First Timer Trip Report (part 3 -Pics added)
Posted: Fri Jun 04, 2010 3:05 pm
I’ll add a few pics tonight, but I really have the post vacation blues today, so I need to write about my trip.
Villa:
As mentioned, stayed at Anchorage Aweigh in Coral Bay. I really like this villa. Great little one bedroom spot for a couple. Lots of nice outdoor space and a great pool and pool deck (has the same great view).
Nice table outside in addition to a great swing and other furniture. Very close to all the Coral Bay eateries being just up Seagrape Hill (which is quite the little exciting drive). We decided that we are definitely Coral Bay people. To each their own, but I see no need for us to stay near Cruz Bay. Next time, we will try and maybe hit up Cruz Bay for dinner though, as we didn’t this time. Bedroom is air conditioned, which is a must for us. There really wasn’t much wind all week, so we would have been dying without the AC. We’re life- long Midwesterners and we can’t sleep in heat, just can’t. I would not hesitate to recommend this place to someone.
Locals:
Very good experience overall. Ferry staff was a little surly, but great beyond that. After all the negatives I heard regarding Conrad Sutton, I thought they were very helpful and friendly. We are pretty private on vacation (just our personalities) so we don’t go out of our way to interact with locals or other travelers, but everyone from the Caneel staff, to the water utility employee, our STT cab drivers, to Conrad Sutton was great. Good experience with the ex pats as too. Bad Kitty crew was great as were all our servers with the exception of Island Blues and to a lesser extent, Sweet Plantains.
Island:
Pictures do not do it justice. It is breathtakingly beautiful. Like no place I’ve ever been. Weather didn’t totally cooperate, but that’s life. Did allow us to see and do a few things that maybe we wouldn’t have otherwise and island was as lush as could be, so it’s all good. If you’re reading this and a newbie and worried about driving on the left, don’t be, it was easy, just like all the STJ pros said it would be. Steepness and amount of cornering takes a little getting used to, but is fun as well. Makes it seem like more of an adventure. Kept mainly to the well traveled beaches and we aren’t much into hiking, so we’ll probably never see all the off the beaten track places that STJ has to offer, but still, this island certainly fits us and our vacation desires. We are white sand and blue water people and there is plenty of that on STJ, in addition to the quietness that we prefer. Love all the quirkiness the island has, from the various wild animals roaming around to places like the Tourist Trap. Snorkeling was fantastic.
From the road to the villa
We will be back? 100% chance. Will it be our next vacation? Maybe. In a perfect world, I would love to rotate between two islands. I’ve been itching to try Anguilla too. Seems like it might be a perfect partner to STJ, so that may be next up. Just not a lot of one bedroom villa type places and the resorts are soooo pricy. I’ve grown attached to villa idea and love having a full kitchen. Have rented a villa on a few other vacations as well. But we’ll see……. The lure of STJ may win out again…..
Unfortunately, the amount of vacation time we have limits us to one week long Caribbean getaway a year. I have a sister/brother in law and 1 year old niece out west, parents that winter in Florida, and some buddies that do a whitewater rafting trip each year and a couple long weekends to various sporting events, so those trips suck up my remaining days.
Thanks for all your help on this board. I love reading about and researching vacations. It truly keeps me sane. As I said, I’ll add some more pics to this post tonight (after the Blackhawks game of course).
Villa:
As mentioned, stayed at Anchorage Aweigh in Coral Bay. I really like this villa. Great little one bedroom spot for a couple. Lots of nice outdoor space and a great pool and pool deck (has the same great view).
Nice table outside in addition to a great swing and other furniture. Very close to all the Coral Bay eateries being just up Seagrape Hill (which is quite the little exciting drive). We decided that we are definitely Coral Bay people. To each their own, but I see no need for us to stay near Cruz Bay. Next time, we will try and maybe hit up Cruz Bay for dinner though, as we didn’t this time. Bedroom is air conditioned, which is a must for us. There really wasn’t much wind all week, so we would have been dying without the AC. We’re life- long Midwesterners and we can’t sleep in heat, just can’t. I would not hesitate to recommend this place to someone.
Locals:
Very good experience overall. Ferry staff was a little surly, but great beyond that. After all the negatives I heard regarding Conrad Sutton, I thought they were very helpful and friendly. We are pretty private on vacation (just our personalities) so we don’t go out of our way to interact with locals or other travelers, but everyone from the Caneel staff, to the water utility employee, our STT cab drivers, to Conrad Sutton was great. Good experience with the ex pats as too. Bad Kitty crew was great as were all our servers with the exception of Island Blues and to a lesser extent, Sweet Plantains.
Island:
Pictures do not do it justice. It is breathtakingly beautiful. Like no place I’ve ever been. Weather didn’t totally cooperate, but that’s life. Did allow us to see and do a few things that maybe we wouldn’t have otherwise and island was as lush as could be, so it’s all good. If you’re reading this and a newbie and worried about driving on the left, don’t be, it was easy, just like all the STJ pros said it would be. Steepness and amount of cornering takes a little getting used to, but is fun as well. Makes it seem like more of an adventure. Kept mainly to the well traveled beaches and we aren’t much into hiking, so we’ll probably never see all the off the beaten track places that STJ has to offer, but still, this island certainly fits us and our vacation desires. We are white sand and blue water people and there is plenty of that on STJ, in addition to the quietness that we prefer. Love all the quirkiness the island has, from the various wild animals roaming around to places like the Tourist Trap. Snorkeling was fantastic.
From the road to the villa
We will be back? 100% chance. Will it be our next vacation? Maybe. In a perfect world, I would love to rotate between two islands. I’ve been itching to try Anguilla too. Seems like it might be a perfect partner to STJ, so that may be next up. Just not a lot of one bedroom villa type places and the resorts are soooo pricy. I’ve grown attached to villa idea and love having a full kitchen. Have rented a villa on a few other vacations as well. But we’ll see……. The lure of STJ may win out again…..
Unfortunately, the amount of vacation time we have limits us to one week long Caribbean getaway a year. I have a sister/brother in law and 1 year old niece out west, parents that winter in Florida, and some buddies that do a whitewater rafting trip each year and a couple long weekends to various sporting events, so those trips suck up my remaining days.
Thanks for all your help on this board. I love reading about and researching vacations. It truly keeps me sane. As I said, I’ll add some more pics to this post tonight (after the Blackhawks game of course).