Pickle, so glad you enjoyed Croatia, we went right after the war when they were just starting to rebuild and get tourists it was out of this world amazing. On a funny side not there were not even menus in several of the restaurants in Zagreb. Croatia is where I learned to LOVE red wine, oh the night...

I sympathize with your assessment of the way STJ has changed -- but you can only imagine my impression of the current conditions that are prevalent now there. I moved to the VI in 1975 and for many years STJ was a frequent welcome respite for a day, a weekend or longer both on island or on the boat...

I know that change happens but for the love of doG I never expected the changes we encountered on our 12 day trip. First off what happened to the nice quiet beaches? The beaches you could just take a book and sit in the water and read? The privacy of having your own little slice of the beach under t...

Other than Rachel who else is out there? Last time we used Rachel we ended up with a van full of people in our private booking and a LONG detour to the airport. Plus, I know more about her health problems (this was MANY years ago) than a complete stranger should.

What an amazing trip report! Pictures are fabulous. I can't remember St. John food looking that tasty! Going back to take notes.

Thanks everyone for the tips and advice. We ended up renting villa Amarosa for a week and on the back side picked up a few days at Caneel Bay. Thanks for the tips everyone, especially Liamsaunt on Cannel. I'm horrible with trip reports but will post an update when we are done. It's funny, we travel ...

I second iheartsj, St. John seems busier and the beaches are more crowded now. I know of some used-to-be regular visitors who have steered away from the island for that reason. As for us, our admiration for St. John hasn't changed and we still visit the island annually - often twice a year. The fun...

Thanks Liaumsaunt for you detailed response. As we are booking very late, beggers can't be choosey. I'd love for my daughters to be close to our room but we've gotten over that little detail when we stayed in Sri Lanka for our first expat vacation and our girls were situated a floor down and about 1...

So, it's been a very long time since I've been on St. John, about 7 years if my memory serves me correctly. We've been living abroad and have traveled all over Asia and Europe and have yet to find a place like St. John. My daughter will graduate high school this year and in lieu of a gift or senior ...

The official **cough**cough** report from the Westin states that there are no bed bugs in ROOM 1616 ground floor ocean front room. With that report, nothing is being done by the Westin. My girlfriend has pictures of the spots on the sheets and the BUGS under the mattress, bites all over her body, an...

ick. this is awful. bed bugs are a growing problem everywhere. hopefully the hotel will be vigilant about dealing with the infestation and reimburse her for the costs associated with cleaning or replacing her luggage and clothing. ick. They bombed the room to get it ready for the next guests! She i...

My girlfriend who is staying at the Westin has a room that is infested with bed bugs! Yesterday she had lines of bites from head to toe after two nights at the Westin. Thinking it might be mosquitoes they checked their room before bed and didn't find one flying. The next morning when they pulled the...

Every single year we go we end up seeing sharks, not just nurse sharks. A few years ago we were snorkling around a point and when we rounded the corner we came up on a pretty big shark. I'm not sure who was more surprised- me or the shark. I can tell you that I've never seen such a big animal swim s...

I haven't thought about leaving a gift for the villa but we always bring extra sunscreen and bug spray/wipes with us and never bring them home. We also bring flash lights and leave them too. That's just because we don't want to pack them back up. Also any food item that wasn't open we leave in the p...

No takers on our villa week. *Bummer* But wait, I have more news! In addition to my husband being jobless my company (Smith & Hawken) is closing their doors in the fall :shock: . Holy mother of monkey! Surely this is a cosmic joke? Karma?- can't be. For the love of doG I even pick up worms off t...