A Winsome House - Ajax Peak

SuefromMA · Post by **SuefromMA** » Wed May 08, 2013 5:29 pm

You will be happy to hear that we are "this close" to not bothering you again, re: our villa selection for next year.

We have decided to stay in the Ajax Peak area. We have gotten a great discount on A Winsome House (thanks to dreamshark's great advice!). We really like the location and the views. We like the little covered eating area outside. PLUS I get my special showers with a view.

The layout is a little quirky with the bedrooms being in a separate building from the main house. But, I think we can deal with that. Before I make that final commitment, does any forum buddy have any pros or cons to share with us re: A Winsome House and/or Ajax Peak Rd.?

As always, thanks for all the great advice!! Couldn't have done this alone!

Sue (& Jim)

News of St. John · Post by **News of St. John** » Wed May 08, 2013 5:33 pm

I stayed at a different villa on Ajax Peak Road last year and it was definitely a fun ride up each night. You will need a Jeep for sure. Overall, it wasn't too bad. Just look at for the donkeys at night.

mbw1024 · Post by **mbw1024** » Wed May 08, 2013 6:11 pm

Don't quote me but no A/C at that house, right? Might not be an issue for you but just pointing it out just in case.

mbw1024 · Post by **mbw1024** » Wed May 08, 2013 6:16 pm

Whoops. I either have the wrong house or A/C of some sort has been added. Sorry about that!

dreamshark · Post by **dreamshark** » Wed May 08, 2013 7:03 pm

Ajax Peak Road is easy, just a little bit bumpy. No thru traffic, so no stress. (IMHO, the scariest thing about St. John roads is whipping around a sharp turn and coming face to face with a careening water truck.)

@mbw, I have been looking at this lovely house off and on for years, and I remembered it as having no AC too. But both VRBO and Destination St. John say AC, so they must have added it. Might be just window units in the bedrooms, but at that altitude that should be plenty.

Sue, lots of STJ villas have the bedrooms in separate "pods." Apparently it's the West Indies way.

Armchair Traveler · Post by **Armchair Traveler** » Wed May 08, 2013 7:40 pm

My husband and I stayed here in May of 2009 and loved it! I don't remember if it had AC so I am pretty sure that means we didn't need it! The pool got sun until 2 or 3 and was small but still enjoyable. The views were awesome and we spent the majority of the time we were there on the deck. The road didn't bother us since we had previously stayed up Calabash Boom and that was tougher. The switchback right before the house, next to Caribbean Jewel, is pretty tight and the only part that gave us pause. We'd return in a heartbeat but now with small kids the layout doesn't work. Really enjoyed the house and Destination St John was wonderful to work with. Happy to answer other questions just shoot me a message.
Amy

chloe_jade416 · Post by **chloe_jade416** » Wed May 08, 2013 9:15 pm

Looked at Winsome House when perusing the Destination St. John website. Really like the looks of that villa and have "bookmarked" it for a future trip (when the kids are a bit older). With young kids ourselves, it didn't work best for us right now either (with no interior access bedrooms)...unless, of course, the kids share a bedroom with us (may feel a bit cramped?).

Did ask Destination St. John about it, and was told that AC (in bedrooms only) was added recently. IMO, the layout of the villa reminds me of another one I've bookmarked -- Reef Madness. Both beautiful villas, just with different styles (decor and pool-wise). But the overall layouts of both look similar to me.

Anyway, my general impression is Winsome offers some very nice (quality) furnishings and amenities at a very reasonable rate. And just from what I've read, Ajax Peak is an exellent (central) location, especially for quick access to some of the north shore beaches. Probably can't go wrong booking this villa from what I can tell and based on the info the ladies at Destination St. John shared with me.

Good luck in your continued search. Have yet to visit STJ....but so far, it's been really fun just researching. And the villa hunt (although overwhelming) has actually been a big part of the fun!

Teresa_Rae · Post by **Teresa_Rae** » Wed May 08, 2013 10:22 pm

What was the advice for getting a discount?....do tell

Staying on Ajax Peak makes it easy to get a mango smoothie at the smoothie shack every day....yum. I'm a big fan of staying in that location!

SuefromMA · Post by **SuefromMA** » Wed May 08, 2013 11:45 pm

Thank you, all! It looks like this will be a good choice for us. Particularly nice to hear that a forum friend (and a New Englander to-boot) stayed there and really enjoyed it. Makes us feel so much better about committing.

This is our first time staying for 11 days in one place. So, I was super concerned that it not only be an affordable place. But, one that we could truly say "felt like home" each day that we stayed there.

No "secret" or "password" re: getting a discount. Dreamshark was listening to me lament that we didn't know if we would be able to find a villa that "spoke to us" in our price range. Many of the ones that caught my eye were out of our self-imposed price range. Dreamshark told me that since I was looking to commit to an 11 night stay, in off-season and willing to book so far ahead that I should just "put it out there" when requesting rental rate for a unit. (The old "nothing ventured - nothing gained" philosophy.)

It was great advice! Before she had said that, I had just been looking at the rates online and deciding to not even bother contacting agencies for villas that I thought were out of our price range. Due to her encouragement, I contacted Destination St. John via email inquiring about prices and availability for 5 different villa choices. I just respectfully included words to the effect that we were hoping that we might possibly be able to secure even better than posted rates based on the duration of our stay in conjunction with the off-season period.

No way of knowing if the discount that we received was based on an established policy due to our length of stay or not. But, imagine my delight and surprise when I received my reply with news of discounted rates. Again, just fantastic news. We can now just "spend" that saved money somewhere else on St. John! LOL

Again, thanks all!

We are beyond excited!

Sue (& Jim)

mbw1024 · Post by **mbw1024** » Thu May 09, 2013 7:46 am

Sue, glad you found something.Let the next countdown begin!

lazylane · Post by **lazylane** » Thu May 09, 2013 8:54 am

You will love the Ajax Peak area!! Fabulous views and easy access to North Shore and Coral Bay! Enjoy!

papabou · Post by **papabou** » Thu May 09, 2013 9:42 am

sue, while we have never stayed at win h, have had bookmarked for several yrs because of views reflected on web site, super location, and what appeared to be great rates. we've rented thru dstj twice, and found web pics accurate and service great.

while staying on mt bord at summerwind in april 12, we could see wh and other villas just off ajax mt rd and decided to venture over for a look see. bad news, wh parking is on a pad that is quite a distance uphill (lots of steps) from villa which doesn't work for old folks (late 60's). GOOD news is the pad is only about 100 yds from ajax peak rd (either paved or fairly level to turnoff) and though that 100 yds is steep and fairly rough, we had had not problem with the drive in a car (ford fusion we were stuck with after budget on stt couldn't produce the reserved jeep). I believe you will love wh.

papabou

stjchica · Post by **stjchica** » Thu May 09, 2013 10:29 am

What is that thing over the pool? Looks like a cover or something?

mbw1024 · Post by **mbw1024** » Thu May 09, 2013 11:10 am

Solar cover, I imagine.

chloe_jade416 · Post by **chloe_jade416** » Thu May 09, 2013 12:19 pm

When I inquired with Destination St. John about Winsome House, one of them mentioned that the solar cover may not be there anymore, but she sounded unsure. May want to clarify with them if that's important to you.

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