USVI-On-Line

OK, its my turn to grill the experts for Villa opinions and factoids!

We are a group of 4 couples (1 couple are newbies) returning next July. We have stayed at Gallows, villas at Fish Bay and Great Cruz/Chocolate Hole in the past. We don't want to stay all the way on the Coral Bay side. We are looking for a newish villa with good views.

With that said, I have kind of narrowed down some of our choices to the following:

Cocotier - RickG's great review answered most of the questions on this one.
Indigo - not sure if it has bedding for 4 couples. It says 2K, 1Q and 1Twin. Does anyone know if the listed twin is really 1 twin or can it be made into a king?
Ristaba - doesn't appear to have full A/C and the views look iffy from the pool with the foliage?

Drake's View - the house looks great, but I cant find any reviews on it. Has anyone stayed there or seen any info?
Summer Wind - same comments as Drakes View and is pretty cheap in comparison to the other villas listed. Am I missing something that makes it so cheap?

My dilemma comes in whether to stay up on the mountain with down island views or down by great cruz/chocolate hole. I am thinking the higher up views may be better for hanging out at the house. We have never stayed on the mountain and I am not sure about what complications that may bring. We have 1 couple that really likes to party in town and ended up cabbing it back to the villa a lot this year. Are the cab rides substantially more expensive to the mountain villas? Is accessing north shore beaches the same or easier than staying by chocolate hole?

Lastly, is the construction of the traffic circle and the resort at chocolate hole. Are these big enough factors to steer me away the Great Cruz/Chocolate Hole area?

Villa selecting is hard work!!

Ah, the villa calculus. Newbies and partiers tend to pull you closer to Cruz Bay. Getting taxis up to our villa on Gifft Hill was problematic on a previous trip. For that reason, with our Halloween party crowd, we picked a villa on Great Cruz Bay. I don't plan on taking a taxi back to our villa, but I can if I need to.

Cheers, RickG

Stayed on Rock ridge abouve great cruz bay no problem to get a taxi there about 6 to 7 dollars a person

Stayed in Cocotier and it would be great for 4 couples. It's an easy drive and the place has that new feeling. AC works great. I have not been back since the round about construction. I'm sure that will be a PITA for months to come. I'll be finding out in about 2 weeks. You're smart to look for full ac. July is H-O-T! Unless your up high (I mean really high) those trade winds blow hot and humid.

How about Vistaero (desintationstjohn.com)? My group is staying there in April. I picked it because it has relative closeness to Cruz Bay (our group definitely goes out at night), up high view (our last villa in Point Rendevous was very deluxe, but lacking in views (IMHO), AC in all bedrooms (according to the Mrs. Pete/Mr. Marcia review, heat was not a problem in the main room, even in August), HUGE pool, hot tub and reasonable price.

We stayed at Ristaba in 2004. It was not air conditioned except in the bedrooms. The view from the pool wasn't that great. My biggest problem with the pool was that it was too deep for me (I am almost 5'4") everywhere but in the shallow end so I stayed by the steps alot.

The location of the villa was perfect for us and the lack of a/c throughout the house did not bother us except when we first got there because the house was closed up and the fans weren't even on. The breezes were nice there so we didn't miss the a/c once we opened it up (has screens) and turned on the fans.

The verandah outside was AWESOME for sitting out on.

I would have booked it again this summer but it's booked when we want to go. That location was just so convenient.

We just stayed on Gifft Hill and even though the views were great, it was a little out of the way for newbies that are gonna want to go to town more than we do.

Our family of eith stayed in Cocotier a few years ago. Very nice!!

It is a good 10-15 mons from Cruz Bay though and drinking and driving is not reccomended. Can't someone be the designated driver?

Thanks for the input guys! I sent an email to Destination about the bedding layout for Indigo. If it works for 4 couples, we will probably go with Indigo.

Cocotier and Ristaba look like really good alternatives.

One couple really likes to hang out in town till wee hours of the night. They even went the backyard TWICE - I spent 30 minutes there and got the heck out of dodge They are the ones that will potentially be needing cabs since my drunk tail will be in bed at 2 a.m. when they decide to call it a night

If you are thinking about renting from Destination St. John I recommend calling them and talking on the phone. They will ask you about your group and your budget and make some recommendations on which houses they think will work for you. I know that we would've never picked the house they recommended on our own, but it was the perfect fit for our group!