11 Reviews of Property 334657 in Johns Folly, Virgin Islands

This was my wife’s and my first vacation in retirement and our first trip to the Caribbean.
“Surf Sound Cottage” was absolutely perfect for us—private, fabulous porch views of the ocean,
various islands, and the comings and goings of boats and ships. Constant ocean breezes and sounds of ocean surf. Numerous hiking trails and fabulous beaches within a couple of miles. Great low key and casual restaurants and bars. Located in Coral Bay, on the best side of the entire island, away from the crowds of the Cruz Bay area. Cottage is fully equipped and exactly as advertised. Denise is a perfect hostess, honest and a pleasure to work with. She provides all the information and tips you need to make your stay perfect.

this is a wonderful house, clean, cozy, the views are better than the pics. if you're looking for seclusion this is your house. i was ready to kill the neighbor roosters though by day 2.

we enjoyed our time at the cottage. we prefer not to be in the hustle of all the tourist and it was wonderful to spend the day at the different beaches and then go home. So quiet and peaceful. Just to spend the mornings and evening on the porch and watch the clouds. The cottage had everything we needed, tho I am glad we brought our own snorkel gear. Great snorkeling and the beaches were all close. the bbq was nice to have when we didn't want to go out.

The location in John's Folly is awesome, a quiet part of the island but very close to the tourist trap( they have the best pulled pork nachos). The cottage gardens are beautiful w tropical flowers all around. The porch view to the bay is breath taking. One evening just before dark we saw whales off the pier of Coral Cove. The cottage was perfect for my husband and I. It provides all of your basic needs and then some. Denise is incredibly generous and a joy to do business with.She makes your stay relaxing and easy. The outdoor shower was a nice plus as was having a washer and dryer to clean all our clothes. It is a special little place that is well maintained and I miss it already. I cannot wait to go back next year. Thanks Denise for sharing your little piece of heaven with us.

Our stay at the Surfsound was awesome! You MUST have a 4wd vehicle to get up the access road to the house. It was scary the first time and after that it was very easy and fun. The house offers a beautiful view and ultimate privacy. The house is on the quiet side of the island and was easy to use as a homebase for all of our snorkeling excursions. The outdoor shower was perfect after a long day in the water. The indoor shower is large and beautiful. The people in town are very friendly and helpful. For snorkeling go to Waterlemon to see the most fish, starfish, turtles and even a shark. The walk is short don't let it scare you. For a relaxing day at a quiet beach take a right out of the access road to Salt Pond. The otherside is drunk bay and has crashing surf, take the hike. The house had everything we needed and coolers and chairs for a day trip. If you rent this house you will want to rent it again as it is perfect. Denise is very helpful and has great suggestions. I can't say enough about this, best vacation ever was at the Surfsound Cottage!!

My wife and I just got back from nearly three weeks at Surf Sound, and we would definitely return. In 2011, we stayed at a place maybe 200 feet above Skinny Legs in Coral Bay, and got to listen to the bars all night (Skinny Legs and Island Blues). So Surf Sound was great--just the breeze, the surf, and the roosters, which are ubiquitous on St John. The place was just as described, and was clean and well-maintained. Denise was very responsive to inquiries, and provided me with some good inser tips that I didn't pick up on the previous year. We loved the deck, which was in the shade most of the day (there's another nice place just above the house if you want to sun). I burned a lot of disk space on my Nikon photgraphing the sunrises and the squalls coming from Tortola. The kitchen was well set up, so I enjoyed cooking the snapper, wahoo, mahi, and swordfish I bought at various places. The outdoor shower was delightful. The purple-flowered the bromeliad right next to it was in glorious bloom. Others have said this, but a 4WD is a must to negotiate the driveway (which became a daily fun challenge). You should get one anyway, as you need the clearance to get down to Great & Little Lameshur, Kiddel, & Grootpan bays, and to Francis Bay on the north side. We rented at the airport, shopped for most groceries in the Tutu area on St Thomas, and took the barge over. My favorite snorkels are Waterlemon, Francis Bay (go all the way out to the point, if you can, following the shore), Princess Bay mangrove snorkel, Kiddel Bay (west side), and Yawzi Point, from the Great Lameshur side. We loved Concordia for Sunday brunch, The Tourist Trap, Aqua Bistro, and Donkey Diner (breakfast). The house may seem far out the road, but it isn't really, St John being the small place that it is. Coral Bay area has a great selection of restaurants, and they are only a few minutes away. It's worth a few minutes extra driving for the view and the quiet.

Surf Sound was great, it had lots of space, and was VERY private and comfortable. First of all, many people tell you that you wont need any air conditioning on the island to be comfortable because of the breezes. This was not the case for us. While we were there, the temps were steady in the low-high 90's almost every day and very humid, and we really didnt notice many cooling breezes. It could have just been our visit, but we would have been miserable without the a/c in the bedroom to retreat to when we needed to cool off. Since electricity is so expensive, I feel that the owner, Denise is offering a really good deal with the AC/cable/internet/phone she offers included in the rate. Denise was also really great to work with. She was very prompt to answer any questions that we had, and when we had an issue with the cable box not working, she promptly had the handyman come over to take care of it while we went to the beach.

Here are some things that I wasnt able to tell from the pictures that you might want to know:
1. There is just the one house on the property. I wasnt sure if there was a home directly next to the cottage from the picture, but it is just part of the cottage. There are other houses on the main road nearby, but nothing so close that you didnt feel secluded and private.
2. The back porch was not screened in at the time of our visit. This is a small thing that would have made a big difference for us, as mosquitos happened to be really bad all over the island during our stay. There had been 3 weeks of steady rain prior to our arrival, and there was no escaping them except when you ran inside and quickly closed the door behind you.
3. It really isnt a big deal that your not "in town." Sure, it was a bit of a longer drive to get to the north shore beaches or cruz bay, but the island is so small, you are never more than a half hour - 40 min drive tops to get anywhere. The roads are extremely curvy though, so if someone has really bad carsickness, you may need to opt for something close to the areas where you plan to spend most of your time.
4. The cottage has a homey, lived-in feel for sure, but I never felt like it was unclean and I'm a huge germ-a-phobe when it comes to hotels. It was awesome that people left behind extra things they didnt use up during their stay. The extra additions like beach chairs and coolers/water in the fridge/ basket of useful hygene items were all great!

We would definitely come back!

My husband and I stayed at Surf Sound Cottage and would highly recommend it to all. The house has everything you will need from beach chairs, coolers, towels and snorkel equipment. Very clean and organized. The property manager was very helpful. The views are spectacular! Beaches were fabulous! We never needed the air conditioning in the bedroom as the breeze was beautiful. The description does not do this little cozy cottage justice. Lovely place.