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need help deciding between two villas...Help me please

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need help deciding between two villas...Help me please

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 Deb
(@Deb)
Posts: 1
 

I am trying to decide between Chococruz villa managed by St. John Island Getaways, or Argonauta, managed by Vacation Vistas. They both look great on the web, they are in the location we prefer, they both have ac, they both have a pool. But, pictures can be deceiving. Does anyone out there have any first hand info? Also, can anyone recommend a villa that we might like even more. I would love to stay in the Peter Bay area, but cost is a major factor. We need to keep it under 5000. Thanks as always.

 
Posted : August 17, 2005 4:22 pm
(@sparks)
Posts: 31
Eminent Member
 

Here are 2 reviews of Argonauta I found on another site.Could not find any reviews on Chococruz. Hope this helps.

2003
"What a great house! Looks just like the pictures. Really roomy with space for all 8 adults to stretch out. Beautiful views of St. Thomas and the James. Wonderful deck, had all our meals out there. The pool is a little small, but worked fine to jump in after a day at the beach. Very private surroundings. Furnishing were well maintained, kitchen appliances appeared new. The welcome basket of wine and goodies was a nice touch. I highly recommend this house for its view, location and cleanliness."
2002
"We rented Argonauta Villa from
4/30 - 5/9. Agency was Lime da Coconut. Villa manager was Lisa Durgen. She was great. If there were a 5 Star Rating, Argonatua would get 5 stars. Argonauta Villa is on top of Contant Farm hill. It is a 2 Pod building. The main house is all open area living room/dining room/kitchen. There is one bedroom behind the kitchen and is the only bedroom that does not have a view. Off that bedroom is an amazing bathroom with the coolest outside stone shower. There is a screen above the shower so no bugs get in. Also in the main building is a spiral staircase that leads to the second bedroom in the main house that has 2 twin beds with a deck that has a fabulous view. Also there is a small bathroom off of that bedroom. Next door to the main house is a bungalow that houses
2 more King Size bedroom with the most fabulous views. The upper bedroom has the best view. Decks all around the bedroom with a table and 2 chairs for morning coffee and also a cool hammock. Lower bedroom still has views that are great and the pool is just
steps away from the lower bedroom. There is also a hammock outside
of that bedroom. On the lower deck adjacent to the pool is a bar that is under cover it has about 6 chairs around it and a small refrigerator. Great for having drinks at sunset and lounging in the pool. Next to bar area is a door that has a toilet and sink and also the washer and dryer.
There are 2 decks going 280 degrees around the house with unobstructed views everywhere. To the left you see Great Cruz Bay, straight ahead is St. Thomas (amazing sunset views and the twinkling lights),to the right you see all these little islands in the middle of the sea, it looks as if you are in Bora Bora. The house has everything. Great plunge pool, barbecue on upper deck and a huge table outside with 4 or 5 ceiling fans on the outside of the deck to keep the deck cool and free of bugs. Inside house immaculate, modern all Mexican tile throughout ceiling fans everywhere. Dining area can seat approx. 8 if you choose to eat inside. We never did. Eating out on that main upper deck was the greatest. Only the bedrooms are air conditioned and that's all you really need. The grounds are spectacular. Best hing, is a paved road all the way up to the villa. Extremely private. You can not see any neighbors at all. Very lush... We hired Chef Shay Mulcare to cook our wedding dinner. He is at "[email protected]" This was one of the highlights of the trip. Amazing to eat out on the deck at sunset. Food was the best on the island. He was so
great that we even hired him again for our last night there.

We will return to Argonauta not only because of it's beauty, cleanliness, spaciousness and so many amenities but the location
was great. 5 min driving to town and approx. 15 min. to Northshore beaches. Be back next year!!! We miss Argonauta already."

2002
"We booked Argonauta with Lisa Durgin at Vacation Vistas. She was great to work with and we have absolutely no complaints about Vacation Vistas - or the villa for that matter.

Argonauta, like the name implies, sets high on a perch between the Chocolate Hole area and Great Cruz Bay with an unbelievable view of St. Thomas, Little St. James and on a clear day, St. Croix in the distance. We've stayed at many villas throughout the years and Argonauta really does have the best view.

It has a separate building that holds two equal master bedrooms (kings) with garden-ish stone showers. There's a really nice screened-top garden shower in the main house, next to another king bedroom. There's also an upstairs bedroom with two twins and it's own private bath with a tiny shower.

Argonauta has a beautiful deck area with plunge pool edged with stone. It's very pretty, but the stone can be a bit sharp. But who wants a boring, non-sharp pool? We're on vacation, afterall. . . The only complaint is that this pool area is so intensely hot in the afternoon that it is almost unbearable. . . we usually used this area in the morning as the west sun was just too much to handle. But still, not really a complaint because the view is so beautiful it's hard to tear yourself off of the pool deck.

The pool deck is also home to an outdoor bar area (shaded), complete with a mini-fridge. There were plenty of pool and beach toys which were a big hit with our four-year-old daughter. We bought the "treasure chest" - filled with coins and jewels -beach toy when we got home because she loved it so much while we were there. (Of course it's not as much fun at home in the pool as it is on the beach.)

The house has a full deck around the back that offers shaded areas to watch the ferries crossing or as in our case, the St. Thomas Regatta that occurs around Easter-time every year. A nice new barbecue grill was waiting for us on this deck, too.

We had no real problems with appliances, although the fridge took a while to cool down initially and the upper master bedroom a/c was temperamental. There were a few ants - not a colony or anything - but we just checked our rooms over before going to bed. And there was that one gigantic spider on the wall one night - but again, no big deal. No problem with no-see-ums as a nice breeze was always blowing.

The master bedrooms had nice double patio doors that opened up so one could sleep without a/c if desired. The really nice touch was the two hammocks, one upstairs and one down on the porches of these rooms. Great views over to the Westin and Great Cruz Bay area from up top.

Argonauta's location was good, too. Although the drive after a night out on the town (as the drive is anywhere on St. John) was a little steep. But it is basically located above Starfish Market - very handy - and very close to town and to beaches.

We enjoyed our stay at Argonauta, and would stay there again."

 
Posted : August 17, 2005 10:53 pm
(@bluwater)
Posts: 2026
Noble Member
 

Deb-

Perhaps you've stated this elsewhere and I missed it. If so, sorry. What are you're requirements in a villa (aside from location)?

 
Posted : August 18, 2005 12:23 am
 Deb
(@Deb)
Posts: 1
 

sparks.........Thanks for all the great info on Argonauta! It sounds just like what we are looking for: close to Cruz Bay, pool, hot tub, lush landscaping, incredible views, expansive decks.
Hopefullly it will be available for the week we need.

I would still appreciate any other recommendations. It may not be available, or there may be another villa that we might enjoy even more.

 
Posted : August 18, 2005 1:49 pm
(@sparks)
Posts: 31
Eminent Member
 

Deb,
Go to this site for tons of reviews: http://www.virgin-islands-on-line.com/usvireviews.shtml

 
Posted : August 18, 2005 4:01 pm
 Deb
(@Deb)
Posts: 1
 

Sparks............Thanks for the great web site!

 
Posted : August 19, 2005 5:26 pm

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