(Excellent)
On a Clear Day is a four bedroom, 4.5 bathroom home located high above Francis Bay. The house is beautifully constructed with great attention to detail. Amenities include a large swimming pool, a high-end, well equipped kitchen, a screened in dining area, upscale bathrooms with toto toilets and lovely large stone showers, flat screen tvs, a bose surround sound system, an indoor gym, and plenty of comfortable seating, both indoors and out.
The four air-conditioned bedrooms are equal in size, and all have interior access. They all have comfortable king sized beds (one room is two twins that can be converted to king, the others are kings) and large en suite baths. Three bedrooms have views of Francis Bay, and the fourth has a view of Tortola.
The house has solar panels and is completely off the grid. The house also has a generator, which came in handy during the rolling blackouts the island experienced while we were there.
Despite its remote location, this house had the strongest wifi signal and fastest internet speed of any home we have rented. The owners installed a device that makes sure you will pick up the US towers to avoid roaming charges.
The driveway (really, a road in itself!) to the house is easy to navigate and there is plenty of parking in a flat gravel lot on the side of the house. The grounds are extensive and beautifully landscaped with fruit trees and flowers. There is even an herb garden that you are encouraged to harvest from for your villa meals.
The pool is long (around 45 feet) and not deep (around 4-4.5 feet). There are plenty of pool toys (rafts, noodles, drink floats etc.) for your use. We spent almost every evening in the pool watching the sun set over Francis Bay.
Views from the house are outstanding. You can see down into Francis Bay, over to Whistling Cay. The sun set over the bay at the time of year we stayed there. We were lucky to see some truly incredible sunsets.
The home is very private. It is also exceptionally well maintained. Everything worked perfectly and was in excellent condition. You can tell that the owners really care for the home and the land. We learned from a flyer in the villa binder that the land has been owned by the family since the early 1950s. The driveway was cut back in the early 00's, but the house itself was only built a few years ago.
One of my favorite features of the house was the screened in dining porch. If you have been over there before, you know that Francis Bay can sometimes be buggy. The screened in porch allowed us to eat our dinners in bug-free peace while enjoying the incredible views.
Overall, I would rate this as the finest house I have ever rented on St. John. It is a truly special place, and I recommend it without hesitation.
