St. John, USVI

We are lovers of St. John. This was our 3rd trip to the island. First time was in 2003 and we stayed at the Westin. Second time was in 2009 and we stayed at Caneel Bay. This time we decided to rent a villa. We've had such great experiences renting in Virgin Gorda and St. Barthelemy. Since we didn't love the Westin and Caneel Bay, we thought renting would be the way to go for this trip. We went through Wimco and rented Casa Mare. We have no complaints about Wimco and the actual rental process. Everything went smoothly.

VILLA CASA MARE

If you're looking for a place with a Caribbean feel, Casa Mare is not for you. It is a modern 4-bedroom villa. We thought it was beautifully designed but we ended up with mixed feelings about it. The bottom line, we'll try another villa on our next trip.

Our biggest issue were the spider webs (with spiders and dead bugs caught in the webs ) all over the floor-to-ceiling windows. The good thing is that they were all outside. The bad thing is that you got to see them and "enjoy" the company while swimming in the pool which was right against the house. There were spider webs all over the pool chairs as well (we cleaned those ourselves). The outside of the windows had clearly not been cleaned in a long time. It really was a big turnoff. Let me be clear, the inside of the house was clean so no issue there.

The beds were awful. We woke up every day with back pains. It was so bad for me that the last 2 nights I ended up sleeping on the chaise lounge in the office.

There is a koi pond by the front door. Unfortunately, there was a bad smell emanating from it. When I think of koi ponds, I think "pretty" and "relaxing". This was not. I saw one koi and the pond was filled with tadpoles. Another turnoff.

When you first walk into the house, the view seems amazing. However, when you get to the balcony, you realize there's a muddy bay below. We jokingly called it "Dirty Bay". That was a disappointment.

BEACHES

Still beautiful! And the water temp was nice! There was one day when it rained most of the day but besides that, we had great weather.

Trunk Bay. Only beach that has a fee to get in. $4/adult. Free for 16 and under.

Caneel Bay

Cinnamon Bay

Mahoe Bay

Hawknest Bay

Jumbie Bay

RESTAURANTS

Dinner at Waterfront Bistro: Excellent! 

Salmon

Yellowfin tuna

Dinner at Morgan's Mango: Excellent!

Shrimp & Empanada

Cajun chicken quesadillas

Blackened swordfish

Dinner at Banana Deck: Just okay.

Cajun mahi mahi

Dinner at The Terrace: Very good.

Lobster

Chocolate terrine

Dinner at Lime Inn: Good.

Lobster

Snapper

Lunch at High Tide: Very good.

Steak tacos

Lunch at The Beach Bar: Good.

Fried shrimp

Lunch at Skinny Legs: Okay.

Grilled mahi

Cheeseburger

CAR RENTAL: We rented a Ford Escape for the entire week from Courtesy Car/Jeep Rental. Bill came to $518. We have no complaints and we would use them again.

GETTING THERE: Everything was on schedule. We flew Chicago-St. Thomas on United Airlines and took the Red Hook ferry to/from St. John.

This was another great trip to St. John. Can't wait till the next one!