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Hello, all. This is going to be wordy, so I'm going to jump right in- First things first-Phils won game 3 😀
The Players;
Jeff
his wife Tara
My sweet Amy
and your little buddy, Jimmy
We landed on STT @11:45am, Saturday,10/25. We scooped up our bags and after a short wait, our Jeep rental was delivered from Dependable. We went to their office for paperwork, and then we were off!
We brought down a cooler with assorted meats from Omaha Steaks, and had some things waiting for us on STJ, so we just had to stop by Cost-U-Less for a few bare necessities. Then-to the car barge ferry! When jumped out of the car, and went to the top deck for a few chilly drinks, and to enjoy the view. I highly recommend getting to STJ in this fashion, very relaxing, and no hub-bub with taxis, and waiting around.
We were met at the ferry dock in Enighed by Mat from STJ Catering. I brought him @ 10lbs. of venison, a bunch of Tasty Kakes (he's a Philly boy), Taylor porkroll, and some sweet Jersey corn. In exchange, he gave us OJ, Eggs, Vodka, Champagne, water, and I don't remember what else. I think we both won in that deal. Great guy...
We then followed our villa greeter to Island Horizons villa overlooking Coral Bay. The driveway was the most challenging that I've ever seen. Very narrow, long, and steep. Wild,man, Wild!
We found the villa tucked up high over the bay, and its remote beauty was astounding. The views were breathtaking, and naturally, the website dies no justice as far as how beautiful this home is.
My sweet Amy had us unpacked in a jiffy, and we were off to Maho.
MMMmmm...delish. The water was a little choppy, and it was windy, but beautiful.
We walked down the far end, and found Mat again, with his family throwing a birthday party. I can't say enough about his family, so I'm not even going to try. Heck,free drinks!-Just kidding. Wonderful family. On the way to town we hit Hawksnest. Sensational.
We then went into town to Woody's for a chilly one, and Jeff from Woody's was nice enough to give us temporary tattoos. Fun! We also met a beautiful couple, Tim & Ann. Very nice people.
We went back to I.H. for a bbq dinner. The girls took over, so Jeff & I hit Aqua Bistro for another cold one. Saw Doug from Crabby's, chatted, then went back up the hill to the house. Tara had walked through the screen door-pretty funny. She's a maniac, I tell ya'!(We repaired it good as new before we left)Steaks, baked potatoes, Tara's macaroni salad, drinks...splendid! After watching the Phils win game 4(can I get a Holy-Moly?!?) I ended falling asleep on the couch while Amy & Jeff played Scrabble 'til the wee hours. I stayed on the couch, hating myself for feeding into the emotional vacuum that I'll call another Philly sports team...Tara slept on the hammock that night-you go sister!I woke up the next day for a skinnydip with mucho views.I then proceeded to fold 50lbs. of clothes from the dryer. The roosters were also up, and shortly thereafter, I put on some trunks, and the girls joined me by the pool.I served them some mimosas, and started skimming the pool. They dubbed me "Francois the Poolboy".Man did those chicks dig my skimmer! You can look, ladies, but to touch costs extra!I was then told that the clothes went through the washer sans detergent. Smooth move, Francois.
We moved on to Maho, and I met Pia. She's not only very helpful on the forum, but she's also hot as well! Very pretty woman. We hit the Beach bar, said hi to Boo, and left a note for RickG on a coaster with the bartender. I doubt he delivered. The gals shopped, and then back east to the villa.
Hit Island Blues for more adult beverages ,then burgers & bratwurst on the grill. Phillies game postponed...
Woken up the next day by a thunderous downpour. Holy rainballs!!!-I'm skinnydipping!!! Man is that liberating!!! 😉 The view from the patio has turned from miles of spectacular islands & ocean to an impenetrable gray. Good day for spaghetti, drinks, sex,-repeat! After 20 minutes, it cleared up, and I found a wicked scorpion on the patio. Way cool rainbow, behind the mist.
Amy & I took it easy on the couch, while J & T hit Trunk. They returned, more spaghetti & meatballs, and we talked about Hawksnest. Drank 'til the cows came home, they never did come home,so we decided to keep drinking... 😀
Woke up the next day, and the pool floor bathroom toilet was overflowing all over & into the pool.
Poop. Called the villa company, and had it fixed. Francois was no help, by the way. Poop advisory said not to swim 'til Thursday. So we went to Francis Bay for some doo-doo free snorkeling. Amy & I went around the point by Little Maho. It was the best I've ever seen. Both Jeff & Tara saw a 6 foot tarpon, almost causing yet another poopy accident in the bay. Close call!After a long day,went back to I.H. for steaks, and watched Lights Out Lidge seal the deal Strike three-World Champions. I cried, then drank my face off with my best friends.
Chartered a 1/2 day sail on Breath.Great guys. Snorkeled around Flanagan Island, and saw a baby turtle. Drew tried to show me how to blow through a conch shell. No luck.
Went to Skinny's for a burger, then went to Maho. Looked again for Pia, to no avail. Decided to hit Uncle Joe's for the worlds' best bbq, then back home. The toilet was overflowing again. Dan the plumber/pool guy came over again and found that a leaky septic pipe had ruptured, and it was through no fault of ours. No pool for the second part of the week :X.That kind of bugged me.
Relaxed, drank more ,then to Rhumb Lines for dinner.Great food & service. Everybody happy...Hit Island Blues-weird crowd. Fun, but it was like a Voo-doo inspired Twilight Zone episode. Lots of laughs...
Friday we had a big breakfast, then hit Trunk for a bayside bbq. Awesome. The wind was kicking up, and there was a swimming advisory,(no, no poop)but it didn't stop the girls from getting wet. Lots of fun. Stopped by Aqua Bistro for a quickie that lasted @ an hour, and saw Tim & Ann there. She was working behind the bar. Really nice couple.Went back to the villa, packed for our early departure Saturday,then went to Skinny's for the Halloween party. It was great! I was dressed as "The Atomic Wedgie Man", looked for Augie to no avail, and drank & danced the night away. Although I was photo'd by @ 25 people, I must've offended Moe, because I didn't make the website. Sorry Moe!Great party!
All in all, we had the time of our lives. Great people, delicious food, and as always, astounding beaches.
In other news, I emailed Private Homes for Private vacations about our concerns with the septic issue, and haven't heard back from them. No pool, odor issue on the bottom floor, and obvious health concerns has me wondering if we'll use their services again. Aside from that, wonderful trip.
Photos: http://picasaweb.google.com/asisto22/StJohnSOctober2008?authkey=JkxClJulOaU
Smiles-
MJ
Great trip report MJ, lots of fun!
Where were your underwater photos taken? Looks like you were surrounded by bait fish.
--Islander
Francis & Maho-
Smiles-
MJ
MJ,
Great report! Thanks for finally reviewing Island Horizons - we're there next February. Hey - is a big 4 wheel drive Dodge Durango (we've got 6 people) going to be fine - or should we get a couple smaller Jeeps?
Great pictures! You all obviously had FUN!
VI
As I mentioned, the driveway is very steep and narrow,up & down both ways, so I think you might want to use 2 Jeeps. That's just me. The parking is challenging at the top of the drive by the villa, though. Hmmm...I'm sure you could manage. 2 Jeeps will also be better if not everyone will have the same daily plans as the rest. It's not being antisocial, but sometimes a "group mentality" could potentially bring yourself or a fellow traveler down. I'm all about a good time, but for instance, all week that we were down there, I wanted to watch the Phillies win the World Series at Skinny's, and the rest of the gang decided no. I ended up sitting alone on the couch as Brad Lidge threw strike three to win. Everyone else was on the patio playing Scrabble. Get my drift?
Also, there's going to be more than 1-2 people who will want to drive, hell, it's fun!
With that though, will be 1-2 people who you don't feel comfortable as them being the driver. I'd say as far as 2 vehicles with a large party is concerned, more options can be better.
Sans doo-doo, you're going to love it! I'd put dibs on the mid-level bedroom, by the way. Secluded, hammock outside the door, closer to the pool for late night skinny dipping, and a full private sitting/tv room.
Just my 2 cents!
Smiles-
MJ
Mary from PHPV was kind enough to give me a call, and has generously offered compensation due to the issues we found during our trip last month.
I'm very happy with the outcome, and look forward to using their services again next spring!
She was ,herself, taking her personal vacation on the day our party left STJ, and was not able to be reached until now.
We're all looking forward to doing future business with PHPV, and Mary Eileen, as well.
Smiles-
MJ
Jim, what was the compensation? If it was 10% off your next stay, you got ripped off...just wondering.
Jim,
I don't think you are being ripped off ( I don't even know or care what you were offered ), I think it is great that you were heard, A happy client is good for business and you seem happy with their effort. Enjoy your next trip !
Thanks, Ellen.
All I was hoping for, as I said, was a courtesy call. They came through better than expected.
Island Horizons was a gorgeous villa, all the same.
Smiles-
MJ
Ellen, the only reason that I mentioned "maybe" being ripped off is because we went through a tough time with a villa a couple years ago and the management company told us that we could have 10% a future booking. I found out shortly afterward that 10% is the norm for returning bookings. After getting in touch with the owner directly, and the owner putting 10's of thousands of dollars into this villa, he invited us back at 1/2 the cost of our first visit.
Actually, if I didn't misread the PHPV guest book last week, they don't offer 10% off return bookings, but if you re-book the same property before you leave island, they lock you in at the current year's rate. Maybe I misread it, but I am pretty sure that's what they said. I know on the property we rented that was a better deal.
It takes a lot for me to go back and ask someone to reduce a price for a service they provided, but I have been thinking about if I would've asked in Jim's situation, and I think I would. There are plenty of villas on St. John that don't have pools, and their cost reflects that. When I pick a villa, I deliberately choose one with a pool (although this time I only used it three times, and that made me grumpy), so if something went wrong with the pool and I weren't able to use it at all, I would definitely ask for a discount. (Actually if I weren't absolutely in love with the villa and they had another property open, I'd probably ask to be moved if it happened early in the week.)
I'm not sure how much a pool is "worth" in a situation like this, but I'd say any type of deal that is made would be worth it, because I'm guessing by rights it's not their problem if the pool breaks.
I always try to work with the villa management people first when there's a problem, especially if they've been really accommodating like Mary-Eileen and crew are! I don't think I'd bother the owner over not being able to use the pool. I read one review where a villa had tons of problems and the management company was unresponsive. In that situation, I'd most likely be calling the owner for help.
