Cindy,

I replied to your email but thought I would throw something out here for anyone else that is looking at Ristaba.

Ristaba is a great villa. We stayed there in June of 2007 with 4 other adult couples. It is an easy drive from Cruz Bay, go up Gift Hill Road past the big speed bump at the Westin entrance, up the hill past the trash receptacles, and turn left at the top of the hill on Rock Hill Rd (?) , it is the third driveway on the left. It is close to Cruz Bay and the Starfish Market (5 minutes) but far enough out that it is relatively peaceful. It has a great view of Great Cruz Bay.

The main Villa has 4 bedrooms on the lower level where the pool is also located. Each bedroom has a private bath, 2 have outdoor showers, and all are air conditioned. The pool is large and has a great lower deck with lounge chairs and a small bar area. The upstairs has the combination kitchen, living room, dining room and several doors out to the large balcony. This is where we spent a lot of our time in the mornings and evenings watching the ships sail by and you can also the lights from STT in the evening.

There is a 2 bedroom cottage with two lower level bedrooms that share a bath and a hot tub on the lower level deck. The upstairs has a small living area with a kitchen and a small balcony with views of Great Cruz Bay. The grounds are full of flowers but do not provide much room to wander around. We mostly hung out on the upstairs balcony or the pool which had more than ample room 10 adults.

One small downside is the driveway will only handle two vehicles and it is still a tight fit. The villa is stocked with coolers, beach chairs, and flotation devices that you can take with you on your beach excursions. We were also very happy with Lisa Durgin who is the villa manager. She was very responsive when we had an issue with the fridge and it was taken care of immediately. Due to time constraints she wasn't able to get her housekeeping crew in there to do a thorough job on the Saturday we arrived so she sent then on next Wednesday to make sure everything was done right.

I would recommend this villa to any group of 12 or less, you do have to go through town to get to the North side beaches but other than negotiating the nasty turn at the Texaco station it is no problem. You are conveniently located to head up Gift Hill Road to Center Line Road to get to the East End, but Gift Hill Road is an adventure in itself (especially at night). Everything considered this villa fit our needs perfectly and everyone would be happy to go back to it on our next trip.

The last time we stayed at Ristaba was Feb 2007. The owners continued to make some improvements by updating the bedding and the little things that ensure a comfortable stay. And as the previous posted said, there is now a new fridge. We always love this villa. Usually we are with a group of 4-10 depending on how many people tag along.

Cindy,

I forgot to mention that they also have laundry facilities just off the kitchen in the main building. Our group still gets together and reminisces of our June visit to STJ and how much we enjoyed our stay at Ristaba.

Please let me know how your trip goes.

Ken