USVI-On-Line

If the house we rent has a hot tub, here's my routine when we get home from the beach: shower, put a deep conditioner on my hair and wrap it in a towel, and then soak in the hot tub with a drink while the conditioner soaks into my hair. I am no beauty-product diva, but this is my idea of heaven. And I should also say that while I'm doing this, my husband puts on some good tunes or plays his guitar and starts making dinner. If your home had a hot tub, it would probably seal the deal for me. And soaking while the moon rises over Tortola? Also heavenly!

Thank you everyone for the great responses - it is very helpful! It sounds like if we keep it clean and working it is an added bonus, but not entirely necessary in terms of marketing. There are a couple of factors that have us leaning toward getting one. It does get chilly at night in the winter due to the constant tradewinds and our pool is actually not heated (70's in the Winter months and very refreshing!). Being more of a couples getaway villa we were also thinking it would be a great addition for the romantic aspect - as Skillians pointed out the moon rises over Tortola are fantastic! I certainly agree about the cleanliness factor - who wants to soak in a dirty public tub! However, I have ALOT of confidence in our cleaning person/manager and believe this would not be an issue for us. Decisions, decisions... Thanks again for all of your help!

I forgot to comment on our weekly rate. The posted rate is actually $2,185 for the Summer/Fall months and encourage folks to make offers! When we bought SMS almost 2 years ago the off season rate was $2800 and we thought it was high so we lowered it. There must be some old web sites out there that list it for the old rate (it is amazing how many places we are listed and we have no relationship with them). We wouldn't raise our rates if we added the tub - it would just be an added bonus for the Guests to enjoy!

Exit Zero, we installed 15 panels on SMS and we currently produce about 550 kwh per month (being close to the top of the mountain we get unobstucted sun most of the day). Our average consumption is around 400 kwh per month and we are net metered so we are currently generating a credit with WAPA. The pool pump is probably our largest energy consumer and that only needs 3hrs per day to turn the water over at least once and keep the pool very clean. When it dies we will get the variable speed pump to save even more! Water usage is fairly low since we predominantly rent to 2 people at most - cistern is approximately 10000 gallons. I don't think Guests use the AC too much because the breezes keep it cool, but it is there if needed!

Midas wrote:I forgot to comment on our weekly rate. The posted rate is actually $2,185 for the Summer/Fall months and encourage folks to make offers! When we bought SMS almost 2 years ago the off season rate was $2800 and we thought it was high so we lowered it. There must be some old web sites out there that list it for the old rate (it is amazing how many places we are listed and we have no relationship with them). We wouldn't raise our rates if we added the tub - it would just be an added bonus for the Guests to enjoy!

I would get in contact with Book-It V.I. and have them remove or fix the rate. It really does a disservice to you; the $2800 figure was so high that I discounted SMS immediately. The real figure is much better, and with a nice forum discount would put it into the realm of what we'd be willing to pay

A hot tub is a must for our family. My kids even request one instead of a pool. After being at the beaches all day, there is nothing better than relaxing in a hot tub with a refreshment watching the ships go by and stars. We normally visit Feb-April and the pools are too cold at night which is when we spend the most time at the villa.

Thanks Teresea_Rae for letting me know! I looked at book-it-vi's website and we were not on there, but when I google searched SMS the web page still exists! I'll ask them to delete it. A special forum discount is a great idea - forumites would just need to go through VRBO and not the other listings!

Here in California, I use our home hot tub almost every day.

Last year we rented a villa with a pool and hot tub. The pool water was too cold, so we never used it. And the weather was too warm to sit in a hot tub, so I used it a couple of times when I woke up before sunrise.

My husband uses the hot tub every single night so for us it's pretty important. We also have one at home. I agree that if it's a one bedroom and you will be renting to honeymooners, etc. they will like a hot tub.

" I agree that if it's a one bedroom and you will be renting to honeymooners, etc. they will like a hot tub."

And that is why I will never use a hot tub (and trust me guy's they do not get emptied between guests )

Pia

I like having a hot tub and usually forgo the pool since the caribbean is like a big warm pool. I also like siiting in it at sunset with a cocktail but it's not a deal breaker

A hot tub is a requirement for any villa we rent. Love a nice soak with my honey and a glass of wine at the end of the afternoon. (But we are always on St. John alone, not with a gang.)

Regarding the cleaning of the hot tub. If it looks crystal clear and smells of cholrine you are ok. If it is soapy it is from the introduction of laundry soap on clothing worn in the tub. Take a good wiff when opening the cover, if is musty close it up and leave it be.

Have you considered heating the pool instead? I have no idea what would be involved to do that but it may be cheaper that a nice hot tub when you factor in the upkeep and power involved.

We are looking at your villa for our next stay but I am a wimp with pool temps so the non-heated pool concerns me. I guess if you had the hottub that would give another option though.

I thought I'd use a hot tub on my last trip because my friend and I did 8 Tuff for the first time and I figured we'd be really sore.

Well we were pretty stiff after the race (that had as much to do with the post-race painkillers as with the mileage!) but we never even took the lid off the hot tub. We thought about other people using it and what kind of germy stuff might be incubating in there and decided against it. So I figure if I didn't use one after the race, I'd probably never use one unless it looked absolutely pristine.