At last and long overdue--Oleander8/22-8/29 finale
Posted: Wed Sep 26, 2007 10:31 pm
Thought I was doing great with banging out the first three parts of the trip report soon after we arrived home. I knew I had to hurry as we had a destination wedding in the Adirondacks to attend the weekend after we arrived home, and then I was making a 5 day trip to Florida the following week to check up on our condo. Got the first three parts finished: yes we loved Oleander and yes the weather and the snorkeling was great, and, yes, Candies is the new YUM on St John. Here is the fourth and final part.
Our trip was a Wednesday to Wednesday. Yes we did have a snafu with all the electronics in the villa being disconnected upon our arrival. By monday,we were wondering why we had not heard back from Kathy McLaughlin about our tour of Sol Inclination, so when I finally called her back she said she tried to call repeatedly but there was no answering machine on. Ah ha- it seems that this was disconnected also--the mystery continues and I guess we will never know why? Fortunately, the maid was going to be at the villa that very morning so with directions to the top of the world kind of in hand, we set out to see the villa where we will be staying with 3 other couples in November.
Sol Inclination IS at the top of the world and it IS drop dead gorgeous. Sol Inclination is built into the hillside at the highest point in Skytop overlooking Fish Bay, all of south shore into STT to the east, and the wild south shore to the west of Fish Bay out to Ram's Head. The road to the villa is not as difficult to traverse as I thought it would be. It is about 7 minutes from Rendevous/Ditliff, so that would make it about 15 minutes from Cruz Bay with only 1 unpaved stretch at ground level in Fish Bay. The property consists of a 2BR main house up top and a 2BR guesthouse about 100 ft below, separated by a green lawn, a pool, a very large jacuzzi and various short stairways and sitting areas. The landscaping is just gorgeous!
It is definately not designed or furnished as a typical beach house, unless it was intended maybe for the pacific Coast or the Baja. The furnishings are upscale and outstanding. The kitchen is gorgeous,and gourmet chefs would be right at home. All the outdoor areas offer magnificent views. The upper level bedrooms are huge as are the bathrooms there. The outdoor shower in the master bath is almost as large as some guestrooms at other villas.There is a long, wide balcony/porch outside the 2 masters on the second floor of the main house, with furnishings that would be standard in living rooms of other villas.
The driveway is a bear if you are going to have more than one or 2 cars. Really, only one car can park at the very top near the 2BR main house, and then another could park and guests could walk up to the guest house. Great introductory rate and great honeymoon or anniversary getaway. Great house for an adult group who is into villa gravity and partying at home. The pool is on the small side and there is no real patio around it but there is so much room on the property that if you are beach and jacuzzi lovers, this will be the place for you. Will let you know more when we get home.
We went back to Maho after we toured the villa, and snorkeled the area around to little Maho. Very interesting area out there. Had snorkeled from Francis to little Maho and now we can say we have come in to little Maho from the other direction. That evening we had dinner and kids-play-free golf at Compass Rose. I know there has been a recent thread about Compass Rose so suffice to add that we were pleased with the food, especially the grilled fish. DS, DH and the kids played golf down below, while I watched the Yankee game a chatted with some locals who were eating at the bar. Seems like a nice casual place with a great view from select seats--which we did not have. That area was reserved for a large family group. The high point of the evening occurred when a little girl from their party ran upstairs to her parents and relatives and announced excitedly that there was a "dinasour in a tree downstairs on the golf course". She must have spotted a stray iguana enjoying the soft evening breeze while curiously watching the goings on below.
In closing, I promised to summarize what we liked and what we didnt and what was new( to us) after a two year absence from St John. This is the first time we have visited in the summertime( after Carnival) and we did notice the difference with fewer folks on island. No trouble getting a parking spot at the beaches or in town. Boy did we love the warm water, and we really lucked-out with the weather and lack of mosquitos and no-seums. And although we have been on island for the full moon before, the appearance of the water over Fish Bay as we saw it from Rendevous was just beautiful--a sea of silver light that I will not soon forget. We were of course disappointed with not getting to Turtle Bay for sunset, or to Coral Bay at all, or not spending more than a few short hours at Trunk, but I am sure we will do all of those things in a few short weeks. A newbie couple will be joining us for 5 days before the others come in so we will "have our way with them" so to speak and do all those things we love to do and show them our favorite parts of St John. We are already making our food lists and planning our "boat trips" and almost became too busy to write this report. Didnt have any negatives to report--anyway, whats not to like on St John..except crowds.
In closing, I did want to mention the most peculiar thing I found on St John during our August trip---there were Police Officers patrolling everywhere on St John? What a novel idea? At first when I would see a police car midday in the Klein Bay area driving up and down the roads I thought he might be going home for lunch. Each time we passed us he greeted us with a wave and a smile. But then I began to notice the police on patrol in other areas,--up at the Sugar Mill in Catherineberg--out near Maho and Francis?? All of them greeting us with a wave and a smile. And we saw them at night too, once up on Gift Hill and another time of all places out in Fish Bay. My DH and I are both retired from Law Enforcement, so we jokingly began to think maybe there was an axe-murderer on the loose? What else could we think seeing all those cops?
After I got home and was reading the VI online news, I found an article about the new Police Comissioner on St John wanting to have his officers out and visible to both the residents and the tourists. Kudos to him. With 60 burglaries on St John in the last year and no arrests, I think its more than a great idea.
We had a great trip and cant wait for the next in November...and the next...and the next.. and next.
Our trip was a Wednesday to Wednesday. Yes we did have a snafu with all the electronics in the villa being disconnected upon our arrival. By monday,we were wondering why we had not heard back from Kathy McLaughlin about our tour of Sol Inclination, so when I finally called her back she said she tried to call repeatedly but there was no answering machine on. Ah ha- it seems that this was disconnected also--the mystery continues and I guess we will never know why? Fortunately, the maid was going to be at the villa that very morning so with directions to the top of the world kind of in hand, we set out to see the villa where we will be staying with 3 other couples in November.
Sol Inclination IS at the top of the world and it IS drop dead gorgeous. Sol Inclination is built into the hillside at the highest point in Skytop overlooking Fish Bay, all of south shore into STT to the east, and the wild south shore to the west of Fish Bay out to Ram's Head. The road to the villa is not as difficult to traverse as I thought it would be. It is about 7 minutes from Rendevous/Ditliff, so that would make it about 15 minutes from Cruz Bay with only 1 unpaved stretch at ground level in Fish Bay. The property consists of a 2BR main house up top and a 2BR guesthouse about 100 ft below, separated by a green lawn, a pool, a very large jacuzzi and various short stairways and sitting areas. The landscaping is just gorgeous!
It is definately not designed or furnished as a typical beach house, unless it was intended maybe for the pacific Coast or the Baja. The furnishings are upscale and outstanding. The kitchen is gorgeous,and gourmet chefs would be right at home. All the outdoor areas offer magnificent views. The upper level bedrooms are huge as are the bathrooms there. The outdoor shower in the master bath is almost as large as some guestrooms at other villas.There is a long, wide balcony/porch outside the 2 masters on the second floor of the main house, with furnishings that would be standard in living rooms of other villas.
The driveway is a bear if you are going to have more than one or 2 cars. Really, only one car can park at the very top near the 2BR main house, and then another could park and guests could walk up to the guest house. Great introductory rate and great honeymoon or anniversary getaway. Great house for an adult group who is into villa gravity and partying at home. The pool is on the small side and there is no real patio around it but there is so much room on the property that if you are beach and jacuzzi lovers, this will be the place for you. Will let you know more when we get home.
We went back to Maho after we toured the villa, and snorkeled the area around to little Maho. Very interesting area out there. Had snorkeled from Francis to little Maho and now we can say we have come in to little Maho from the other direction. That evening we had dinner and kids-play-free golf at Compass Rose. I know there has been a recent thread about Compass Rose so suffice to add that we were pleased with the food, especially the grilled fish. DS, DH and the kids played golf down below, while I watched the Yankee game a chatted with some locals who were eating at the bar. Seems like a nice casual place with a great view from select seats--which we did not have. That area was reserved for a large family group. The high point of the evening occurred when a little girl from their party ran upstairs to her parents and relatives and announced excitedly that there was a "dinasour in a tree downstairs on the golf course". She must have spotted a stray iguana enjoying the soft evening breeze while curiously watching the goings on below.
In closing, I promised to summarize what we liked and what we didnt and what was new( to us) after a two year absence from St John. This is the first time we have visited in the summertime( after Carnival) and we did notice the difference with fewer folks on island. No trouble getting a parking spot at the beaches or in town. Boy did we love the warm water, and we really lucked-out with the weather and lack of mosquitos and no-seums. And although we have been on island for the full moon before, the appearance of the water over Fish Bay as we saw it from Rendevous was just beautiful--a sea of silver light that I will not soon forget. We were of course disappointed with not getting to Turtle Bay for sunset, or to Coral Bay at all, or not spending more than a few short hours at Trunk, but I am sure we will do all of those things in a few short weeks. A newbie couple will be joining us for 5 days before the others come in so we will "have our way with them" so to speak and do all those things we love to do and show them our favorite parts of St John. We are already making our food lists and planning our "boat trips" and almost became too busy to write this report. Didnt have any negatives to report--anyway, whats not to like on St John..except crowds.
In closing, I did want to mention the most peculiar thing I found on St John during our August trip---there were Police Officers patrolling everywhere on St John? What a novel idea? At first when I would see a police car midday in the Klein Bay area driving up and down the roads I thought he might be going home for lunch. Each time we passed us he greeted us with a wave and a smile. But then I began to notice the police on patrol in other areas,--up at the Sugar Mill in Catherineberg--out near Maho and Francis?? All of them greeting us with a wave and a smile. And we saw them at night too, once up on Gift Hill and another time of all places out in Fish Bay. My DH and I are both retired from Law Enforcement, so we jokingly began to think maybe there was an axe-murderer on the loose? What else could we think seeing all those cops?
After I got home and was reading the VI online news, I found an article about the new Police Comissioner on St John wanting to have his officers out and visible to both the residents and the tourists. Kudos to him. With 60 burglaries on St John in the last year and no arrests, I think its more than a great idea.
We had a great trip and cant wait for the next in November...and the next...and the next.. and next.
Hi , Thanks for report! sounds like a great time!!we will be heading there again next may & will be staying in the same area at Miles Away thru destination.john can't wait! So good to hear about the police patrols thru out the island & not just in town at cruz bay! We too have enjoyed pastory gardens(compass rose) many times have even done the putt putt !such a great view & friendly place, a relaxing place out of town!Love the whole island & can't wait to return! Best Regards Rachelle & joe