USVI-On-Line

I'm so undecided, maybe someone here can guide me. I love the look of the Honeymoon Cottage and like that it's near Francis Bay. However, I am concerned that this area will be more buggy than the Siempre Azul location. Siempre Azul looks really nice too.

Anyone have any pros or cons to these choices? I've never been to St. John before, so it's a tough decision. Thanks!

I stayed at Honeymoon Cottage once and was afraid it might be buggy, but it really wasn't at all.

I have stayed at Siempre Azul and the cottage is nice with a great view. I have not stayed at the Honeymoon Cottage but have stayed close by and between the two, I would pick Honeymoon Cottage for the location. The Francis Beach location is excellent, putting you close to the Northshore Beaches and also pretty close to both Cruz and Coral Bay. Siempre Azul, while nice, is pretty darn far from everything.

Chelseasf wrote:I'm so undecided, maybe someone here can guide me. I love the look of the Honeymoon Cottage and like that it's near Francis Bay. However, I am concerned that this area will be more buggy than the Siempre Azul location. Siempre Azul looks really nice too.

Anyone have any pros or cons to these choices? I've never been to St. John before, so it's a tough decision. Thanks!

We almost booked Siempre Azul, but went with Villa Madeline because we want a pool, also. Chris Boyd owns both villas and lives on island. He offered us a terrific deal on either place and answers any questions you might have very quickly.
Siempre Azul is in a great location right on the point past Miss Lucy's. There will be constant breezes there. The beach in front of the house is a coral and shell beach, not sandy. Chris says he advises guests not to swim there unless they're experienced. There are lots of urchins so you'd have to wear water shoes.
You can walk to Miss Lucy's from the property. Everything inside has been recently updated. Leather couch, flat screen, etc.
The property Pia told me is huge outside but the house itself is small. But who cares because you'll be outside most of the time. There are also two lounge chairs outside on the grass for sunbathing.
I love that side of the Coral Bay area.

hey, i dug out an old email i sent to someone who asked about honeymoon cottage.. here's what i wrote:


Honeymoon Cottage would be perfect for the right people. It was a bit too rustic for us, but that's just us. It is basically one big room, but here's the layout. You walk in the door. Ahead of you are french doors that lead to a little screened-in dining area (very pleasant). To the right is a kind of galley kitchen, nicely outfitted, with stove/oven, microwave, sink, and refrigerator. There is no dishwasher.

To the left is the bedroom/living area. A queen-size bed (I did not find the mattress truly comfortable but I have a back problem; could be me. Also, the pillows were foam/flat/not good.

There is a couch in front of the bed. The couch and bed face big glass windows/doors---the view is of Leinster Bay with Tortola beyond.

There is also a big closet and a washer/dryer, and safe. The bathroom is nicely decorated. The water is not filtered at all, so tastes very metallic when brushing teeth. The shower is actually outside. There is a sliding door/screen in the bathroom that leads to the shower. Which does have a stucco roof but one wall of it is open to the elements. I've stayed at houses that have this sort of setup before, but it was never the only shower. One morning it was kind of cold and rainy and not completely pleasant; most of the time it was fine.

The house is fully screened and it is air-conditioned. I was very concerned about noseeums, being in the Francis Bay area, but honestly didn't run into any more bugs than I've run into at any other house on the island. Fewer actually. The week before we stayed at a much more expensive, very lovely house in Catherineberg, and there were more bugs there, it being more jungle-like.

The house was very clean. One unfortunate thing though, is that it was built with those large, square terra-cotta tiles throughout, and has not been sealed frequently over the years. Thus, it is stained and might appear to be dirty when in fact it is just stained.... it's too bad about that floor, because otherwise, the decoration and such is nice. There are rattan ceiling fans, and nice lighting.

We did not use the bureaus because they were way too musty. And since we were only there for a few days, we lived out of our cases. I also threw a sheet over the sofa because I got kind of skeeved out at the emphasis on 'honeymoon.'

It' s a GREAT location. GREAT !!! You can walk to trails and of course to the beach in about 4-5 minutes. To get to the house, you take a left on the road right before the fork that goes left to Maho, right to Francis. You go past two houses, and the cottage is at the end of the road. Very private, but yes, also felt very safe. The people who live in the house next to the cottage are permanent residents. They have a lot of dogs. When I first drove up to look at the house, the dogs barked and I thought, 'oh no, I don't want to stay at a house where you can hear barking dogs.' But they were immediately silenced by the owners, who always seem to be there, and they were not an issue at all in the four nights we were there. Actually, they made me feel a bit safer, knowing that at least if someone had driven up, they would have alerted us.

The other kind of funny thing the house has is a pavilion up the hill a short ways from the cottage. The pavilion has a hot tub (which was super-clean. Although we didn't use it, we would have if we had been so inclined. Can't say that about a lot of them), and funnily, a bed. All under a roof with a ceiling fan and lights.

Terry was great to work with. The guest book for the house is full of notes from repeat visitors who love the place, so for the right people, who don't mind a little bit of rustic, love to hike, love the access to the beach, and the reasonable price, it is perfect.

The above email message was sent to us. Since then we have been to honeymoon cottage 2 more times. It is perfect for us, and our first choice for future trips. Close to north shore beaches, cruz bay and coral bay. Close to several hiking trails. Cottage was clean and well appointed, and Terry was a delight to work with. This is not an elegant villa, so if you live in a million dollar home in real life, you may be disappointed. I hope you won't go in May, (its horrible in may, I'm sure no one would want to book it in May:),:), (That's when we like to go) ) Bugs seem about the same there as elsewhere on the island. If you need to know any more details, let me know.

No, Deejayjay, I do not live in a million dollar home! So this place would probably be fine for us. It's interesting that it seems as pricey as a lot of larger places. Because of the location, I presume.

MaryAnne and DeeJay, What times of year have you stayed at Honeymoon Cottage? We are looking at late November. My concern was also about bugs and it's location near water and beach. Were you able to be outside at night without being eaten alive?

I also presume it's due to location. However we have always gone off season and that helps alot. Also it was recently purchased by new owners who raised the price. But we had already stayed there when it was a lower price and it hooked us in. We have been there is april and may. There were no noseeums there like there are on the beaches. A few mosquitos, like anywhere else on island, but nothing that kept us in at night. The mosquitos tend to be less or more depending on the weather conditions as much as anything else.

I was there in January.

DJJ, glad you liked it.

If the new owner upgraded the bed, I would be tempted to return. It is a great location.

I have no memories of being eaten alive at any time on STJ, other than one particular rainy time, at a villa out near the Salt Pond.

No change in bed. It's a temperpedic bed. We sleep on one at home too and love it. For us it is a selling point. But I think with that type of mattress, you either love it or hate it.