USVI-On-Line

Hello everyone, this is my first post on this forum. We're coming this spring to St John for the third year in a row, and bringing our adult children & baby grandchild this time.

We rented Coconut Breeze through Destination St John and would love to hear back from anyone who has stayed there. I'm a little concerned about the road to the villa (for my families' sake.) My husband loves to 4 wheel drive so a challenging road is fun for him. Also would like to know how usable the pool was (too cold?) Breezy? Looks like a gorgeous place, just haven't seen many reviews yet.

Thanks very much!

Kathy

No review, but have been interested in it as well..Looks great..I would think the pool would be fine..Please write a thorough review on your return and have a great time!!!

Hello all - my family and I just stayed there 2 weeks ago. We also couldn't find much info, so hopefully this will be helpful for others.

Road/parking: No problem for us at all. We had a 4WD Wrangler, and you probably need it. Most of it is paved (and pretty steep, too), but there is a short section just before you reach the driveway that is rough and rutted. My brother in law called it a "pelvis buster" - he was in the back seat - but certainly no worse than many other areas around the island. I wouldn't worry about the road there at all. There is good parking at the villa as the driveway is paved and pretty long.

The pool was COLD. We were there after a particularly cold bit (I wore a jacket outside at night and was still pretty chilly sitting outside - and I live in Cincinnati!), but my 5 year old son thought it was fine. He doesn't seem to notice the water temp, but the adults definitely did. I dreaded getting in with him. Probably no issue in the summer. The pool is in the shade starting at about 2-3pm, though, so that might be an issue for those swimmers. Sitting around the pool is pleasant all the time.

It is breezy. We had AC, but did not need it or use it. Might be a different story in the summer, but we would just open up the sliding glass door in the back and all the windows, and it was plenty cool inside.

The kitchen was just fine with us. We cooked every dinner in and generally found the cookware and utensils to be adequate.

There were 3 coolers on the front porch ranging in size from lunch box to huge. We thought that was a nice touch even though we only used the smallest of them.

The view is unreal. You can see Coral Bay (obviously), but also Norman Island, Peter Island, Cooper Island, Tortola, and on a clear day Virgin Gorda. There were 2 pair of binoculars in the villa, and we brought our own. Great sights all day long and into the night as well.

The house itself has a single master bedroom right off the living/kitchen area. The bathroom is enormous with 2 sinks. There is also a washer/dryer in the bathroom which was handy. The second bedroom was accessed by going outside and down the steps to the pool. We ended up not using this as we weren't comfortable putting our 5 year old down there alone. There is a second building below the pool level that is very private and has a bedroom, bathroom, and small kitchenette in it. The path between the main house and second house is beautifully landscaped and filled with hummingbirds. Amazing, really as we saw them all the time zipping around.

We would go back. About the only drawback was that it was a 15-20 minute drive to the north shore (down the hill, through Coral Bay, up Ajax Peak, and then down to Maho) and a long way from Cruz Bay. This may not be a drawback for some, but it can be a lot of driving if you are going to the north shore every day. We actually loved the proximity to Coral Bay and the East End and spent a fair amount of time at Haulover and Hansen this trip.

Happy to answer any other questions. My trip pictures had some of the views from the villa, but none from inside:

Thanks very much, Ken, for the review and fantastic photos. You are right, the view looks UNREAL!

Good to hear about the mostly paved road and big driveway. Sorry to hear about the cold pool. Management told us that the pool received sun until 4pm. Maybe this is true in the spring/summer months? Anyway, I bet the breeze doesn't help the water temp. Glad to hear it was nice sitting around the pool. Does that mean it wasn't too breezy to eat outside?

We love Coral Bay and the East end beaches. So, a few extra minutes to get to Maho and Francis won't be too much trouble for us. We are looking forward to our trip! Never been to St John this early in April. How were the ocean temps for you in Feb?

I'll be sure to write a review when we return.

It might have been 4pm - but I can tell you that it wouldn't change my mind about getting in that pool. It was cold. And as for the breeze, we ate outside every single night and I ate every breakfast outside. So I wouldn't worry about that at all.

The ocean temps were definitely cooler than the summer months, but much warmer than the pool. We did a fair amount of swimming/snorkeling and never thought much of it. I don't think you'll have any problem swimming in the ocean at all.

Looking forward to hearing about your experience when you get back. And if you have any other questions, let me know. Happy to try to help.

We just returned from a wonderful 8 night stay at Coconut Breeze. We had a great vacation, third time to Coral Bay in 3 years. This review will just cover the villa. I will try to write up more later about our snorkeling and boat trip.

The views are so beautiful, just mesmerizing! There is a long covered veranda to enjoy the view and all the boat watching on Coral Bay. Also beautiful views from the pool level below. I will never underestimate the value of a view like this. It added to our enjoyment immensely.

We gave the master bedroom to our son and daughter in law because they had our darling 11 month old granddaughter with us on the trip. The bedroom is the only one on the main floor with the kitchen and living room and also a powder room. Washer/dryer in the master bathroom (huge). I brought a small inflatable pool that was put in the enormous shower and filled for her bath. Worked out well. The baby loved the beach and ocean as well as the views from the villa! I would hold her in my arms on the veranda and ask her where the boats were and she would point and smile. The entire main floor and veranda was very safe for her; we barricaded the end of it with a couple of outdoor dining chairs.

My husband and I stayed in the adorable cottage with a screened in porch. We used the bedroom A/C just about every night and it worked well. Bed and pillows were comfy. Beach towels looked brand new but the bath towels in the cottage looked old. I called up Destination St John and they quickly brought over a large box of new towels for us. There is a nice TV and DVD player in the cottage as well as in the main living room.

There are many steps to the cottage and I have bad knees but it was all right. There is also an easier way to access the cottage from the driveway.

The third bedroom is off the pool level (outside access) where our adult daughter stayed. I noticed that there is no ceiling fan in there but she said she doesn't like overhead fans anyway. That worked out well too.

Destination St John had given us a 15% discount. When we booked back in Dec they ran a special for liking them on Facebook. I would no doubt ask for some discount again in the future. There were delicious appetizers waiting for us in the fridge which was a nice touch, and we were really hungry when we all arrived late in the afternoon. They were very responsive when we needed help; I would book through them again.

Because we rented for 8 nights, there was a midweek cleaning and sheet changing. Very appreciated!

I did not swim in the pool but my kids did a few times and enjoyed it. It was too cold for the baby. There is a pool light that is pretty in the evening. The pool is pretty to look at period with that amazing view just beyond it.

The road that I was so concerned about was just fine. It is completely paved (and steep) until the very end where it is unpaved and bumpy. The driveway is paved and easy parking. Seriously, we have had much worse than this in St John. Even my daughter in law drove without any concern. We didn't have any rain so can't say how it would be in those conditions.

And thank goodness we didn't have any rain because it rained for 8 days before we got there. The first 3 days were cloudy and the last 4 were brilliant. Made for great snorkeling. Oh here I go, will leave that for later.

If anyone has questions about the villa, please ask. Hope this helps anyone in the future.

Thanks everyone for all of the great reviews. I'm planning our second trip for next late spring/ early summer.
We love Coral bay but I'm having trouble finding a villa that I think will be good for our daughter who will be 3 next year.
Other poster's had small children, is the master bedroom large enough to have child stay in room with us or is there another good option for ensuring safety of small children at night? Just wondering what others have done in a villa like this. I've seen some others just bring a baby monitor and use that when kids are in separate buildings but I wonder how safe this is, especially depending on ability to lock separate buildings after putting children to bed.
Sorry for all of the questions.

WOW!!! Incredible view!

The master bedroom at Coconut Breeze is very big with a king bed. My son & daughter in law used a pack n play in this room for their infant daughter. Don't know what you would use for your 3 year old.

The other bedrooms there would not be suitable for such a young child. One is downstairs off the pool, and the other is in a private cottage down many steps. (We stayed there and loved it.)

We are considering this villa for our first visit to St. John. Did you feel like you had a good amount of privacy or were there neighbors close by? We just want to make sure we will have a quiet and serene vacation and love to feel like we are getting away from the crowds.

There is a partial view of one villa below Coconut Breeze to the left. Otherwise there is no other villa close by. It felt very serene and quiet and private.

Thanks, Kathy! Coconut Breeze looks like a great fit for us. Now we just have to decide between Coral Bay and Fish Bay. This is our first trip to St. John.

My personal opinion, for a first timer, is that Fish Bay is quite a distance when driving to different destinations on the island. We have stayed all over the island and although we enjoyed Fish Bay, I am unsure we would have liked it as much for our first trip. I love Coral Bay for its central location to North Shore, East End , Salt Pond, and of course the yummy smoothie stand!!

We have only stayed in Coral Bay (3 times) and I'm curious about Fish Bay. Snorkeling is our favorite pastime in St John, so we love the easier access of Coral Bay to some of the (IMO) best spots. Aside from being closer to Cruz Bay with sunset views, I wonder what the advantages of Fish Bay are.

Let us know what you decide (: and have fun!