TLK879

Hi, I am taking my first trip to St John in May and I am still deciding between a couple of villas. One of them is in Reef Bay. Is it nice there? Is it a good area and close to beaches, restaurants, etc.? I already posted another message on this forum about this, but nobody responded. Has anyone stayed at Second wind villa or Haiku villa? Also, Blue Tang, Idyllic, or Island Breeze villas? I think im set on the one in Reef Bay because it seems closer to everything, but im not positive because ive never been there. Can someone give me advice, suggestions?
Thank you!

Dianebridle

The current issue, January/February of Islands magazine has a great feature article on St. John with pictures. Included is a picture of Reef Bay. It looks gorgeous.

cartera

I am also looking at villas on St. John - have you posted on site below - I'm sure you will get some reponses

http://www.usvi-on-line.com/usviforum.html

Lola812

I stayed in a villa called Reef Bay View years ago. It was my first trip to St. John and I fell in love with the island. Reef Bay is gorgeous, but know it's about a 15 minute drive into Cruz Bay. It's not really close to anything. Our villa was up on a hillside, and you could walk down to the water, but it was a hike! Most of the beaches are along the North Shore. The beaches around Reef Bay were fairly rocky. Hope this is helpful!

LauraT

I have stayed in Reef Bay - I posted a villa review on the site noted by a prior poster.

Second Wind is a very nice home. Great outdoor space and great views. Everything is very clean and comfortable. The kitchen is small, so not great for cooking, but personally I do very little cooking on vacation.

Second Wind is about 100 yards from the trail to the beach - so you will be in one of the few spots on the island you can walk to the beach. The trail is all down hill - I would put it in the moderate to moderately difficult category - the first 10 feet is a doozy - there is a rope though. Having said that the south shore beaches in this area are not like the north shore beaches. The beaches here are rockier, and we didn't find the snorkeling to be as good. We certainly had more privacy though.

I know you posted a month ago, so hopefully you will still find the information helpful. I don't come to this site too often. I'll check back in a few days in case you have more questions.

macrodome

I stayed at Haiku. You can walk to the Westin beach from the house. House has open living/dining area, so you have to go into the bedroom at night to get away from bugs. Also had pool and hot tub both totally private. Would recommend the house.

Most all houses are along south shore (rocky beaches) since national park is in north shore. Far away is relative. If you stay in Chocolate Hole or near there (I don't think Reef Bay is too far) it's about 15 min to town.

ElleD9

The USVI forum, which cartera linked to above, includes reviews of quite a few villas. We are staying at Idyllic in July and were pleased with the info about it we received on that forum.

sharondi

We stayed at Second Wind a few years ago. I can give you lots of info and pictures if you email me directly.
Sharon

Cyclone

If you want to be close to cruz bay restuarants and North Shore Beaches then Reef Bay may be too far for you. The drive is not for "the feint of heart". Also, the last time we were at Reef Bay(5 years ago) there were a few new homes being built so we had to contend with construction noise

plumtree

Sharondi,
I am also looking for info on Second Wind, as we are holding it for this February - seems it is one of the only Villas left for rental. We're going with two small children and two older parents (70). We don't mind driving 20 minutes to the North Shore beaches -but are curious about the area around Second Wind. Was it a beautiful Villa? Any info would be so greatly appreciated.

sharondi

plumtree,
We stayed in Second Wind in 2001 and we loved Reef Bay because of it's remote location at the time. Not sure how developed it is in Reef Bay now. LauraT's description of the villa and the area are excellent. The villa was brand new at the time. It's not luxurious but it's really nice. Nice, but small pool and great hottub. The beach at Reef Bay is coral and rocky but empty. We loved it. And you can walk on the beach for a long way.
We returned to St John the following year and stayed in an ecotent out in Coral Bay and just loved it. As nice as Second Wind was, we realized that a villa was just overkill for us - I don't like to cook or clean while vacationing and we just didn't need all that space and stuff. But we enjoyed our stay at Second Wind and have some pictures of it here:

http://www.pbase.com/peterb/virgin_islands_01

See page 3-5 for shots of the villa and Reef Bay.

plumtree

Thanks Sharondi,
That was so helpful - beach definitely looks rocky, but peaceful. We're paying over $4000 and want to make sure it'll be worth it.

Tuxedocat

There are some sandy spots on Reef Bay, and it is one of the comparatively under-developed areas. I haven't been there in a while, but I love the snorkeling there. Don't be discouraged that there are some rocky areas, it's a beautiful bay and many people go there especially to swim and observe the still abundant wildlife.