USVI-On-Line

I promised I would write a report after this trip. We have been to St John 3 times in the past 15 months but our trips have consisted of complete relaxation for my husband and I on the beach, trips to our favorite restaurant Tage and enjoying quiet time without the kids.

This trip however was a dramatic departure - We brough 4 teenagers with us. No relaxing days on the beach, no trips to Tage and not a single book read by me! It was a fantastic trip but in an entirely different way. We were there from March 3-10.

First would be travel. We usually fly Delta direct from Atlanta but with 6 tickets to buy in high season I got a good fare on Spirit and went with it. The flights went through Ft Lauderdale. We had no real issues with Spirit. The flight from Atlanta to Ft Lauderdale was late due to the inbound plane but we made the next flight and landed in St Thomas only about 15 minutes late. The return was fine. Not as nice as flying direct but for the price differential on 6 tickets it was ok. We rented from St John Car Rental and they were wonderful as usual. We had a Ford Explorer and it fit everyone with a continual discussion over which teen had the back seat each day. (They usually drew cards and the loser had the back.)

Villa - We rented Tesori from Kathy McLaughlin at Island Getaways. They met us at the dock and took kids and some luggage on to the villa. Husband and I got the car and headed to the villa. (We had a chance to see the villa when we were there in December so already knew how to get there.) The villa is immaculate in every way. It is unbelievably comfortable and the pictures on the Island Getaways website are nice but the villa in person is nicer. I think they have added quite a few accesories that are not shown in the photos. Since we are having a welcome basket discussion on the board recently I thought I would report that a very generous basket was provided with several different kinds of beer and drinks, a huge fruit platter, chips & salsa, fresh flowers etc. Also, I cannot say enough about Kathy at Island Getaways. She was wonderful from the time I booked the villa until the day we left. I asked her if we could get a VCR since the kids needed to watch the last of the diving tapes and she had one there and hooked up when we arrived. She answered every question I had regarding the house, internet conncetions etc and was in general fantastic to work with. She clearly is on top of the details at the house and takes excellent care of it. The owners I hope, are pleased becuase she seems to go the extra mile.

Diving - We all dove with Colette at 6paq. We did the complete open water certification class over 3 days with her. She is also wonderful to work with. She managed to interest my 4 teens which is a big accomplishment. They are all very used to excelling at everything they do and tend to "get it" and be ready to move on. She kept everyone moving and we had a great 3 days. We dove from Haulover the first 2 days for the skill work and then dove from her boat the last day. We did Little St James and Cow from the boat. It was a great experience and I would recommend her without question.

The remaining days were spent at Trunk and Cinnamon. Teen daughter went windsurfing one day at Cinnamon and the 3 boys enjoyed the beach.

In general the island didn't feel really crowded. Over the past 3 trips it seems that the numbers of people on island are down. In talking with several locals I think there is some general concern that prices have gone up so much in all areas - villas, airfare,gas,etc that people aren't coming as much as in past years. It was a great trip but I think the parents now need a vacation from the vacation! Hmmm - I wonder when Bongo is open? Feel free to ask any questions on things I left out.

Great report it's amaising how vacations can be so different but still enjoyable

Glad you had such a great experience w/ Colette. I really enjoyed her & don't think my chicken self would have made it under without her!

Thanks for the report.
I will be bringing a teenager and a pre-teen soon also. I think they will like Cinnamon Bay too.

Yep...cinnamon is the place for teenagers, it seems. Last year my 2 girls met quite a few teens there. they wanted to go back to cinnamon every day!!! We leave in 21 days with three 16 yr old girls. YIKES!!! I know they will have a ball! We have been going to STJ since my twin girls were 8...cannot imagine going without them! Certainly make life exciting!

Sounds like a great trip. I agree about Kathy. We think she's the very best agent on the island. We've rented through her for years now and are never unhappy with the service she gives.

Glad you had a good trip. We visited STJ in early February and didn't really feel it was overly crowded. Of course it was our first trip, so we have no basis for comparison, but overall, we were comfortable on all the beaches and restaurants.

We are considering Tesori for our next trip....would you recommend it for kids ages 4-13? It looks wonderful online, it's great to hear that the pix don't do it justice.

Martini girl - It is great for kids with one warning. The bedrooms are arranged as one one the main floor and 3 on the upper floor. The three upper rooms are reached by a stair case that goes up to a landing, splits into two staircases with one leading to the back bedroom and the second leading to the two front bedrooms. The stairs are all travertine I think. If a toddler were to fall down it would be a problem. The thing I really liked about the house for kids though is that we could all be inside the main house at night. No pods or bedrooms outside etc... For kids that was a big deal for me to be able to have everyone in at night when we lock up.

Hi Flafamily!

We leave Saturday for a week in Villa Tesori ... I can hardly wait!

Glad that I found your review. I have a few questions...

My understanding is that the bedrooms have A/C. What about the rest of the house? Are there screens/screendoors to keep the mosquitos out?

Were beach towels provided or should be bring our own?

Were the views of sunrise or sunset?

Thanks in advance!

Hi, JSL. I hadn't seen Flafamily's post back in March. When I read it today I noticed that they were at Tesori after my family was there. We left on March 3rd and they moved in!
Its a really nice villa. Worth every penny. I think one of the best parts was not worrying about water because they had it trucked in to keep the cistern full. (Not that we're pigs with water. Its just not comfortable worrying about flushing the toilet or not like at some other villas)
I really don't recall if the entire house had AC. We only used it one night in the bedroom. Each bedroom has its own thermostat. There are no screens on the doors leading outside. There was a constant breeze (sometimes windy) and we had no issues at all with bugs. I don't no if the breeze was because it was Feb/March or because of the elevation.
You do not need to bring beach towels or beach chairs or snorkel equipment or anything! Everything we needed was there. And the previous comment about the welcome basket was accurate. It was a nice touch. Kathy was great. We had two late additions to our party and she didn't charge us (Shh,don't tell anyone) for use of the apartment under the pool. The only catch was she asked us to wash all the towels before we left. No problem! We also cleaned up the apt. Nobody would have known we were there.
Primarily, you get the sunrise. No doubt its different this time of year, but I couldn't say so with any authority.
The amenities in this place are great. The view is spectacular. There's a blender, refrig and ice maker at the wet bar by the pool. What more does one need?
You will love it. Enjoy your stay!

Our group will also be flying out of Atlanta and have been thinking about using Spirit -what fare did you end up with? It is about $380 now but we aren't going until November so I think we might wait a little longer before booking anything to see if the fares go down......

Yo Chris (so nice to be able to stay that instead of y'all for a change )

Thanks for the info on Tesori! We are really looking forward to it. We stayed at Monte Bay about 10 years ago which I think is in the same area. I am sure the island has changed a lot!

Kathy has been great to work with so far. I think it is so much better when the folks who manage the villa are on island.

Do you recall if there we floats for the pool? Would save me one less thing to pack in the suitcase.

Any other tips or suggestion are appreciated!

Yo back at ya! How ya doin'?

Yep, there are floats and also noodles. Like I said, there's nothing you need. (Sorry, that's awfully presumtious. There was nothing WE needed. But then,we travel light)Whatever I would have in my shore house, they had at this place.

Oh how I miss the shore Chris! Down here folks go to the coast

Sounds like we should be in great shape in terms of water toys and whatnot!

Thanks again for the answers!

Great to hear about your good exprience with Colette/6PAQ Scuba. We (Bob & our two teen age boys) are doing the same 3-day certification with her in two weeks. We did the 1/2 day "Try Scuba" with her last year are not back to do the whole certification thing.