Villa Callaloo or Fish Bay Hideaway vs. Maho or Concordia

[lovethebeach]

This will be my fifth trip to St. John this summer. My husband & I have always came down by ourselves, so we've always stayed at Maho (more economical). We are bringing 3 other couples with us this summer. The only two villas with four bedrooms in our price range are Villa Callaloo and Fish Bay Hideaway. Neither is right on the beach. I love Maho because you are right on the water and you are so close to nature, but I can't decide whether to give up the conveniences of a villa to stay there. Any input from anyone who has stayed at both Maho and a villa as to what they preferred? Also, I have never stayed at Concordia. Does someone have a preference of Concordia over Maho? Does Concordia have refrigerators in all accommodations or do the tent cottages have ice chests?

[snorkles]

I have stayed at Maho 4 times and once in a villa. The back to nature thing is absolutely the best. I have never stayed at Concordia but will probably stay there the next time. We toured Concordia and the tent cottages are superior over Maho. They have so much more to offer. Each cottage has a fully equipped kitchen as well as a bathroom, running water and a refridgerator. The only downside is they are not on the water and you must have a car.

[RickG]

lovethebeach, you can check out our review of Villa Callaloo at http://www.virgin-islands-on-line.com/s ... 1009.shtml .

If you love Maho then Callaloo should work well for you. You have mosquito nets over the beds with one screened bedroom. We birds flying through the master bedroom in the morning. There are goats and donkeys in the neighborhood along with the rest of the critters. The landscaping is very mature and lush.

Cheers, RickG

[AquaGirl]

We stayed at Concordia 2 years ago and loved it there. We stayed in an ocean-front efficiency rather than a tent. The efficiency was spacious and had a decent kitchen, nice shaded deck with wonderful views out to Salt Pond and Ram's Head. The tents seemed nicer than the ones at Maho, (from an outside look) and the ones closest to Ram's Head have awesome views and a lot of breeze. Definitely need a car there. Very close to Salt Pond and easy drive to the Lameshur beaches, but 45 minutes to Cruz Bay. We enjoyed the restaurants and beaches at the Coral Bay end. Drove into Cruz Bay quite a few times, which got a bit tiresome.

[Kentuckygirl]

Rick,
I was curious about your review, but I can't get the link to work. Is anyone else having this problem?

[augie]

Rick,
I was curious about your review, but I can't get the link to work. Is anyone else having this problem?

I had problems with the direct link not working as well.

But the review is easy to find - go to the blue box at the top of the page that says "Villa Rentals" - when your cursor is there you should see several options - St. John Villa Reviews is the one you click.

Look for the review of Villa Callaloo by Rick G.

[Kentuckygirl]

Thanks Steve. I don't know why I didn't think about that already.
Callaloo sounds great except for the mosquitos!

[RickG]

Rick,
I was curious about your review, but I can't get the link to work. Is anyone else having this problem?

Sorry, I fixed it. Known problem: if do not explicitly use the URL tags then the period gets interpreted as part of the URL. The solution is to always put a space after the URL or use the URL tags.

Cheers, RickG (Geeking out on the Potomac)

[lovethebeach]

Thanks for all the great input. We have to meet with the other 3 couples and get their input and then decide something. Several of the villas we looked into for July are already reserved, so we need to finalize our plans in the next week or two.

[shoemak38]

hav you booked airfare it's going up we booked from Boston end of June back in Nov @$350 now over $650

[lovethebeach]

Yes, we've all got our airfare booked, except one friend who may be flying in from Florida. My husband & I used FF miles, but all of our friends booked for $420 roundtrip out of St. Louis. I thought that was pretty good. We normally pay $500 plus during the summer.

[lovethebeach]

We've decided on Maho Campground again. I know some of you are thinking, why would you stay there if you could get a villa for the same price per person. One couple is staying Harmony and the other three couples are staying at Maho Campground. I just love their beach and the privacy of the cabins, plus they have a lot of hiking trails nearby. We are renting a couple 4 wheel drives and planning on doing a different beach or two every day. Everyone else will be first timers! We are so excited to show them St. John. I hope they enjoy it as much as we do!!