Neighborhood Watch - La Papaya

[Barbara]

Allow me to give you a heads up. It never hurts to be watchful. JK and I came in on a Saturday but had to leave on a Thursday. Other members of our party came in on Friday and did not have to leave until Monday. The second Saturday of the trip Ruth and party came back to the villa at 6:30 PM only to find a strange vehicle in their parking place. No other vehicles were at the villa though Becky and Mike were inside. Larry parked behind the white pickup truck where two islanders were standing, and soon joined by a third man who had just come from the lower level area. Ruth asked them what they were doing and they said we are landscapers. She said I don't think so, not at this time of day, not on this day of the week. They didn't argue. Ruth then demanded they leave immediately, which they did once Larry moved the Jeep. She forgot to get a license plate because she was so unnerved. Destination St. John could not identify them either. Mike and Becky said they had not come upstairs. We may be falsely accusing these three men of casing the villa. However, they refused to give any further identity. We all were nervous, and well aware of the robbery of the lower level in July.

While we were at the villa we did heed the warnings from Destination St. John and everyone else. Lock ALL your doors when you leave. Put valuables ONLY in the safe provided, or take them with you. That includes ipods and cell phones.

We hope we were wrong. But an ounce of prevention and an eagle eye even when in paradise are not wasted. We tend to get lazy and forget about safety in St. John. It is easy to do. This incident made me think. It is not just in St. John where we need to be watchful. Economic hard times are causing folks everywhere to do things they normally would not do.

[Barbara]

I want to add that I think there are some villas that are better than others at providing privacy just by where they are located from the road. Bongo Bongo has a steep driveway and you can't see if someone is there or not. But a villa like La Papaya has a driveway right off the road so you can see if someone is home.

[Coden]

Very scary, indeed!! I'm glad nothing was stolen (if it was being cased).

[LauraD]

I have lived and traveled to alot of countries and caribbean islands, that said, crime is everywhere. I am always aware of what is around me, I have had friends say "you're very observant, I didn't see that on the drive, etc". I do, in general beleive people are good, just be aware, if you feel something is not what it should be, trust your instinct, you'll know it when you feel it. Laura

[LauraD]

Geez, I also meant to say, glad everyone is safe and no harm done. Laura

[Diana2]

Now that would really have thrown me for a loop. It's just another reason that I wouldn't want to stay over on that side of the island. I'm glad you got there when you did. Too bad you didn't get their license plate number.

[Barbara]

Has anybody found a really good sliding glass door lock? This villa was great. But the door locks were really tough to work. Most villas do have at least a few sliding glass doors.

[liamsaunt]

At a couple of houses I have rented, I've gone into the cleaning closet and unscrewed the mop heads/broom brushes from their handles, and used the wooden handle as a track barrier on the sliders. What is it about those darned doors that makes them so hard to keep locked? It's kind of annoying.

I am glad you did not get broken into, and I hope you had a fun trip.

[jess116000]

Is La Papaya located in Choc Hole? I tried to find it online. If so, I am staying in Choc Hole in Dec. I have not stayed on this side of the island. St.John is still much safer than most islands, but thanks for the heads up! Its good to be smart & aware no matter where you are!

[Greenskeeper]

Now that would really have thrown me for a loop. It's just another reason that I wouldn't want to stay over on that side of the island. I'm glad you got there when you did. Too bad you didn't get their license plate number.

Is crime rampant on that side of the island? What areas do you consider safer/safest and why? Just curious- we've only stayed on that side of the island. We were told to lock everything up etc but never felt as if it wasn't safe.

[Barbara]

I don't think crime is rampant. But times have changed. The economy is still not great. So we have to adjust. We have been coming to the Islands for over 25 years. Not just St. John, but Nevis, Montserrat, etc. People have found the Islands because they love the escape. With more people come more problems. I would never say oh it is because of the natives. I am sure natives and visitors alike take advantage of unlocked doors and unprotected gear. Time to buckle up. But what a small price to pay for living a week or two in paradise. Time for YOU to be the neighborhood watch. I can do that. So this is me reporting to ya.

By the way, La Papaya was great. Yes, it needs some TLC. Little things need to be fixed. I am stupid so I did not find the instructions for the TV/VCR/ipod stuff. Were there instructions? All the doors are sliding glass, even the front door which is a pain. Hasn't anybody invented a door opener for those things yet?! The door locks were awful. And I coulda sworn they had WiFi. None. Bummer cuz Mike just had a grandchild so that week of separation with no pics was tough. The house had plenty of coolers, towels, and beach chairs, thanks. The washer and dryer were HE, like mine at home. I was looking for Larry's lost glasses and so I noticed the chair in the living room was from Rowe Furniture. MY neck of the woods! Elliston, VA which is right down the road. Beautiful furnishings. We were very comfortable. Comes with a wild black cat. Likes to be fed and not rubbed.

[Exit Zero]

It shouldn't be too many more years before all the "natives" will be forced to sell their land to pay the property taxes -- as the value of a simple home increases because of the surrounding off island villa landlords and their multi-million dollar rental houses - so then luckily the "islanders" and "natives" will have moved off STJ and won't be a worry to you anymore on the 'neighborhood watch.'
How did you know they were islanders after all?

[NCSue]

Exit - I totally understand your point. However, after our experience last July I believe there is a huge issue with "landscapers". Our house was cased and entered while people were on a different level. My fear is that one of these incidences might eventually turn violent - either by the intruder or the visitor. I don't think harm was intended stating it was "islanders" or "natives". My situation was handled well with both the rental company and the landscaping company which replaced an item that was taken. The landscaping company did fire the individuals - but told us the work force is scarce there and these folks would probably be at work for another company shortly. Sad for the island and the people living on-island.

[St. John Lover]

No part of the island is immune to crime but neither is any part over-ridden with crime. Crime on St. John is of the burglary/robbery variety and newsworthy because it is not common. It is also pretty evenly distributed so one side or one area is no more nor any less safe than any other. (This is from reading police blotters for the 20+ years we've been going there & also from talking to the many friends I've developed on-island over the years). To suggest otherwise really does both the first-time travelers coming to St. John and the homeowners all over the island a disservice plus just is not true.

Also, it is true that the robberies/burglaries are crimes of convenience so advice to keep valuable locked in the safe when not using them and to lock the doors when you go out is good--and commonsense--advice.


As far as the sliding doors--almost all places we've ever stayed either has wooden or metal inserts to put on the tracks to make it impossible to break open unless you break the glass! or they have some kind of locking device in addition to the common locks on the door frame--which invariably end up not working 1/2 the time because of the combination of corrosive salt air and heat warping the the frames.

Finally, the remarks about hard economic times breeding increases in robbery hasn't proven to be true sociologically. For example, one of the very lowest rates of crime in our history was during the great depression.

Going back to the sliding doors, if you arrive at your villa & they have nothing to lock them better than the little sliding mechanisms on the door frames, ask the management company to provide some additional locking mechanism, even if it's just to cut down a piece of wood that better fits in the track than a mop handle which you'd have to angle so could be moved by sufficient pressure against it.

Ok, my final final now (sorry about that); I have visited often not only with my husband and family but also with girlfriends or even by myself and have always felt perfectly safe. But I do always lock up at night & use the safe.

[Greenskeeper]

No part of the island is immune to crime but neither is any part over-ridden with crime. Crime on St. John is of the burglary/robbery variety and newsworthy because it is not common. It is also pretty evenly distributed so one side or one area is no more nor any less safe than any other. (This is from reading police blotters for the 20+ years we've been going there & also from talking to the many friends I've developed on-island over the years). To suggest otherwise really does both the first-time travelers coming to St. John and the homeowners all over the island a disservice plus just is not true.

Thanks for the clarification. I've never felt unsafe while on island. Wherever we go, = we do exercise common sense in regard to locking up and while out and about, not waving around large sums of cash or wearing flashy baubles.