poss,
We too are splitting our time between Caneel and a villa this June.

This might interest you:

http://www.stjohnusvi.org/new_page_16.htm
Here is a thread with a discussion and links to a recent review on USVI-online.

oops, hit send to quickly.

Here the link to the thread:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threadselect.jsp?fid=5&tid=34613074

Hope this is helpful.

-Bill

have not rented the Gibney cottages but have spent time on the beach and i have never been there with more than 2-4 other people. this is a beautiful beach and the cottages are terrific!!that said, on some weekends you could find someone or a group renting the old building at the end of the beach for a party, otherwise you won't have much traffic.we've rented some wonderfull villas on st. john w/some of the most stunning views, nicely furnished and private.. as you know this island doesn't have many villas on the beach but jumping in the jeep and driving and exploring the island/beaches to me, is part of the adventure! we always rent a villa w/pool, which is nice to "hang" in early morning w/coffee on the deck etc.having a villa is the way to go..don't want to share my space.

Thanks to both responders. Will continue to be very interested in hearing reports of upscale villas on or very near snorkeling beach.
Tess: We used to enjoy bopping around in the jeep, exploring all the snorkeling spots, even the rather hard to get to ones. In our 70's now, what we've come to appreciate even more is being right on a spectacular snorkeling beach. Still much enjoy exploring some others, revisiting the best of our old favorites, etc, but not as turned on as we used to be abt "jumping in the jeep." (And tho views from up in the hills are fabulous, the trade-off of easier access to beach is more impt to us.)
Thanks again Bill and Tess!

We spent our honeymoon in the Caribbean in June: 5 nights on St John, 4 nights on Tortola, and 3 nights on St Thomas. We stayed in the beachfront Gibney Beach Cottage on St John, at the Sugar Mill Inn on Tortola, and then some big name resort on St Thomas. Most of my research was done through Fodors postings, and I figured I'd post something when I got back to return the favor...only problem was that when we got back we didn't want anyone else to know how amazing the Gibney cottages were, so I never did. But alas, it'll probably be years before we go back so I might as well share.
The Gibney Beach Cottage was hands down the most amazing place I've ever stayed. If you're even considering the Gibney cottage, then I don't need to explain to you why staying in a villa is far superior than staying at a resort hotel...we felt like we owned a house on a tropical island for a week. I had arranged through katilady (a St John caterer) to have the cottage stocked with groceries before we arrived, and we had breakfast every morning on our front porch, about 15 feet from the crystal clear water of hawksnest bay. The cottage itself was perfect for two people. And yes, there's a cottage directly behind the beachfront cottage but (1) you don't know it's there and (2) if it's occupied while you're there, there's a pretty good chance the people are going to be respectful of your privacy as they'll likely be there for the seclusion as well. I could go on and on about the cottage, but the beach access is what makes the cottage truly memorable. The front steps of the cottage face a gate that opens on to the beach, so the surf is mere steps away from the cottage. The water immediately in front of the cottage is crystal clear, pure white sand, and bath temperature water that you can wade out in. But again, while that's amazing, that's not the most amazing part. The most amazing part is the coral reef that's steps away from the cottage's beachfront. My wife and I took with us snorkeling gear and spent a good portion of our time on St John snorkeling above the coral reef located 100 feet from our cottage, observing almost every kind of tropical fish that's found in the Caribbean. And there's a one-person sea kayak in the front yard of the cottage that you're free to use to paddle around the bay (I even paddled over to Trunk Bay - the next bay over - one afternoon while my wife was asleep on the beach). I didn't learn until after I got back about the building on the beach that I've heard people express concerns about...we didn't even know it was there. I'd guess that there were never more than 5 people on the entire beach with us at any given time. Last thing - if you're considering a villa rather than a hotel on St John, my research made it seem like the Gibney cabins were the only villas on St John that were actually on the beach. There are tons of beautiful villas on St John - and they'd no doubt be more luxurious than the Gibney cabins - but who would drive to the beach when they can stay steps away from perhaps the best beach on the island (if not the world!)? After having breakfast and then spending a couple of hours on our beach, we would usually take off and check out other parts of the island, and while everything we saw was incredible, nothing topped Gibney Beach for us. Other beaches (eg Trunk Bay, which was beautiful as well) were "public" beaches, meaning they were crowded. But Gibney has all of 5-10 parking spots near it, so it doesn't exactly encourage visitors or crowds. On take heed and one caution: the mosquitos after sundown were pretty bad (but we went into town most nights anyway and hardly noticed) and we were there in June...for all I know the beach can get more raucous in the more popular winter months.

Many thanks to aboynamedsue for the full report. I've got one more small question, and it'll probably seem an odd one. While many folks love the sound of surf at night, we prefer quiet. I.e. I love to hear lapping waves in the day at the beach, but I find that the sound (lovely as it is) keeps me awake at night. Were you able to hear it inside the cottage?

aboynamedsue,
Thanks for the review of Gibney cottage...I was looking into possibly staying there on our next trip to St John.We went to that beach and thought that one of the cottages would be a great place to stay as the beach was not crowded and it looked great.

Christie

As to the sound of the ocean, the cottage had an AC / fan unit that we were surprised to find was nice to have...both for the relief from the heat and to drown out insect chirping and ocean sound (my wife, like you, is a light sleeper). However, Hawksnest Bay is a protected bay, so the ocean noise is barely more than a splash, the waves may be 6 inches high (again, might be different in the winter months). Also one last note, the cottage is no doubt expensive, but we ate breakfast and lunch at home (eating on our own beachfront porch in our bathing suits beat sitting in any restaurant) and we probably had 2 dinners at the cottage as well (again from food katilady.com delivered). I'd guess we spent $100 less per day on food than people eating at the restaurants (entrees were often in the $30 range), so keep that in mind if you're concerned about the cost of the cottage. Please don't hesitate to email me if you have any questions. Happy vacationing!

Thanks! Yes, the cottage is incredibly expensive. (We rented a splendid very large villa on Virgin Gorda for the same price. Spectacular views, large private swimming pool, etc. If I understand correctly, the Gibney "cottage" is actually just a large room?? I know Hawksnest well, though, and it'd be wonderful to be on that beach (actually, I'd rather be "up" a bit-- a few minutes walk-- the way we were on Gorda: better views and better privacy)

A ville is infinitely better--more private. Few people are ever on Gibney.
There aren't as many breezes like the more elevated villas, so sometimes the mosquitoes c an be a problem. We stayed 10 steps from the water in Great Cruz Bay and there were hoardes of mosquitos all week. Every year since we've stayed up higher and have had no problem.

Alas, the romance of staying on the beach. The problem with anywhere warm is that sand fleas and mosquitos love beaches at night. Unless you have fairly consistent breezes and the foliage is of a particular kind, you always risk bugs. There are some terrific rentals out in the eastern half of St. John which are within walking distance of good to great snorkeling. What's your prefered price range?

I'm curious now: Does anyone know if Caneel Bay sprays for mosquitoes? I ask because we've been there a number of times and never--NEVER-- have we encountered mosquitoes. (In fact, I don't remember being bothered in town either-- and mosquitoes usually love me. We're usually on St John December- March.....)

poss: I don't know if Caneel sprays for mosquitos, but apparently, the kind of foliage and other conditions do affect mosquito count. At the Westin, we never experienced mosquitos except near the water at night. The landscaping is such that there aren't the pockets of moisture where mosquitos breed. Also, the same in town, there are just fewer places for mosquitos to breed. Moreover, the mosquitos population is a bit lower in the winter months. The amount of rainfall also affects the mosquito count. At our house which is on a hill but not far from the water, we get bugs to some degree all day and night. We rely on fans, bug spray and citronella candles/torches to ward off the inevitable pests. It seems like a lot of work, but really, it's nothing compared to the positives of being in a tropical location. I wouldn't let it weigh too heavily in your decision to rent a villa. Thank goodness for DEET.