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- - St. John Villa (https://www.fodors.com/community/caribbean-islands/st-john-villa-148036/)

Has anyone stayed at the villa Mango Bay. We plan to spend our honeymoon in May 2002 in a villa on St. John. There are so many lovely ones but photos can also be deceiving. Any suggestions would be appreciated..also anything you would like tell us about St. John would love to hear opinions/advice. Thanks, Nancy

Hi Nancy, I have not been there - but know where it is and know people that have stayed there. My friends said the villa itself is as pretty as the pictures (stunning views, beautiful decor & accomm.). The villa is right above some of the best Northshore beaches and is a 10 -15 min drive to Cruz Bay - a wonderful location. The road up to the house is dirt, and can be rutted out sometimes. One other note - the villa is open air - so while you are up high, which usually affords breezes, you may have some bugs (nothing that a little repellant couldn't fix). For restaurants, try La Tapa, Chateau Bordeaux, Asolare. Have fun!

Hi Melissa, Thanks for the reply...yes, there are so man...another one that looks lovely is Hawksnest villa....we have plenty of time....but probably will book in the fall..just to make sure...I hear they book fast...most say it's better to rent a villa rather than stay at Caneel bay..way overpriced or the Westin....even thought the villas aren't on the beach...as long as the view is beautiful and there's a pool...we don't mind "schlepping" to the many different beaches....that's part of the fun..exploring!!! Thanks so much again...anything else you can think of...please let me know.. Thanks for the restaurant tips... Nancy

We stayed at Mango Bay for our honeymoon last October. The villa was incredible. The view from the back deck was the best of any spot we saw the entire week on St. John. It was amazing waking up to that view each morning. As the previous poster noted, the 1/2 mile road to the villa is unpaved and somewhat rutty (this was a surprise to us that the management company failed to mention beforehand); however, after the initial surprise, the trip actually became adventurous. Definitely make sure you rent a 4WD vehicle. The villa is not totally "open air." There are windows and screens on every room. Although you do have to walk outside along the deck to get from the bedrooms to the main house where the kitchen/living room is, but I think this is fairly common among villas. The villa was luxuriously furnished, and the pool on the lower deck was great for an early morning or late night swim. Mango Bay is fairly centrally located, so it was easy to get to town for dinner or to any of the beaches on St. John. I'd highly recommend it for your honeymoon. Let me know if you have any other questions about the villa.

I think most say that the villas are "better" than Caneel because they prefer doing the villa route. The advantage of Caneel is the wonderful beaches on property and the fact that the villas are self-catering. You indicated that you didn't mind the schlepping or commuting to the beach so the villas should do for you. When I am on "vacation," I don't want to go into a grocery to buy food or even look at a kitchen (other than a coffee pot) or make a bed! Caneel is a fantastic property and the beaches alone make it well worth the price! St. John is a wonderful island! Not to confuse you but www.stjohnlinks.com is a great site! You will need to rent a car or, if you prefer, a jeep (for some villas you may need it!). Don't miss Morgan's Mango down by Mongoose, Cafe Wahoo in Wharfside, Chateau Bordeaux has great views at sunset and before dark, Aslore if you like PacificRim style, Stone Terrace and if you are out exploring try to catch Vie at the Snak Shack if she is cooking that day for lunch. Followed by a swim at her "private" beach!

Message: Karen and Jeff, Thanks so much for replying to my email. Karen..you have a point as far as renting a villa goes re; shopping cooking...we've done that before..and the only time we really eat at a villa is breakfast and late afternoon snacks. What we really like is the total privacy. On the other hand...staying at a Class A resort such as Caneel is also appealing because of the beaches so close by...What I don't like about some of those resorts is the all inclusive.. we don't want to feel that we have to eat at the same place for 7 nights.... Jeff, thanks for telling me about Mango Bay...it is confusing..there are so many gorgeous villas....there's about 4/5 we are considering....any advice on which areas not to rent in????? Can you suggest what boat trips you took which were worth it or which weren't. Anything else you can suggest. Really appreciate your honest input. Thanks, Nancy a

All I can say is that many years ago I spent my honeymoon at Caneel and then took the boat over to Little Dix for a few days. We stayed in the Turtle Bay section and our room was big and wonderful (they have been updated since) and if we saw 2 other people on the beach we were surprised! We walked right out to the beach and it was as if we were the only ones there. Didnt mind eating all meals there as we were just lazy slugs the whole time. NO THINKING PLZ. We could spend hours walking around the resort and never see anyone. Great place, Great memories...

Hi Nancy, Well, I just returned from a villa on the North Shore...Here is my take on this side of the island.. The view was absolutely incredible..The best I have ever seen. With Tortola in the distance it was just magnificent. The dirt road to my villa was nothing but annoying.Where our house was you had 2 ways to town- up to RT. 10 about half a mile or down to RT. 20 about 1/4 mile. The road to rt. 10 was pretty bad for about half the way and then as you got closer to the highway it was ok. But what a drag to have to drive this sometimes twice a day..We thought it was fun the first day or so and then we had enough. Once you got to rt. 10 the drive to town was about 15 minutes of nothing special except maybe the goats and cows. The road down to rt. 20 was horrible. Boulders and rocks everywhere- the first time we drove it I didn't think our jeep would make it- but once you got to rt. 20, Trunk and Cinnamon Bay were seconds away so we only drove this way to get to the beaches . We had a constant fear of getting a flat tire from all the rocks and ruts. So for a week we had to deal with these horrible dirt roads whenever we wanted to go anywhere..If you have back problems do not stay in this area..My slipped disc was not appreciating the constant jerking around. Really a lot to go through every day. Then there were the bugs.. We were eaten alive by the mosquitos..I am talking 20 bites our first night there..We went through 6 cans of bug spray in 7 days!!! I don't even think the spray made a difference because I would spray myself and 5 minutes later discover new bites..By the time we left we had so many bites we couldn't even count them..My husband had 12 just on his left ankle!! I have never seen mosquitos so vicious..nothing worked to get rid of them..and we tried everything.. But mosquitos were not the only bugs we had to deal with ..I've never seen so many moths, spiders, beetles ( one beetle we found dead in the pool was the size of a large mouse)..you name it we saw it everywhere constantly (day or night)..in and out of the house.Oh and how can I forget the flying roaches!!! Never saw that before!! Now don't get me wrong..I have been to the caribbean many times, have been to ST john a couple of times and have rented a villa before so I knew that bugs are everywhere and came prepared to deal with it ..but when you are in this area in the National Park they are unusually abundant and it is in my opinion a lot to deal with on a vacation. I have stayed in other areas of the island and yes there were bugs but not anything like we dealt with on the North Shore. But St john is a beautiful island and the dirt roads and bugs did not get the best of us..we had a great time and will most certainly return..just will not stay on the North shore again..Maybe others have had better experiences on the side of the island but this is my experience...

Kate-I think Mango Bay may be on the same dirt road that you're talking about. We braved the drive down what looked like a rarely travelled road to Rt. 20 only once and didn't think our little Sidekick could handle much more. We dealt with the longer trip down to Rt. 10 to get to the North Shore beaches... Nancy--regarding the bugs, I think it really depends on what time of year you visit and how much rain has recently fallen. When we were there, the mosquitos were somewhat of a nuisance, but not nearly to the extent of what Kate experienced. We kept ourselves covered with Off and burned mosquito coils on the deck, and we only got a couple of bites all week.

Nancy, just so you can make your decision ... Caneel is NOT a/i. They do offer meal plans which you can opt or not. It is a $3 taxi ride into Cruz Bay for dining options or a quick easy drive. We often eat a late breakfast, have Caribbean tea around 4 and then dinner around 7. So, don't eliminate that if you did because it is a/i.

Hi Karen, Wow, what a report thanks so much...a lot for us to think about...I'm glad to hear that Caneel is not a/i...I mentioned to my fiancee that it may be a better idea to spend our honeymoon at Caneel...and look at villas while we are there to get a better idea...and if we return (which I'm sure we will). we could do the villa route then.. Another option is for the two of us just to get married there..since it's second wedding for both of us..and we were only going to have 10 ppl join in our special day...we may opt to do something after we return from our honeymoon... Thanks for all the insight! Nancy