Went on the grounds in Feb. It was beautiful and no sign of working going on. We chartered a Nauti Nymph and CAPT and that is where they do their STJ pick up

We have never stayed at the westin when we go to STJ - I looked into seriously once a few years back, but when you actually do the trade off between a villa and the Westin - a villa wins.

That is not to take away from the westin - it appears to be managed well and are beautiful grounds

There is a great shot a few days ago on the http://www.on-stjohn.com/2008/07/26/living-lawn-ornament/ web page

I just came back from the Westin, staying in one of their hillside villas and it was fantastic! This resort, with just a tiny bit of tighter management, could easily be a 10, but objectively I'd give it a 9.

The grounds are beautiful as is the pool!

The beach was perfectly fine but not a typically outstanding STJ beach but fantastic for my tween and teen because of the water trampolines and floating iceberg, and the water sports were fine. We actually spent 2 days at the resort between the pool and beach as there was no need to leave, and even played tennis at night on their lighted courts (but lights are shut off at 10 PM exactly so beware!).

The food was above average to very good and pricing was commensurate with the cost of food on the island and the fact that it's a Westin. Same with the spa, which was quite good. All the service staff were courteous and helpful the entire week we were there.

Great base for enjoying the island! We were completely relaxed by the second day of our vacation, we all rated this as our best vacation in years and even made reservations to try their new Bayside 2 BR villas in 2009...they are gorgeous! If it was just my husband and I traveling, I might pick a villa with a private pool and be completely happy, or maybe Caneel Bay, but with daughters, who loved the pool, beach and teen-oriented activities like water volleyball and "dive-in" movies as well as the pool bar and homey feel of our villa, it was a near perfect vacation for all.

Hope that helps...

Thank you for sharing your feedback.....

I agree that the resort is just beautiful. The pool is fantastic after a day at the other StJ beaches to come back to and relax at if you even leave at all. We are going to try to stay at the new villas they renovated. I like that the villas are part of the hotel because you get all of the amenities as well and the property is wonderful. You can just get a hotel room or splurge and maybe go with a group and get the villa.

Last time we did not do any big adventure days b/c we were too happy staying where we were. I am trying to convince my husband that next time we go, we are going to do a day sail as well as enjoy the hotel and beaches.

Does anyone own a villa there at the Westin? We are considering buying one b/c their program seems really good being part of Starwood and all.

We have a villa in STT and like to travel over to the Westin with the kid's for a mini getaway. They love the crab races and the trampolines on the water. We usually stay up on the hill in one of the villa's. We love it, and will be back many more times.

I can't say enough about the Westin Villas at StJ. My wife and I bought a 3 bedroom villa in the new Bay Vista Phase there last year. With interiors of a five star resort and being right on the resort property make this villa so attractive. Safety is obviously not a concern and as one can imagine the amenities of staying on the resort are unbelievable. The layouts are wonderful and to have everything renovated and brand new just makes the experience even more pleasant. I would highly recommend it! If you have any questions I would be more than happy to help.

Hi, we've been owners at the WSJ for almost 10 years now. We own 2 weeks in the 3 bedroom pool villas. We're happy, generally, with Starwood, but there's alot we wish we knew before buying. That's why I always tell people who are considering buying there to first join the Timeshare Users Group (tug2.net) and read the Starwood boards for awhile before doing anything. You might find you'll save $10,000 - 40,000 buying resale rather than buying from Starwood. Or, you may find there are advantages to buying from Starwood, but the majority of owners don't think it's really worth it.

Feel free to pm me and I'll be happy to answer any and all questions to the best of my ability.

Lori

Hi Leslee,

Thanks for sharing your information. Sounds like you had a fantastic trip! Did you have a hard time booking for 2009 and were you able to request the new villas (Bay Vista)?

I finally saw a photo of the interior and they look beautiful. We can't wait to go!

Hi there.

No problem, plus I did book almost a year in advance.

Their occupancy is slightly down because of the economy, fallout from the whole sub-prime mortgage and credit situation and people having less disposable income so they are currently offering an incentive through the fall that if you book, they'll give you something like $100 of their "sand dollars" a day to offset food costs. If you can travel in the next few months, you will get a deal, and if I travel then I'd call the hotel directly and not go through Westin's main reservations number to have a better negotiating position, but that's just me.

Wish I was back there right now!

In case most of you didn't know, it's always cheaper to rent through an owner than through the Westin. At least 40% in most cases. The new Bay Vista villas will be easy to book for a while because not all of them are sold; alot of Starwood owners are planning to try and trade in since there might actually be availability. This resort is probably the toughest trade in the Starwood Timeshare system due to the fact that few owners give up their units and there aren't that many units. I know that the first couple of years we owned there, there was alot of empty units; not so much now.

Lori

Your right the villas at the Westin seem to be a hot piece of property. We bought the Bay Vista and have booked this year for Dec 6th through the 13th. We were actually just discussing whether or not we are going to use it though, but I always look at it for a three bedroom villa apposed to a one bedroom hotel room($1,000 a night right now) you pretty much pay the same rate when you rent from an owner for three times the space and all the amenities. (tu)

If you have any questions feel free to ask or pm me 😎

One small word of caution. Nothing big really, a little embarrassing though. The last time we stayed, and had a terriffic time. My husband left early morning with the car and the kid's and I slept in and were going to take a taxi and meet up with him later in the day. After we packed up and ready to head back to STT I realized that I didn't have any cash. I went to the lobby and they didn't have a cash machine. It was somewhat embarrassing to ask the driver and a pickup load of passengers to stop by a cash machine so that I could pay my fare.

We were there the first week of June. We tried to cash a $100 traveler's check and nearly broke the bank at the front desk. I suppose most people just charge everything to their rooms then pay with a credit card at the end, so there's no need for them to keep alot of cash on hand. They did mention that they were supposed to have an ATM installed onsite in about 3 weeks. Hopefully that's been done.

WW

Great info in this thread. I'm debating between getting a Westin Villa and a regular Villa for Jan/Feb. Does anyone have any insight as to the best place(s) to find Westin Villas being rented by someone other than the Westin?

I've checkd VRBO (Vacation Rentals by Owner) which has a bunch of listings. I was wondering if there are any other sites or reputable agencies that handle this type of rental.

Thanks for your help.

Craig

Redweek is a good place to look (www.redweek.com) and has them all listed out by week, size of unit and rate. If you do a google search for Westin St. John villa rental, you'll find 6-10 sites with listing, at least.

Hope you have a great trip!