A/C Needed in St John?
 

Does anyone know if air conditioning would be needed on St. John in November? <BR>Thanks

I went to St. John at the end of October last year. It was hot during the day and night. Yeah, for a comfortabe sleep, you'll need A/C. If your room opens to the ocean, you can count on the seabreeze, but it's not cool, it's warm breeze. Have fun...

Depends on the location and proximity to the trades. You may need it if you are accustomed to it but if you are in a location that takes advantage of the great tradewinds, you definitely won't. I always figure if I wanna be cold, I can stay home and the breezes can be dlightful even requiring a lite sweater at nite especially if the accomodation has ceiling fans!

Agree about the need for AC at night. That is really the only time you will need it, but we live in Texas so we can't hardly live without it. Have a great time. Lee in Austin,Tejas

Hi, Margot - <BR> <BR>I agree with Karen; it depends on which part of the island you are staying. We travel to STJ each November, and have had villas w/o air in the bedrooms on the South shore, and we were very uncomfortable getting ready to go to dinner as well as sleeping. I don't feel that you need whole house air on any part of STJ, but at least in the bedrooms unless you are staying on the North Shore where it is a good deal cooler. Let us know where your accommodations are or where you are contemplating as well as the villa and, perhaps, we can help you a little better.

It's amazing reading about all the people putting up with no A/C at some places in St. John. It's one thing to decide not to turn on the A/C, but it's something else to pay a lot of money for a place that has none! It sounds like a way for the owners to maximize profit.

It's not about "putting up" with no a/c bur for some people it is putting with the a/c!! And since some locations don't need it, why go to the expense of putting it in? For those who want hermatically sealed accomodations there are some! It's like real estate ... all comes down to location, location, location!

It's funny to hear of "Villas" without A/C. I grew up living all over the Caribbean, and there are hot spells when it is needed anywhere. Especially when you're paying the inflated prices most tourists do on Americanized islands like USVI. <BR> <BR>It's hilarious to hear the St. John tourists on these forums tell how uncomfortable they were, and then to hear the twisted logic shovelled out to try to justify it!

Hey, Mike - <BR> <BR>Unless you have ever rented a villa on St. John high atop a spectacular vista where you are surrounded by tiny islands and deep blue waters, then I wouldn't expect you to understand why one would not want to be enclosed by air-conditioning. It simply isn't needed in the all open air that the villas provide. It's the most incredible way to spend your time on the island. The architectural style is by design - intentionally to take in the incredible views and the warmth of the tropical breezes. We have traveled all over and St. John and its style are unique. Unless you have experienced it, I wouldn't expect you to understand. The ambiance would be destroyed by enclosing the villas. I think that is what I recall most the first time we entered a villa was how open it is. The majority of the homes have air in the bedrooms. Central air truly is not needed and we have been there in both summer and winter, however, air in the bedrooms is sometimes needed in the late afternoon, but believe me, we would prefer not to have to use it at all and often do not.

I'm the OP. <BR>To answer the second 'Karen's' question, the villa we are now leaning towards is on a hillside above Chocolate Hole and DOES have a/c. I would prefer not to have a/c so I could keep everything open, but after reading these post, I'm afraid I could not sleep without it! Lee, just wanted to say 'hi'. I live in Austin too!

<BR>Hey John, <BR> <BR>I lived in the Caribbean including 2 years in a villa named Panorama atop a cliff in Barbados. I have friends living in the Caribbean who don't even have electricity, so I've seen it from all sides. <BR> <BR>My point is simple. Some people complain that they ended up uncomfortable, so it's obvious A/C WAS needed for them. Who cares whether you need it or not? THEY needed it, and didn't have it. And then for some reason people like you start ranting that they didn't need it, which is pretty bizarre. <BR> <BR>It's good forums like this exist, so people can avoid pitfalls, like not having A/C when you may expect it.

We stayed in a loft unit in Gallows Point in April and it did not have A/C. It was fine for all nights but the last two, when the breeze seemed to die down and I got sunburned and could not cool off. Consider that you'll probably get a lot of sun during the day and it's nice to have the A/C if your burnt. I'd go for A/C unless I was going in Dec-March.

This discussion has gone on for years. Not long ago people would come back in shock from Caneel Bay after realizing they just payed top dollar to sweat it out without a/c. Fans of the resort would insist a/c was not needed. And guess what, now all rooms at Caneel Bay have a/c. So if it wasn't needed, why did they put it in? I think the issue isn't whether it's needed, the issue is whether its an option when you're paying a price that's up there with the Parisian palace hotels. Hopefully those villas make it well known that they have no A/C in their adverstising. I've been travelling to the Caribbean since the early 70's when a/c was not common, but prices were reasonable. Back in the old days a villa was someplace really special, now it seems every house is a "villa". I guess if they advertised as a "house with no a/c" it wouldn't be quite as effective!

I think that things have changed and that a/c is much more prevelent not only in the Caribb but at home too so travelers are used to it and expect it. I never "sweat it out" at Caneel or LDB and the ceiling fans were enuf especially at Hawksnest where one might often grab for the blanket even in November thry April due to the breezes. But, Rosewood in an attempt to "update" and satisfy the new travelers and compete with other upscale accomodations felt they needed to put it in. Jumby Bay also just added it to the Pond Bay house. They are responding to the guests' need not necessarily the need for a/c. It also became simplier to do as St. John and Virgin Gorda became more populated and utilities became available. Things have changed with "upscale" places now opening in the summer and trying to attract the families who have a/c at home. Many places closed in the summer and some still do especially the smaller intimate spots because it was not the "time" to go to the Caribb. I don't get Gallows and the condos being villas or even hotels having multi-room villas (a few rooms in one of several buildings that they call a villa) but each to their own. I never ask about a/c but I do ask about screens and windows that open - that's the important feature to me. But if you want a/c, need it, expect it, you need to ask to verify it.

Hi Margot. Is this your first time to the Virgin Islands? If so, let me know if I can provide you with any info. We love to go to STJ as well as the BVI's. Have a great time and please post a trip report. Thanks. Lee in Austin,Tejas

I'm curious to know if i would need an AC....I will be going at the end of may early June and staying in the Cruz Bay area..(villa sundsborg) it has ceiling fans, but no AC. Do you think i will need it? <BR>thanks!!!!!

Gina, It depends on how sensitive you are to the heat and humidity, but at that time of year, in that location, I think I would want A/C in the bedrooms for more comfortable sleeping. Places that are less likely to need it would be those way up in the mountains. When we had dinner one night at Chateaux Bordeaux (on Bordeaux Mountain) we were amazed at the cool breezes they seemed to get--much better than at our villa on Great Cruz Bay.

Julie, <BR>thank you. I think i've decided to switch my villa to one in Gift Hill that offers AC in the master bedrooms....i can be a bit sensitive to heat. <BR>thanks again for the reply. :)

Isn't this entire discussion simply a matter of personal preference? Some people simply need to escape the heat, and need to cool off using A/C. There are other however that simply stay comfortable without it. Yes there are breezes, like many of the islands have, but we are still talking about the caribbean here, it's very warm no matter how you slice it. The way I see it, if you need A/C in the states on those hot summer days, you'll definitely need it in the Islands, whether you're talking St. John, or anu other island down there.