Back of house
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Back of house
Upper deck fire pit/table view of St. Thomas
View of house and pool from lower deck
Open Air Caribbean Living Room
Indoor Dining Area
Outdoor, Poolside Dining Area
Ahhhh....soak in the sun by the pool
Modern, fully equipped kitchen
Bedroom
View from bedroom
Living Room
Sip your coffee on one of 4 decks by the bedrooms
Fresh water lap pool (salt water cleaning system, so no chlorine smell)
View of the entranceway from loft bedroom
Dusk View From Living Room
Poolside gazebo built in 2010
- Bedrooms3
- Sleeps8
- 3 Bathrooms
32 Reviews of Property 172256 in Gift Hill, Virgin Islands
Affordable, magificent sunsets, fresh water pool, easy location, great reviews
business
Affordable, magificent sunsets, fresh water pool, easy location, great reviews
http://www.homeaway.com/vacation-rental/p172256
+1 617-429-6182
Gift Hill
St John
Guestbook Comment
The Florian Villa is The Place to experience a tropical adventure. With privacy, luxury, a gorgeous pool, and breathtaking views of The Virgin Islands...
Submitted: November 29, 2007
Stayed: November 2007
The Florian Villa is The Place to experience a tropical adventure. With privacy, luxury, a gorgeous pool, and breathtaking views of The Virgin Islands, you simply will not want to leave the property. But there is so much to do while you’re on the island, especially if you’re there during one of The Florian Villa Retreats, which are all-inclusive vacations.
Several times a year Scott and Deb, the villa’s gracious and knowledgeable owners, host all inclusive vacations. They have two kinds- Yoga & Active Sport. I chose the latter, and got to snorkel in glass clear water with thousands of color fish, hike all around the island’s National Park (which is 2/3rds of St. John), and even cruised around the entire island in a power boat.
Now you can do all of these activities if you stay in a hotel, but let me say that you’ll miss out on most of it. No matter how much web or book research you do, you’ll never be able to learn how to get around the island like Scott & Deb. They have two brand new SUVs, which are imperative for navigating the steep, narrow roads. And that’s another thing- you could rent a car but I would advise against it. In addition to the roads being steep and narrow, you must also drive on the left. I believe St. John is the only U.S. territory where you must drive on the left.
Scott & Deb also take care of all the gear. You do not have to rent anything- they will provide you with snorkeling and hiking equipment and all the little details (such as water and sunblock). You just grab it and go have fun.
Now let’s talk food. No matter where you go on the island (supermarket or restaurant), food is very, very expensive on St. John. I ate a few of the nicer restaurants there (such as The Balcony) and none of them even came close to Deb’s cooking. We had meals like marinated chicken and veggies, gourmet burgers, and the best Turkey dinner I’ve ever eaten. And all these meals are included in the retreat! As well as beer and wine! And let me tell you- a cold Corona never tasted better after hiking to the top of Mt. Bordeaux (the highest point on St. John).
You could stay at the ultra expensive Westin and not get treated any better.
I cannot say enough about how much I enjoyed The Florian Villa. I urge you to go to their website to find out
Several times a year Scott and Deb, the villa’s gracious and knowledgeable owners, host all inclusive vacations. They have two kinds- Yoga & Active Sport. I chose the latter, and got to snorkel in glass clear water with thousands of color fish, hike all around the island’s National Park (which is 2/3rds of St. John), and even cruised around the entire island in a power boat.
Now you can do all of these activities if you stay in a hotel, but let me say that you’ll miss out on most of it. No matter how much web or book research you do, you’ll never be able to learn how to get around the island like Scott & Deb. They have two brand new SUVs, which are imperative for navigating the steep, narrow roads. And that’s another thing- you could rent a car but I would advise against it. In addition to the roads being steep and narrow, you must also drive on the left. I believe St. John is the only U.S. territory where you must drive on the left.
Scott & Deb also take care of all the gear. You do not have to rent anything- they will provide you with snorkeling and hiking equipment and all the little details (such as water and sunblock). You just grab it and go have fun.
Now let’s talk food. No matter where you go on the island (supermarket or restaurant), food is very, very expensive on St. John. I ate a few of the nicer restaurants there (such as The Balcony) and none of them even came close to Deb’s cooking. We had meals like marinated chicken and veggies, gourmet burgers, and the best Turkey dinner I’ve ever eaten. And all these meals are included in the retreat! As well as beer and wine! And let me tell you- a cold Corona never tasted better after hiking to the top of Mt. Bordeaux (the highest point on St. John).
You could stay at the ultra expensive Westin and not get treated any better.
I cannot say enough about how much I enjoyed The Florian Villa. I urge you to go to their website to find out
Helpful votes: 15/19
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Affordable, magificent sunsets, fresh water pool, easy location, great reviews
http://www.homeaway.com/vacation-rental/p172256
+1 617-429-6182
Gift Hill
St John
The best kept secret of the Caribbean !
Submitted: January 2, 2012
Stayed: December 2011
My stay at the Florian Villa was exceptional ! Wow....what a great home ! Amazing hosts and great hospitality. Beautiful spacious house with a caribbean feel, very comfy & all you need is there.
The location of the villa is perfect, located in a quiet countryside area, very peaceful and close to all services which are within a 3-minute drive and Cruz Bay (5 minutes). The views from the villa are fabulous. Surrounded by birds singning all day long. St John is a lovely island to explore. Gorgeous beaches, my favorite was Trunk Bay where you have good snorkeling. St John also offers a nice selection of good restaurants.
The drive to Coral bay is very enjoyable with a stop at Bordeaux Mountain for lunch where you can savor the view of the bay at an altitude of approx. 1,200'.
Highly recommend Florian Villa !. Certainly be back in a near future.
The location of the villa is perfect, located in a quiet countryside area, very peaceful and close to all services which are within a 3-minute drive and Cruz Bay (5 minutes). The views from the villa are fabulous. Surrounded by birds singning all day long. St John is a lovely island to explore. Gorgeous beaches, my favorite was Trunk Bay where you have good snorkeling. St John also offers a nice selection of good restaurants.
The drive to Coral bay is very enjoyable with a stop at Bordeaux Mountain for lunch where you can savor the view of the bay at an altitude of approx. 1,200'.
Highly recommend Florian Villa !. Certainly be back in a near future.
Helpful votes: 1/1
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business
Affordable, magificent sunsets, fresh water pool, easy location, great reviews
http://www.homeaway.com/vacation-rental/p172256
+1 617-429-6182
Gift Hill
St John
The best kept secret of the Caribbean !
Submitted: January 2, 2012
Stayed: December 2011
My stay at the Florian Villa was exceptional ! Wow....what a great home ! Amazing hosts and great hospitality. Beautiful spacious house with a caribbean feel, very comfy & all you need is there.
The location of the villa is perfect, located in a quiet countryside area, very peaceful and close to all services wich are within a 3-minute drive and Cruz Bay (5 minutes). The views from the villa are fabulous. Surrounded by birds singning all day long. St John is a lovely island to explore. Gorgeous beaches, my favorite was Trunk Bay where you have good snorkeling. St John also offers a nice selection of good restaurants. The drive to Coral bay is very enjoyable with a stop at Bordeaux Mountain for lunch where you can savor the view of the bay at an altitude of approx. 1,200'.
Highly recommend Florian Villa !. Certainly be back in a near future.
The location of the villa is perfect, located in a quiet countryside area, very peaceful and close to all services wich are within a 3-minute drive and Cruz Bay (5 minutes). The views from the villa are fabulous. Surrounded by birds singning all day long. St John is a lovely island to explore. Gorgeous beaches, my favorite was Trunk Bay where you have good snorkeling. St John also offers a nice selection of good restaurants. The drive to Coral bay is very enjoyable with a stop at Bordeaux Mountain for lunch where you can savor the view of the bay at an altitude of approx. 1,200'.
Highly recommend Florian Villa !. Certainly be back in a near future.
Recommended for:
Age 55+,
Girls Getaway,
Sightseeing,
Families with Teenagers,
Families with Young Children,
Romantic Getaway
Helpful votes: 1/1
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business
Affordable, magificent sunsets, fresh water pool, easy location, great reviews
http://www.homeaway.com/vacation-rental/p172256
+1 617-429-6182
Gift Hill
St John
Guest Comment Entered by Owner
Sun and "friends"
Sun and "friends"
Submitted: December 7, 2011
Stayed: August 2011
Posted by owners, from an email sent from the guest (posted with the renter's permission):
The vacation was absolutely awesome. Thank you very much. Probably the best vacation both my girlfriend and I ever had. The villa was beautiful and more than we expected. We loved the family of iguanas, and the anoles and hermit crabs that were everywhere. The only things missing were the snakes. Though, we were told that one of the uninhabited islands, Stephen I think, had them. I'm a big snake and animal lover. I have a pet snake at home too. Anyways, it was funny too because just about every morning a chicken would be waiting at the kitchen door for food I guess and in the afternoon, after a day at the beach or something, the iguanas would meet us as they were sunbathing on the rocks. One even went for a swim in the pool with my girlfriend as she was laying on one of the floats.
We did everything we wanted to do and became certified scuba divers while we were there too. We did all the beaches, hiked Ram Head, rented jet skis, snorkeled, etc...
Got a little nervous though at first and thought we were cursed for vacations this year. First while we were landing it rained a little but stopped real quick. And then when we went to pick up our luggage, it wasn't there. It didn't make the flight because our flight out of Logan was an hour late. It ended up getting to St. John around 6 PM. Other than that our trip was amazing and we both had a great time.
We hope to go every year. I would love to retire there and buy property there as well. It was much better than Bermuda.
Thanks again for everything and letting us stay at the Villa.
The vacation was absolutely awesome. Thank you very much. Probably the best vacation both my girlfriend and I ever had. The villa was beautiful and more than we expected. We loved the family of iguanas, and the anoles and hermit crabs that were everywhere. The only things missing were the snakes. Though, we were told that one of the uninhabited islands, Stephen I think, had them. I'm a big snake and animal lover. I have a pet snake at home too. Anyways, it was funny too because just about every morning a chicken would be waiting at the kitchen door for food I guess and in the afternoon, after a day at the beach or something, the iguanas would meet us as they were sunbathing on the rocks. One even went for a swim in the pool with my girlfriend as she was laying on one of the floats.
We did everything we wanted to do and became certified scuba divers while we were there too. We did all the beaches, hiked Ram Head, rented jet skis, snorkeled, etc...
Got a little nervous though at first and thought we were cursed for vacations this year. First while we were landing it rained a little but stopped real quick. And then when we went to pick up our luggage, it wasn't there. It didn't make the flight because our flight out of Logan was an hour late. It ended up getting to St. John around 6 PM. Other than that our trip was amazing and we both had a great time.
We hope to go every year. I would love to retire there and buy property there as well. It was much better than Bermuda.
Thanks again for everything and letting us stay at the Villa.
Helpful votes: 1/1
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business
Affordable, magificent sunsets, fresh water pool, easy location, great reviews
http://www.homeaway.com/vacation-rental/p172256
+1 617-429-6182
Gift Hill
St John
Breathtaking and soooooo relaxing!!!
Submitted: March 22, 2011
Stayed: March 2011
We are usually happy to come back to San Diego after a great vacation but we were actually very sad to leave this peaceful little haven. It was just perfect! Every morning we had the luxury of sitting on the deck enjoying our coffee and looking at beautiful views of cruz bay, the only noises were from the wild goats, chickens and birds that live in the surrounding forest, amazing! This is a very comfortable, beautiful home and we really enjoyed the outdoor showers. Deb was just wonderful to us and even had our rental crib waiting at the villa upon our arrival. We were greeted at the ferry landing with keys to our rental car, a quick trip to the market and even a few snacks waiting at the home. We also loved the location, the town was about 10 minutes away and all the good beaches 15-20...perfect! at the end of each day in the sun, we looked forward to going home to our relaxing retreat, Thanks Deb for a wonderful vacation, we will be back!!
Recommended for:
Age 55+,
Adventure Seekers,
Girls Getaway,
Families with Teenagers,
Families with Young Children,
Romantic Getaway
Helpful votes: 1/1
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business
Affordable, magificent sunsets, fresh water pool, easy location, great reviews
http://www.homeaway.com/vacation-rental/p172256
+1 617-429-6182
Gift Hill
St John
Family Vacation in St John
Submitted: August 3, 2010
Stayed: July 2010
Really there are few words to describe our vacation on St John...It was absolutley amazing! My husband and I had vacationed on the Island 7 years ago and it was then that we decided we were going to return but with our children! (and now their 2 families) There was something about Florian Villa and Deb, the owner that caught our eye and tugged at our hearts. We were not dissappointed. Not long after we walked through the front door we began to feel comfortable and "cozy". Everyone was relaxed. We enjoyed the different areas of the villa where we could find a quiet spot, we loved the mornings with our coffee in the pool, the evening sunsets were amazing and the sounds of the tree frogs at night were like music to our ears. The furniture was comfortable, and the beds were excellent! We slept better than ever...the hardest part of the vacation was leaving Florian Villa..but the memories will live forever! We hope to return!
Recommended for:
Age 55+,
Adventure Seekers,
Girls Getaway,
Sightseeing,
Families with Teenagers,
Families with Young Children,
Romantic Getaway
Helpful votes: 2/2
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business
Affordable, magificent sunsets, fresh water pool, easy location, great reviews
http://www.homeaway.com/vacation-rental/p172256
+1 617-429-6182
Gift Hill
St John
Best Vacation!
Submitted: June 3, 2010
Stayed: May 2010
Florian Villa had everything you could possibly want in a vacation. Snorkeling, hiking, beautiful beaches, scuba diving, night life, and great tranquility at Florian Villa. If you want, you can spend your entire vacation at the villa, and never look back. For the price, you can't beat Florian Villa. Other Villa's and hotels charge you much more in St. John and don't care for you nearly as much. Deb and Scott went out of their way to make my vacation perfect!
Recommended for:
Age 55+,
Adventure Seekers,
Pet-friendly,
Girls Getaway,
Tourists without a Car,
Sightseeing,
Families with Teenagers,
Families with Young Children,
People with Disabilities,
Romantic Getaway
Helpful votes: 2/2
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business
Affordable, magificent sunsets, fresh water pool, easy location, great reviews
http://www.homeaway.com/vacation-rental/p172256
+1 617-429-6182
Gift Hill
St John
The perfect vacation!
Submitted: June 3, 2010
Stayed: May 2010
Florian Villa has everything all rolled up into one. It's my first vacation where I had 3 options. If i wanted to go into Cruz Bay and enjoy the night life it had it, if i wanted to challenge myself with adventure ( snorkeling, hiking, scuba diving etc...) it had it, and if i wanted the tranquility and peace (Florian Villa), it had it. Oh.. don't let me forget. 85 degrees every day. I just wish i booked a longer stay than one week. The price was very affordable! It was almost a steal!
Recommended for:
Age 55+,
Adventure Seekers,
Pet-friendly,
Girls Getaway,
Tourists without a Car,
Sightseeing,
Families with Teenagers,
Families with Young Children,
People with Disabilities,
Romantic Getaway
Helpful votes: 1/1
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business
Affordable, magificent sunsets, fresh water pool, easy location, great reviews
http://www.homeaway.com/vacation-rental/p172256
+1 617-429-6182
Gift Hill
St John
In love with St John and Florian Villa
Submitted: June 2, 2010
Stayed: March 2010
My friends and I had the absolute pleasure of spending a week at Florian Villa. The house was very accomodating, and comfortable. (There were 3 couples, all with our own bedroom and bath.)Nestled into a rugged hillside, the view is just spectacular to enjoy after a long day exploring the island. Great location as well! ( 5 minute ride to town/bars/restaurants/beaches) The fully equipped kitchen was great to have when we were too tired from the beach to go out. A late swim in the pool, drinks and dinner watching the sunset from the fabulous deck is a great way to end a day in St John. I look forward to returning to Florian Villa!
Recommended for:
Age 55+,
Adventure Seekers,
Pet-friendly,
Girls Getaway,
Sightseeing,
Families with Teenagers,
Families with Young Children,
Romantic Getaway
Helpful votes: 1/1
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business
Affordable, magificent sunsets, fresh water pool, easy location, great reviews
http://www.homeaway.com/vacation-rental/p172256
+1 617-429-6182
Gift Hill
St John
Paradise
Submitted: June 2, 2010
Stayed: March 2010
My friends and I had the absolute pleasure of spending a week at Florian Villa. The house was very accommodating, and comfortable. (There were 3 couples, all with our own bedroom and bath.)Nestled into a rugged hillside, the view is just spectacular to enjoy after a long day exploring the island. Great location as well! ( 5 minute ride to town/bars/restaurants/beaches) The fully equipped kitchen was great to have when we were too tired from the beach to go out. A late swim in the pool, drinks and dinner watching the sunset from the fabulous deck is a great way to end a day in St John. I look forward to returning to Florian Villa!
Recommended for:
Age 55+,
Adventure Seekers,
Girls Getaway,
Sightseeing,
Families with Teenagers,
Families with Young Children,
Romantic Getaway
Helpful votes: 1/1
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