Many thanks to everyone who posted...I have to confess...I posted this so long ago and had a few responses that I was shocked when I rechecked it and saw all the kind people sharing their thoughts. Happy Holidays to all of you ...I am starting to get back into the planning mode again!

Dear Beth,<BR> My husband and I are celebrating our fifth anniversary with another couple in June. I have never been to St. John, but I am a very picky villa renter! My absolute favorite is the "Casa YaYa" I believe it is caribbeanvillas.com. It is a bit pricey, but to me it seems to be romantic and well appointed, though not too showy. Best of luck to you-and happy anniversary. (We will be spending our actual anniversary staying in St. Thomas. Has anyone stayed at Hotel 1829? Would you recommend it? How about the restaurant?)

Help please - I have spent hours researching to rent a villa for 2 couples next Feb and I finally narrowed my list of 10 down to 3 and just found out that 1 of the 3 are now reserved. Has anyone rented Clifside Terrace or Orchid Villa thru www.caribbeanvilla.com or Hibiscus Garden or Orchid Hills thru www.vacationvistas.com? I was able to find good reviews for most, but looking for current info. Cliffside doesn't have a/c and most posts stress that a/c is a must. We like the idea of walking to a beach, too - Cliffside and Orchid Villa offer that benefit.

Vernettm: I haven't stayed at either villa but am pretty familiar with the areas (Chocolate Hole and Klein Bay). They are both on the southside of the island which does not offer alot of sandy beaches. I don't really care about that sort of thing, personally, because, the water is still beautiful and you can still set up a nice lounge chair even on pebbles. Also, the beaches are pretty calm and swimmable most of the time, even if you should wear reef shoes, it's not a big detractor IMO. The villas are both lovely, and February is one of the cooler months. But if you want to play it safe, I'd go with the airconditioning. We've stayed on Great Cruz Bay/Chocolate Hole, and don't think the breezes could compensate for lack of a/c. Other than that, both villas seem comparable. Klein Bay is a little bit farther from Cruz Bay than Chocolate Hole but it's a matter of a couple of minutes. If you have a jeep, it won't matter.

Stayed in Orchid Villa 10 years ago. Very nice. My favorite villa is a 4 bedroom but you could only use 2. Villa Colorado - good friend of mine owns it. Drapier Jensen. go to www.villacolorado.com and check it out. Close to Cruz Bay and has a great pool. Good luck

We have rented 3 different villas. So far. our favorite is Biet Hawa. It's around 300 a night, we shared with 2 other couples. Beautiful view. ON rocky beach, small fountain you can sit it, but no pool. A/C in master only.

http://www.islandhideaways.com/villa.php?villa_id=984

Publisher: Since you've lived on St. John for awhile, I was wondering if you know what has become of the villa on Great Cruz Bay once known as &quot;Fantastic View.&quot; While we loved the villa itself, renting it from the owner in 2002 was a complete nightmare. He lives/lived in Germany and turned out to be the most unreasonable and awful creep. (Later found out this was a very common experience.) I hope someone else has it now because I wouldn't recommend that place unless it's changed hands.

ttt

Gallows Point is wonderful in many many respects, but by no stretch of the imagination can it be said to have a great beach. It has virtually no beach at all-- on an island which has some of the most gorgeous beaches in the Caribbean.