Cindy -

We are leaving August 9th of this year and are staying for 10 days in the temptress - we rented it through destination st. john and the jeep through them as well. I will post the any info when we return on the villa, the rental people, etc. If anyone knows any info on either place, all advice is appreciated.

Kelly

My husband and I rented from Destination St. John for a 10 day stay at Beyond the Sea. We LOVED IT!!! The company is extremely professional and the villa was outstanding. I would definately reccommend the agency. I don't think that you will be disappointed at all. Email me if you have any other questions!!

We stayed here for only a couple days (long story - tail end of a last minute trip where we villa hopped to empty houses - the DSJ people are very accomodating) about 4 years ago. The pool wasn't constructed as yet so I can't vouch for that, but the hot tub was very nice (Hot Springs brand) and the place had killer view and was very clean with a nice breeze. We only used the upper level.

We usually pick somewhat more rustic places to stay on St John, but I must say we enjoyed this place. The location is pretty convenient to town and to Centerline Rd to get to Coral Bay area. If you like the pictures on the web site, I'm sure you'll like this place. It was very private when we were there and, as typical, pictures of the view just don't do it justice. Our only down point was a 3am crowing rooster and someone in the next house down had some rowdy barking dogs (wouldn't have known there was anything else there by sight - just Bowser's voice) but again, that was like 4 years ago.

What other villas did you "hop" in and out of and what is your opinion of them?

That trip we were primarily in a house on Fish Bay that DSJ used to manage called Calypso Cove, but I think it has changed hands as I haven't seen it on the market in recent years. We tend to want to put distance between us and Cruz Bay so I don't know that our other villa choices would help your decision much since they were around Ajax Mtn, or Bordeaux or East End or Calabash area of Coral Bay. Good luck on your house shopping - so many choices!!

Bill

I don't know if you're still checking these responses but Paloma Blanca was amazing.
I almost forgot about the roosters and dogs, though only one out of a party of 6 of us was pissed off, they didn't bother me at all. I also loved watching the little lizards and large iguanas living in the yard!

The sunsets were outstanding, the pool+hot tub was more than expected and the house itself felt like our home. Destination St John was a fantastic company. They met us at the dock, helped get our cars, helped pack our luggage (4 golf bags too) and had a huge basket of fruit and other goodies waiting for us at the house!

Besides the roosters and dogs making some noise (again, didn't bother me), the side road the house sits on, though very private, is very NOT PAVED. Because of the road conditions at the time, (they had just experienced the worst rains in 7 years), it took us just as long to get off our road as it did to get into town. However, it made for a real memorable trip, lots of good pictures and a story to tell.

I went to St John last December with my fiance, his parents, brother and sister-in-law and we are all going back this end of November to a different villa through Destination St John.

Lysa, Thanks for the information. Although I didn't get much feedback on this message board we did end up booking Paloma Blanca for next May. I spoke to Laura (Dest St. John) who didn't deny that there have been a few complaints about the animal noises but said that could happen at any villa. She commented how beautiful the view was as both BillyD and (now) you have confirmed and wasn't pushy at all. We are so looking forward to the trip although several months away. Is there anything you had expected to be provided (towels, coffee pot, etc.) that wasn't? Where did you grocery shop and how expensive did you find items to be?

Hello Cindy,

Here is a grocery list with prices from one store on St. John... just to give you an idea of $...

Granny Apples $1.75/lb
Kiwi $1 for 2
Red Seedless Grapes $2.95/lb
Iceberg Lettuce $1.95/a head
Cucumber $1.25 each
Tomatoes $1.75/lb
Green Peppers $2.65/lb
Dole Celery $1.95
Marlboro Cigarettes $20.95 a carton
Edy's Ice-cream $9.95/1.75 qts
2001 Robert Mondui Pinot Noir $16.25
Ocean Spray Fruit Juice $5.95/64floz
Motts Apple Juice $4.95/64floz
Minute Maid Berry Punch $5.25/10pk
Crushed Red Pepper $4.75
Oscar Meyer Jumbo Wieners $4.95/16oz
Oscar Meyer Variety Pack $5.95/16oz
English Muffins $3.49/6pk
Boneless Chicken $5.95/lb
Whole Chicken $1.45/lb
Steak - Angus Beef $13.95/lb
Ground Beef $3.85/lb
5 Italian Sausages $4.95
Honey Mustard Dressing $5.95/12floz
Ida Seasoned Fries $4.95/2lb
Green Giant Corn $7.95/12 half ears
Tostitos $2.29/8oz bag
Lipton Green Tea $3.95/20 bags
Carnation Evaporated Milk .95/a can
Aunt Jemima Original $2.75/12oz
Cottonelle 4 pack $2.45
Bounty $2.95 a roll
Rozoni Spaghetti $1.25/8oz
Dawn for Dishes $4.95/25floz
Ragu $3.45/1lb 10oz
Close Up $2.95/4oz
Kotex Tampons $7.55/18 pack
Campbell's Tomato Soup $1.55/10oz can
Huggies Diapers $14.95/18pack
Whiskas Cat Food $8.95/6.6lb
Pedigree Dog Food $1.45/22oz can
White Bread $2.09 a loaf
Tillamook Cheddar $5.75/8oz
Oscar Meyer Bologna $2.95/8oz
Tropicana Orange Juice $4.95/64floz
Milk 1/2 gal $2.95
Post Honey Bunches of Oats $4.95/13oz
Budweiser 6 pack Bottles $5.50

--Islander

Groceries> both stores in town had good groceries but were a little expensive. There was a watermelon that cost, if I remember correctly, @ $15! Yup, we brought that right back! Just make sure you check all prices. Most groceries are not that expensive.

My future mother-in-law actually packed a lot of groceries and meat (some miracle freezer bag kept all meat frozen stiff the whole trip to St John) and the goodie basket that was left for us had a ton of fresh fruit, salsa chips, cheese. We ate out of that for a few days.

Keep in mind though that most of these groceries are shipped to the island so the prices have to be a little high. I wouldn't say unreasonable, though.

One thing that I missed was salt, sugar and pepper. There was none. The reason, though, is that the tropical weather comes hand -n-hand with ant potential. No food can be left out on the counter or a trail of ants comes from outside to get to it. It's pretty fascinating! Like they have freakin' radar! As long as everything was put in the fridge or sealed nice and tight, you wouldn't even know there were ants.

Towels are provided as well as coffee maker, pots pans, dishes, everything you need in a kitchen as well as a grill. Also, there's a washer and dryer, just check that there is detergent. Oh, there's a stereo too so bring some of your favorite CD's.

I hope you have great time. We are headed to St John (to Cocotier) the first few weeks of December for our honeymoon. And I absolutely cannot wait!