One other thing to keep in mind. Generally, villas are not completely air conditioned. Some may have a/c only in one or two bedrooms. In August, you'll feel a lot better if you have a/c, so I'd look for that, in addition to the swimming pool.

I've been to STJ now about 11 times and haved stayed at the Westin every single time. You said about taking your 15 yr old son, he'll love it at the Westin there's so much to do, well atleast I love it(i'm 16). I couldn't imagine staying any where else but the Westin, I know my parents think it's alittle expensive, but it's wayyyyyyyy worth it. You'll have a blast there.

Elliot,

We stayed at the Westin in October of last year for our honeymoon. We chose it over a non-Westin villa because it was free (hotel points) and it was our first time to St. John and we wanted something familiar. The on site car rental(very nice people, good car) and ferry (awful) were other things which drew our attention to the resort. Even being free, it was not worth it. We had a pool view room. After 5 days, they upgraded us to a 3 bedroom villa because we had one problem after the other in the room. The villa was nice (much nicer than the room) but it is a good distance from the main property amenities. (They have a shuttle which will take you there). Overall, I would not stay there again. I have stayed at numerous Westin properties in the past but I was very disappointed with the Westin St. John.

The room you were talking about is a standard hotel room and nothing spectacular. (The flat panel TV was cool..but how much time do you want to spend in the room watching tv?) You would be cramped with three in the standard room. If you really want to stay there, did you think about a pool view rather than ocean view? In talking with people at the hotel, they indicated the pool view rooms were closer to the beach and cheaper. The villa they moved us to would be plenty of room for the three of you, but probably more than you need. I never saw the one bedroom suite, or smaller Westin villas, but I think based on everything I have read here and saw while there, you would get more bang for your buck with a nice villa away from the Westin.

Best of luck and regardless of what you choose, have fun and enjoy your escape to a truly beautiful island!

$350 a night will get you a fantastic 3 BR villa in August - private pool, great views, A/C in bedrooms at least, privacy, maybe even a laundry room.

VIVacations and Destination St John should be able to help.

I agree about looking at areas aside from the Westin Villas. The Westin's beach is manmade - not natural. It doesn't even come close to the rest of the island's beaches.

we have stayed at westin and rented a villa before.....with teens a villa is quiet - they can get bored - - not that vacation is always for them but if they are going and you all want to enjoy then balancing is good....the ocean front suites at westin are nice (bldg. 16?) ...hillside is hot and a long walk....if I had to do it again I'd stay at Caneel Bay.....beaches are so nice there. Westin beach is a bay not very nice...pool is great though. also with villa - we had anice one - but had construction nearby. I think for couples villas are the best but with kids the balance of hotel life but also having some quiet family meals and snorkle trips is best....

In looking at the Starwood Vacation Ownership (Resort Collection/WSJ/Villa Features) - the villas have Individually controlled central air-conditioning throughtout - so someone is wrong...

link:
http://www.starwoodvo.com/resorts/villa.jsp?resortID=15&arg=3

Also shows other features and layouts...

Liz-

Good point. Teen boredom trumps all angst!

I could be wrong but....I think they were making a point about villas in general, not necessarily the Westin villas.

WW

BTW, I have a one bedroom timeshare at the Westin. Agree with the previous comments about the beach, but everything else there is topnotch.

We are leaving for St John this Thursday March 30th. We have stayed on St. John several times and have always rented a villa (previous years from cateredto.com) and have been very pleased. Aurora on Contant Point is very nice and has a great view. We normally go with a large group and rent vehicles (a must if you are staying at a villa not walking distance to a taxi site such as Cruz Bay or the Westin, etc). We also get Katilady (katilady.com) to cater some of our meals. This year we are renting directly from an owner (just two of us going) and trying a 2 BR villa near Cruz Bay. We hope to walk most places and avoid parking problems in town.

Long story, but I would recommend a villa and car rental.
I wanted to ask about hiking trails recommended.
Thanks!

Okay, I pretty excited here. I think I have a 2bedroom 3 bath villa in building 32 at the Westin. The kids really want to be right at the resort. Any advice? Are these villas nice? They have central air with indiviual thermostats up and down. The villa has a central shared pool. We are going in August. Many thanks to all.

o elliott...

I am leaving Friday and will be at the Westin all next week.

We are staying in a similar two bedroom villa in Building 31.

Upon my return I will post a trip report and will respond specifically about the Westin villas for you - including my teenager's feedback.

We have been to St John many times. We stayed one visit at the Westin in a regular hotel room but not in one of the timeshare villas - we have also rented private villas several times. Personally, I would opt for the private villa every time - BUT, like you I am traveling with teenagers. My 16 year old daughter and a friend of hers are accompanying us. We are staying at the Westin as a compromise for them. Our last visit they were far too bored in the private villa. They are hoping the resort will be a bit more lively for them. Hopefully this will work out. As you know there is nothing worse than a bored teen 🙂

All the advise you have recieved is good advise. The beach at the Westin is manmade thus is not a great beach. While your teens may be okay there, do yourself a huge favor and rent a jeep so you can visit the national park beaches...I know we will not plan to spend any time on the beach at the Westin. Sure, the food at the Westin is expensive...but no worse than other high-end resorts I have stayed (say in Hawaii for example). Certainly, it is well worth it to check out other restuarants in town.

Look for my trip report sometime late the week of April 10.

Bob-

First of all, have a great time! Thank you for your response. Because of all the wonderadvice posted here, we do not plan to spend much time at the Westin beach at all, but it will be nice to for the teens to have others to hang with during our early coffee hours or later in the evening-just sitting around the resort pool. We will also have a car the entire time and plan to get out on the water. I will look forward to your trip report. We plan to have breakfast in the room and lunch on the beaches and dinners in town.

Who are you renting your car from?

Many thanks.

This trip we rented from Conrad Sutton...liked the concept of being able to park in town - it seems to get more difficult each time we come down. Previously we have used Cool Breeze - last trip our vehicle was in pretty rugged shape so decided to try someone else this time. Not sure it will make any difference - we'll see how it works out. Not too worried about it - just looking for basic transportation for a week to and from the beach and town - not like I'm buying it or anything.

Stay tuned.

We will be there in mid-June at a Westin 2Bd Townhouse as new owners. Went once in 1991 as a bareboat sailor. I will be very interested in your trip report - I will post one here and on TUG after our trip. Our unit is in B34. Would love to here your impressions.

elliot - how did you end up getting your Westin villa? I would also be interested in what you are paying (if you don't mind me asking - send a private email if you want) I am interested in this in case I need to rent in the future.

Bob - what is the rental costing? is it a jeep or car? I will likely also rent from Conrad Sutton from what I have read here over the last few months.

Are you using the Westin ferry or the regular ferry - I have read a few horror stories about the Westin ferry. I don't plan to go to STT during our stay so may not be worth it. We do plan a trip to the Baths and Jost Van Dyke on NHII (probably).

I shopped the Westin villa rental on ebay for a number of months - I was in no hurry - worst case I knew I could pick up a private villa for a good price...I was able to get the first week of April (I had no flexibility as it is break at our local high school) for $2600 - Westin was asking for $1600 per nite...ugh! Can't believe anyone pays retail.

We have a group of four - I opted for a Jeep Liberty. Not sure anyone rents cars on STJ...you'll want a four wheel drive anyway.

Since we've been to STJ a number of times we are comfortable with the airport to STJ travel process: Get off the plane - relax - grab a drink at the bar and patiently await the arrival of your luggage - grap a taxi to Red Hook - probably wait a short while for the driver to round up a few additional customers to fillup the taxi...relax. Enjoy the sights on the way to Red Hook to await the ferry. Relax. Don't fret that no one is selling ferry tickets yet - they will. Don't fret that luggage costs extra...it does. Enjoy the sun as you ride the ferry to Cruz Bay...find your luggage again. Don't forget to tip...smile even if they are surly...it's hard work for them and we're on vacation after all. Relax. Hike over to grab the rental car, back to the ferry dock to grab the rest of the crew and your luggage...viola - your on your way 🙂

For us this is just part of the trip...others prefer the Westin Ferry. To me it is more expensive and since it runs a lot less frequently takes longer in the long view.

FWIW

Thanks Bob - $2600 is an excellent price for a 2Bd/3ba, 1200sqft fully contained villa with a view at a 5* resort. (no matter what some folks here say) I recall seeing a unit at that time for that around that price on either TUG or RedWeek.

I have been to the USVI/BVI, Grenada/Grenadines, and Antiqua/StKitts/Nevus - all by bareboat sailing - so I know the pace - and that I small tip from me means alot to the people working on the Islands. I am impressing this upon my loved ones.

I did the STT/Taxi/Ferry/Totola route back in 1991 - it was brutal because we had flown from SFO via MIA on a red eye - partying all night - hitting a wall of heat/humidity in STT with all of our luggage/equipment - then spent the next night trying to 'sleep' on the boat w/o AC (oh, to be young again). I plan to take it easier in all aspects.

I like that the villas have washer/dryers (can pack light) and a full kitchen - although we will likely eat out at night - we can eat on our schedule if need be. And they are supposed to have full A/C - and really sweet beds. I understand the views from B33/34 are suppose to be nice.

I would imagine that staying at the hotel part of the Westin would be a different experience - as the villas are all timeshares that are part of the Starwood system, and the hotel more of a full-service place. I have read poor reviews of the hotel since some people have high expectations - esp when spending so much. Also, have read poor reviews of the villas by some who had 'hotel' expectations. Although, I would prefer to be down by the water (manmade beach or not) like we are in Maui - the benefits of the villas outweigh that (for us).

anyway... 1.5 more minths to go! Look forward to hearing your trip report.

My husband and I stayed at the Westin 2 years ago in SJ and were mildly disappointed with our stay. You said that you are bringing your 15 year old, the Westin is perfect for him. There were a TON of teenagers in the pool while we were there. I mean they were jumping off of the waterfall areas in the pool and having a good ol' time--this was slightly annoying BUT good if you're 15. The hotel definitely caters to families with children. Not so good if you're honeymooning. Our room smelled like mildew and I didn't think that it was worth the money that we paid. ALSO, the beach is nice but the water is nothing but seaweed. We came from Frenchman's Reef in STT which had a great beach to swim in, the Westin not so much! Another thing about the Westin is that the bars close so early. This would be okay if you don't mind not drinking after 6 but we had to leave to get drinks. We just felt like the place closes down at a certain time, that is except for the night that they had the movie "Brother Bear" playing in the pool for movie night. Very kid friendly! The restaurants were nice and the grounds are gorgeous, just not what we were looking for on our honeymoon. I think that we'd go back there if we had kids but wouldn't until then. Hope this helps!

A

Hi all-

I found the 2bedroom 3bath Westin villa through Redweek villas on the suggestion from this site. Thanks for the info!

It will be just over 2900.00 and I think building 32.

For us with a teenager I wanted to be closer to a little bit of socialization during the earlier part of the day or later at night by the pool.

Is the cart ride to and from the villas OK, or do they just take too long? I hear the wait is sometimes long. We are in early August and will spend a couple of days in a "regular" room after the villa rental ends. We wanted 9 days but the villa only rent for 7. Do you all think I have made a good choice. Private villas with a teenager may be a little too quiet (for us).

I think it will be breakfast in the villa, lunch on the beaches/villa, and dinner out!

Glad to hear the RedWeek suggestion worked out for you. As you found out the villas are 7-day rental because they are part of the Starwood Vacation Ownership timeshare program. I think you made a good choice from what you describe, and they are self-contained.

Each pair of villas of their own private pool between them. You can see it on some of the sites with photos - it is the photo of a pool with the bay in the background.

I can't speak for the shuttle - I have heard good and bad - mostly bad came from people lacking patience. The walk will be good for the teens. I plan to shuttle or drive.

The shuttles make their rounds of the "Iquana Stops" every 15 minutes. But from where you'll be staying, the walk is maybe 5 minutes to get to the front desk area and another couple to the beach and most facilities from there.

Relax and enjoy!!

WW