(Great)
My husband and I stayed at Amarilla Villa in December. We have been traveling to St. John for 23 years. We rent a different home each time. This was our first time renting in Coral Bay and we were not disappointed at all staying on this side of the island! It was nice to be able to choose whether or not we wanted to go through the hustle and bustle that is now Cruz Bay!
The house- Although not luxurious it was very comfortable, clean and decorated nicely. The real draw is the outside living space. The view was stunning. The outdoor furniture was very nice. No plastic chairs! The pool is solar heated so it was not too cold to use and the spa worked great. There is also a very friendly outdoor cat that we fell in love with! This property is very well maintained! The furniture in the house is also very comfortable and the kitchen is well stocked.
The management company- This is where we were very disappointed! Our first time renting through Windspree and we will not use them again. Whenever we rent a home I always ask if there is any discount that can be given. We were given 10% which was great! The price was for 1-4 people. We were only a party of 2.
When our greeter took us up to the house she told us we would only have the use of 1 bedroom (it's a 3 bedroom house) and that the others would be locked. There were 2 masters and she only had a key for 1 of them. We made it clear that that was not ok. Our invoice stated that we paid for occupancy for up to 4 people. There was no difference in price for only 2 people! We have been renting homes on St. John for many years and this particular villa did not have a 2 person rate. We had not even decided which master we wanted to use and asked her to leave the second bedroom unlocked until we chose which she did.
When we went to dinner we came back to the house to a very nasty note left by Karen from Windspree. It said: No smoking in the house. You left the gate open. You left the air conditioner on. I was shocked! I NEVER smoke in any home. We left the air on in the bedroom because it had been hot and stuffy when we arrived and wanted to cool it down. It was our first time using the remote for the gate and I guess we made a mistake. We were very careful that it shut behind us after that. To add insult to injury she had locked the door for the second master bedroom! I called right away to let them know this was an issue. My husband snores and I often use another bedroom to get away from it. It did not matter. They refused to unlock the bedroom and insisted that I paid a 2 person rate even though my invoice clearly stated otherwise! They do not have a 2 person rate! This also left us access to only 1 full bath.
I left a note for Karen on our last day and she has yet to respond.
We also had a call from a realtor twice on the day before we were do to leave. They wanted to show the house, I explained to them that we would be gone by 10am the next day and the house was not ready to be shown. I left a message with Karen letting her know. Well the realtor showed up anyway!
None of this was acceptable to us. We have used several management companies on St. John and have never been treated this way. I have stayed in 5 bedroom homes and have not been locked out of any of them! I've even been told to feel free to use them. If you are familiar with renting villas you know how it goes. Sometimes you use a different shower because the water pressure is better or another bedroom that has a better TV or more comfortable bed or you need clean towels.
Bottom line: House nice, management company not!