USVI-On-Line

I just found this villa and it seems to have it all; sunsets, large pool and hot tub with great views, bedrooms with great views for 3 couples. Any opinions? Belvedere, Colibri, Maria, Allesandra and Ellison are still on the list. Also just saw Romance. It looks quite beautiful too.

Shellee, I, along with a group of friends will be staying there in a few weeks so I can give you our impressions of the villa - if you can wait a little while before making your decision?

Karen

We've stayed there twice, four and six years ago. It's a lovely villa but when we were there, it was starting to show it's age. I do not know if any updates have been made since...

The hot tub was not working (both visits and with attempts made by staff to fix it). The house doesn't lock up easily which is a bit of a bother. However, the views are lovely and the large pool is delightful.

If you have any other questions, feel free to ask.

We stayed there last November and it was still pretty tired looking in some areas. The hot tub did not work the entire time we were there (gee, has it EVER worked?)and two of the bedrooms had major leaks when it rained. One room actually had water running out of the light fixture in the ceiling. The deck and pool area are great, but overall the place could use some love.

Lindy wrote:We stayed there last November and it was still pretty tired looking in some areas. The hot tub did not work the entire time we were there (gee, has it EVER worked?)and two of the bedrooms had major leaks when it rained. One room actually had water running out of the light fixture in the ceiling. The deck and pool area are great, but overall the place could use some love.

I believe it was on the market when we were there last. Maybe if it has been, or will soon be sold, it will get some attention. It has A LOT of potential.

It was still for sale when we were there! Wow, either it's a hard sell or someone buys it and finds out how much deferred maintenance there is and decides to dump it.

I think Pete should buy it when he moves his Law Practice there. Then everyone else would have a free place to stay when they visit.

You know the saying...you don't need a plane; you just need a good friend/husband with a plane!

Thanks Lindy and Marcia. I have emailed Destination St. John to ask about those issues. I can't decide whether it would be worth it to have the hot tub or not in June. What about the bedrooms,did they have good views? Also, was the pool warm, cold or just right for a late afternoon, evening swim?

We stayed in May 09 and did not have any maintenance problems. Hot tub was up and running. The interior furnishings were in good shape, beds comfortable, A/C worked well. There were some signs of age in the exterior -- a few areas could have used some painting, some sticky screen doors, the downstairs w/d (there are two sets) were older, but the upstairs ones were in good shape and looked newer. As for views, spectacular views from upper decks and pool area. Lower three bedrooms walk out to lower deck area, and that view is more blocked by foliage. Very spacious common areas, room to park 3 cars (and turn them around in the driveway). It is true that it is difficult to lock up easily -- every bedroom opens out to the deck, so you need to lock every bedroom door, plus the greatroom "pod" doors to really lock up the place completely.

I would stay again, but would ask Destination St. John about how well it is currently being maintained. It has been for sale for years now.

Forgot to add that the driveway to Vistaero has two steep switchbacks. If you have trouble with the north shore road switchback between Trunk and Cinnamon, or the switchback from the southshore road to go up toward Gifft Hill, you may be nervous about the driveway. However, it's paved the whole way, and if you're ok on those other roads, you should be ok with Vistaero. If you're concerned about the approach, the villas out on Maria Bluff are much flatter access.

We have never been to St. John before. We have driven on narrow roads in the Colorado Rockies many times. Would it be comparable to that???

I think you'd find the switchbacks between Trunk and Cinnamon and on the southshore road toward Gifft Hill to be quite different from anything you've experienced in the US. The roads on St. John are extremely narrow, and the steep hills and twists and turns can surprise you at first. However, a good 4WD vehicle and a cautious pace will get you around with no problem.

No views from the lower level bedrooms. Actually none of the bedrooms really had views from inside because there were screen doors and a regular door going out to the deck, no sliders or windows except the main living room/dining room area. The views are best from the deck near the pool. From there you have a view overlooking Villa Tesori which looks MUCH nicer/newer than Vistaero. Check that one out if you like that location and view and don't mind paying a little more. It looked worth it to me.

The pool wasn't excessively warm or cold as I recall. I do remember that it felt refreshing to me which probably means that some people would find it cold since I never have a problem with the ocean temp in November.

Oh....one thing about the switchbacks on the drive up there...you can ALWAYS tell when someone is coming up there because you can hear the tires squealing on the pavement.

Here's a link that has some photos of the villa and the views. We stayed there in April of '09 and really enjoyed ourselves. Hot tub worked and the pool was great. The views are excellent.

http://rickst.smugmug.com/Family/Weddin ... 1127_NycTj

It looks spectacular. Not sure how you could go wrong with this one.