Also has an event calendar for the first week in July been posted anywhere yet?

Thanks

We're going to stay at Still Waters in April. I can let you know how we liked it and offer any advice you may need.

We stayed at Still Waters about 5 years ago. It was very clean, comfortable and in a great neighborhood. Bonus: It had a generator when the power went out (many times that stormy week). Let me know if you have any specific questions and I'll try and remember.

Nancy, that would be great! I look forward to hearing from you. I hope you have a wonderful trip.
Melissa

Hi Nancy, Are you back from your trip yet? Would love to hear about the villa and other experiences. We have been to St. John only once before and love to read others reviews. Can't wait to hear from you.

Also anyone else who has stayed in this villa would love to hear about the neighborhood, villa, pool. things to bring/not needed. etc.)

Thanks much!
Melissa

Hi,

We just got home yesterday after staying at Still Waters for 10 glorious days. It's a beautiful villa with everything you need for your vacation.

It's located just 2 minutes up the hill from the Westin Resort on Travelers Trail. The villa is close to town but just far enough away to have some peace and quiet. It's owned by Low Key Dive Shop and we got all our snorkel gear free to use for the week. Someone from the shop will escort you to the villa and show you around.

The pool is small but it's at least 7' deep and we had a great time swimming in it. There's an outdoor shower to rinse off after coming back from the beach and makes it easy to just jump into the fresh pool for a swim.

What is provided:

beach towels, boogie boards, rafts, beach chairs, lots of coolers, ice packs, a huge collection of DVD's, video tapes and books, telescope, washer, dryer, coffee maker, blender, toaster, and basically anything you need to cook with.

In one of the bedroom closets we found a wheeled cart that we used to haul the beach chairs. This will come in really handy, especially since some beaches can be quite a hike to get to.

It's not central air per say, but each room has a large Mitsubishi Mr. Slim Air Conditioner. They keep the entire house cool. The living room heats up during the late afternoon because there are no shades on the sliding glass doors but it' not bad. The bedrooms have either shades and/or curtains. Just off of the master bedroom is a bathroom with a spa tub and shower. There are no shades on the windows in this bathroom but there is no way for anyone to see you. The other bathroom has skylights and the shower is made of natural stone with conch shells embedded in the stone. Very pretty.

The beds are so, so comfortable and you feel like you're sleeping on a cloud!! Each bedroom has cable TV, one with a DVD player and the other with a DVD and VCR. The living room has a TV with a DVD player. We had to figure out that the TV has to be on channel 3 and you need to use the small black remote to change the channels.

There is food left in the fridge from previous tenants so before going out shopping, check to see what you have on hand first. We had to buy laundry detergent and left what we didn't use for the next guests.

Most importantly, bring insect repellent!!! Although we didn't feel ourselves getting bitten, we were ended up with at least 20 bites each, mainly on our ankles and legs.

Make sure to keep the doors locked at all times, especially the front door. Although we never, ever, felt unsafe we had heard on the news that there had been a rash of burglaries on some villas. Two of the robberies happened while the guests were in the villa and one was at gunpoint. We felt safer at Still Waters because the owner, Bob, lives in the garden house on the same property and he has two Rottweilers that may look mean but they're very, very sweet and friendly. The came up to visit us once.

Places we loved:

Leinster Bay. It's about a 1/2 mile hike but on a flat trail along the waters edge. If you want to see some great snorkeling this is a must. You can be almost certain to see a few sea turtles, stingrays, angel fish, barracuda, etc. A sea turtle surfaced right next to me and hung around the same area most of the afternoon.

Trunk Bay Great sandy bottom with no rocks, sea grass or coral. The snorkel trail is great and the amenities make it very convenient. You do have to pay to get in.

Hawksnest Beach Like Trunk Bay it has a beautiful, clean, sandy bottom. We saw a HUGE stingray here and he was very "friendly".

As for restaurants, our favorite was Margarita Phil's. They've become extremely busy so I'd recommend making reservations. The Lime in has the best seafood on the island! For breakfast we loved going to BTF which is one level below the Banana Deck. Good bagels, eggs, the best pancakes we'd had (better the Donkey Diner) and great coffee. Everything is served on flimsy paper plates but that just adds to the charm. Rhumb Lines, a new restaurant, was very good and the menu was really unusual. I'd call it Caribbean with a Thai flair. They had a good kids menu for those picky eaters. The ambiance was beautiful with rope lights, tented roof and garden like setting. I hope they do well. One of our favorites from years back is the Fish Trap Restaurant but they were closed down. Rumor has it that they will reopen in June. Chilly Billy's is also closed.

Go into Coral Bay. The drive is like nothing you'll experience, if you like steep hills and winding roads 😀 There were lots of donkey's and goats wandering around. If you stop, the donkeys come up to your car to beg for some food so bring some carrots or apples along for the ride. Coral Bay has lots of fun restaurants and it's just a beautiful area to do some sightseeing.

We rented a jeep from Conrad Sutton and the best thing about renting from them is that you can park in their lot anytime you want. It was great not having to drive around looking for a space or paying in one of the two small paid lots. We even scraped up the bumper (it's hard to maneuver the driveway at Still Waters when backing out) and they didn't even care.

If you have any questions about Still Waters or anything about St. John, you can email me at [email protected]. Enjoy your stay at Still Waters. You will love it.

Wow Nancy, Thanks for the great review. I'm glad you enjoyed your stay. I can't wait to go now. We are leaving on June 24th. I was going to buy a new snorkle mask but I guess I'll wait now. You mentioned the owner lives on the property. Is his house close? In view?

Thanks again!

Melissa

Melissa,

The owner, Bob, lives in the home down the hill on the same property. You can only see his roof. We never spoke to him or saw him. If you need his help there is a set of stone step going down to his house. I heard he's out all the time doing the dives for the shop and very rarely home except to sleep.

We loved feeding the birds at the villa. Leave some fresh water out for them and you'll get to see them taking a bath. They would actually come up to the sliding door and peek in at us to let us know they wanted some food. They love fruit.

Here's some photos I wanted to share.
This is the driveway going to the villa
Sidewalk going from the driveway to the front door. A resident spider on the outside shower. We never saw him again after the water came out hot. A typical sight driving on the East End near Coral Bay Getting the telescope readyPearly-Eyed Thrasher begging for food.Thrasher enjoying his bath.