Opinion: Palm, Oleander, Cinn Tarn, Windchime, Mar de Amores

[Chickadee]

Hubby and I are narrowing our list of villas for a June '08 trip. Choices, at this relatively late date and with our budget, are somewhat limited but we have come up with several that are available and look nice.

Only 2 of us, like great view, no-tan-lines private, pool, AC is nice but not necessary, would like to be within 15 minutes of Cruz Bay.

Any feedback you can give is appreciated!

Palm Villa
Oleander
Cinnamon Tarn (how long to town from here?)
Wind Chime
Mar De Amores
St. John Passion

[liamsaunt]

I've stayed at Cinnamon Tarn twice, and would definitely recommend it. There's no pool, that's a hot tub in the photos, but you can turn the heat off on it, and swim with the jets on. No AC, but you don't need it up there even in the summer(my stays were in June and July).

To Cruz Bay, it's about 10 minutes.

I have a photo set of the house that I can share with you if you pm me your email address.

[Tracy in WI]

Jennifer -

I have absolutley no idea about any of your villa choices, but I hope you and the hubby have a great trip. We'll be there at the end of June (with lots of kids) so if we're there the same time, we'd love to see you!

Tracy

[sailorgirl]

We stayed at Mar De Amores's sister villa
"Catalina" which is just down the road a piece. I posted a review and there is a review of Mar De Amore in the 2004 villa review archives. It is owned by Claudia and Javier Cividini, who I beleive still own Morgans Mango. Very nice folks, easy to deal with. We booked direct and she initally offered a discount when we first inquired about it 9 months before our travel date. Catalina had some maintanence issues which I noted in the villa review. Mar de Amores was the Cividini's own home when they lived on St. John so it may not suffer from the same issues. They have a website you can find by googling the name.

[Diana2]

We never stay on the south side so the only villa I have any knowledge of is Cinnamon Tarn. We stayed there 3 times and love this villa. The view is really spectacular. It's about 7 minutes from town. This villa will not disappoint. The owners are there frequently and take very good care of this house. It's 'no tan lines' private.

[mathayom]

I've cooked several times at Wind Chime.

Nice place, small kitchen, close to town. Decent views, and there are sunny and shady places at all times of the day because there is (gasp!) a YARD out in front and tons of deck space (covered AND open)once you go thru the house.

There's also a schweet flamboyant tree in the middle of the circular driveway that should be in full bloom when you're here.

[St. John Lover]

Chicadee wrote: Only 2 of us, like great view, no-tan-lines private, pool, AC is nice but not necessary, would like to be within 15 minutes of Cruz Bay.

Having stayed at Cinnamon Tarn, I concur with the previous 2 posters singing its praises, really a great choice.

I noticed most of the others are through Caribbean Villas; just be aware that they're the only St. John management/booking agency that charges an extra 5% service fee on top of all their stated rental rates. We've had some maintenance-related problems with some of the properties we've rented from them in the past but that could be something that they've corrected as we haven't used them since they instituted the 5% fee.

Next to Cinnamon Tarn, Palm Villa's view is absolutely amazing; the sunsets should be on your far right in June. Bedrooms being in a separate building from the kitchen area might be a problem if you're a midnight snacker.

Ditto for Wind Chime if you use the MBR; the other 2 bedrooms are attached to kitchen/living area. Looks like the new owners really did a nice update on furnishings etc inside.

Oleander looks pretty but the pool area doesn't look 'clothing-optional-private' to me.

Mar de Amore interior looks beautiful but you won't get sunsets in June. Plus it, as well as St. John Passion, have fiberglass pools (just a personal dislike for me but I think in some locations that's the only option they have).

Also I've never stayed in St. John Passion but I've looked at its pics a number of times and have always tried to figure out whether the one long open wall behind the LR couch stays wide open all the time or if there's some way to close it up. I know a lot of the older St. John homes were definitely more like West Indian cottages which were very open and integrated with the outside. If someone reading this has stayed there, please let me know; I've always wondered.

You may want to check out another favorite of mine (just mentioning it because it does meet all your specs plus I noticed it does have some June availability) which is Perelandra. Pool area’s definitely clothing-optional private, has great views, close to town & beaches, and has a/c in the bedrooms. It’s kitchen isn’t as large as most of your other choices though so that might be a problem for you.

Have fun villa hunting and let us know what you finally decide upon.

[Chickadee]

Thank you all for your feedback, it is not making the choice any easier though!!

I think we're pretty much down to Tarn and Palm Villa (and taking a look at Perelandra too). At that tough stage where you can't go wrong with any choice and there's nothing left to do but nitpick the details of this one or that one.

For the record, and in case any villa owners are lurking, the reason most of my choices are Caribbean Villas houses is that they have a very good search function (by date and amenities) AND availability online. I am completely aware of their 5% extra fee and strongly dislike paying it, but do take advantage of their website whenever I can... then I surf to see who else lists the property.

Oh, and St. John Lover, yes, that one wall of St. John Passion is open-air and does not close.

Thanks again! Further comment is of course welcome.

[minnjim]

We just concluded our "No Tan Lines Tour" after staying a week at Oleander. We found the whole place to be CO. You can see some villas below you, but they are 200-300 yards away. The view of Ditleff Point and beach was fantastic and you got full sun on the pool deck until about 4:30 (in march). It was about a 10-15 minute walk down to Ditleffs beach which was always calm (you can see it featured on On-st. John)and had some easy snorkeling. A couple of nights there was this HUGE (200'?) yacht anchored in the bay.
Oleander has two equal size master bedrooms with very nice king beds. We especially liked the large outdoor showers. Very little traffic in the area too.

[sherban]

I chose CT for our trip this June so there is my vote... As Liam,saunt said there is no pool, just a jumbo hot tub. The view and location near NS beaches is what sold me on it...good value too...

Have fun...