USVI-On-Line

Hi, everyone!

We are looking forward to an 8 or 9 night stay next April or May, 2016 (in Off Season).

We like the Ajax Peak area. Stayed in A Winsome House and LOVED it. Are thinking of returning there (if the price is right) OR are exploring trying to stay in a bit cheaper villa in that same area. We like the proximity to Maho and Francis.

It will just be the 2 of us - so, a one bedroom is fine.

We would LOVE to hear personal perspectives from those who have stayed at either Aria or Bayview OR any other place in that region.

Our list of wants, are:
Great view for having our morning coffee and breakfast
Comfortable bed
Tiled or Stone Shower with an ocean view would be awesome (but, not necessarily a deal breaker)

Look forward to hearing any suggestions. Wouldn't mind hearing about any other villa that is perfect for 2 - even if not in our desired location.

Thanks!

Sue (& Jim)

Check this out. We have stayed with David & Denise at Cruz Bay Boutiques several times. Great couple. They now have a one bedroom fantastic apt in their Peter Bay home. Haven't stayed there yet but have seen great reviews.

http://www.hotelcruzbay.com/suiteonthebeach.html

Not sure your budget but we stayed at Apito http://www.vrbo.com/249514 a few years ago and really liked it. Great Views, good location as long as you don't mind a short, steep, drive up Mamey Peak off Centerline.

My goodness. Apito is amazing - but, we are trying really hard to keep the average per night cost at around $300 or a tad higher. But, would prefer closer to $275 - as we are planning to stay 9 nights.

We are even considering a lower priced 2 night stay at a place like Estate Lindholm in order to be able to go "over budget" a bit on a 7 night stay at a villa like A Winsome House.

Peter Bay choice looks interesting. But, a bit small for our taste.

Just found out that Aria does not have any views from their showers. "Might" be a deal breaker...

Thank you both for the suggestions, though. The hunt continues.

Oops...need to delete my old "ticker" for now....

We stayed at Bayview about 5 years ago. It had great views from both sides of the house. The porch has a view of Coral Bay and Bordeaux, which was beautiful, and the patio has a view to the north shore. It seemed like the vegetation was growing such that it would eventually block the north shore view, so you may want to check with the villa company if that view is important to you.

We liked the location a lot, in terms of getting to north shore beaches, into Coral Bay and over to Lameshur. We missed having a sunset view since the mountain blocks the view in that direction.

The inside of the villa is a bit "tired", but it was ok for the two of us. We didn't like the porch furniture (overlooking Coral Bay). We like to eat outside and hang out on the porch for the view. The dining table/chairs, and one of the 2 loveseats were rickety and falling apart. I seem to recall the furniture on the patio side (with the north shore view) was fine.

We used the upstairs bedroom - it has the nice view. The downstairs bedroom was very musty smelling. The worst thing was issues with the toilet stopping up. The manager lives nearby so she brought us a plunger, but this was a nuisance. Sometimes we had to use the bathroom in the downstairs bedroom. There were a few comments in the guest comment book about the toilet getting stopped up, so obviously it had happened before. You may want to check with the villa company to see if this issue has been resolved.

Someone on the forum with the name "Bob and Anita" (I think) stayed at Bayview multiple times with their 2 kids. They wrote some nice trip reports and enjoyed Bayview. I don't recall the toilet issue being mentioned, otherwise, we would not have stayed there. The reports were written some years back, but you might be able to find them by searching on posts by Bob and Anita.

We have enjoyed Coconuts and Hummingbird Hill, especially with the views and sunsets, but I think they are above your budget.

Happy planning!

We also love that area and have stayed at Aria many years ago and Bayview three or four times. We have also toured Apito.

Aria when we stayed there was fine, the downsides were that the furniture was uncomfortable, there was a spiral staircase to the pool and the jungle was overgrown, very limiting the view. I understand the furniture has been replaced and to be fair that was 10 years ago. But the staircase was a no go for future visits.

We love Bayview and they do a nice job of keeping the trees trimmed on the North side, so the views are great. But it does need refreshing, the kitchen is dated, the cabinets are tired etc. We don't cook a lot on STJ, maybe twice a week, but it just felt old. As mentioned the downstairs bedroom does not have a view so we always considered it a one bedroom. A bit of road noise from below but a great location to hope down the North shore road.

I loved the ability to walk down the drive and walk the North shore road for exercise. Many times I would leave before we were headed to Cruz and start walking and my wife would pick me up as far as I got, which could be Caneel etc.

Privacy at the pool, and elsewhere is great, unless you really care about someone a mile away on Bordeaux peak.

Apito is a charming nearly new place. The access is not quite as good at Bayview, but fine. It does sit right above the road so there is some road noise. What has stopped us is the price for just the 2 of us in high season.

We enjoyed our stay at Aria. I'd stay there again. We liked being close to the north shore, close to Coral Bay and a reasonable drive to Cruz Bay. We only ran the a/c a couple of times in April. Nice Coral Bay view.

Cheers, RickG

Thank you, all...

Aria was definitely a close contender. But, we were lucky enough to get a "re-booking" discount thru Destination St. John which (for a 9 night stay) made the difference in cost from choosing Aria to choosing A Winsome House only a little over $300 for the length of our stay.

At that point, it was kind of a "no-brainer". Probably at least 4 times the square footage for just a little over $35 more per night.

Aria really does look lovely and well kept. But, those spiral stairs leading down to the pool look kind of nasty and the main living area looks the size of a hotel room. (Though beautiful view looking out from inside, as well as outside.)

So, "bang for our buck" - A Winsome House wins. PLUS I "know" that I will get my "ocean view" from my shower window!!

Thanks for taking the time to share you thoughts and comments! We will definitely keep Aria on the back burner for when I "truly" will stick to a budget....LOL Whenever the heck that might be!!

Sincerely,
Sue