USVI-On-Line

Avalon (aka Fort Miles)is on our list of possible villas for our trip this summer for 9 people (7 adults and 2 kids under 5). We have read some reviews that concern us, talking about it being run down and needing many repairs. I believe it is over 40 years old now. We'd love to hear from anyone who has stayed there in the last few years that can give us an idea of the current condition.

I read that same last review on Tripadvisor, and I'd like to hear some recent comments too. Hopefully someone will chime in.

I looked into renting Avalon for May 09 (so was checking with Catered to in summer of 08) and they said that the owners are typically there all winter, then head north and put it on the rental market in mid april each year. If they're still following that pattern, you could check with Catered To to see what if any upgrades or changes were made over the winter. Also, I would think the house would be in better shape right after the owners move back rather than after a full season of weekly rentals (so better in spring than fall). We ended up renting another property, so I have never seen the inside of Avalon.

I should have added that we ended up going with Vistaero for our large group of 12 (6 adults, 6 kids). We were very happy with the villa selection - it was less expensive than Avalon or some others I looked into, 3 of the five bedrooms had sleep sofas in them (so little kids could be in same room as parents), the pool and public spaces were very large and accomodated our group very well, and the view was spectacular. All that said, I think there have been a couple of more recent reviews (we were there in May 09 - house was in good shape, everything worked) where people have had some maintenance issues, so if you look into Vistaero, ask about current condition & upkeep.

OK last post: describe your party in detail when asking for rates. When booking our trip for 12 (including 6 kids 5 & under) we found that Destination St. John did not charge for kids under 6 (so we paid the 6 person rate for the villa). Catered To did charge for all people (including all kids), so the rates were higher because we would have to pay the 12 person rate. I'm not sure of any other companies' policies on charging for kids, and not sure if these are still the policies on Destination St. John and Catered To, but it can make a big difference in pricing if the kids are free.

bump (in case this was missed by someone with some info to add)