St. John villa questions???
 

My family and I (7 adults, 4 children - 1 6-month, 1 2-yr.-old, 1 3-yr,-old, and 1 4-yr.-old) hope to rent a villa in the Caribbean in either March or May. St. John is our first choice. If you have stayed at any of the following, please let me know how appropriate you think they would be for our group:
Sapphire Breeze
Amora
Crystal Seaview
Seagate
Unicorn By the Sea
Virgin Seabreeze
Many thanks for any information you can give me.

Hi -- I've been to St. John twice, staying in private villas both times, but not those particular ones. I can't tell you anything about them, sorry. I CAN tell you that the villas we stayed in (through caribbeanvilla.com) were even nicer in real life than they looked in the pictures -- we were stunned! And St. John is the only place we've ever fallen in love with -- we travel a lot and rarely visit the same place twice, but we'll be going to St. John the rest of our lives. It's the most amazing spot in the Caribbean as far as I'm concerned.

I'm impressed that you're traveling with 4 kids! We now have a toddler and are going back to St. John on March 5th. Since we have a little one we're going to stay in a Westin villa this time (but a private villa is the way to go on this island, for sure). Any tips you have on traveling with a 15-month old, I'd love to hear it!

I don't even know the first thing -- where to get a car seat, should we bring or rent a stroller, can I just buy diapers there rather than bringing them ... ugh, lots of planning to do! I don't know how you do it with 4!

Good luck with your planning and I'm sure any of those villas would be fine.

Laurie
Georgetown, MA

I have not stayed in those particular villas either. However, with alot of experience with traveling with young children and Caribbean villas you do have to be mindful of the villa/pool layout...some are just not suitable for young children. Look at the pictures carefully and then pose any questions to the villa company that might be unclear.

We've traveled with kids as young as 3 mons, great baby (though not mine, was a friends) and same kiddo to Europe at 10 mons..slept in one those latched on basinettes, better than anyone on the plane :)

Tips for car seat, bring it. Get one of those seats that doubles as a car seat and can be used on the plane if child has his/her own seat....otherwise check it.

For diapers and such, bring enough for the flight and to get you by for a day or two...otherwise just buy them there.

Have a great trip!

I understand that Unicorn By the Sea has pool/jacuzzi problems. I found that Caribbean Villas lists it, but then tries to get people to rent other villas...and they do not do that for other villas. I would be wary and ask lots of questions.

For your size group La Brisas Caribbe would be nice...pricey, but nice!

I heartily recommend St John! My family of 4 (kids now 8 and 12) have been going there for 4 years...5 times total. Its a great time, peaceful.

We were there last week...on one day we went to Little Lampshure (sp??) Bay and were the ONLY people on a 200+ yard long beach with excellent snorkling. What a treat!

PeterB

We have not stayed at any of those villas but since you are considering March and May, you will save a lot of money if you visit after May 1--rental rates drop significantly.
The rental agents are very helpful in helping you find appropriate villas--the suggestion that you locate a villa with a safe pool and deck area is really a good idea. A lot of them are not safe for small children.
We love St. John but when our children were young, we found it easier to rent a place right on the beach. Almost all of St. John's villas are on hillsides and you would have to pack up everyday and haul everyone to the beach. I get exhausted just thinking about it. You would also need a larger car to accommodate carseats and children.
I know there are villas right on the beach in the Turks and Caicos and Anguilla---two islands we haven't visited but are on our list.
We loved taking our children to Florida when they were little---Sanibel, Naples, and the Panhandle beaches near Seaside (I think these are the nicest beaches in the continental U.S.--too cool for swimming in the winter though). It was easy to get there and we could go back and forth from the beach to our rental for naps and food.

Did you settle on any of the villas you mentioned? I am looking at Crystal Seaview and Seagate and am looking for any feedback on them. Both are in Chocolate Hole. Thanks.