USVI-On-Line

Hi gang. I'm new to the forum & wanted to introduce myself...My husband & I first traveled to STJ (from Pittsburgh) in Dec04. We were w/ another couple & stayed near Coral Bay. And like everyone else, we fell in love with this amazing place. We're finally going back - probably either June or early Dec. Any idea which month tends to be more crowded?

This time, it's just the 2 of us & we're gonna stay near Cruz Bay. Think we've narrowed it down to Bananaquit, Caribsurf, Villa Soleil, or Casa Blanca. Unfortunately, can't find many reviews on these places, but I'm contacting the brokers and/or owners for more info.

We love to snorkel & can't wait to try some new places, as well as the ones we visited in 2004. How's the water temperature & visibility in June vs Dec?

Anyway, just wanted to say hello, since I'll probably be hitting yinz guys with questions over the next few months!

I can't help on the villas but anyone that closes with "yinz guys" is ok by me!

My dad would get so frustrated with me and my friends for saying that. (he was a wee bit particular)

Welcome!

June is beautiful and the water visibility was a lot better than in Nov. I don't know about Dec.

I am sure someone will help you with the villas. I don't know anyting about those.

Happy planning!

Welcome to the forum.

Haven't stayed at any of those villas, but stayed next door to CasaBlanca and across the street from Villa Soleil at Villa Bougainvillea. We loved that neighborhood. Very convenient to town and you can easily manage without a car for the full week (theshopper3 managed without a car all week).

If you search, you'll find a few reviews for Casablanca and Villa Soleil; don't remember how current they are.

We always traveled in November, but I would think December is a bit more crowded than early June.

Hello and welcome. Sorry, I can't help with your villa choices either. I've been to STJ a couple of times in December (first and second week of) and I really like that time of year. As I recall, the water temp was fine, as was the visibility. I like the x-mas vibe and this cute little parade thing they do. There is something called Christmas winds, which can play a role in the calmness of the seas. Unless you're going to be sailing, I don't think it's a concern. Other than December, I usually go April/May, so I can't comment on June. I believe some have commented that it can be buggy?? Happy planning! Ali~

My husband and I stayed at Casa Blanca in the summer of 2005. The price was great, the location was convenient (walking distance to ZoZo’s), the pool was nice, and the Genip tree that overhangs the pool deck area is fantastic, but that said, unless they’ve done some decent remodeling we wouldn’t stay there again.

Casa Blanca is three rooms: a kitchen/family room, a bedroom, and a bathroom. The place wasn’t totally falling apart, but it was in pretty rough shape, and that was three years ago. Even though we’d gone grocery shopping on STT, the first thing we did upon arriving at Casa Blanca was head to Starfish Market to buy cleaning supplies...it just felt dirty, especially the bathroom. We found that the place wasn't really that dirty, it was just worn and dingy which gave the appearance that it wasn't clean.

Caribe Havens was easy to work with though.

If you wouldn’t mind being a little further from town (but still pretty close), the best (by far) “couple” place we’ve found is Blue Aweigh. It’s a one-bedroom guest house belonging to a couple that lives on the island. Blue Aweigh is new and very clean and the pictures on the website don’t do it justice. The ceilings are vaulted in both the main room and bedroom which makes it feel nice and spacious. It also has a pool, hot tub, washer/dryer, and air conditioning that works very well. We liked it a lot, but since the owners live on the property, there isn’t any privacy outdoors (their kitchen overlooks the pool/hot tub area) and marginal privacy in the main room/kitchen (the owners could see in if they tried, not that they would of course)...I didn’t have a problem with it, and I'd definitely stay there again, but I know that some people really like to have complete privacy at their villas.

See: http://www.lavenderhill.net/cottage.htm

Hi,
We stayed at Villa Soliel in early May of 2007 with another couple & loved both the villa & the location. As Jayseadee mentioned we didn't rent a car all week & had no problems getting to about 6 beaches. It is very clean, has a good size pool, that we had to our selves.

Another one that you may want to consider if you are looking to stay close to Cruz Bay is Far Horizon's. We just rented it in late Jan of this year & it is right beside Villa Soliel, it is smaller but if there are only two of you, it is fine.
I did a review on this, so if you want you check it out.

Can't comment on the Dec/Jun difference as we have only gone in Nov, Jan & May. Although we found Nov to have a lot of mosy's, & Jan very rough water, so my hubby couldn't snorkel. May was I feel the best time.

The Shopper

If you would like to stay close to town, check out Coconut Coast. We stayed there recently and really liked it. During daylight hours, you can walk to Cruz Bay around in front of Zozo's. At night, you can take a cheap cab ride home. Very nice, clean condo type units with a pool and a hot tub. Right on the water on Frank Bay. Extremely affordable. And, artwork from a local artist is all over the place. Check out their website at coconutcoast.com. I sound like a travel agent, but really we just liked the place and found it to be convenient and affordable.