(Excellent)
We have been to St. John eleven times now. Once you have found paradise, why keep looking? Enough said. We have been to Coconuts and a twin house five times. When you have found the perfect house why keep looking. Enough, well not nearly enough said. We only thought we had the perfect house, perfection came after the new owers bought Coconuts and made many really smart improvements. This house is extremely versatile. It would be good for families, it has the privacy that honeymooners would appreciate, and easily can accommodate a get together when traveling with friends. Coconuts is a well located house on Gifft Hill (good trade winds, easy to get to, nearly flat driveway). It also defines St. John outdoor living. Separate buildings (living room/dining room/loft bedroom in one, two bedrooms and two bathrooms in another and a kitchen in yet another), are connected by covered walkways and surround (and open up on) the pool. The pool itself is perfect for kids or for lounging with an umbrella drink due to its uniform shallow depth. The spectacular view is west over the water toward St. Thomas and is always beautiful but can be absolutely stunning at sunset on the right evenings. Our favorite improvements are the ones that enhanced the outdoor elements. The original deck with a covered gazebo is still there, but new deck areas have been added: a complete, fully stocked and wonderful outdoor kitchen next to an outdoor pool table that converts to ping pong, another deck area with a new hot tub and a new lower deck dining area. The pool is now heated by solar energy. While in our opinion this house is all about the outdoors, many indoor/outdoor electronic appointments have been added that are sure to please: front projection system, wide screen television, Wi-Fi, iPod port and more, most of which is wireless. You won't be disappointed unless you are looking for a house with designer emphasis on the interior. Don't get me wrong, the inside is very nice but the outside is where we live (and is what we love) when we are in the Caribbean. Coconuts is a very comfortable retreat. The house is well labeled so you don't have to spend your entire vacation figuring where the switch is for THAT ceiling fan. Similarly the easy to understand Instructions for just about everything are in the house book. Taking a few minutes with the house book will be well worth it. During our stay we couldn't locate the ping pong table top, (it was right there in the house book) and we left a message with Caribbean Villas inquiring about the same. Imagine our surprise when we got a call back in less than 30 minutes from the owner who not only told us where to find the table top but also decided to send us new ping pong balls overnight. This graciousness from an owner whom we've never met, goes along with our hosts leaving a bottle of wine to greet us when we arrived. Very nice. Speaking of arrival, we were met and escorted to the house by Lucia, of Caribbean Villas, a very delightful young woman who will put a smile on your face. Ernie, of Caribbean Villas, handles all the maintenance for Coconuts and he extends excellent customer service. During a short blackout we turned on the water (a real no-no that that we should have remembered). The result was the pump failed to prime when the power went back on, leaving us with no water. We called just minutes before going home time but Ernie cheerily said that he would be right up to solve the problem. The people at Caribbean Villa's do things right, Thank You. We only rent our jeeps from Penn's Jeep Rental and this is why: Penn's is located in the center of Cruz Bay and they allow you to park in their lot at all times! Who wants their perfectly relaxing vacation in paradise compromised by the stress of not being able to park? The number of parking spaces in "downtown" St. John is in sync with the number of stoplights (zero) and the number of stop signs (few). Besides the Penn's people are really nice. Consider Penn's our little secret.
St. John, Coconuts, Caribbean Villas and Penn's add up to making our vacation in paradise truly what dreams are made of; we hope the same will be true for you.