whit833

My wife and I will be experiencing our first visit to St. John in April.I can't wait...the sun,snorkeling,drinks,hiking,sunsets anyway...We have been looking at villas and need to make a choice. We would like a pool, ac is not necessary (we're going there FOR the heat),clean and comfortable furnishings, and possibly sunset views.We have a prefered price point of $2000-3000.We will be renting a jeep so transportation shouldn't be a problem.We've looked at Morgan's Point,Stoneharbor,and SeaBiscuit to mention a few.The Coral Bay area sounds more to our liking than the Cruz Bay area.BUT we loose the villa sunset views.Also we are a little gun shy of large Caribbean Villa rental agencies. We would appreciate any information/suggestions.

Inkspot

Coral bay would not be my first choice for my first trip to St. John and trust me you DO want AC in April, heck you need AC in December. My friends have had great luck using the larger villa rental agencies, which may be your best bet. If you choose not to stay in a villa, I personally enjoyed staying at Gallows Pointe, which is within walking distance to the restaurants and shops of Cruz Bay and closer to the nice beaches on the NW side of the island, compared to Coral Bay.

tess53

here are some agencies that are on island and have been doing business for a while : www.caribbeanvilla.com -- www.destinationstjohn.com -- www.suitestjohn.com -- www.windspree.com -- www.cateredto.com there are many villas to choose/for all budgets/size etc. these agencies have staff on island to help you with any needs you might have.

O2BCarib

Just a suggestion--Hawksnest villa overlooks the north shore beach of ...Hawksnest, of course. It's within your price range. No A/C, but fans everwhere, and it's up high enough to catch breeze, which we find sufficient. Good sunsets, and beautiful views...

Tuxedocat

Re: tess's suggestions, I personally have not heard anything particularly negative about any of them. You may wish to look over their rental policies and what to expect e.g. whether they meet you at the ferry, will help stock the villa, etc. There is also www.caribbeandays.com and www.carefreegetaways.com

tpatricco

Hi whit833, take a look at Little Plantation www.littleplantation.com

It's a 2 bedroom Villa in Carolina above Coral Bay. Has a pool and A/C in the bedrooms. We're renting it for 2 weeks in May and are very pleased. You would deal directly with the owner's assistant, Marilyn who is very helpful.

A note to Inkspot: Not everybody has to like Cruz Bay or want to stay close to there...even on their first visit. I'm sure I am not the only person who prefers the Coral Bay side of the island. Sounds like OP has done enough research to decide based on their personal preferences.

Tuxedocat

tPatricco: Trish, in a word: "SWEET!" I know just where that villa is. The views are even better than the website lets on. You'll also be right up the hill from "Sweet Plaintains." Lily's Market (relatively new) is right down there for convenience too. You might want to try snorkeling in Johnson Bay. There's a sign at the entrance to a small parking area which will say something about being private for members only, but you won't be harassed. The bay has a good number of boats there but if you snorkel towards the left hand side, there are shallow grasslands for a while and then some deeper water where a huge nurse shark, tarpon and many fish frequent near a small point. On the right hand side, you need to swim out towards the end of a sand bar where there is also a long stretch of grasslands but then you get to some very nice coral heads. I've seen eagle rays, turtles and lots of other marine life. Johnson Bay is very close to you guys and may be a nice diversion on a day when you don't want to wander far from the villa. Enjoy! You've picked a really great spot!

Tuxedocat

Correction: Other people have seen turtles in Johnson Bay. I know they're there... they just don't want to know me.

tpatricco

Thanks Tux. We'll definitely make time to check out Johnson Bay. Thanks for confirming my already good feelings about Little Plantation. Did you know it's on the market for $1.7 Mil? I need to win the lottery. We are already saving but yikes!

whit833

Thanks for the info and suggestions! This site has been a great source.

gidget

We used windspree and rented la sirena last April. Overall we loved it! We gave it a 9 out of 10. The pool/ patio and decks are fabulous!

We did not have air conditioning and it did get a bit uncomfortable a couple of nights...

The house was great as promised and Karen was wonderful help (groceries / jeep rental etc.) But the house was certaily on the 'other' side of the island. (only reason for it not being perfect.)

When picking your villa be careful to consider what other activities you are going to do and the proximity to the house. I know this sounds rudamentary, but it was our only 'problem' during our week last April.

We like to dive and do day trips to other islands so the la sirena location was less than ideal as we had roughly an 45 min + drive each way to Cruz Bay to begin our day adventures.

If you are going to stay put and hang out then La Sirena or something in coral bay area would be perfect. Check out windspree.com

70Chevelle

A 45 minute drive?? Is this accurate? I thought the island was only a couple of square miles.

Tuxedocat

It is not a 45 minute drive from Cruz Bay to Coral Bay, unless you are going 15 mph and stopping for alot of goat herds. It takes the typical, safe driver about 25-30 minutes, depending on whether other drivers are cooperative. There is only one lane going in each direction.