ROMANTIC HAVEN WITH A FOREVER VEW

The garden studio exceeded all our expectations and was the perfect base for exploring St John! While simple, the studio was somehow much more roomy and comfortable than the impression given by the photos and description - in my opinion Vicky is selling this place short! Perched on a green and breezy hillside overlooking Cruz Bay you have nice views across the tree tops to the sea. It is on the lower floor of the building but is set high enough above the quiet residential access road to offer privacy and catch the cooling Caribbean trade winds. Convenient parking is located just off the road right below the studio and although you can probably walk in and out of Cruz Bay (if you like to hike) the studio is probably a little high on the hill for most people so I would recommend renting a car - it comes in handy for exploring the island at your own pace. The studio has pretty much everything you need - an incredibly well-equipped kitchen and a sweet gas grill on the deck if you want to self-cater, cable tv, radio, wifi internet, plenty of towels (including beach towels), even a little cooler and beach chairs! Lots of screened louvered windows made the studio bright and breezy but kept any bugs out. We ran the ceiling fans (there are three big ones in each 'area' of the studio) and this kept us plenty cool even though it was mid-July and probably as hot and humid out as St John gets all year. But there is an AC unit if you need it! Bathroom was spacious - all water comes from the rain stored in the cistern so you are politely asked to conserve this precious resource and to help you with this the shower has one of those 'low-flow' heads attached which is very common in the Caribbean. This was not a problem for us but if you're the type that likes to take 30 minute high-pressure blasting showers you might be better off at the Westin! Everything was spotlessly clean and fresh when we checked in and it was surprisingly easy to keep the place that way - even with all our junk. There's a big closet with plenty of hangers and lots of shelf and counter space around as well as drawers and cupboards around the frame of the big comfy custom built bed! And to top everything off, Vicky made the whole booking process very efficient and easy and then co-ordinated our smooth arrival and check-in with Deborah and Judy. Everybody was extremely fun, friendly and helpful and offered us plenty of great tips and advice for our stay. I can't recommend this place highly enough.