St. John...WOW!
Jun 25th, 2003 | 08:16 AM
#1
Guest
Posts: n/a
St. John...WOW!
Ok..I totally get why so many Fodorites go there and rave about the island. So thanks to all of you for your thoughts/advice on St. John, especially DaveCarol P.
My husband, our 15-month-old baby boy and I just returned from there where we spent a week at the Westin.
We rented a Jeep for 4 days to see the island and its beaches. The Westin provides complimentary car seats (more about the Westin later).
THE ISLAND & THE BEACHES: GORGEOUS. We went to the public Caneel Bay beach, Hawksnest Bay, Cinnamon Bay, Maho Bay, Francis Bay, Jumbie Beach, and the very famous Trunk Bay of course. They were all BEAUTIFUL...Crystal-clear, turquoise, calm waters which we LOVE (the kind you see on magazine covers) and it was perfect since we had our baby with us. By the way, Trunk Bay definitely lives up to the hype!
The great thing about these beaches, they all have trees so you can easily find shade if you need to.
We also saw Leinster Bay and drove all the way to Coral Bay to view that side of the island. We also visited the Annaberg Historical Sugar Mill Ruins (nice views of Leinster Bay and of some other islands from there).
Not for us, but quite a few hiking trails for all you hikers out there.
RESTAURANTS: We didn't do as many as we normally would have (pre-baby days) but these are the ones we did.
We did the breakfast buffet at Caneel because I had read some good reviews about it on this site. It was nice, but nothing to rave about we thought. We've had similar or better buffets at other resorts for less than Caneel's $25/person rate.
We had dinner at a restaurant called "Paradiso" in Mongoose Junction (the shopping "mall" of St. John). FABULOUS restaurant. The place itself is beautiful with mood lighting; the walls, furniture, bar are made of dark wood, the pictures on the wall are highlighted with lights. Really beautiful except for the occasional piercing scream from a child..oh wait..that was my son! The food or at least what we ordered was AMAZING. I had a filet of beef and bread pudding for dessert, my husband had a grilled pork porterhouse and a chocolate molten cake for dessert. YUMMY! My mouth is watering just typing this up! We would definitely recommend this restaurant to everyone.
We had lunch at "Shipwreck Landing" in Coral Bay. It's a burger/fries kind of place. No complaints there.
We also had lunch at the "Mongoose Restaurant" in St. John's "mall". It's also a very casual place like "Shipwreck Landing". There's also a deli right next to it where we ordered sandwiches a few times for lunch on other days.
The rest of the time, we ate at the Westin which brings me to my resort review.
THE WESTIN: The grounds are beautiful and well-maintained. The staff was VERY friendly (I personally think it's because we have the cutest baby ever and people can't help but be nice to us because of him---smile). We had a gardenview room in a building up on a hill...but we didn't just have a gardenview but the view of the marina as well..which was a really nice surprise. So we could sit out on our patio and have this lovely view every night.
I've read some complaints about the walk from those buildings to the pool or beach and how spread out things are, but we didn't think it was that bad. We actually enjoyed walking (with the baby in his stroller) because the grounds were so pretty. Yes, at the end of the day after spending an entire day at the beach, it can be hard walking up that hill (especially pushing a stroller and carrying all of the baby's stuff!) but they have motorized carts that come around every 15 minutes to get you. We were very lucky where they'd come around within 5 minutes of us waiting those couple of times where we just didn't feel like walking. If you're not in shape, then yes it can be hard.
The pool is really nice. The promo pictures make it look a lot bigger than it is, we thought.
We thought the food at the Westin was good, not amazing, but good. and yes, expensive.
Our room was spacious but just ok. Could use a face lift. One really bad thing, the carpet. It's dirty!! You can't tell because it's dark and I did see the cleaning lady vacuuming it. We noticed after walking barefoot on it, that our feet were dirty..every day!! I was grossed out by that. They seriously need new carpeting.
The Westin provides complimentary cribs and car seats. My husband and I could not believe that a resort like the Westin couldn't do better. You could just touch the crib and it would rattle! It looked like it was about to fall apart! I'm not exagerating. We chose not to put our son in that crib because of safety concerns, and he slept with us.
The car seat was better but not by much. We had a choice of 6, we picked the "better" one.
Now to the beach at the Westin. It is a joke, especially compared to the real beaches on the island. We really tried to go swim in that water but there was seaweed washing up all along the shore (lots of seaweed). It looked really gross. So we simply passed on it.
We LOVED St. John. My husband and I never understood why people kept going to the same vacation spots over and over again. Our motto is "too many countries, too little time". But we now understand...we finally found a place where we'd go back again and again.
The end.
p.s.: If you have any questions, feel free to ask and I will try and answer.
My husband, our 15-month-old baby boy and I just returned from there where we spent a week at the Westin.
We rented a Jeep for 4 days to see the island and its beaches. The Westin provides complimentary car seats (more about the Westin later).
THE ISLAND & THE BEACHES: GORGEOUS. We went to the public Caneel Bay beach, Hawksnest Bay, Cinnamon Bay, Maho Bay, Francis Bay, Jumbie Beach, and the very famous Trunk Bay of course. They were all BEAUTIFUL...Crystal-clear, turquoise, calm waters which we LOVE (the kind you see on magazine covers) and it was perfect since we had our baby with us. By the way, Trunk Bay definitely lives up to the hype!
The great thing about these beaches, they all have trees so you can easily find shade if you need to.
We also saw Leinster Bay and drove all the way to Coral Bay to view that side of the island. We also visited the Annaberg Historical Sugar Mill Ruins (nice views of Leinster Bay and of some other islands from there).
Not for us, but quite a few hiking trails for all you hikers out there.
RESTAURANTS: We didn't do as many as we normally would have (pre-baby days) but these are the ones we did.
We did the breakfast buffet at Caneel because I had read some good reviews about it on this site. It was nice, but nothing to rave about we thought. We've had similar or better buffets at other resorts for less than Caneel's $25/person rate.
We had dinner at a restaurant called "Paradiso" in Mongoose Junction (the shopping "mall" of St. John). FABULOUS restaurant. The place itself is beautiful with mood lighting; the walls, furniture, bar are made of dark wood, the pictures on the wall are highlighted with lights. Really beautiful except for the occasional piercing scream from a child..oh wait..that was my son! The food or at least what we ordered was AMAZING. I had a filet of beef and bread pudding for dessert, my husband had a grilled pork porterhouse and a chocolate molten cake for dessert. YUMMY! My mouth is watering just typing this up! We would definitely recommend this restaurant to everyone.
We had lunch at "Shipwreck Landing" in Coral Bay. It's a burger/fries kind of place. No complaints there.
We also had lunch at the "Mongoose Restaurant" in St. John's "mall". It's also a very casual place like "Shipwreck Landing". There's also a deli right next to it where we ordered sandwiches a few times for lunch on other days.
The rest of the time, we ate at the Westin which brings me to my resort review.
THE WESTIN: The grounds are beautiful and well-maintained. The staff was VERY friendly (I personally think it's because we have the cutest baby ever and people can't help but be nice to us because of him---smile). We had a gardenview room in a building up on a hill...but we didn't just have a gardenview but the view of the marina as well..which was a really nice surprise. So we could sit out on our patio and have this lovely view every night.
I've read some complaints about the walk from those buildings to the pool or beach and how spread out things are, but we didn't think it was that bad. We actually enjoyed walking (with the baby in his stroller) because the grounds were so pretty. Yes, at the end of the day after spending an entire day at the beach, it can be hard walking up that hill (especially pushing a stroller and carrying all of the baby's stuff!) but they have motorized carts that come around every 15 minutes to get you. We were very lucky where they'd come around within 5 minutes of us waiting those couple of times where we just didn't feel like walking. If you're not in shape, then yes it can be hard.
The pool is really nice. The promo pictures make it look a lot bigger than it is, we thought.
We thought the food at the Westin was good, not amazing, but good. and yes, expensive.
Our room was spacious but just ok. Could use a face lift. One really bad thing, the carpet. It's dirty!! You can't tell because it's dark and I did see the cleaning lady vacuuming it. We noticed after walking barefoot on it, that our feet were dirty..every day!! I was grossed out by that. They seriously need new carpeting.
The Westin provides complimentary cribs and car seats. My husband and I could not believe that a resort like the Westin couldn't do better. You could just touch the crib and it would rattle! It looked like it was about to fall apart! I'm not exagerating. We chose not to put our son in that crib because of safety concerns, and he slept with us.
The car seat was better but not by much. We had a choice of 6, we picked the "better" one.
Now to the beach at the Westin. It is a joke, especially compared to the real beaches on the island. We really tried to go swim in that water but there was seaweed washing up all along the shore (lots of seaweed). It looked really gross. So we simply passed on it.
We LOVED St. John. My husband and I never understood why people kept going to the same vacation spots over and over again. Our motto is "too many countries, too little time". But we now understand...we finally found a place where we'd go back again and again.
The end.
p.s.: If you have any questions, feel free to ask and I will try and answer.
Jun 25th, 2003 | 08:43 AM
#4
Guest
Posts: n/a
JenniferW: I could stay at the Westin again because it was a good resort even with the negatives I listed, but I would look at other places like condos or villas. I always like to stay on a beach but since St. John has so many beautiful beaches to see I think it's ok not to be on the beach. Just rent a vehicle and go beach hopping.
re: renting a vehicle. I think 2 days is not enough especially if you're there for a week. The 4 days we rented worked out just well, we could have even done a 5th day in my opinion.
re: renting a vehicle. I think 2 days is not enough especially if you're there for a week. The 4 days we rented worked out just well, we could have even done a 5th day in my opinion.
Jun 25th, 2003 | 08:59 AM
#5
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 346
Likes: 0
Thanks for the very nice, detailed report.
You summed up my impressions of SJ and the Westin almost exactly.
Great beaches, great water, good food, nice hiking options.
I remain put off by the lack of a luxury resort on SJ. We stayed at the Westin and things like dirty carpet and dark rooms are an immediate 'never going back'. Caneel isn't our style, and we really like good service on vacation so villas are limiting in that regard.
Otherwise, SJ itself is a great little island and hasn't been overrun by the influences of tourism IMO.
You summed up my impressions of SJ and the Westin almost exactly.
Great beaches, great water, good food, nice hiking options.
I remain put off by the lack of a luxury resort on SJ. We stayed at the Westin and things like dirty carpet and dark rooms are an immediate 'never going back'. Caneel isn't our style, and we really like good service on vacation so villas are limiting in that regard.
Otherwise, SJ itself is a great little island and hasn't been overrun by the influences of tourism IMO.
Jun 25th, 2003 | 09:13 AM
#7
Guest
Posts: n/a
cervonil: I'm sure there were cheaper car rentals on the island..but we did the easy thing and chose the company that's on Westin's property (O'Connor Jeep Rental). Our Jeep Cherokee was $70/day. Not cheap, huh? They also have Suzukis which I think were about $60 or $65/day. We did try one other company (Hertz) but they were more expensive.
rwilliams: yes we also loved the fact that the island was not overrun by tourism...we hope that will never change.
rwilliams: yes we also loved the fact that the island was not overrun by tourism...we hope that will never change.
Trending Topics
Jun 27th, 2003 | 08:44 AM
#11
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 45
Likes: 0
Ah yes..... thrilled we could help.
We just returned from St. Lucia 2 weeks ago. Way too short. We loved it, but it was no St. John. STJ has certainly become the standard that all other vacations are measured against.
We posted a trip report on COL at
http://www.caribline.com/cgi-bin/agn...MLArticle+2642
I was debating cutting & pasting it on this forum as well, but this forum seems a bit more of the direct 'ask & answer' type as opposed to an abundance of trip reports.
We just returned from St. Lucia 2 weeks ago. Way too short. We loved it, but it was no St. John. STJ has certainly become the standard that all other vacations are measured against.
We posted a trip report on COL at
http://www.caribline.com/cgi-bin/agn...MLArticle+2642
I was debating cutting & pasting it on this forum as well, but this forum seems a bit more of the direct 'ask & answer' type as opposed to an abundance of trip reports.
Oct 11th, 2004 | 12:04 PM
#14
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 24
Likes: 0
Wow sounds like St John is great. Here is my situation, maybe you can advise. Our friends are ataying at the Westin and using their Starwood points. They have a 2 and 4 year old. We have a 4 year old. I was wondering if you thought it would be a good idea if we stayed somewhere else and, since our friends are there, take advantage of the hotel's amenities. Or should we just stay there with them. I would love to hear your or other's opinions.
Oct 11th, 2004 | 12:59 PM
#15
Guest
Posts: n/a
Hmmm...hard to answer.
Well, where else are you thinking of staying? Is it a better priced option than the Westin? Is it a condo, Caneel or a villa? How often do you think you'll be at the Westin?
Are you going to rent a vehicle while you're there? Or are you planning to use a taxi? The taxi cost could be a bit much going back and forth to the Westin depending on where you're staying.
Fyi, I don't think using the Westin's amenities will be a problem as a non-guest. The entrance is not closed off.
Well, where else are you thinking of staying? Is it a better priced option than the Westin? Is it a condo, Caneel or a villa? How often do you think you'll be at the Westin?
Are you going to rent a vehicle while you're there? Or are you planning to use a taxi? The taxi cost could be a bit much going back and forth to the Westin depending on where you're staying.
Fyi, I don't think using the Westin's amenities will be a problem as a non-guest. The entrance is not closed off.
Oct 12th, 2004 | 03:25 AM
#17
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 25
Likes: 0
I am wondering about the car seat . . . My family will be in STJ for Chrismas and we will have a six month old. Can you rent baby gear on the island? (We are renting a house.) I posted this question before and didn't get any responses but it sounds like you - and DaveCarol - may have some good information. Thanks.
Oct 12th, 2004 | 04:22 AM
#18
Guest
Posts: n/a
KoolJoe2: No I'm sorry I don't know anything about other accomodations on St. John 
If you do a search for St. John, there might be some info on rentals.
I personally think that if it's a lot cheaper to do condo, why not? I think St. John is all about its gorgeous beaches and the Westin certainly doesn't have one. If you can use the Westin's facilities thanks to your friends, that'd be good as I'm sure your child will love the pool.
cmccullough: I don't know whether there are any places that rent baby gear because we never looked into that. Sorry. We found out right away that the Westin offered complimentary car seats to guests and that was enough for us. I think Hertz has an office in St. John and may have car seats.
If you do a search for St. John, there might be some info on rentals.
I personally think that if it's a lot cheaper to do condo, why not? I think St. John is all about its gorgeous beaches and the Westin certainly doesn't have one. If you can use the Westin's facilities thanks to your friends, that'd be good as I'm sure your child will love the pool.
cmccullough: I don't know whether there are any places that rent baby gear because we never looked into that. Sorry. We found out right away that the Westin offered complimentary car seats to guests and that was enough for us. I think Hertz has an office in St. John and may have car seats.
Thread
Original Poster
Forum
Replies
Last Post
susannj
Caribbean Islands
10
Nov 13th, 2013 10:04 PM
