Hello Kitty,

Hillcrest is a small guesthouse, http://www.hillcreststjohn.com You could rent out two rooms for your family. They are a short walk to Cruz Bay. Not a villa though.

Scroll to the top of this page and click on St. John and then choose Accommodations from the drop down. You can e-mail some of the Villa Agencies and see if they have any properties that fit what you are looking for.

--Islander

Kitty,

We came across some villas within walking distance of Cruz Bay while looking for a villa for our vacation. We ended up picking a villa near Coral Bay, but here are some I came across in our searches:

Amora, Bluerock, Cruz View Condos, and Gallows Point Condos at caribbeanvilla.com.

I can't recommend any of these because we're just planning our first trip to St. John ourselves. You can do a search of these boards to see what other people have said about their villas or do a google search on "villa within walking distance to Cruz Bay."

Best wishes in picking out your villa!

I can recommend Hillcrest, I spent two weeks there back in December, it's less than a five minute walk into town but it's a very steep hill. It might be a little small for five people but it's a great place, good luck.

There are several villas along the north shore, where the taxis go by regularly (you just flag them down--they are essentially open-air vans holding up to 15 people). Hawksnest Villa or Terra Hawk or HawksView,for example, and some others are great places to stay and are about 3 miles from the town of Cruz Bay (up and down hills, though). It takes about one hour to walk into Cruz Bay from any of those, and it's great exercise so that you "earn" your lazy day and big dinner. But you may not need to walk if you flag the taxi or rent a car. Lots of options on St. John.

We have stayed 4 or 5 times at Gallows Point with our 3 kids who are late teens and early 20's. They love the location because of the proximity to Cruz Bay. It is a very easy, 5 minute walk into town and they can come and go as they please. We'll be there again for 8 days at the end of June!

I agree, that Gallow's Point is a good coice. I've stayed there with my wife (no children) and found it to be convienient. You don't nned to rent a car for the stay which can save you some cash (just rent a few days to get to the outskirts of the island). The beach is rocky, but has good snorkeling. A 5 min walk down a small hill to town. Central air that works and a nice pool on premisis for cooling down.
Try the resturant for great sunset cocktails.
We've been renting villas for our recent trips. You get more for your money in the villa, but give up the convience of a Cruz Bay location.