Please Register / Login to take part in discussions about the Virgin Islands.
What an amazing unforgettable vacation/wedding/honeymoon.
We arrived in St. Thomas on Friday afternoon, spent the next two days decompressing from our hectic lives. We stayed at the Sapphire Beach Resort in a beach front suite. No complaints whatsoever in regards to the resort. We mainly hung out at the hotel, snorkeled at their beach (nothing great but definately fun to do). We did venture into Red Hook and had a few pain killers at Duffy's.
Sunday we took the Red Hook ferry over to St. John. Stopped at Woody's on our way to the rental car agency, had to have another pain killer to start the day.
Got our rental car from Courtesy, they are great people. The jeep we got was a 4x4 wrangler soft top and let me tell you I'm glad we had 4 wheel drive. Courtesy is fantastic, you can park in their lot any time you are in Cruz Bay so that you don't have to hunt for a parking space, they even pushed the seats forward while we were gone because it started to rain. I highly recommend them!
So off we go venturing the island waiting until our 4pm check in time at the villa. Driving on the left hand side of the road takes a bit to get used to but the greatest thing is your on ISLAND TIME and nobody races around.
We are to be married on Tuesday the 14th so we are scouting for the perfect beach....We hit every possible beach on the North side and ended up choosing Cinnamon because of the ease of parking for the photographer, videographer, minister and us. I really wanted Jumbie but there is only 4 parking slots and if you are the last one there you SOL! All the beaches are absolutely gorgeous but there was just something about Cinnamon we fell in love with.
Now the trip to the Villa, we are to meet the villa rep at 4pm and the bottom of the road. As promised she was on time and off we go. It's about a mile UP the mountain side on a dirt road that is full of huge rocks, has switchbacks and only has room for one vehicle so if someone is coming down and your going up GOOD LUCK! As we are traveling up I'm thinking what did we get ourselves into, you can not go up this road without a 4x4 and you definately need a vehicle with some ground clearance!
The Villa: Oh MY GOD Oh MY GOD!!!!! that's all I said for the first 5 minutes.......it was ABSOLUTE heaven. This villa was amazing, the pictures don't do it justice at all on their web site, but then again how do you capture a slice of heaven on a camera! There are two pods completely isolated from the rest of the world. Nobody can see you and you can't see anyone unless you have a telescope and are looking over to the East end of St. John. Total seclusion and it goes without saying I have NO tan lines. This villa was top notch, the owners/decorators and care takers did not miss a beat. Our own pool, hot tub, an outdoor shower that overlooked the bay, 2 full sized bathrooms, and everything you could possibly need in a kitchen right down to the blender (and that got put to the test with me for the next 7 days).
We never really wanted to leave our slice of heaven at the villa but we love to take adventures so every day after watching the sun rise and enjoying coffe on the sun patio we'd pack up the jeep and head out.
Our favorites were:
Snorkeling at Waterlemon Cay. What a beautiful spot, here we saw stingrays, turtles, starfish, a baby shark, and tons of gorgeous tropical fish. It's a bit of a walk about 30 minutes but well worth it.
Snorkeling at Salomon, Salt Pond were a close second. Salt Pond was fantastic for the ease of getting in and out of the water, not super rocky and a very slight drop off.
I can't honeslty say we were not dissapointed with any snorkeling except Trunk. We only went to Trunk to say we were there and check out the underwater trail. It was way too crowded even at 9am. and the snorkeling wasn't that great.
Food:
If you are in Cruz Bay head over to the Star Market, it's got everything you could possibly want and although pricey well worth having those staples back at the villa. Dolphin Market is o.k. but with Star right around the corner I'd skip Dolphin and head to Star. Dolphin is smaller, less choices and I thought a bit higher than Star. Star has a great wine section too!
Island Blues: Great for lunch, you have to try their Pacific Rim Salad with Chicken. Awesome for happy hour they make a mean pain killer.
Shipwreck Landing: My absolute favorite in our part of the island. EXCELLENT dinner's, we ate there 3 or 4 times and never had a bad meal or a single complaint. The bartenders are fantastic, the drinks and plentiful, they make a fantastic Martini and it's HUGE! They had great music at night. The locals there were like long lost friends.
Skinny Legs: Great Burgers, great bartenders, EXCELLENT bushwacker's and pain killers. It's a must if you're out in Coral Bay just to see the layout and the locals.
My ONLY complaint in regards to restaurants was Aqua Bistro next to Lily's Market in Coral Bay. The bartender had the personality of rock, the drinks were terrible, and no way in hell can you make any changes or substitutions to their menu. The locals that hung out there seemed disinterested in the tourists and to get an answer out of them was painful. So needless to say we never went back.
We didn't spend much time in Cruz Bay because we aren't into all the shops and boutiques. Don't get me wrong...I love to shop but I can do that anytime at home. We spent our days snorkeling, hiking, and just taking in the beautiful island.
Our wedding day was fantastic. Not a cloud in the sky, slight ocean breeze, empty beach and just the most amazing views you can ever imagine. Our minister STUART SCOTT is by far the most amazing person one could ever hope to run across. He did so much for us and made our trip to USVI the most perfect vacation ever. Our photographer Tony Scimeca was perfect. He shot 216 photographs of us and I didn't even know he was there half the time. He met us the following Friday and delivered on CD 216 of the most amazing pictures I've ever seen (and not just because it was us), the quality far surpassed my expectations. And then there was Todd Hecht's company that did our video, Todd was unable to be there but he sent an associate named BRANDY and she was the sweetest thing ever. She calmed my pre-wedding jitters and made our day. The video is amazing, the quality is top notch and now I have a video of our day that I can share with family and friends and watch over and over. Brandy's footage was out of this world and when we left Todd had delivered a 15 minute video to our hotel in St. Thomas complete with background music and of course or Donkey's that greeted us on the beach. I can honestly say finding Stuart, Todd, and Tony was a blessing from above and I'd highly recommend them to anyone!
The saddest part of our trip was going home. We actually left a few tear drops behind as we packed up the villa and headed to Cruz Bay to meet the ferry.
Our last two days were spent on St. Thomas at the Best Western Beachfront Resort (a 3 minute walk to the airport). We opted to stay there so we'd have some time to decompress before going home and so we'd be close to the airport. Although no complaints regarding this hotel I wouldn't stay there again and I'm glad it was only for 2 nights. Next trip we'll stay on St. John for the entire time and risk missing the plane because of the ferry.
St. John and St. Thomas are like night and day. I fell in love with St. John because of the layed back attitude and the beauty of it. If you want to shop and have all sorts of night life options and you want all the tourist stuff then you'll love St. Thomas. If you want to relax and go with the flow and just hang out on beaches, snorkel, hike and have NO WORRIES then St. John is the place to be.
We are definatley going back to ST. JOHN
Jill and Gene
Congratulations! Sounds like a perfect wedding and honeymoon for sure. I always cry too when I leave STJ. What villa did you stay in?
Thanks for sharing - maybe I missed it, but what was the name of your villa?
We must know the villa,,,, please
Jill has a previous post 8/10/05 that she was staying in Astral Ridge. This is the link: http://www.coralbayvacations.com/
The villa we stayed at is called Astral Ridge located in the Coral Bay area on a road called Calabash Boom. It is absolutely incredible. You can rent Astral Cottage which is 2 floors with a hot tub, you can rent Astral Ridge which we had and it's 2 pods with a hot tub and pool, one bedroom but a pull out couch or you can rent all three buildings and I believe they call it Astral Villa. Their site is coralbayvacations.com . If anyone has other questions regarding this villa let me know. It was well worth the $$$$$ and I'd do it all over again tomorrow if I could.
Hi Jill.
Was anyone renting the cottage while you were there? If so, how was the privacy?
jofus
There was another couple in the cottage and when we first arrived at Astral Ridge the representative took us up to the cottage (as they hadn't checked in yet) so we could see for future trips and to know what they could and couldn't see. They could see absolutely nothing from their cottage. No matter where they looked out their windows, doors, deck and hot tub there was no way they could see us. From our villa the only thing we could see was their roof. The only time we ever saw them was when we walked up to the driveway and then you could clearly see their villa. Due to all the palm trees and greenery there was COMPLETE privacy. We invited them down one night for drinks and they were amazed to know we couldn't see them and they couldn't see us. There is a pathway leading up to the cottage from our villa but there is a gate/door that is locked so they had to walk around up to the driveway and then down our walkway to get to us.
Thanks for the fabulous trip report! I'm glad you had such a fabulous stay and a great wedding day experience! Watermelon Bay is also our favorite snorkel spot - went there for the first time February 9th - it is unforgettable! Best of luck and be sure to let us know when you are planning your next trip (and you WILL be back!!!)
VI Lover
Jill,
As I'm reading your post, I'm thinking, boy that sounds a lot like the place we stayed. Sure enough as I got to the bottom I see it was Astral Ridge, we stayed there in November for our honeymoon. I'm glad you checked out the view from the upper house. I assumed you couldn't see much but wasn't really sure. To be honest, I really didn't care. We never talked to the neighbors once.
I think Astral Ridge is the most perfect place in the world. Susan and her husband took good care of us.
Becky and I would kind of laugh at the people who stayed at the Westin or other hotels/resorts and tell us about their resort. Those people had no idea what they were missing. They would say, how can you stay without a TV and air condition. To be honest, we never got hot. With the view of the water you have at night, there is no need for a TV. Just a 6 pack of Tradewinds Beer is all you need and a blender for your wife.
One thing I am disapointed about is you giving out the name. I don't think I have ever seen CoralBayVacations mentioned on the message board before. Now, everyone will know our secret. Just kidding, I would promote Astral Ridge anytime. Amazingly, what you get is acutally better than the pictures provided on the website. When we booked the place I was thinking if it was only half as good as the pictures it would be great.
Nate,
I didn't want to reveal our great find (in fear I'd never get back in there because they'd always be booked) however someone searched the board and disclosed the location before I had a chance. Fortunately Susan, Debbie and everyone else there are fantastic and we've all ready started the process to go back next year, we hope to make this a yearly anniversary trip.
I'm still on a "high" from our trip. Astral Ridge was the most amazing find. We aren't resort type people as we like tranquil, private locations and like the flexibility of eating in our dining out and Astral provided the best of both worlds. Where else on St. John can you wake to a beautiful sunrise overlooking the ocean, drink coffee or mimosa's on the patio, take a shower out on the patio overlooking the most amazing scenery and be totally secluded from the world.
Astral Ridge is by far an AMAZING slice of heaven and we will never go anywhere else but there unless they stop renting the villa.
Glad to hear you had the same wonderful experience.
I miss the lizards doing push ups each morning and can't wait until we are back there.
Jill
The owner of Astral, Susan Brierly, also has Sago Cotttage and Windwardside. All of these properties are on Calabash Boom.
We stayed in Sago in December and hubby said he'd never want to stay anywhere else. The view of the moon rise everynight, the tradewinds and fans keeping us cool all day (sometimes a bit chilly at night- carribbean "chilly", not MA chilly), the total privacy, the views of the East End and BVI's...it was heaven.
Yes, the lizards were great. I thought they would freak Becky out, especially when she saw them on the front couch by the windows but amazingly she didn't mind them.
Yes people there are lizards everywhere. So many you can't hardly walk without stepping on them. They crawl on you when you sleep. The bugs are terrible as well. You definitely want to stay at a hotel or something in Cruz Bay. The people in Coral Bay are very mean like Jill said about Aqua Bistro. There are no friendly locals to talk to. Wow, let me tell you about the drive up to the condo. It was darn near a completely vertical ascent. My wife walked up and down she was so scared.
Jill-
Bravo! It sounds like you had an awesome time and a beautiful weddingmoon.I just looked at the website for this villa and it looks absolutely to die for! I am a little confused by the pics on the site becasue the exterior view of the two pods is the same for what looks like three villas. The website lists Astra Ridge, Astral Cottage and Astral Villa. Are they all on the same property?
I thought maybe the cottage and Astral Ridge combined to make Astral Villa, but AV has 3 bedrooms and the others have one each.
In any event, this one is on my LIST!!!
Thanks!
Bluewater,
You can rent; Astral Cottage which is by itself with 2 floors one containing the bedroom and hot tub and the other floor has the kitchen and living room with a pull out sofa, all in one pod. You can rent Astral Ridge (which we did) and it's two pods one is the living room, dining room, sitting area and bathroom and the second pod is the bedroom, another bathroom and outdoor shower, the two pods are connected by an atrium, outside of the bedroom pod is the hot tub, outside the living pod is the pool. You can also rent all three pods and get a total of 2 bedrooms, 2 pull out couches, 2 living rooms, 2 kitchens, 2 hot tubs and one pool. They are all located on the same property but renting Astral Ridge and Astral Cottage becomes Astral Villa. When we were there we had Astral Ridge and another couple we didn't know had Astral Cottage and they couldn't see us and we couldn't see them unless we met in the parking lot.....! VERY COOL and total sucluded from each other. There is a walkway that leads to them aside from our main entrance way but it had a door/gate that was locked.
It was the greatest find.....I highly recommend it to anyone who wants a secluded 4+ star accommodations. The owners/managers are fantastic people and didn't miss a beat when it came to the decor and ammentities.
Someone told us it's a 2.8 million dollar home and believe you me.....it shows.!
Jill,
Just wanted to say thanks. I sent my wife the message board link yesterday and it wasn't hard to convince her to make reservations again. So we booked the flight yesterday and are going back. Your message brought back such great memories (even though it was only 3 months ago) that we decided we had to book it before everyone and their brother booked it.
Thanks so much! You made our day!
Nate
Nate,
So glad we could refresh your memory. We were so thrilled with our trip and haven't been able to stop talking about it. Yesterday I booked the same villa for next February, the pre-nights and post nights from the villa so now I'll start the countdown to another 12 days in paradise.
Everyday I wake up and look outside hoping to see the same view from the Villa bedroom however all I see is bare trees, snow covered lawns and the temperature reading negative something....I'm so not into winter! St. John take me away!
When are you guys heading back? Where do you live? So you are newly weds as well?! I think I remember you saying November?!
Jill
Jill,
Did you say you were married by Stuart Scott??
Gee, I didn't see your wedding highlights on ESPN.
Jill! Welcome back! I was thinking about you a while ago and wondering how your trip went 😉 I'm very glad to hear you had a wonderful introduction to St. John! It DOES get addictive, doesn't it?
Alas, it seems as though my husband and I can't go back this year for our first anniversary, so I'll be prowling the Board to live vicariously through everyone here!
Would be very excited to see all the wonderful photos and the video you rave about, and share mine with you, as well. I'll have to stop into McKee's soon!
Our trip was fantastic and we are so sad to be home in cold snowy Vermont but the memories will last forever and I'm totally addicted.
Drop me an e-mail at the address you have and let me know when you might be in Winooski and I'll be sure to put the album in my car for that Sunday.
We ARE going back to celebrate our one year anniversary and I've all ready made the arrangements. I can't wait I wish it was tomorrow.
Jill
