veggiegirl:

My husband and I are headed down to STJ in just 3 weeks (we cant' take the anticipation much longer). This is our 4th visit, our second staying at Villa Cielomar.

www.villacielomar.com

It isn't overly fancy by any means, but it is comfortable and walking distance to Cruz Bay for shopping, dining, etc. It does have a pool (outdoors), hot tub (indoors), and balcony over looking the sea to the south-west. It has A/C in the master bedroom, plus ceiling and osculating fans throughout. It also has a very functional kitchen and outdoor grill for cooking.

We think the rates are great compared to others since the location is so perfect that we don't even have to rent a week for our trips, but rather just for a day or two.

Good luck!

www.seaviewhomes.com

This will be our 5th year in a row!!!! Can't get enough

Maybe Sago Palms?

http://www.privatehomesvi.com/sagopalms.htm

the bride and i like cloud 9 on gifft hill, stayed there 4 of our 9 trips to stj. fairly large for just 2 folks but allows for separate space if needed. views are fantastic, super quiet split remote control ac throughout, 2 master bedrooms, pool, hot tub, great room and gazebo all on one level. great place to enjoy days and evenings and gazebo provides escape from sun and on breezy days a lot of double doors opened makes the inside like outdoor. good fall rates. see at http://www.cloud9villas.com/Cloud_Nine/index.htm

our ist trip to stj was in oct 04 and while a little warm, can be great time of year.

papabou

As you can see, there are many options and previous visitors have their favorites. You need to narrow your choices down first by selecting what part of STJ you want to favor. You mention burning easily and that is a major concern when visiting the Caribbean. Sun block and liberal use is a requirement even for the well traveled. If you do it right and takes exposure in doses you can acclimate easier.

Are we correct to assume you will visit the different beaches etc. or do you intend to spend most time 'protected' in the villa and relax?
Do you like to get out at night to restaurants, bars, etc.?
Do you want to shop during the day?
All of these help identify which side of the island you might prefer to stay at and lets us better inform you what to expect.

AC is not necessary if your villa is higher up and exposed to the trade winds. We are from Houston and live in AC 7 months of the year. but find we don't need it down their. You might want to consider it in the bedrooms depending on you sleeping habits. One key in the VI is you are living a much slower pace and you tend to tolerate the heat better. Liberal rum punch drinks also help.;)

Depending on when in the fall your trip is planned, rates switch from Off season to High season so pay attention to that. Although 3 weeks is wonderful (I'm jealous) you might open more villa options if you planned on 2 weeks (3 @ $2k each versus 2 @ $3k each). That also brings car rental and food budget down. Also, several restaurants are closed in the fall to provide a vacation between summer and busy High winter season.

One last thing, August to mid October tends to be the busiest time for Hurricanes in the Caribbean so consider trip insurance. STJ has avoided anything major but it s worth the few dollars to get peace of mind.

Have a wonderful time planning and visiting. Let us know what you would like to do and we can help.

Chrisatwork has you pointed in the right direction,veggeigirl. Things to ask yourself; -Sunrise views/ quieter,less congestion(traffic)- Coral Bay, or sunset views(closer to "nightlife" & a little more congestion) -Cruz Bay, A/C-or no A/C, price range, pool- or no pool, bbq grill or no,washer/dryer- or not, beach front, or bayviews, sharing "common areas"(pool, etc...), kids/ no kids(Westin),just to name a few things. We've stayed @ Cruz Bay & Chocolate hole a number of times, but this past April stayed in Coral Bay, which was wonderful. Hope to stay there again this fall. There are plenty of 1 bedroom villas that are lovely,ie.-'New Moon villa',etc..., but for not too much more you can live very comfortably for not much more $ in a 2 bedroom place. Check out Gallows Point, and the Tamarind Inn,or maybe the Concordia Estates at Maho. Each side of the island has ample shopping for villa provisioning, and you're never too far from the beaches, so you really can't go wrong!
Good luck, and Smiles-
MJ

I made these Villa maps in Google Earth to help folks locate villas and reference them to the "earth features" in GE...

http://bbs.keyhole.com/ubb/showflat.php?Cat=0&Board=EarthTravel&Number=1060718&fpart=&PHPSESSID=

My vote would be Astral Ridge in Coral Bay (coralbayvacations.com). It sounds like a perfect fit based on your needs and wants. It has plenty of shade without staying inside, it has a pool and hot tub, it's on the ridge so you don't need a/c. The place is absolutely gorgeous. The one drawback based on your posting is it's about $100.00 a week more than you quoted. Personally I think it's worth it. If you want more info on the villa let me know. Regardless of your choice enjoy your trip, you can't go wrong going to STJ. Jill

Look at "Monkey No Climb" with CarefreeGetaways.com.
While you should take into account that I am the owner, it has all the things you have requested.
It is a brand new home located near the top of Bordeaux Mountain and has a big view. There is a 12'x46' covered porch with a Spa where you can enjoy the view or read. Very quiet. The beginning price for one or two off season is $1750. Two King beds with A/C, although we have yet to use them when we have been there. You might even take a sweatshirt to sit on the porch in the evenings.There is a portion of the road that is unpaved but with each trip up and down you get used to it. The contract to pave that portion has been signed and the VI government has given the contractor "thirty days to proceed" so hopefully it will be completed in a month or two. There are so many nice homes to choose from on St. John.

singerjen - my fiancee (soon to be bride) and I must be checking in to Villa Cielomar right after you for our honeymoon! We've got one month to go. We've never stayed there before and I would love to ask you a couple of questions about it - particularly about where it is (can't seem to find it on a map) and the insect situation. Can you PM me?

Thanks,

Tom

Thank you, everyone, for your help! We're still talking about things but your responses are very much appreciated!

Sherban,

I could locate a few more villas on the map for everyone if you tell me how I go about doing that??

Suzie

We stayed at Second Wind this fall and loved it. It is in your price range. It's managed by Caribbeanvilla.com

Sherban,
what an awesome job pinpointing these villas. I was trying to do the same thing on my own just to get a handle on all the possible villas to stay in this fall. This will be a great help as I was guessing much of the time using only pictures of ocean views and villa description to do my pin pointing. Some were easy than others as you can imagine.

Thanks again and Happy travels.

Scott Middleton

SingerJen,
I am looking to go to Cielomar Villa this fall. It looks perfect for my wife and I.
Can you tell me more about it? I read one review that talked about ripped screens and lots os bugs inside...?
Also, is the pool private just for this one villa or is it shared?
By the way, my email is "[email protected]" if you would like to email me your response.

Thanks
Scott

Sherban,

I could locate a few more villas on the map for everyone if you tell me how I go about doing that??

Suzie

Suzi- That would be great....first you gotta have Google Earth installed, the free version is all you need.

Next, you would download my .kmz file by going to the link and then right click on the blue icon labeled "View in Google Earth"...then save the .kmz file on your computer where you can find it. Then start Google Earth and once it is ready and running, go to "File"..."Open" and select the kmz file of mine you downloaded....once it is open you can add new places how-ever you desire...then save your places into my file on your computer. It will probably take a little playing around to learn how to organize folders and placemarks...but once you get the hang of it, it's a breeze. A simpler way to do this would be for you to start a new folder on your PC in Google Earth, save all the places you want to add into that folder then email it to me and I'll add it to mine and post on the internet....

Cheers!

Veggiegirl,

I am new to this engine, as I am also looking for new ideas for our trip this year. This is our 3rd time back on the Island, we were married there in 2004 and we loved staying at Gallows Point. It was absolutely amazing, it has the big doors that you can open up to look out at the Waters, we rented the first building on the point and the noise did not bother us from Cruz Bay, it was amazing and the view was complete!

This year we looked and looked and the biggest need for us was A/C and close walk to town. Like many of the other bloggers have mentioned, you need to narrow it down to what is most important first. Will you be cooking, do you need A/C, Pool, Jeep Rental, etc. There were so many amazing Villas we found online but we wanted close walk to Cruz Bay this time, so we opted out on a distant Villa. You might check with Cateredto. I was told by many that they are wonderful to work with in finding you a place to fit your needs.

We will be there in the fall as well, first week of August and I have been told it will be quite hot. So keep in mind as you are thinking A/C.

Have fun and good luck! 😎

VEGGIEGIRL

WE RENTED A HOUSE ( SAPPHIRE BREEZES)THE LAST TIME WE WHERE STJ HAD ITS OWN POOL AND SET ABOVE CRUZ BAY A SHORT DRIVE TO TOWN WE LOCATED IT AND MANY MORE HOMES TO RENT ON WWW. VRBO.COM,IF YOU'RE GOING IN THE OFF SEASON YOU SHOULD GET CLOSE TO $2000 SHARE WITH ANOTHER COUPLE AND THEY'RE BETTER THEN MOST RESORTS OR CONDOS , AC IS NICE BUT NOT A MUST AS THE SEA BREEZE AT NIGHT IS ENOUGH FOR MOST.HAVE FUN AND GET LINE-MON

You might want to consider Perelandra, which is listed at carefreegetaways.com. It's not overly large, but it has everything we needed: two bedrooms -- one upstairs, one downstairs. Laundry and a bathroom also are on the lower level. The lower level has a covered deck that leads out to the pool. The upper level has the living/dining room, partly covered deck, one bedroom bathroom and kitchen. Also not super-luxurious, but quite nice, great views and very convenient.