Relax with a view in sunny Caribbean breezes in a clean well located villa

We just returned to Minnesota from a 10-day stay at the Care Free villa in Mahogany Run and were more than satisfied with our stay. This was a family holiday get-together that brought together my wife and I, our oldest two sons, and our youngest son and his wife. We selected the "Care Free" villa after an extensive search of VRBO options in St. Thomas and final review by one of our sons who is currently living and working on St. Thomas. We will definitely come back in the future! First of all, the actual villa lived up to the beautiful pictures on the website - It is a beautiful, spacious, well-kept, and fully-supplied villa for our family of six. Eating breakfast on the deck overlooking the Atlantic Ocean every morning was "other worldly" with 180 degrees of ocean and island viewing. The villa was our base everyday and we had breakfasts, some lunches, and several dinners there. Owner Rick Jelovsek was very accommodating and provided many ideas of things to do during our visit. We traveled to the beaches (mainly Cinnamon) on St. John and to the British Virgin Islands of Virgin Gorda, Tortola, and Jost Van Dyke. We dined at several St. Thomas establishments...Iggey's; Fat Turtle; Hook, Line and Sinker; and the North Side Bistro. We toasted the sunset high above Charlotte Amalie Harbor one night and had an early-morning toast at another peak overlooking Magen's Bay on the north side the next day. This vacation stay was like a dream!

Reviewed May 31, 2012 for a stay in May 2012

My husband and I and our son and daughter-in-law just spent a wonderful week at Carefree. The views are spectacular. The pictures are exactly what Carefree looks like. Rick arranged for us to be met at the airport and guided back to the house. He also sent us a lot of helpful information prior to our departure and kept in touch while we were there to be sure everything was OK. We took advantage of the grill and cooked out a couple nights. We highly recommend getting steaks at the Marina Market in Red Hook across from Fish Tails if you want to grill. Carefree is great for families and even better if there are two or three couples, as each would have a king size bed and private bath. The beds were very comfortable. Nice views from every room. The property is very clean and well maintained. The day we arrived, we ate at the Mohogany Run Golf Grill. Very good. We went to Coki Beach, Megan's Bay and Sapphire Beach. All within 20 minutes or less of Carefree. The best day to be on the beach is when there are only a few cruise ships in. None is much better. We did a day sail on High Pockets to Cinnamon Bay on St. John's island where we snorkeled with sea turtles and rays. Terrific day. We took the ferry to St. John for dinner at The Beach Bar. Had a great time! In Red Hook we ate one dinner at Fish Tails and another at Iggies at Bolongo Bay (both about a 25 minute drive). All dining experiences were positive. Even with a few sharp turns, the roads were no problem. Coming back to Carefree after our days activity was like coming home, only better. We highly recommend staying at Carefree and hope to return again. David, Karen, Tom and Pam

We just returned from Carefree Villa, had a great time there, and would heartily recommend this property! It is clean, well-equipped, and well-located. The views from virtually everywhere in the house were beautiful.

Rick, the owner, happened to be on the island, so he met us at the airport and took us to Carefree. He was very helpful in answering a number of questions that we had about St. Thomas, as we had never stayed there before even though we have traveled in the VI fairly extensively. He also was kind enough to purchase a high chair for our use, as we brought our 9 month-old grandson.

The house was very clean and well taken care of on the inside, with many amenities. The kitchen was quite well-equipped, as we cooked many of our meals there. Rick has a wine cooler with a nice selection of wines for purchase, which was very handy. The layout is good in that the master bedroom is on the main floor and the other two bedrooms are down a short inside staircase. Each bedroom has an en-suite bath, which was nice. The beds were very comfortable. The bedrooms have air conditioning, but we never used it, as the sea breeze and ceiling fans kept us comfortable.

The outside areas are wonderful, with both covered and open patio space. The pool is small but quite clean and refreshing. As I said, the views are incredible, with an 180 degree view of the whole north side of the island, looking toward the BVI. The house is very open, with a lot of glass, so you appreciate the views from almost every spot in the house.

We liked being on the north side of the island, as it is quieter and less crowded. The Mahogany Run community is nice and secure, with a gate manned 24 hours/day, and the Grill at Mahogany Run has great food and is very handy. You are close to Magens Bay, which is the nicest beach on the island. We didn't go into Charlotte Amalie much, spending most of our time north and in the Red Hook area, a short 20 min. drive away.

I would also recommend Havana Blue, at the Marriott Frenchman's Reef, for dinner, and Big Bambooz in Red Hook was good. We also had lunch one day at the Ritz Resort, and that is worth seeing. Snorkeling at Sapphire Beach was great!. It is nice to make a day trip to St. John: the car ferry is an easy way to go if you have a rental car.

Our experience on St. Thomas was wonderful, mostly because of our home base of Carefree Villa! It is very nice, comfortable, and we recommend it highly!