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- - westin rooms (https://www.fodors.com/community/caribbean-islands/westin-rooms-283186/)

hi all -I'm staying at the westin in feb in a suite(wedding present) but heard the hillside rooms are not nice-has anyone stayed in the suite and if so can you tell me if we should switch to beachfront-many thanks

You need to re-post and indicate IN THE TITLE that you're referring to St. John, versus Grand Cayman or wherever else.

It's obvious it is St. John and pictures can be found at http://travelhop.com You'll do more walking from the hillside rooms.

yes sorry it is st john

Lordy Lordy, Ms. "please title" was snippy. Since Sue posted on the USVI site and the Westin on St. John is the only Westin on island(s), THAT response was really uncalled for. So the gal made a bit of a mistake by not being more explicit but you don't have to get nasty about it! Hang in there, Sue, I'm sure you'll get more valid responses within the next few days. You'll LOVE St. John and the Westin will suit you fine whether you're hillside or beachfront. Hey, your suite was a wedding present. Enjoy and don't get too picky.

There is no such thing as a "USVI site". What are you talking about? If people want to get something out of this site it's to their benefit to learn how to use it.

When you say hillside, are you in one of the villas? The main difference is that they have a kitchen and washer/dryer along with living room area. They are farther from the resort's pool and beach, but they do have golf carts that will pick you up. The villa's do have shared pools along with gas grills. I stayed in a hillside room and in a villa studio on my trip in November. I prefered the location of the hillside rooms, however.

I also curious about the studio villas. We called to book a regular room and were "upgraded" to a studio villa. They sound nice--complete with kitchen and laundry facilities--but I'm wondering if there is any other benefit, or drawback, to staying at the Westin St. John studio villas versus regular rooms?

The villas which are across the street and a hike or better a ride from the resort are used as condos and timeshare. The resort has rooms and suites and it is a "beach"front property. They are different locations. The villas share or have a private plunge pool and the washer and dryer, kitchen facilities but the townhouse suite at the resort may have the kitchen also and a washer and dryer - not sure.

To post Ho hum - my humble apologies for my obviously crass ignorance. I thought that when I posted on this forum I was under that little thing that says, "United States Virgin Islands" which I believe is shortened to USVI in simple vernacular. Thanks for letting me know that there's not a USVI site. I'll bear it in mind in the future.

The nice thing about the studio villas is that you can do laundry when needed and you have a fridge, microwave, stove which can help save money on food costs. The bathroom in the villa wasn't as nice or as large as the one in the hillside room and the bed wasn't the "heavenly bed."

Just what everyone wants to do on vacation - laundry and cook and clean up after! Oh! and hang out in the bathroom! LOL

I called the Westin last week to inquire about their studio villas. They assured me that they do have the "Heavenly" bed in all rooms, incl. the villas. The concierge and front desk person both told me that if they had their preference, they would stay in the studio villa rather than a hillside room. We'll see--I'll report after my March trip.

GM: Haven't been on this site for a while but just caught your snitty post of 1/02 which did seem to be rather uncalled for. While vacationing, we happen to find it very convenient to have a washer/dryer available and to us that's a plus. Although we love to eat out and discover new delights in dining, a basic kitchen is also a treat to have for breakfast on the terrace, a dinner on the terrace or a late-night delight. A nice bathroom is pleasant too. Away from our own home and indulging in the difference, the essence of comfortability is important to us. Long gone are the old days when I hitchhiked through Europe, slept in sheds and hostels! To me - and, God bless her - to my long-suffering wife (!), a bit of home comfort and a bit of home-like surroundings do make a difference. The basic "hotel scene" with laundry service, room service and everything-else service is perfect for many. Maybe the wife and I are just perfect guests because we don't mind cleaning up after ourselves, it's just a routine to us and we enjoy it. Sue - your date is fast coming up and we both hope that you have a wonderful wedding and a wonderful adventure on St. John. We will return there in June, this time staying on St. Thomas.