USVI-On-Line

We were in St. John during Earl's blow-by. A few observations-

Housing: We were tossed out of our villa on Gifft Hill as they boarded it up on Sunday. We were forced to find housing elsewhere. Westin had booked up by the time we called. Caneel told us to call back at 4PM. We called Gallows Point, and they told us they'd call back in an hour or two. Surprisingly, they did! So we packed up and moved down there. Had an oceanfront unit facing right out on the sound. May post a link to some of the video we shot during the peak of the storm. Folks at Gallows Point were very attentive, calling our room (and others), checking for problems during the storm.
Power: Unbelievably, for an island where the power can and does go out fairly often, we *never* lost power even once from Sunday afternoon, clear through the storm, and up until we left on Wed. A.M. It flickered some, but never went off. I believe the rest of the island suffered long outages.
Trip Insurance: I thought for sure that our CSA travel insurance would certainly cover the additional $1200+ we had to spend to stay at Gallows Point under the Trip Interruption clause. DUH! I must have forgotten that most insurance policies seem to be written by *weasels*, so of course we're not covered. Since we were in the last 4 days of our trip, the coverage does NOT apply if your trip is interrupted and you have 4 days or less remaining. AAAGGHH!
If any forum members have any thoughts on all of this, I'd love to know.
I've also got some great snorkel spot info for all St. John snorkelers that I'll share in a future post, shortly.
Even though the last 4 days of our trip to St. John were tarnished by Earl, we're happy that the island didn't suffer a direct hit, and that it should heal quickly.
-AwardB

Sorry about the typical insurance loophole.
Just wanted to point out that Gallows, like all the "hotel" type accommodations on island, has a big back-up generator, which is why you had power. Something to keep in mind for those planning a trip here in hurricane season.

Not that I know anything about USVI law, but shouldn't the villa reimburse you for the four days you lost when they kicked you out. In New York it's called Constructive Eviction so check your contract with the rental agency and see what it says. Good luck.

Sorry that you were on island for the hurricane and you had to incur extra cost. Sounds like staying at Gallows was a good choice from a power standpoint and the staff checking in, but I would be a bit concerned being exposed to the wind there.
Looking forward to hearing about your snorkeling spots. We love to snorkel on STJ.
Also curious how things were after the storm passed by. Were you able to enjoy the pool at Gallows (which looks like a lovely spot) and eat at restaurants?

Yes, I need to check the rental contract we had with our villa. Haven't done that yet.

Didn't get a chance to enjoy the pool after the 'cane, since it was full of debris until we left. Mongoose Junction was completely trashed, without power the day we checked - Tuesday (storm was on Monday). MJ didn't appear to suffer structural damage, just lots of debris, water and damaged vegetation, along with no power.

The first place we ate out at after Earl's blow-by was the same as the last place we ate at before Earl hit: The Beach Bar! They had power and were serving up lots of hungry customers.
After the storm, on Tuesday we made it out to St. John Market, near the Westin, but they'd had no power and so EVERYTHING in the coolers and freezers was ruined! What a mess!

Thought about the generator at Gallows, but here's the catch: A generator that large would be very loud, and I heard nothing like that type of noise during the storm, and also the GP literature says they have a generator that will power ONE light per suite in the event of a power failure. So I don't think GP ever went on generator power during the storm, as unbelievable as that sounds.

Snorkel tips will be forthcoming soon, and I promise they are spectacular and surprising....