Hi Samantha,

We stayed at Orion's Hill in November '06. The pool was a bit chilly due to it being high on the mountain. We didn't use it because it seemed too cold in comparison to the warm sea. I think the pool would probably be perfect during the summer months. One of the members of our group said he would have preferred to rent a villa closer to Cruz Bay, without the pool since we didn't use it anyway.

However, what you sacrifice relative to the pool temperature, you gain in views. This villa has views of Coral Bay and the East End to Norman Island, many other BVIs including Tortola, Jost, views of the north shore, all the way to St. Thomas -- nearly 360 degrees of ocean and islands from the cat walk

The villa itself is newer, very NICE and clean but not opulent. The owners live right next door, so privacy is lacking a bit. However, they are so extremely nice that you won't mind, and their proximity, along with the gated drive added a sense of security for us.

To get a sense for the location/distance to and from Cruz Bay and Coral Bay -- the driveway to this villa starts at the same location as the smoothie stand on Centerline Road; the junction of the North Shore Road and Centerline Road. It's a quick drive to big Maho, for example.

I hope you have a super trip!
Iowa

thank you for the information. I'm kinda sad that it's so close to another villa, we really like a lot of privacy...but we'll make due.
have a great day
Samantha

We felt the same way Samantha. We didn't realize that the owners' home would be a stone's throw (a long throw) away until we arrived on island. We are very private people as well. We found that for some reason, we talked in hushed voices as if they were always listening to us. That was just us being weird I think because I'm sure they couldn't have cared less what we were doing/saying! The west decks are more private than the east side, where the pool is. There isn't a view of anything except the owner's home from the pool anyway (unless something has changed), so we didn't spend a lot of time on that side of the villa anyway. However, in hindsight we are still glad we stayed there. We feel lucky to have soaked up the views from that vantage point for a week. Again, the owners are super people who have been on island for a couple decades. They are not intrusive and are a wealth of information. We felt like we were staying with an uncle who would help us in any way he could if we just asked. I'll look for your trip report when you return to see what your experience is. =)

Iowa,
i will definitely leave you our trip report. regardless of our privacy, i know that we will have an excellent trip. we love st. john and the awesome beaches.
thanks again.

Samantha

Samantha,

How did you like the villa? I'd love to hear what you thought of it!!

We love swimming in a pool after a long day at the beach or on days we just feel like lounging so I'm sure we'll use it a lot. Was it a pain in the neck going into Cruz Bay or did you get used to the ride? For me it's not a big deal navigating the roads in St. John. Were you bothered with the owners being next door?

I'm looking forward to hearing from you, although I know this post is rather old.

Nancy

Greetings, Samantha. We're staying at Orions' Hill over New Years, can't wait! Have you tried the Reef Bay Trail? How about the "hike" to Waterlemon? Good luck!
Smiles-
MJ

hi,
Orion's hill was really nice...had some issues with mice, but we figured out how he was getting in and ended his fun. we never used the pool...my daughter did a few times but other than that we were never in it. The pool is very cold never gets any sun. The drive to Cruz bay was hard if you were drinking...we tried to stay on the coral bay side when we went out at night. the views from the house are simply awesome and the lay out of the house was nice. when we were there the owners were on vacation so once in a while we would see some people checking in on the house. The drive up to the house is fun, we saw donkey's along the way and goats. you have to make sure to lock the gate so they don't come in. I'm sure you will like your stay at Orion's Hill... however, we will probably never stay there again. We really liked the villa we stayed in the year before ( La Bella vita)and the rental company we went with that year (Catered too).

we never hiked the reef bay trail but we did hike the brown bay trail and i must say it's the best snorkeling on the island...yes better than waterlemon
very healthy reefs and lots of fish...the hike in is pretty hard but once your there you will be happy that you did it...once on the beach make sure to hike the waters edge to the left and check out the ruins. also, take a look at this web site to help you with the beaches i used this a lot http://www.stjohnbeachguide.com/Beaches.htm

if you have never been to St. John try to get one of the books on the beaches and hiking trails. we also did a charter with captain John from palmtreecharters you will not be disappointed with him and i think he has the best prices on the island.

were planning on returning to St. John in Nov...were staying 6 days on St. John and 7 days on Jost Van Dyke (BVI) in the pink house.

if you have any other questions on the house or whatever please e-mail me at: [email protected]....

have a great trip.

Sam

News flash on Orion's Hill....

http://www.virgin-islands-on-line.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=82094#82094