USVI-On-Line

Used Caribbean Villas for our first trip last summer and it was ok. Their fee seemed excessive. The office contact was helpful but the Cruz Bay location wasn't easy to get in and out of. Ended up with a Grand Vitara thru a rental company they refer business to. Would have preferred and will need a vehicle to accomodate 6 people as we are planning to return this summer.

They provided a small welcome package but nothing special. The website was good and we were satisfied with our villa (Le Lapin II). We didn't have to contact them about anything during our week on the island.

So my question is: which rental company do you use and why?

thanks, jp

In all of my STJ trips (one done and one booked) I've based it on the villa I wanted to stay at.

Some villas may be represented by more than one agency, but not either of the two that I've booked to date.

I'm with Augie, villa is deciding factor.

We are particular when it comes to location, layout, child-friendly-ness. We are on our 4th villa trip and each time, I reviewed all the agencies offerings, narrowed down my choices, and made a selection from the short list.

The villa choice ususally determines who your agent will be but Kathy Mc Laughlin at Island Getaways is my first choice and who we've rented through for the last several years. I love the wonderful welcome basket she provides upon arrival. We've also rented through Catered To and Vacation Vistas and been happy with both of these.

I try to avoid Caribbean Villas because of their 5% fee which really rubs me the wrong way.

I base it on the villa I want, but Caribbean Villa is at the bottom of my list.

Catered To is great---wonderful service and villas are well maintained.

I'm using Destination St.. John for the first time on this next trip, and so far they also seem great---very friendly and accomodating.

Diana2 wrote:The villa choice ususally determines who your agent will be but Kathy Mc Laughlin at Island Getaways is my first choice and who we've rented through for the last several years. I love the wonderful welcome basket she provides upon arrival...

Kathy is the best. We've been working with her exclusively for the past 8 years.

Yay for us! We are using Kathy at Island Getaways in June! Destination StJohn last year was fine.

I have to agree with Iowaguy in that I look at Caribbean Villas' villas last. We did use them last year and they were okay, but this year I opted for Vacation Vistas and Lisa Durgin who we were very happy with on a previous visit. Lisa was awesome from start to end!

We were also very happy with Kathy and Island Getaways our first time there.

nothintolose

My favorite is Destination St. John. Laura really goes above and beyond. I had a problem last year with my 2 jeep rental at the airport (because I had 2 jeeps in my name, they assumed it was a duplicate and deleted the 2nd!). This was STT carnival week and there were no jeeps to be had on STT. I found this out just days before my trip!! I called Laura and she found me a Ford Explorer in about an hour. She saved the day! Their villas are very well maintained, they take credit cards and they are extremely helpful!

Ooops - I meant to also give kudos to Lisa at Vacation Vistas. Rented Golden Dragon from her last year; she is a pleasure to deal with and when we had little issues (broken washing machine, gas grill hose problem) she had someone there to fix it that day. Again, beautifully maintained villa.

Back when I was an on-island villa rep, I had very strong feelings about this. Now, not so much. I find the house I want and rent it. We are really laid back travelers and I can roll with the punches if things aren’t working out. I also know quite a few people on island and I am confident that if something were to go wrong, I could figure out how to get it taken care of.
I have never been a fan of Caribbean Villas, but we are renting from them in June. Chip found the house that he wanted and that was that. I don’t care for the 5% charge, but it is what it is. We used Destination St. John last year and they were wonderful.
There have been complaints over the years about almost every company and I don’t think that there are any that are immune to criticism.

Quick story- Back when I was a villa rep, I got a call from a renter at one of our condos. Screaming and Crying. “This is the worst vacation ever. This condo is horrible and I can not believe that you would charge people to stay here. You need to come here this second.” I hop in the car and drive up there. The wife is on the couch crying and will not speak to me. The husband grabs my arm and leads me to the bathroom, pulls back the shower curtain and says “Look at that” I saw nothing out of the ordinary. I looked at him with a very confused look on my face and said that I did not understand the problem.
“There is no shower caddy. Where the hell am I supposed to put my shampoo and soap? What kind of people don’t provide simple convenience items for their guests?”
After I controlled myself, I drove to the hardware store, purchased a new shower caddy and “installed” it for them. But all week long, we heard stories from people that we were the worst villa agency on island and that we rented crappy properties with out basic amenities.

You never know what will happen or how people will react and the stories that they will tell. Find the house you like and rent it.

Xislandgirl, I don't know if I would have been able to control my temper. That is SO ridiculous!

I always am intrigued by the different expectations people have, and what is considered "necessary" by different folks. Everyone comes from a different place in life, I guess.

Sometimes I think, too, that people just don't do any research before going to their vacation destination. One time John and I shared a cab from Caneel with a couple who told us that they were checking out early and moving to the Westin because the resort was not what they expected. We asked them what they did not like and they said they did not know there was no TV in the rooms. I really did not understand how they could not know that before coming down! They must not have looked at the resort at all before booking.

Anyway, I have had great experiences with both Catered To and Vacation Vistas. I'm really interested in some of the properties Caribbean Villas represents, so I might give them a try, despite the service charge. We'll see.

JP-
I have to agree with everyone above, I find the available villas first, narrow it down to two or three of them and then do a search on the various website because as previous stated, some villas are represented by more that one agency. I also go with caribbeanvillas last not only because of the 5% charge but their villa pictures are outdated alot of times.
I've tried going with a certain agency but then the villa I want is usually not available, go figure.
I've used Cateredto, Seaview homes,bookitvi,vacation vista and caribbeanvillas and they have all been great so far (13 trips). I am trying Caribbean Days this trip for the first time but there on-island contact is Vivacations.
The minor problems I've had have been correct ASAP (island time mind you).
Good Luck

Huge fan of Destination St. John here. They were extremely accommodating when I had to cancel our November 2006 trip about a month out (pregnancy complications). They could have justifiably kept my deposit. They didn't. Even if they had I would not have blamed them. They worked with me to rebook the following year using the same deposit.

We've rented two houses through them and find the houses themselves to be nicer than the houses rented through Caribbean Villas, which to me typically are older and a bit dated. That doesn't matter at all to some folks, I just say it in case it matters to you.

The shower caddy story - Unfortunately, I know people like that with a need for constant (and often negative) drama. That is why I always carefully consider extreme reviews and opinions on island service providers and accomidations.

We stayed at an awesome B & B on Block Island. The house was beautiful and the owners could not have been more hospitable. The wife told me the prior guests were very disappointment with their stay and were going to "file a complaint with the chamber of commerce" because.....there was only only luggage rack in the room.

Liamsaunt, we encounter several couples over the years that had similar "disappointments" with Caneel. Do they not research their vacations? Why aren't they as obessive as the rest of us?!?!?!