prizren

Is anyone familiar with a villa named Eleah's Garden on Gift Hill Road in St. John? It sounds perfect for our family with three young children and a limited budget. We'd appreciate any information anyone can give us. Many thanks.

kellybeaches

We stayed at andantbythesea.com on gift hill in St. John in Sept of 07 and honestly, for just about the same price as Eleahs, Andante looks a lot nicer. It’s kid friendly as well. Check it out. Gift Hill is a bit of a hairy drive, but it’s a great location being close to cruz bay. We loved it! Good luck!
Here are our trip pics to help you:
Part 1:
http://www.kodakgallery.com/Slidesho...uf3aj&Ux=0

Part 2:
http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLan...share&Ux=0

prizren

Kellybeaches, thanks for the information about Andante by the Sea. I checked it out, and it looks lovely. It is, however, over our budget for this trip.

kellybeaches

Thanks for letting me know. Well, Gift Hill is a great location if that helps-I'm sure all the villas in that area are nice. I would definitely ask the rental company about construction in the area, as there was a lot going on when we were there. Good luck!

Tuxedocat

The price is certainly good and the location is convenient. The Gifft Hill road is pretty steep in some places, though, so if you are concerned at all about driving, I suggest you only go in the direction of Centerline road because the half connecting to the South Shore Road is a doozy. My parents nicknamed it the "Screaming Road" since they did that in a few spots. With the three young children, though, I would also be careful regarding whether a property has ac, and it doesn't appear that Eleah's Garden has any. Little kids seem to suffer from the heat and it's no fun when they're whiney. There are a lot of affordable options. For example, look into www.caribbeandays.com and www.carefreegetaways.com I'll post again if I think of anything comparable.

Tuxedocat

prizren: You might want to look at www.vrbo.com which has owners listings and can be more affordable. Also, if a property lists 2-4 persons, it may still be doable for 2 + 3 little kids. For example, I noticed "Peaceful, Secluded Condo Rental" #87692 may fit your bill perfectly. It's convenient to town, has ac and can accomodate your family for @$200/night. A few others I thought might be interesting to you:
"Affordable St. John" #198517
"Stunning Views & Cooling Breezes"#87692
"Poi Pu" #222303
are in the same general price range as Eleah's Garden but have ac at least in the bedrooms. BTW, I don't represent anyone, it's just my hobby to research everything about STJ. Good luck!

prizren

Thanks for all of the helpful suggestions. I think that it will be Eleah's Garden this time, but the other villas will certainly be worth a look. We have been to the Caribbean in the spring for four of the past five years, and the children have not needed air conditioning so far.
Again, thanks for taking time to answer.