nice to catch a little sun in the a.m. or late afternoon/evening after you get back from the beaches.
Thanks again - I'll see if I can leave a bottle of Cruzan Estate rum behind with your name on it!
Scott
the upper deck gets sun pretty much all day as you see it rise over American Hill in winter and Tortola in summer. It sets over Peter point. The other decks are below that one and get more shade. the outside dining area is covered with a roof extension so it stays dry and has more shade. I keep my Maui Jim shades in reach at all times up there!
We usually have lots of family and friends and have found there is plenty of comfortable room for all together and plenty of room for private times on each deck outside each room. Bring binocculars although the owners did leave a pair...
Good times ahead!! When are you going?[/img]
We usually have lots of family and friends and have found there is plenty of comfortable room for all together and plenty of room for private times on each deck outside each room. Bring binocculars although the owners did leave a pair...
Good times ahead!! When are you going?[/img]
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St. John Lover
- Posts: 245
- Joined: Tue Aug 08, 2006 5:14 pm
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Well I'm not LiamsAunt but I have stayed at Cinnamon Tarn and loved it! Incredible views, nice furnishings, tons of room, the requisite hot tub for the North Shore (that even gets hot unlike some of the others we've had), and, personally, I love that rough jeep trip down the shortcut road to Cinnamon.
I just checked and it's prices are comparable to La Jolla Caribe. You ought to check it out. A lot will depend on exactly how many couples you end up going with.
2 of the 3 bedrooms at Cinnamon Tarn are identical. They are on the same floor (main floor) but on opposite ends of the house, each has a beautiful stone walk-in shower. The upstairs bedroom is smaller and doesn't have its own bathroom but does have really unbelievable views.
Good luck with your next trip & I add my 'welcome to the forum' along with the other welcomes you've gotten!
I just checked and it's prices are comparable to La Jolla Caribe. You ought to check it out. A lot will depend on exactly how many couples you end up going with.
2 of the 3 bedrooms at Cinnamon Tarn are identical. They are on the same floor (main floor) but on opposite ends of the house, each has a beautiful stone walk-in shower. The upstairs bedroom is smaller and doesn't have its own bathroom but does have really unbelievable views.
Good luck with your next trip & I add my 'welcome to the forum' along with the other welcomes you've gotten!