We're looking to rent a villa on St. John for 2 couples with two kids each, ages 1, 1, 3, and 4. Villa Villekula looked perfect but it is now rented during that time (June 18-25). We would like a villa with a view of some boats or activity. We don't want to feel isolated and want to sit poolside feeling like we're "part of the action" while are kids are napping or playing. Any ideas? Looking for a 4 or 5 bedroom. Thank you! Paula

Hi PaulaJean, Went through this process a few months ago, so "feel your pain"-- though it's really fun checking out villas!
Here are two sites I liked, and why:

Islandhideaways.com -- On the home page, click on "villas." Then on lower left hand side of the "villas" page, it categorizes villas, e.g. "most family friendly." Note that some villas do not accept kids less than a certain age, but those they mention as family friendly will be ok for your childrens' ages.

Caribbeanvilla.com on home page, is "availablility calendar" so if you put in your dates, you'll avoid disappointment of choosing a place that's not vacant when you want it. They break down villas further by # of bedrooms.

As an example, there's a villa called Seagate that perhaps looks right for you-- welcomes children, has pool, water activity view, 5 bedrooms. Also, when you're going in June, rental prices are "off season" and could be thousands of dollars/week less than at this December holiday time of year. For me, that makes up for the higher summer time temperatures!
Good luck, and enjoy the search for the perfect home away from home for all of you!

paulajean: Calinurse made a good suggestion in Seaview. I would look on the cateredto.com site to see other comparable villas. There is another, smaller villa near Villekula but only has 3 bedrooms "Splash" with a great indoor pool and is right on the waterfront. With such small kids, you might be able to easily get away with 3 bedrooms. I know mine (3 years old) wouldn't let me out of her sight anyway in a strange place. A couple of suggestions: 1) absolutely need great a/c in the bedrooms that time of the year with small children. 2)bring plenty of 45 sunscreen and bug spray (trust me on this one) 3)I'd stick close (within easy driving distance)to the Westin with such young kids. Their services are good and their grounds are a great place to "walk" the kids. If you grown-ups feel like a night out Christysclassics.com provides reputable childcare, at least the resorts use her services.

Wow, thank you to you both! I LOVED Splash, but we really didn't want all four kids in one bedroom. I think we found something though. I think we are going to rent Viridian Garden through Destination St. John. It's not fancy, but it's 4 bedrooms, on the water, and has a pool (and AC in the bedrooms). It's cheap too, especially since kids under 6 are free for all their properties. Thank you SO much for the babysitting services, as that was a huge issue for us. The Westin charges something like $24 an hour, so if we could get something even a bit cheaper, it would be great. This villa is in Great Cruz Bay and is right near the Westin too. Thanks again for your help, and I will contact Christy for babysitting!
Paula

Paula, congrats on finding the right place for you all!!! holw you can envision where you'll be for all the fun! As Tuxedocat said, Westin is a great place for kids. (We'll be there for the 2nd week of vacation-- after the grownups get quieter villa time. Maybe I'm doing that in the wrong order? ?? )
Westin has a scheduled iguana feeding which your little ones will love. It's every afternoon--maybe about 3:30 pm? Call rsort'sfront deks to ask.
T'cat, thank you for all your recs and for sugestions re: traveling with little kids. I'll have a very active 4 yr old with me! Are there any community playgrounds on island--info Paula and I can both use!
Thanks again.