question for st john repeaters

[bill]

We have been going to St John for years now. We used to always stay in a different place - house, condo - now we are content to stay in the same place for the past few years. Estate Lindholm is now our favorite place. how many of you stay in the same place, or still enjoy trying other places?

[augie]

So far, in four trips, we haven't stayed at the same place twice. Part of the reason is to experience staying on different parts of the island. That said, two of the four trips we've been in Coral Bay, but we'll be experiencing Fish Bay this coming fall.

[NCSue]

We too have done a different place each time.....Cruz Views, houses on Choc. Hole, Reef Bay, Maria Bluff and the Westin. We like trying out new places and areas of the island, too. I have always been curious about Estate Lindholm! Looks like fantastic views! That might have to be our next stop!

[Gromit]

I have done both. For stretch we rented the same place three times in a row. ISnce then we've tried different places depending on the trip, the size of the group and the budget.

There's something nice and familiar about returning to the same place again and again. It starts to feel like your honest to goodness home away from home. You know what to expect, where everything is and which light switches don't work. Definitely reduces any anxiety.

On the other hand, you never know what else is out there unless you give it a try. You roll the dice and hoep for the best. Sometimes it pays off, other times not so much.

After so many visits to STJ the whol island has started to feel like my home away from home and the roof over my head seems to be less and less important to me.

Glad you've found your "home away from home"

[PA Girl]

We repeat.

If it wasn't for our favorite villa having age restrictions, we would stay there every trip and let the rest of the group fend for themselves.

We just returned from our 5th trip to Caneel.

When it comes to vacation, I don't want unpleasant surprises when it comes to accomodations.

[BuffaloGal]

We've tried different places each time, but have always stayed in the same general area – Great Cruz Bay/Maria Bluff. This fall we'll return to Villa Belvedere for a second visit. It's all about the views for us, and we haven't found one that's better – yet. There are so many beautiful villas to choose from. That's part of the fun. Availability is our only the issue.

[waterguy]

The last 7 times have been to the same place

[bill]

I think you hit the nail on the head Gromit. There is definitely something nice and familiar about staying at the same place. It does feel like home away from home. And what greater home away from home than St. John!!!But there is that excitement about staying at a new place, especially the views. If I am interested in renting a new place, I try and go see it while we are there. It is just my husband and I now, so a smaller place works well. When we used to come with the whole family, we needed a bigger place, houses work great! Hopefully we will return with children and grandchildren!!!!

[pipanale]

I can happily say that I am done villa searching. I'm done, done, done with it!

We'll return to Morgan Point in 2012 and thereafter...until I change my mind

[Gromit]

@ bill-- we've done the same (checking out villas). For me, it's mostly the area that the houses are located in. That's how we found Upper Carolina near Coral Bay. We like the feel of the neighborhood there. The same could be said for many areas on island.

I think most web sites do a pretty good job with villa details, so for me location is important to get a grasp of and that's pretty tough to do unless you check it out yourself and can put things into context.

[Xislandgirl]

Different every trip. Although there are houses that I would return to, there are too many other places I want to stay.

[Deb58]

It's always been different South shore villas for us....although our first trip was at the Westin. This next trip, though, we are seriously considering either Bordeaux Mountain or Coral Bay.

[liamsaunt]

John and I like to change where we stay because we appreciate the different views. We spend a lot of time at the house so views are important to us. We have stayed at:

Caneel Bay ( 8 )
Catherineberg (3)
Chocolate Hole (1)
Contant Point(2)
Coral Bay (1)
Devers Bay (1)
Fish Bay (1)
Gallows Point (3)
Hart Bay (1)
Maria Bluff (3)
STT-Secret Harbour (2)

I liked every location for different reasons. The only houses we have re-rented are Argonauta and Cinnamon Tarn.

[Diana2]

We've been coming down to STJ for nearly 20 years and have stayed at 3 villas more than once. I always try to do a walk-through of a couple of houses while we're down there as I'm always in search of the 'perfect' island villa. I've found a couple that are 'nearly perfect' but I'm still on a quest for a villa that has it all. We usually have the whole family who join us for most of our stay so we usually need a fairly good sized house.

For us it's all about the location and since we seek quiet, privacy, down-island views and convience to the northshore beaches we have found our favorite location is Bordeaux Mountain/Mamey Peak. If the budget would allow I'd love to stay in Upper Peter Bay. The view from there is amazing and the location is a 10 on a scale of 1-10.

[BillVT]

In the past we would rent a week at a different villa every year then move in with friends at their timeshare for a second week. After we thought about it, and figured how much time we actually spent at the villa, we bought in at our friends timeshare. And yes Gromit, it does feel like home when we return. Fortunately for us we still move in with our friends for the second week. We rent the car for all of us.