I am just beginning to plan a 40th birthday trip with 5 girlfriends for May/June 2006 and I think a villa in St. John would be ideal. We are planning on 5 days/4 nights. I would love a villa that has a pool and is convenient to the beach. One of my friends is interested in spa facilities. Any input or recommendations would be greatly appreciated!

Also, any suggestions for other Caribbean destinations that would meet the above criteria? We are travelling from Boston and New York

Thank you!

be sure to check out mclaughlin/anderson villa rentals: mclaughlinanderson.com
they rent villas all over the virgin islands, and are one of the most reputable rental agencies in the caribbean. they provide full details, incl. videos, of all villas they rent on their web site. we've done business w. them several times, and they are friendly, helpful, patient, reliable and very attentive to detail. highly recommend them.
virtually all villas they rent will have a pool, and many will have a hot tub--see web site for details.

Privatehomesvi.com (private homes for private vacations) is great. We are using them for our 3rd time. We liked Tesseract (which has a pool and I think a spa now), but we're trying Viewtiful this time (pool and spa, but smaller). Viewtiful and Tree House need 4wd vehicles to get up their driveway (most places will), but they are VERY close to the beach. The agency is very helpful and friendly. Good luck! You will love St.John!

thank you both for your great advice on villa rental agencies!

We're still planning way ahead for a 2006 trip to St. John & are trying to figure out how important the whole pool and/or spa thing is, anyway? My husband loves to soak & thinks sitting under the stars or watching a gorgeous sunset in the tub would be great. But there are so many villas that I'm ruling out because they don't have a spa. I've also seen some darling places with spa only, no pool. Any comments??

sitting in the spa watching the stars IS hard to beat, but you can also sit in the pool if it has steps, as many of them do. just sitting on the deck can be awesome as well, especially when there is a meteor shower in progress. mclaughlinanderson provides a guide to watching meteor showers in all the villas they rent; in fact , we now schedule our annual trip to stt to coincide w. one of the major showers. saw one of the two most awesome showers of my life (60+ yrs) just last december from sunset villa overlooking magens bay--incredible!

denij7 - I was in the same quandry about pool/spa and I was told by a couple of people that it can depend on what time of the year you travel. I have heard from some who said that a spa in the summer months is not used much because it is so hot out anyway so a pool is better. In the winter months I am told the pools can be pretty cool so the spas are nice. I have decided to forego the spa for an end of June trip.

Cartera, that is very helpful, thank you. We also are planning for June ('06). I hate to rule out so many homes just because they don't have a spa.

My head is swimming in villas. I can't decide on location - Cruz Bay or Coral Bay or somewhere remote. The pools are pretty small at most of the properties - some like a large spa. With 4 people going, I envision all of us only being able to stand up in the pool at the same time!

catera: I just posted about this house
on denij7's thread - it would be good for 4 because it has 2 master suites
on 2 levels. And the pool would hold 4 for nightime stargazing !!!

We have had excellent experiences
with www.caribbeanvilla.com.
Our favorite villa is ARIA up on
Bordeaux Mountain. Remote, not isolated. Very private.Has a dreamy pool and spa.
http://caribbeanvilla.com/
aria/aria.html

Cruz Bay was just a little too touristy for our tastes,we spent barely a morning there for t-shirts and some groceries. Yet St. John is quite small
and we found it very easy to venture
out everywhere on the island.

We fly from SFO or LAX and always do a red-eye. We stop in FLL and SJU or from
JFK get a direct in to STT. We arrive in STT anywhere from noon-2PM and the ferry ride is heaven.

You will be met by one of the CV&R
reps who will lead you and your rental car to your villa. Oh, and in St. John
you drive on the left, BTW.

We typically go end April-mid May
at the beginning of the OFF season as the prices go about 40% off as well.

We also got our air through them-good fares!

I love St.John !!!
R5

I've been to St. John in late April, when it was pretty hot and a pool was more inviting than a spa. Just got back from a trip in January, and the pool was too cool to sit in at night, so a spa would have been great. Bottom line is that in the summer months, you won't need a spa. In the winter months, it would be nice to have. Pool is still good for "winter" months, since it is still in the mid 80s during the day.

razzledazzle - Coincidentally, Aria was one of the first villas that caught my eye but it is booked for the week I want. One of its neighbors, Happy Moon is available. I think that is where Jofus stayed - if memory of their trip report serves me.