The Westin St. John Resort Villas, USVI [REOPENED, post-hurricane] [Master Thread]
Jun 19, 2007, 8:42 am
#31
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: MIA
Programs: AA ExecPlat & CK, SPG Plat, UA Exec Premier
Posts: 74
Westin St. John - any recent experiences in the past 6 months?
Hi all,
I just planned a 5 night SPG award stay at the St. John Westin for October. Just wondering if anyone has any recent experience with this property and could let me know what their experience has been.
I am currently booked in the following type of room:
1 King+1 Double Sofa
Suite Non-smoking, Heavenly Bed And Bath, Living Room, Resort View With Balcony, Jacuzzi, 764 Sq Ft, 1bedroom Suite, Located Hillside, Caribbean Decor, Tropical Setting. High Speed Internet For A Fee
Any and all comments are appreciated. (Just so you know, I did do a search and no posts in 2007 came back so thought I would ask again.)
Thanks
I just planned a 5 night SPG award stay at the St. John Westin for October. Just wondering if anyone has any recent experience with this property and could let me know what their experience has been.
I am currently booked in the following type of room:
1 King+1 Double Sofa
Suite Non-smoking, Heavenly Bed And Bath, Living Room, Resort View With Balcony, Jacuzzi, 764 Sq Ft, 1bedroom Suite, Located Hillside, Caribbean Decor, Tropical Setting. High Speed Internet For A Fee
Any and all comments are appreciated. (Just so you know, I did do a search and no posts in 2007 came back so thought I would ask again.)
Thanks
Jun 19, 2007, 10:59 am
#32
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: A festering pit; a pustule of a fistula set athwart the miasmic swamps of the armpit of the Gulf of Mexico - a Godforsaken wart upon a dark crevasse of the World. (IAH)
Programs: UA Lifetime Gold, BA Silver, Marriott Lifetime Plat, Hilton Gold, Accor Gold
Posts: 31,403
I'm due to check-in there tomorrow, so will post a review when I get back.
Jun 26, 2007, 11:45 am
#33
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: A festering pit; a pustule of a fistula set athwart the miasmic swamps of the armpit of the Gulf of Mexico - a Godforsaken wart upon a dark crevasse of the World. (IAH)
Programs: UA Lifetime Gold, BA Silver, Marriott Lifetime Plat, Hilton Gold, Accor Gold
Posts: 31,403
Just returned from a four-night stay at the Westin St. John, and even though I wasn't upgraded and stayed in a standard garden-view room, I was quite happy for what I paid (I was on an SPG 50 rate of $279/night). I had booked a standard room (even though at the SPG 50 rates, pool and ocean-view were only a few $$$ more), thinking that upgrades in June would be plentiful, as it's the start of hurricane season/low season in the Caribbean. I had not factored in that June is prime-time for weddings, which resulted in the resort being sold-out across the board. The manager was pleasant, and did struggle mightily to find me an upgrade, but to no avail.
Transfer from STT airport was delayed, because the Westin Breeze Ferry ran over an hour late for my arrival. However, within 24 hours, I received an unsolicited call from a manager informing me that half of our (there were two of us) $95 per person roundtrip ferry transfer ticket would be refunded to us ^.
Check-in at the SPG counter adjacent to the ferry dock upon arrival was quick and efficient, and the free rum-punch was much appreciated. The room itself was in building 21, not far from the check-in area. A placard indicated that it was an SPG floor, and our room (though standard) had a nice view across the grounds down to the ferry dock and Cruz Bay.
The room itself was not one of the newly renovated ones, and looked a bit like an 80s beach-house, but was slightly more tasteful owing to Westin styling. There was a Heavenly Bed, standard TV, work-desk and chair (free wired internet), and small balcony with a view over the garden and out to the bay. The bathroom, whilst not huge, was oversized, and had a beige-colored tub-shower combo that was beginning to show its age. There was ample counterspace (a plus for the Significant Otter). The only downside was that the room was not soundproofed very well (people in the next room and walking outside could be heard easily).
IMO, the best feature of the resort is their concierge staff. The concierge we dealt with was extremely helpful, and was able to quickly and efficiently arrange dinner reservations and car rentals, whilst also suggesting sightseeing opportunities. I would recommend both ZoZo's and The Dining Room at Turtle Bay (at Caneel Bay Resort) for dining on the island. I would not recommend ordering room service or eating at the hotel. The breakfast I ordered was horrendously overpriced, even by St. John standards - $35 for an omelette and sausage links - and the food was not especially great.
We found the beach at the hotel to be lovely (though overcrowded with kids from time to time). Though we did set out and explore some beautiful areas (Francis Bay, Maho Bay & Leinster Bay) with our rental car, we never were disappointed by the resort's surroundings. Just about any locale on St. John will be absolutely stunning.
In the end, we were quite pleased with the garden-view room. Once they are renovated, I would even prefer them (the ones with a view such as ours, at least) over all but a jacuzzi-equipped suite. The pool and ocean-view rooms are lower in elevation, and in high-traffic, noise-prone areas of the resort. The area around the pool can get extremely noisy, with loud steel drum band music playing throughout the afternoon. Personally, on vacations such as these, I prefer privacy over being immediately adjacent to the beach, where any number of people can stroll directly past your windows.
Overall, it was a wonderful stay, and I would definitely consider returning to St. John, as soon as my wallet recovers.
Transfer from STT airport was delayed, because the Westin Breeze Ferry ran over an hour late for my arrival. However, within 24 hours, I received an unsolicited call from a manager informing me that half of our (there were two of us) $95 per person roundtrip ferry transfer ticket would be refunded to us ^.
Check-in at the SPG counter adjacent to the ferry dock upon arrival was quick and efficient, and the free rum-punch was much appreciated. The room itself was in building 21, not far from the check-in area. A placard indicated that it was an SPG floor, and our room (though standard) had a nice view across the grounds down to the ferry dock and Cruz Bay.
The room itself was not one of the newly renovated ones, and looked a bit like an 80s beach-house, but was slightly more tasteful owing to Westin styling. There was a Heavenly Bed, standard TV, work-desk and chair (free wired internet), and small balcony with a view over the garden and out to the bay. The bathroom, whilst not huge, was oversized, and had a beige-colored tub-shower combo that was beginning to show its age. There was ample counterspace (a plus for the Significant Otter). The only downside was that the room was not soundproofed very well (people in the next room and walking outside could be heard easily).
IMO, the best feature of the resort is their concierge staff. The concierge we dealt with was extremely helpful, and was able to quickly and efficiently arrange dinner reservations and car rentals, whilst also suggesting sightseeing opportunities. I would recommend both ZoZo's and The Dining Room at Turtle Bay (at Caneel Bay Resort) for dining on the island. I would not recommend ordering room service or eating at the hotel. The breakfast I ordered was horrendously overpriced, even by St. John standards - $35 for an omelette and sausage links - and the food was not especially great.
We found the beach at the hotel to be lovely (though overcrowded with kids from time to time). Though we did set out and explore some beautiful areas (Francis Bay, Maho Bay & Leinster Bay) with our rental car, we never were disappointed by the resort's surroundings. Just about any locale on St. John will be absolutely stunning.
In the end, we were quite pleased with the garden-view room. Once they are renovated, I would even prefer them (the ones with a view such as ours, at least) over all but a jacuzzi-equipped suite. The pool and ocean-view rooms are lower in elevation, and in high-traffic, noise-prone areas of the resort. The area around the pool can get extremely noisy, with loud steel drum band music playing throughout the afternoon. Personally, on vacations such as these, I prefer privacy over being immediately adjacent to the beach, where any number of people can stroll directly past your windows.
Overall, it was a wonderful stay, and I would definitely consider returning to St. John, as soon as my wallet recovers.
Jun 26, 2007, 6:00 pm
#34
Join Date: Jul 2003
Programs: Hilton Diamond, Starwood Lifetime Platinum, Marriott Gold, Hyatt Diamond, Delta Platinum
Posts: 2,188
Great post Anglo.
My brother lives in Maho Bay. Interesting eco-hotel over there can make you appreciate that worn out Westin really fast!
My brother lives in Maho Bay. Interesting eco-hotel over there can make you appreciate that worn out Westin really fast!
Jun 27, 2007, 12:26 am
#36
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Sacramento
Programs: UA 2MM/GS; SPG Lifetime Plat; MHC Lifetime; Tar Heel forever; and I "Dig the Pig" at Piggly Wiggly
Posts: 12,152
Jun 30, 2007, 7:00 am
#37
Join Date: Jan 2005
Programs: Hilton (Gold), Starwood
Posts: 152
I just wanted to add St. John is a beautiful island and to try to venture off of the Westin property to see the island as much as you can. My favorite beach of all places I have been is Cinnamon Bay. Take some snorkeling equipment. It's awesome! Enjoy!! I just signed up for the SPG AM Exp and know will be saving my points up for the Westin on St. John!
Jun 30, 2007, 8:08 am
#38
Join Date: Oct 2006
Programs: AA EP 4+ million miles, Ambassador+ Elite
Posts: 267
Westin St.John
The hillside villas are goping to be converted to Vacation Ownership units (timeshares). I have stayed there in the past and the beach is REALLY inferior to the beaches at Caneel Bay and elsewhere on the island.
Jul 31, 2007, 10:36 pm
#39
Join Date: Oct 2006
Posts: 22
Westin St John Just Back Report 7/14-7/23/07 The Good, The Bad and the Ugly :o)
I posted this trip report on Fodors but since it's Starwood related, I thought I'd cross post it here too...
Back from a great 9 days in St John. We were very excited to be staying for 5 nts free at the Westin
http://www.starwoodhotels.com/westin/property/overview/index.html?propertyID=1098">http://www.starwoodhotels.com/westin...ropertyID=1098
and we were to pay $284 nt for the last 3 nts. We got there after waking up at 2am, getting to BWI airport in Baltimore at 4am, waiting till 6am for our flight to Philly, had a awful 3 hour layover till our 10am flight to St Thomas, just missed the Westin ferry by a few minutes so we had to wait another 2 hours for the 430pm ferry. It made for an awfully long day and we were whipped by the time we got to the Westin. It turned out that the Westin ferry is the way to go by far, in that we got the unlimited trips back and forth to St Thomas and it goes right to the hotel.
We got to our room, #2225 on the 2nd floor with a view of the garden and a small triangular sliver, if you look very hard, of Great Cruz bay off in the distance. We didn't expect to have a water view, but we did, not even realizing it till the 2nd day . Our room looked ok at first when we walked in, but after closer inspection, it was terribly shabby, with the countertops by the coffee making area (the dresser) and the end tables by our beds peeling and the paint was coming up. The bathroom looked fairly depressing as there was slight mold and grundge in the tiled tub area and the mirror in the bathroom was delaminating. The TV remote didn't work so we had to call for service, twice. It wasn't connected properly in the back.
The beds were comfortable and they gave us a free rollaway for our 13 year old. The sheets were scratchy though as the linens were pretty subpar. The toilet barely flushed for a day or so and ended up getting stopped up in the middle of the night on the 2nd day and we needed them to come to the room at 6am to clean it up. It was pretty gross, but they came VERY fast at a very early hour when we told them it was emergency (it was flooding). Other times they didn't give us face towels or hand towels and we had to call them 2 or 3 times to get them. Sometimes they they'd just come with more bath towels when we specifically asked for small hand towels. Housekeeping was pretty bad. We'd drink their great, free Starbucks coffee each morning but they'd forget to replace the cups one day, or the decaf coffee, the next, and then the cremes the next morning. Each time we had to call and wait 15-30 minutes when all we wanted to do is get that cup of joe and get out and do stuff. When I booked this hotel 5 months ago the Starwood agent said they're renovating the garden rooms that we'd be in so we'd have a renovated room. That wasn't true at all. In fact, they ARE rennovating the rooms, at the end of the year, but they won't be hotel rooms anymore, they'll all be time share except for just 72 rooms by the pool which will stay as hotel rooms. The other 100 rooms will be timeshare only.
We ended up writing a letter to the hotel manager listing all the problems with service and the mediocre condition of our room, but he never responded even by the next day. We called and asked for the manager but only the manager of the front desk came on and say that the other gentleman was busy and he was sorry that we didn't get a response. I rattled off some of the issues we had and he said he'd get back to us.
The next day he left a voice message offering a very generous Starwood points amenity in compensation so we were quite happy at this point.
Because we didn't rent a car while in St John we just relied on the excellent taxi system and it worked out to be much cheaper, strangely enough. We ate at the Westin beach front restaurant the first night and had 2 excellent pasta dishes. Plus, they were very reasonable, about the same prices we'd pay at home. So much for the Westin overcharging for food, it's actually quite reasonable, comparable to any restaurant we'd have here in Washington DC.
Sunday we went to Caneel Bay
http://www.caneelbay.com/">http://www.caneelbay.com/
to check out their resort. We just about died when we saw how incredible this place was. The beach was amazing compared to the Westin's awful, manmade beach, and the setting was idyllic and natural. The staff there was much more professional and with it (at the front desk). We could have had a garden view room here for the same price as the Westin if we booked 4 months ago, but decided that we wanted a TV and also not to have to change hotel rooms mid week. When I saw this hotel I realized that we made a big mistake. We should have spent the last 3 nights here, but my wife and daughter REALLY like to watch TV at night, so... that was a hard call. They only rooms they had left midweek were $495 nt so we just stayed put.
We were told they had a great beach, and Honeymoon beach was the first one we visited on our trip. It's a quick 5-7 minute walk to get there from the front desk and when we saw it, we were blown away. The water and setting were like something out of a dream. There weren't more than 7 or so people there, spread out on a fairly long beach area, and it had ample shade in the trees behind us if we wanted to stay out of the sun. This turned out to be the best beach of the trip by far, for snorkeling, for perfect white sand, general beauty and island vibe. None of the other "famous" beaches had for us, what Honeymoon beach had. Plus, it was the least peopled beach we found. We even swam over to the more remote Soloman Beach from Honeymoon but it wasn't as nice and actually had alot more people on it even though you could only get there by hiking to it quite a ways, unless you came by water like we did. The room we looked at (#12) at Caneel Bay was shockingly nice, and quite large, more like a suite with a day room in the front. If we ever come back to St John, we'll be sure to stay here.
Monday we took the Westin free ferry back to St Thomas to shop the jewelry district. I got seasick on each trip I took in that boat for some reason, but I got over it fast. Ate at Virgilio's Italian restaurant
http://www.frommers.com/destinations/stthomasusvi/D37513.html">http://www.frommers.com/destinations...vi/D37513.html
and it was delicious. We were the only ones eating there at lunch time and had the royal treatment. Great bread and pastas and very reasonable pricewise.
Tuesday, We did the dreaded Westin Timeshare presentation. On theory we never do these, but when in town the night before, they promised us $175 towards our Virgin Gorda trip we were taking the next day, 6 trips to town for the 3 of us by cab, free breakfast that morning AND 2 free lunch coupons for 2 at the Mango Deli at our hotel. We couldn't resist. The presentation was painless and fun and in the end, we just said no.
We hung out at our hotel the rest of the day and our 13 year loved the Iceberg that kids climbed up on and jumped off of as well as the water trampolines that were in the water in Great Cruz Bay in front of our hotel. I was kind of grossed out by the funky smell in the heavily boat-trafficked body of water in front of the hotel, but I held my nose and dealt with it seeing how much fun she was having. I was on a floating mat while she was jumping on and off the play equipment. The pool was actually really great at our hotel and we all had fun there floating around and relaxing on the mats they offer to guests.
We went to Cruz Bay for dinner that nights and ate at Cafe Roma.
http://www.digitaldudes.com/9cafegrowth.htm">http://www.digitaldudes.com/9cafegrowth.htm
WOW, what a great place. We loved there spicy penne pasta in heaping amounts (1 plate fed 2 of us) and our daughter got a pizza that she could only eat half of. The bread was delicious and the homemade tapanade olive spread very good. We ended up getting a pint of Haagen Daz for $7.99 (ouch!) for dessert back at our hotel.
Wednesday we took the all day boat trip to Virgin Gorda from 745-4pm. Oh my, that was a long day. I was seasick something fierce by the time we finally got to the Baths, but they were certainly beautiful. I sure wish we had more time there. 1 hour was not nearly enough. We felt terribly rushed to see all there was to see, but we got some great pics and had a blast in the whirling waters. We then motored to Norman Island for some snorkeling. I was very happy to get off that boat at the end of the day, but all in all it left for some great memories.
We went back into town that evening for dinner at Stone Terrace Restaurant
http://www.stoneterrace.com/">http://www.stoneterrace.com/
It was very, very good. The garlic, balsamic butter was amazing and our vegetarian pasta and risotto dishes were delicious but very expensive. The setting was very upscale for St John with a great view of the bay.
For lunch one day we went to the Banana Deck and had some decent salads.
http://chefmoz.org/US_Virgin_Islands/Saint_John/Banana_Deck1078792215.html">http://chefmoz.org/US_Virgin_Islands...078792215.html
One night we went to The Lime Inn as other people highly recommended it. We found the food to be very mediocre. Maybe we ordered wrong. The Mahi, our only non vegetarian food of the trip was smallish and thin, but pretty tasty with a tiny baked potato and a split salad. The gazpacho was ok, but our daughter's pasta with vegetables was not that great.
Other days we checked out Cinnamon Bay beach. It was very crowded with about 30 school kids screaming and yelling. We yearned for our quiet, Honeymoon beach. Another day we went to Hawksnest beach for the day. The snorkeling was pretty good, but we had to swim out pretty far to see the good stuff. We preferred Honeymoon beaches soft, perfect sand over this duller, greyer sand here. Plus, both of these beaches were right off the road while Honeymoon beach was totally isolated in total quiet. Our friends came over from St Thomas one day and drove us all around the island in their Jeep. We got to see a moderate amount and I realized it was much easier to drive there than I thought.
We ate again at Cafe Roma our last night and it was even better, ordering the ravioli with marscapone cheese over fresh spinach in a delicious red sauce of a million calories I'm sure. We also got another veggie pasta with asparagus and sun dried tomatoes that was out of this world. I told people coming into the restaurant while we were leaving that they were in for a huge treat.
All in all, I'd love to come back to St John in another 20 years (I'd been there 20 years ago for only 1 day) but I would love to stay at Caneel Bay next time. If anyone has any questions, feel free to ask. I wrote this kind of quickly so sorry if there's any spelling errors. The reason it would be 20 years or so till we go back to St John is because there's so many other places across this planet we want to visit.
Next year it's probably going to be London (Park Lane Hotel on points - "only" 12k pts per night)
http://www.starwoodhotels.com/sherat...propertyID=105
for a week, then after London ... maybe the Cotswalds for a few nights, and finally ending up in Edinburgh Scotland (on points at the Sheraton Grand Hotel and Spa there in town)for the last 3 nights of a 2 week trip in May and early June, 2008.
http://www.starwoodhotels.com/sherat...h_474_overview
I hope the Park Lane London isn't too run down when we go... my wife will be sorely disappointed. I know it won't be great, but for 12k pts a night, it's the best we can do in London. We have 103k points now... we've never accumulated anywhere near this many points... oh, happy day.
Steve and Julia R
Silver Spring MD
Back from a great 9 days in St John. We were very excited to be staying for 5 nts free at the Westin
http://www.starwoodhotels.com/westin/property/overview/index.html?propertyID=1098">http://www.starwoodhotels.com/westin...ropertyID=1098
and we were to pay $284 nt for the last 3 nts. We got there after waking up at 2am, getting to BWI airport in Baltimore at 4am, waiting till 6am for our flight to Philly, had a awful 3 hour layover till our 10am flight to St Thomas, just missed the Westin ferry by a few minutes so we had to wait another 2 hours for the 430pm ferry. It made for an awfully long day and we were whipped by the time we got to the Westin. It turned out that the Westin ferry is the way to go by far, in that we got the unlimited trips back and forth to St Thomas and it goes right to the hotel.
We got to our room, #2225 on the 2nd floor with a view of the garden and a small triangular sliver, if you look very hard, of Great Cruz bay off in the distance. We didn't expect to have a water view, but we did, not even realizing it till the 2nd day . Our room looked ok at first when we walked in, but after closer inspection, it was terribly shabby, with the countertops by the coffee making area (the dresser) and the end tables by our beds peeling and the paint was coming up. The bathroom looked fairly depressing as there was slight mold and grundge in the tiled tub area and the mirror in the bathroom was delaminating. The TV remote didn't work so we had to call for service, twice. It wasn't connected properly in the back.
The beds were comfortable and they gave us a free rollaway for our 13 year old. The sheets were scratchy though as the linens were pretty subpar. The toilet barely flushed for a day or so and ended up getting stopped up in the middle of the night on the 2nd day and we needed them to come to the room at 6am to clean it up. It was pretty gross, but they came VERY fast at a very early hour when we told them it was emergency (it was flooding). Other times they didn't give us face towels or hand towels and we had to call them 2 or 3 times to get them. Sometimes they they'd just come with more bath towels when we specifically asked for small hand towels. Housekeeping was pretty bad. We'd drink their great, free Starbucks coffee each morning but they'd forget to replace the cups one day, or the decaf coffee, the next, and then the cremes the next morning. Each time we had to call and wait 15-30 minutes when all we wanted to do is get that cup of joe and get out and do stuff. When I booked this hotel 5 months ago the Starwood agent said they're renovating the garden rooms that we'd be in so we'd have a renovated room. That wasn't true at all. In fact, they ARE rennovating the rooms, at the end of the year, but they won't be hotel rooms anymore, they'll all be time share except for just 72 rooms by the pool which will stay as hotel rooms. The other 100 rooms will be timeshare only.
We ended up writing a letter to the hotel manager listing all the problems with service and the mediocre condition of our room, but he never responded even by the next day. We called and asked for the manager but only the manager of the front desk came on and say that the other gentleman was busy and he was sorry that we didn't get a response. I rattled off some of the issues we had and he said he'd get back to us.
The next day he left a voice message offering a very generous Starwood points amenity in compensation so we were quite happy at this point.
Because we didn't rent a car while in St John we just relied on the excellent taxi system and it worked out to be much cheaper, strangely enough. We ate at the Westin beach front restaurant the first night and had 2 excellent pasta dishes. Plus, they were very reasonable, about the same prices we'd pay at home. So much for the Westin overcharging for food, it's actually quite reasonable, comparable to any restaurant we'd have here in Washington DC.
Sunday we went to Caneel Bay
http://www.caneelbay.com/">http://www.caneelbay.com/
to check out their resort. We just about died when we saw how incredible this place was. The beach was amazing compared to the Westin's awful, manmade beach, and the setting was idyllic and natural. The staff there was much more professional and with it (at the front desk). We could have had a garden view room here for the same price as the Westin if we booked 4 months ago, but decided that we wanted a TV and also not to have to change hotel rooms mid week. When I saw this hotel I realized that we made a big mistake. We should have spent the last 3 nights here, but my wife and daughter REALLY like to watch TV at night, so... that was a hard call. They only rooms they had left midweek were $495 nt so we just stayed put.
We were told they had a great beach, and Honeymoon beach was the first one we visited on our trip. It's a quick 5-7 minute walk to get there from the front desk and when we saw it, we were blown away. The water and setting were like something out of a dream. There weren't more than 7 or so people there, spread out on a fairly long beach area, and it had ample shade in the trees behind us if we wanted to stay out of the sun. This turned out to be the best beach of the trip by far, for snorkeling, for perfect white sand, general beauty and island vibe. None of the other "famous" beaches had for us, what Honeymoon beach had. Plus, it was the least peopled beach we found. We even swam over to the more remote Soloman Beach from Honeymoon but it wasn't as nice and actually had alot more people on it even though you could only get there by hiking to it quite a ways, unless you came by water like we did. The room we looked at (#12) at Caneel Bay was shockingly nice, and quite large, more like a suite with a day room in the front. If we ever come back to St John, we'll be sure to stay here.
Monday we took the Westin free ferry back to St Thomas to shop the jewelry district. I got seasick on each trip I took in that boat for some reason, but I got over it fast. Ate at Virgilio's Italian restaurant
http://www.frommers.com/destinations/stthomasusvi/D37513.html">http://www.frommers.com/destinations...vi/D37513.html
and it was delicious. We were the only ones eating there at lunch time and had the royal treatment. Great bread and pastas and very reasonable pricewise.
Tuesday, We did the dreaded Westin Timeshare presentation. On theory we never do these, but when in town the night before, they promised us $175 towards our Virgin Gorda trip we were taking the next day, 6 trips to town for the 3 of us by cab, free breakfast that morning AND 2 free lunch coupons for 2 at the Mango Deli at our hotel. We couldn't resist. The presentation was painless and fun and in the end, we just said no.
We hung out at our hotel the rest of the day and our 13 year loved the Iceberg that kids climbed up on and jumped off of as well as the water trampolines that were in the water in Great Cruz Bay in front of our hotel. I was kind of grossed out by the funky smell in the heavily boat-trafficked body of water in front of the hotel, but I held my nose and dealt with it seeing how much fun she was having. I was on a floating mat while she was jumping on and off the play equipment. The pool was actually really great at our hotel and we all had fun there floating around and relaxing on the mats they offer to guests.
We went to Cruz Bay for dinner that nights and ate at Cafe Roma.
http://www.digitaldudes.com/9cafegrowth.htm">http://www.digitaldudes.com/9cafegrowth.htm
WOW, what a great place. We loved there spicy penne pasta in heaping amounts (1 plate fed 2 of us) and our daughter got a pizza that she could only eat half of. The bread was delicious and the homemade tapanade olive spread very good. We ended up getting a pint of Haagen Daz for $7.99 (ouch!) for dessert back at our hotel.
Wednesday we took the all day boat trip to Virgin Gorda from 745-4pm. Oh my, that was a long day. I was seasick something fierce by the time we finally got to the Baths, but they were certainly beautiful. I sure wish we had more time there. 1 hour was not nearly enough. We felt terribly rushed to see all there was to see, but we got some great pics and had a blast in the whirling waters. We then motored to Norman Island for some snorkeling. I was very happy to get off that boat at the end of the day, but all in all it left for some great memories.
We went back into town that evening for dinner at Stone Terrace Restaurant
http://www.stoneterrace.com/">http://www.stoneterrace.com/
It was very, very good. The garlic, balsamic butter was amazing and our vegetarian pasta and risotto dishes were delicious but very expensive. The setting was very upscale for St John with a great view of the bay.
For lunch one day we went to the Banana Deck and had some decent salads.
http://chefmoz.org/US_Virgin_Islands/Saint_John/Banana_Deck1078792215.html">http://chefmoz.org/US_Virgin_Islands...078792215.html
One night we went to The Lime Inn as other people highly recommended it. We found the food to be very mediocre. Maybe we ordered wrong. The Mahi, our only non vegetarian food of the trip was smallish and thin, but pretty tasty with a tiny baked potato and a split salad. The gazpacho was ok, but our daughter's pasta with vegetables was not that great.
Other days we checked out Cinnamon Bay beach. It was very crowded with about 30 school kids screaming and yelling. We yearned for our quiet, Honeymoon beach. Another day we went to Hawksnest beach for the day. The snorkeling was pretty good, but we had to swim out pretty far to see the good stuff. We preferred Honeymoon beaches soft, perfect sand over this duller, greyer sand here. Plus, both of these beaches were right off the road while Honeymoon beach was totally isolated in total quiet. Our friends came over from St Thomas one day and drove us all around the island in their Jeep. We got to see a moderate amount and I realized it was much easier to drive there than I thought.
We ate again at Cafe Roma our last night and it was even better, ordering the ravioli with marscapone cheese over fresh spinach in a delicious red sauce of a million calories I'm sure. We also got another veggie pasta with asparagus and sun dried tomatoes that was out of this world. I told people coming into the restaurant while we were leaving that they were in for a huge treat.
All in all, I'd love to come back to St John in another 20 years (I'd been there 20 years ago for only 1 day) but I would love to stay at Caneel Bay next time. If anyone has any questions, feel free to ask. I wrote this kind of quickly so sorry if there's any spelling errors. The reason it would be 20 years or so till we go back to St John is because there's so many other places across this planet we want to visit.
Next year it's probably going to be London (Park Lane Hotel on points - "only" 12k pts per night)
http://www.starwoodhotels.com/sherat...propertyID=105
for a week, then after London ... maybe the Cotswalds for a few nights, and finally ending up in Edinburgh Scotland (on points at the Sheraton Grand Hotel and Spa there in town)for the last 3 nights of a 2 week trip in May and early June, 2008.
http://www.starwoodhotels.com/sherat...h_474_overview
I hope the Park Lane London isn't too run down when we go... my wife will be sorely disappointed. I know it won't be great, but for 12k pts a night, it's the best we can do in London. We have 103k points now... we've never accumulated anywhere near this many points... oh, happy day.
Steve and Julia R
Silver Spring MD
Last edited by stever500; Jul 31, 2007 at 10:42 pm
Aug 1, 2007, 8:28 pm
#40
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Nashville
Programs: DL DM 3 MM AA PLAT HH Lifetime Diamond Marriott Plat AMB lifetime titanium Hertz PC
Posts: 6,187
I have stayed at just about every hotel in ST thomas. All of them seem old and dated. They have decent beaches but need some work, the rates are high when in season, and they think the beaches make up for it. The Westin is as nice as the others.
Aug 1, 2007, 9:20 pm
#41
Join Date: Oct 2006
Posts: 22
[QUOTE=troyintn;8159933]I have stayed at just about every hotel in ST thomas. All of them seem old and dated. They have decent beaches but need some work, the rates are high when in season, and they think the beaches make up for it. QUOTE]
But, the Ritz Carlton in St Thomas is supposed to be one really great hotel there... Have you stayed at that one yet? Our friends checked it out last week and they said it was very nice. You definitely pay for that though... especially in season.
Steve R
But, the Ritz Carlton in St Thomas is supposed to be one really great hotel there... Have you stayed at that one yet? Our friends checked it out last week and they said it was very nice. You definitely pay for that though... especially in season.
Steve R
Oct 7, 2007, 3:26 pm
#43
Join Date: Feb 2002
Programs: UA *G 1MM, AA Gold, MR Lifetime Titanium, IHG Platinum, HH Diamond
Posts: 288
Variation on the "do I get a rental car" question
Will be doing a 5-day stay in March 2008. Would be interested in hearing about any good venues for landscape or "locals" photography - and, more importantly, whether having a rental car either from STT or SJU would be necessary. Thanks!
Oct 7, 2007, 6:19 pm
#44
Original Member
Join Date: May 1998
Location: san francisco, ca 94123
Posts: 200
We rented a car at the Westin for one day. That was enough for us. Otherwise we cabbed it most of the time.
Oct 13, 2007, 10:55 am
#45
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: LINY
Programs: Spg. Platinum, Hilton Silver, UA Premier Exec
Posts: 8
Westin St. John Resort and Villa's
Has anyone stayed at the Westin in St. John. My wife has her heart set on a St. John vacation with our 3 young (under 5) daughters, and I was going to book the trip using my Stg points. However, I have perused some of the travel websites and found nothing but disappointing reviews of the property. The reviews are related to the construction of the property, focus on vacation club at the expense of the resort, the the beach is not so nice...etc. On the plus side most reviews raved about the family atmosphere.
Again, I am planning to pay with points, and I am a Platimum member.
Thanks in advance.
Again, I am planning to pay with points, and I am a Platimum member.
Thanks in advance.