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I'm hoping I can get advice, I am staying on Water Island with a group of 12. I am very upset with the cottages that we are staying in. When booking this place, the pictures looked nice and it states a bunch of amenities that we were looking for. Upon arrival, we have found the cottages to be in BAD shape. The website of the cottages stated that we have 2 transparent kayaks and an ocean going kayak. Today, 2 of us went kayaking and once we were far enough out into the water, the kayak started sinking. There was a hole in the kayak! Thankfully both were rescued by a gentleman in a dinghy as he saw that they were struggling. After speaking with the owner, the owner told me that he had gotten the kayaks out of the DUMP and he guesses the repairs did not hold up and joked about the experience the we had...he thought it was funny.
The sinking kayak and the way the owner has reacted is what has put me over the top. Aside from the fans we have being completely rusted out with 5 inches of dust on the back of them, broken chairs, holes in the walls and mold....
I have stayed on the islands many times before (STJ and STX) and I know and expect things to not be perfect. I have never experienced anything that I am experiencing now.
We have talked to the owner about our concerns and he is very condescending and rude. I am extremely disgusted with this owner and I want to relocate as we still have 9 nights left of our vacation. We are open to suggestions, St. Thomas, Water Island or St. John.
Are there any agencies I can report this owner to? Someone needs to check out the condition of these cottages.
Any ideas or suggestions on what options I may have would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!
Call Mclaughlin Anderson agency in the morning and see if they can find you someplace immediately.
http://www.mclaughlinanderson.com/islandwebpage.cfm?curislandid=1
This was posted earlier if it is the same place:
http://www.vimovingcenter.com/talk/read.php?4,217749,217749,quote=1#REPLY
I am not sure but maybe Licensing and Consumer affairs would be some place to ask about reporting it?
Definitely, call Dept. of Licensing and Consumer Affairs.
The building is just down from Crown Bay Marina, past the cruise ship docks acroos street to the right.
Hate to hear owners not providing what they offer and taking advantage.
You might contact the websites he advetises on such as trip advisor, flipkey, vrbo, etc. (I don't know which sites he's on!) Good Luck,
DLCA
Prop. & Procurement Bldg.
8201 Sub Base, Suite 1
St. Thomas, VI 00802
Phone: (340) 774-3130
Fax: (340)776-8303
So how'd things work out with your WI Villa/owner?
I am sorry you had a bad experience on Water Island. There are several very nice houses available for vacation rental. Many are listed on www.VRBO.com You can see pictures and check reviews.We have a house listed on VRBO. We keep the house very clean and well maintained for guests. We have never had a complaint and in fact have guests who return year after year. Please don't let one bad owner ruin Water Island for you. Water Island is a wonderful place to vacation .
Thanks to everyone for ideas and suggestions. Since I had connections to people on STJ, our group ended relocating to STJ for the remainder of our stay. It ended up costing us a lot more than we had planned but we just couldn't stay at a place that was full of mold and filth. Relocating a group of 12 with a baby and food was challenging and took an entire day.
The owner was not around the morning we were leaving and he still has not tried to contact me to find out what happened.
When booking this place I did search for reviews but I could not find any which did make me nervous but then I researched the owner of the cottages and since he seemed to be well known, I thought we were in good hands. His cottages are advertised here on this website, his wife is a pediatrician and he is a professor at the University. He is also featured in one of the Colors of Paradise TV with Africah Harrigan that is posted here on VInow.com. With all of that, I assumed that he was a trustworthy and honest man.
Now that I am back in the states, I will proceed in reporting him to the proper agencies. We have pictures of all the mold on the walls, the moldy furniture, the smoke detectors hanging with the batteries out, the 6 inches of dust on the fans, lamp shades...etc. I also researched more reviews on the cottages we stayed at and I finally found a post on Trip Advisor for the cottages I stayed at. This was posted only two weeks before we arrived so I did not see it before. This couple that posted also was appalled at the filth and left mid vacation as well.
I love visiting the US Virgin Islands and will still continue to do so as I know that most people there are very nice and honest. I just don't want another family that has spent there savings on what was supposed to be a vacation of a lifetime to end up in the same situation I did and I believe it is immoral and wrong to con people.
Thanks again and I can't wait for my return to the islands!
Glad you were able to relocate and enjoy the balance of your vacation.
One bad apple as they say can spoil the entire barrel so it is very disheartening to hear a story like this. I have a small (1X1) apt. I rent out as a vacation rental and I pride myself on having it spotlessly clean and everything in working order. My guests do appreciate it and do return.
I hope you shall get your money back. You should write a review to warn others of this situation and contact the website he advertises on. If you paid by credit card you may be able to dispute the charges. Good thing you took pictures as proof of condition. I just can't imagine anyone renting a dirty place and for 12 persons, you must have shelled out a considerable sum. You might check with DLCA if your villa owner pays the VI Room Tax on his vacation villa.
Let us know how it all goes and if the owner contacts you or refunds any part of your payment.
Good Luck!
Thank you Alana33. I will keep you posted. I wish we had paid by credit card but the owner does not accept credit cards so we paid by check. I am hoping to get refunded as well.
Several people in our group have developed viruses and are all seeing their doctors here back in the states. I wonder if our symptoms, coughing, sneezing, wheezing, fatigue, shortness of breath and headaches are affects of all the mold exposure.
I have a question that maybe you can help with...while staying at the cottages we were getting bit by little tiny black insects that look like gnats. I know they were not mosquito's and at the time, I thought they may have been sand fleas but from my research they only come out at dusk and they are on the beach. Our cottages were high up from the water and it was really rocky not sandy. These tiny bugs were biting us 24/7 and by the time we left, we all looked like we had the chicken pox. These bites were extremely itchy. Do you know what these insects could be?
Thank you for your help and I wish all owners took pride in their properties like you do!
We call them no see ums due to fact they are tiny. They really are midges and I've been attacked by the little buggers on a boat at anchor since they fly. They do itch like crazy and leave red spots, similar to sand flea bites. Not much fun and the only recourse is to slather on the bug spray when they start biting. Only the females bite!
Here's a link: https://www.google.com/search?q=no+see+ums+bites&rls=com.microsoft:en-us:IE-SearchBox&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&sourceid=ie7&gws_rd=ssl
Hope everyone is feeling better soon.
