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Villa Serenity on Francis Bay
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NoWorriesMom
- Posts: 150
- Joined: Mon Aug 07, 2006 4:45 pm
- Location: Boulder, Colorado
Villa Serenity on Francis Bay
Hey all! I can't find much on Villa Serenity in archives or reviews. Is there anybody that can give me some scoop on it? Thanks much, any info appreciated!
Villa Serenity
Here is a review of Villa Serenity from 2002 that appeared in Caribbean Travel Roundup. This is not my review (I just remembered reading it):
VILLA SERENITY - The four outstanding features of Villa Serenity are
its location, its location, its location, and Terry Witham.
The first location advantage of Villa Serenity is its proximity to the
Francis Beach. On our first three visits to St. John, we had stayed
in villas on Gifft Hill, overlooking Cruz Bay. This is a nice
location for first-timers, since it is close to town, centrally
located, and provides a great view of St. Thomas. However, whenever
we wanted to go to the beach, we always had a 20 minute jeep ride.
(This year during the week we stayed at Cloud Nine on Gifft Hill, most
mornings we'd get up, watch the cruise ships come in, eat breakfast,
and drive to Francis Bay by 8:00 am.) Prior to our fourth visit we
discovered Villa Serenity, which is located at Mary Point which is at
the end of the North Shore Road, and is about a 5 minute/ ¼ mile walk
to the beach at Francis Bay, which had become one of our favorite
beaches - it is large (about ½ mile long) , uncrowded (since its the
farthest beach on the North Shore - about a 30 minute ride from Cruz
Bay) and offers beautiful snorkeling along its northern edge. We
often walked to Francis Bay at 8:00 am and would be the only ones
there for an hour or two. At most there would be a dozen people there
all day. Villa Serenity is also about a 1 mile walk to the Annanberg
Ruins and about a 1 1/2 mi walk to Waterlemon Cay, another great
snorkeling spot.
The second location advantage of Villa Serenity is that it is located
in a cluster of three houses on a little driveway above the road to
Francis Bay. However, because of the vegetation, you can not see
either the road nor the other houses from the deck that extends the
full length of Villa Serenity. The nearest houses you can see looking
eastward are on Tortola, BVI, looking westward, on St. Thomas, and
there are no houses to the north on Mary Point. Since no one can see
you, the only things you need wear on the deck at Villa Serenity are a
smile, suntan lotion, and a hat (unless you're bald its really tough
to rub suntan lotion onto your scalp!) There's a neat hammock on the
deck, ideal for sunning yourself, but I suggest you first cover the
ropes with a cushion.
The third location advantage of Villa Serenity is that it is about a
15 - 20 minute walk to the Maho Bay Campground. The Campground offers
its own little store, restaurant, and activities center, and, most
importantly, it offers a shuttle into town every two hours from 8 AM
to 8 PM for $6. On our first three trips to St. John, we had rented a
jeep for about $400 /week including gas. The proximity of Villa
Serenity meant that we could do without a rental car. Now if you
haven't been to St. John before, a rental car is a definite must,
cause it can take you to beaches you might otherwise miss. However,
if you use the rental car funds for sailboat rides instead (as we
did), you'll go to beaches that are inaccessible by car. The Maho Bay
Shuttle will drop you off at any beach on the North Shore, and pick
you up on any return trip. In addition, Maho Bay activities has
scheduled group taxi rides to other St. John activities, such as Salt
Pond beach, the National Park Service Reef Bay Trail hike, and various
restaurants.
We rented Villa Serenity from Terry Witham. We found renting from
Terry (who lives on St. John) to be a big advantage over renting from
a realty company. Since we first stayed there in May 2000, Terry has
made some very substantial improvements to Villa Serenity,
particularly in outfitting the kitchen. Furthermore, Terry must know
every resident of St. John, so if you have any questions about
snorkeling, or beaches, or what boats to rent, Terry either knows or
can find out.
Villa Serenity itself is a four bed-room, three bath house, with an
enormous deck, from which you can see the sunrise over the BVI and the
sunset over St. Thomas. (It is a lot more house than the two of us
need, but the rental price depends on the number of occupants.) It
has a fully equipped kitchen, as well as a gas-grill on the deck,
great for grilling steaks, and a gazebo for dining outdoors.
VILLA SERENITY - The four outstanding features of Villa Serenity are
its location, its location, its location, and Terry Witham.
The first location advantage of Villa Serenity is its proximity to the
Francis Beach. On our first three visits to St. John, we had stayed
in villas on Gifft Hill, overlooking Cruz Bay. This is a nice
location for first-timers, since it is close to town, centrally
located, and provides a great view of St. Thomas. However, whenever
we wanted to go to the beach, we always had a 20 minute jeep ride.
(This year during the week we stayed at Cloud Nine on Gifft Hill, most
mornings we'd get up, watch the cruise ships come in, eat breakfast,
and drive to Francis Bay by 8:00 am.) Prior to our fourth visit we
discovered Villa Serenity, which is located at Mary Point which is at
the end of the North Shore Road, and is about a 5 minute/ ¼ mile walk
to the beach at Francis Bay, which had become one of our favorite
beaches - it is large (about ½ mile long) , uncrowded (since its the
farthest beach on the North Shore - about a 30 minute ride from Cruz
Bay) and offers beautiful snorkeling along its northern edge. We
often walked to Francis Bay at 8:00 am and would be the only ones
there for an hour or two. At most there would be a dozen people there
all day. Villa Serenity is also about a 1 mile walk to the Annanberg
Ruins and about a 1 1/2 mi walk to Waterlemon Cay, another great
snorkeling spot.
The second location advantage of Villa Serenity is that it is located
in a cluster of three houses on a little driveway above the road to
Francis Bay. However, because of the vegetation, you can not see
either the road nor the other houses from the deck that extends the
full length of Villa Serenity. The nearest houses you can see looking
eastward are on Tortola, BVI, looking westward, on St. Thomas, and
there are no houses to the north on Mary Point. Since no one can see
you, the only things you need wear on the deck at Villa Serenity are a
smile, suntan lotion, and a hat (unless you're bald its really tough
to rub suntan lotion onto your scalp!) There's a neat hammock on the
deck, ideal for sunning yourself, but I suggest you first cover the
ropes with a cushion.
The third location advantage of Villa Serenity is that it is about a
15 - 20 minute walk to the Maho Bay Campground. The Campground offers
its own little store, restaurant, and activities center, and, most
importantly, it offers a shuttle into town every two hours from 8 AM
to 8 PM for $6. On our first three trips to St. John, we had rented a
jeep for about $400 /week including gas. The proximity of Villa
Serenity meant that we could do without a rental car. Now if you
haven't been to St. John before, a rental car is a definite must,
cause it can take you to beaches you might otherwise miss. However,
if you use the rental car funds for sailboat rides instead (as we
did), you'll go to beaches that are inaccessible by car. The Maho Bay
Shuttle will drop you off at any beach on the North Shore, and pick
you up on any return trip. In addition, Maho Bay activities has
scheduled group taxi rides to other St. John activities, such as Salt
Pond beach, the National Park Service Reef Bay Trail hike, and various
restaurants.
We rented Villa Serenity from Terry Witham. We found renting from
Terry (who lives on St. John) to be a big advantage over renting from
a realty company. Since we first stayed there in May 2000, Terry has
made some very substantial improvements to Villa Serenity,
particularly in outfitting the kitchen. Furthermore, Terry must know
every resident of St. John, so if you have any questions about
snorkeling, or beaches, or what boats to rent, Terry either knows or
can find out.
Villa Serenity itself is a four bed-room, three bath house, with an
enormous deck, from which you can see the sunrise over the BVI and the
sunset over St. Thomas. (It is a lot more house than the two of us
need, but the rental price depends on the number of occupants.) It
has a fully equipped kitchen, as well as a gas-grill on the deck,
great for grilling steaks, and a gazebo for dining outdoors.
---Jim
-
NoWorriesMom
- Posts: 150
- Joined: Mon Aug 07, 2006 4:45 pm
- Location: Boulder, Colorado
To Jim:
Thanks Jim, you're the best! 