usvi-on-line
Kia Ora Villa
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CreativeName
- Posts: 26
- Joined: Tue Jul 06, 2010 3:39 pm
- Location: Grand Rapids
Kia Ora Villa
We just sent for the contract for Kia Ora villa in Chocolate Hole. We were looking for something for around $2,000 with a nice pool and deck area and a nice view. How modern the villa was didn't matter much. I think we made the right choice, any comments?
Also,as a point of reference, we stayed at Sea Scape(also Choc Hole)last time and were very pleased with it.
Thank you
Also,as a point of reference, we stayed at Sea Scape(also Choc Hole)last time and were very pleased with it.
Thank you
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GotToGetAway
- Posts: 396
- Joined: Tue Mar 08, 2011 10:55 pm
- Location: FL
We stayed there in June 2007 when it was Tesseract, it's an older home but even back then it was in good shape, appears it's had a mild makeover since then. Good views of Chocolate hole and from the smaller deck you can see STT. Nice size pool. I believe there is AC in only a few rooms but we only needed it a few nights, most nights the breeze was enough to keep cool. It was a quick trip into Cruz Bay. I would stay there again.
I stayed in Kia Ora with a group of women in November. Certain parts of the villa is definitely dated.....jalousy windows and the off white formica cabinets in the kitchen for example, but overall it's a very comfortable place. The outdoor areas are so comfortable that we didn't spend much time inside anyway.
I had the master BR with the garden area....that made the lay out of the bathroom a little odd. The vanity area of the master is immediately inside the door off the dining area. The toilet is right next to the garden area which is only louvered and screened above shoulder height so that the plants get air, sun and rain....that meant that it would get somewhat wet during rain showers depending on how much wind there was. As a result some of the metal parts around the toilet are rusty looking. The shower is just past the vanity area and right next to the garden and is not enclosed in any way. It's right in line with the door to the dining area and the front door so whoever is showering there needs to make their partner/roommate aware to NOT open the door when others are sitting at the dining room table. LOL!! Also be aware that there will be geckos on the plants, screens and wood portions of the wall in the shower area although they minded their manners. If someone gets freaked out by the geckos running up the walls don't put them in that room. One other thing that I noticed was that alot of people staying in that area must have gotten better cell phone reception on the area of the roadway which is just above the fairly open master bath. I was a little leary the first few days about hearing people talking and walking around right above the exposed shower area but there is so much vegetation between the house and the road that you really can't see anything.
The other bedroom on the main level has twin beds and a small sitting area inside and a small deck area outside. This is the only air conditioned bedroom in the villa. The other rooms had ceiling fans are were quite comfortable without AC. The third bedroom downstairs was huge with two doubles or queens.
The pool was great, probably the warmest of any we've had so far. There is a covered area for shade where the outdoor dining is located. There are no railings in this area, just benches along the edge of the deck so as not to block the view. If you have any small children in your group you will want to watch them there. The views were fantastic and perfectly aligned for sunsets each night. We had a feral black cat that hung out under the benches when we were there. He would gladly accept food handouts (although the villa management specifically tells you NOT to feed stray animals)but he would not allow anyone close enough to pet him/her. The pool is several steps up from the dining area and there were chaise lounges, tables and chairs scattered about for comfortable lounging. The master BR opens onto the pool area and there is a hammock there for siestas. The pool lights up for night time swims.
Overall, Kia Ora was clean and comfortable and more than adequate for a fabulous vacation - he price is very reasonable for what you get. The location is SO conveniently close to Cruz Bay too. You made a great decision - you'll have a wonderful vacation.
I had the master BR with the garden area....that made the lay out of the bathroom a little odd. The vanity area of the master is immediately inside the door off the dining area. The toilet is right next to the garden area which is only louvered and screened above shoulder height so that the plants get air, sun and rain....that meant that it would get somewhat wet during rain showers depending on how much wind there was. As a result some of the metal parts around the toilet are rusty looking. The shower is just past the vanity area and right next to the garden and is not enclosed in any way. It's right in line with the door to the dining area and the front door so whoever is showering there needs to make their partner/roommate aware to NOT open the door when others are sitting at the dining room table. LOL!! Also be aware that there will be geckos on the plants, screens and wood portions of the wall in the shower area although they minded their manners. If someone gets freaked out by the geckos running up the walls don't put them in that room. One other thing that I noticed was that alot of people staying in that area must have gotten better cell phone reception on the area of the roadway which is just above the fairly open master bath. I was a little leary the first few days about hearing people talking and walking around right above the exposed shower area but there is so much vegetation between the house and the road that you really can't see anything.
The other bedroom on the main level has twin beds and a small sitting area inside and a small deck area outside. This is the only air conditioned bedroom in the villa. The other rooms had ceiling fans are were quite comfortable without AC. The third bedroom downstairs was huge with two doubles or queens.
The pool was great, probably the warmest of any we've had so far. There is a covered area for shade where the outdoor dining is located. There are no railings in this area, just benches along the edge of the deck so as not to block the view. If you have any small children in your group you will want to watch them there. The views were fantastic and perfectly aligned for sunsets each night. We had a feral black cat that hung out under the benches when we were there. He would gladly accept food handouts (although the villa management specifically tells you NOT to feed stray animals)but he would not allow anyone close enough to pet him/her. The pool is several steps up from the dining area and there were chaise lounges, tables and chairs scattered about for comfortable lounging. The master BR opens onto the pool area and there is a hammock there for siestas. The pool lights up for night time swims.
Overall, Kia Ora was clean and comfortable and more than adequate for a fabulous vacation - he price is very reasonable for what you get. The location is SO conveniently close to Cruz Bay too. You made a great decision - you'll have a wonderful vacation.
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CreativeName
- Posts: 26
- Joined: Tue Jul 06, 2010 3:39 pm
- Location: Grand Rapids
Thank you all for the information. Thank you for the detailed information Lindy. I actually looked up your trip report, very helpful.
I will be much happier if I have AC, do you recall if it would be much trouble to just push the two beds together in the room with the AC? Furniture in the way etc?
Thank you again for all of your help.
I will be much happier if I have AC, do you recall if it would be much trouble to just push the two beds together in the room with the AC? Furniture in the way etc?
Thank you again for all of your help.
Sorry Creative - I only peeked into that room the day that we checked in. I'm sure you could call the rental agency to ask about that. Most of the villas with twins seem to have accomodations to push them together. I can't imagine that it would be overly difficult to move any sort of night stand in between.
Can't comment on the villa, but we stayed right next door to it in Blue Agave so I can say the view was awesome. Here's a quick video of the view I recorded from Blue Agave.
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