(Excellent)
Brisas del Mar Review
My husband and I just returned from 9 days at Brisas del Mar. SPECTACULAR is absolutely how to describe the view from this home on a ridge above Coral Bay. This was our 9th trip to St. John and our 1st stay at Brisas and this was by far our favorite location and villa and we will stay here again and again!! It was Perfect!!!!
The house was clean, clean, clean, as was the pool and hot-tub we used and enjoyed every day we were there, and everything was in great condition, beds were super comfy, there were plenty of bath towels & linens, items for the beach such as coolers, chairs, towels, etc., cable t.v - wifi and a great selection of books and music. There was also a telescope and set of binoculors, both that we used to check out the BVI's and stars. The kitchen was well stocked so we were able to prepare a number of meals at the villa, brew our morning coffee which we had with the beautiful sunrises every morning and blend "those frozen concoctions to help us hang on".... LOL. The house has a great layout and we would definitely bring family and/or friends when we return. There are 3 equal sized bedrooms - each very nicely furnished, with private bath and large closets, 2 were on the main level and the 3rd one up a set of cool spiral stairs - that one had a balcony overlooking the same view as the main deck - spectacular!! We enjoyed ourselves so much at the house that we actually had 3 "villa" days just relaxing and enjoying the pool, breezes, hot-tub, breezes, stars, breezes - oh and did I mention those wonderful breezes!! LOL! Seriously though - we had some warm days but those breezes and the ceiling fans kept the bugs away and the house cool at all times. Lots of wildlife up there, goats, roosters - birds all day long, tree frogs at night and 2 days in a row we watched a very young red-tail hawk testing its wings and hovering on the wind currents above the villa and practicing free-dives.... so very cool!
The road up was a typical Coral Bay road, and a bit bumpy in spots but definitely worth the adventure of going up and down every day to end up with that beautiful view!! We had some hazy days early in the week due to the Sahara winds, but when they cleared out towards the latter part of the week, you could see clear to Virgin Gorda and all the other BVIs in between from the main deck - AWESOME!!
We booked a private charter full day sail into sunset with Jimmy and his first mate Brita on Kiote and it was fabulous - we highly recommend him - we sailed for a couple hours, Jimmy prepared a great spread on board and we snorkeled at Newfound Bay where we were the only boat and snorkelers since there is no land access - saw beautiful soft and hard corals and about 8 turtles, & lots of fish!!!
For dining, on the Coral Bay side we suggest Aqua Bistro for great food - (Ponzu Tuna night was wonderful) plus try their macadamia crusted grouper (delicious), Shipwreck Landing for the prettiest Bushwackers, Skinny's for burgers and potent Pain Killers and Caribbean Oasis for great pecan fried chicken. Our favorite restaurants in Cruz Bay are always Lime Inn, sandwiches from Sam & Jacks and Candies BBQ - she makes the best BBQ and food on the island!!
The owners were fantastic to deal with - answered any questions we had and when we had cell phone issues when we first arrived on STJ and trying to contact the property manager Sally, they were quick to respond and get us all set up to meet with Sally and get us to the house! We would rent this villa again in a heartbeat and look forward to returning soon!!
