USVI-On-Line

Hi All,
Planning a long overdue return to STJ next May and I'm trying to make a decision between 2 different villas. My two choices are between Villa Tesori over looking RendezvousBay and Ditliff Point and Cinnamon Hill in Catherineberg over looking the North Shore. We will be a group of 7 adults who all have been to STJ before ( some not since the 80's) and will be renting 2-3 vehicles for everyone to do their own thing while on island. My question is this: has anyone driven the rough road leading to Cinnamon Hill which I believe is the STJ Head Road? All the reviews for CH say that the access to villa is very rough and some in our group may have a problem navigating the road. Villa Tesori looks to be an easy access and a beautiful home but, it does not have the stunning views of the North Shore as Cinnamon Hill has.
Any input is greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Timo

We have driven the road a couple of times because there are a few nice villas for rent there. We decided against it and booked a home in Upper Bay. Same price and MUCH easier to get to and from. I read one of the reviews where the person said you get used to it. Well everyone is different and if you don't get used to it you would hate going anywhere and that couldn't ruin a trip to St. John. Just my two cents - YMMV.

They are currently paving a large section on the road however it will never be completely paved.

Pia

The road is being paved on the side going down to the north shore. if the villa is on this stretch you could access it from North Shore road. Much closer to the beaches than anything on the south shore

I've stayed up in Catherineberg several times and firmly believe the views and privacy more than make up for the roads. There's a reason that view has graced more than one magazine cover over the years!

SteveO.

I personally have no issue with it. I love Catherineberg. Part of the cost of doing business for the otherworldly views. And they are the best views on STJ in my opinion. Never thought a view would make a big deal but they are incredible.

That said if worried it could be an issue, it could be. Better safe than sorry. Maybe just pull 100yards or so off Centerline and check out the ruins. That will give you a flavor for the road.

Bongo Boys just posted a ride down John Head Road. Check it out. Great views and the road is an adventure and a quick way to get to the North Shore beaches than going to Centerline.

Our first visit to St. John, we stayed at Hakuna Matata on that road up to Catherineburg and none of it but some of the turnarounds was paved. The views were amazing and made me fall in love with STJ. We are from New Orleans so we don't have anything that even resembles a hill here so the road initially scared the crap out of me, but we got used to it. The following year we stayed at a villa in Chocolate Hole North, and the views were NOTHING like those Catherineburg views. We missed the previous year's views.

I think some of it depends on what you are looking for. If you want to spend alot of time relaxing at the villa and enjoying the views, I would stay at Cinnamon Hill because, in my opinion,they are far better than the ones at Villa Tesori. If you want to spend alot of time in and out of town for things, you may prefer Tesori. When we were at Hakuna Matata, we spent alot of time at the villa, which is what we wanted, and at the beaches that were SO close. We found that going down on the bumpy road was much easier than going up so we would frequently approach the villa from Centerline and leave via North Shore Road. Now that the road is mostly paved all the way to past Hakuna Matata from Centerline, things are much nicer! I can't tell where the villa is in relation to the paved road, but you could ask the owner. I think it was paved to two below Hakuna Matata. The last one it was paved to was being built. I don't know about the roads that veer off of the main road though.

This past summer we split our visit between a villa in Coral Bay with amazing views of the East End and Coral Bay and the BVIs, and it was Heaven to have those views again. The road to that villa was completely paved. It was also nice being close to the beaches. This trip was mainly a beach visiting trip. The second half we stayed at a villa on the Hart Bay side of Chocolate Hole and the views paled in comparison and the ride to the beaches took double the time. Granted, the ride is a gorgeous ride, but it was nicer to be at the beaches so quickly. The last part of the road, up and around the mountain, is not paved to the latter, and it was a pain in the neck. I would never stay there again but partially because the views were nowhere near as nice so the bumpy ride was not worth it where it would be for the views from Cinnamon Hill. We like to look out and see other islands. We just saw Ditleff for the most part. It was, to us, further from town than we prefer if we are staying in Cruz Bay. Tesori is further from town than we like when staying on the Cruz Bay side.

With ALL of that being said, I would pick Cinnamon Hill because the bumpy road is worth the views unless you want to be in town alot. We found that we didn't just run to the grocery or whatever when we were in Catherineburg. To us, the views are part of why we go there. We could go to the Florida panhandle and have gorgeous views of the the water; we want to have views of other islands. It's also why were pick the VIs over islands with no views of other islands.

second nothintolose's rec. Back in January we stayed at Island Stones which is just off John Head road and probably very close to Cinnamon Hill. The views just cannot be beat and are just breathtaking. Other than the beaches we didn't leave the villa very often. Those views easily make the ride on John Head Rd. worth it.

Now, in Nov the wife and I are staying at Lavender Hills and we will enjoy the restaurants and the other sites on the island but Lavender Hills is not Catherineberg and Island Stones!! You will have a great trip regardless, Have fun!!

We're staying at Island Stones in July. If John head rd is too difficult to drive on, what is the alternative to get to the north shore? Thanks.

hey jay, if u have never stayed there you are going to love it. The views from pool and deck area will be stamped in my brain for the rest of my life. Just amazing.

I didn't think John Head Rd. was that bad a drive and now with a partial paving should be even easier. (I'm in my mid 40's). I think and someone else would have to clarify this but once your on JH rd. and you pass Island Stones and head out torward N Shore drive the rd can be a little tricky. I never personally went that way.

Im not sure there is any other way to get to Island Stones other than JH rd. I just looked again at google maps to clarify and looks like that is the only way, either off of N shore rd which I heard could be tricky or off of centerline which i did many times and didn't think it was bad at all, little bumpy, just go slow and you will be fine!!

hey jay sorry for the long response obviously didn't read your question all the way through. Just take centerline rd back into town make a right at the round-a-bout and take that down to N Shore Rd. Make a right and you are on your wayI

Wife and I just booked Rachel Brown for our transportation from the airport. Never would have known about her if not for this forum, tons of great info, people are very helpful here. Cheers!!

Thanks Everyone for the great info. After reading about the paving going on and seeing the jeep cam again, we prob will go with Cinnamon Hill or one of the other villas in the area. We have some experience driving on rough roads on STJ from years past. We use to stay back in the 70's & 80's at the home that was next to the old Sago Palms which, is now the monstrosity that tore up and clear cut the mountain side. That's a rant for a different time though. Sure do agree with everyone on the importance of having a nice view when renting on STJ and indeed the views from that part of the island are off the charts.
Timo

Thanks for the responses. How steep of a climb is jh? Are we gonna roll off the mountain? Got some new people going with us and don't wanna scare them off.

HaHa!! No, you will not roll of the mountain. It is certainly up hill but not very steep if I remember correctly. You will pass some ruins on your left heading up JH rd then you will make a left onto a narrow road that Island Stones is on, if you didn't make that left you could take JH rd. out to N Shore.

The driveway is narrow and downhill leading to the villa and depending how many jeeps you rent for your group it can be a pain trying to turn all the jeeps around to head out from the villa (we had 3, 4 would prob be max that could fit). There is a little area to turn but it could be bigger, probably my only gripe about the place.

I backed out, up the driveway back to the road once. I wouldn't recommend doing that!!! So, JH Rd. is really tame in my opinion and the more difficult thing to do is navigate your vehicles up/down the narrow driveway and get them all out, going forward, once parked in the driveway.