TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums US VI and Puerto Rico ST JOHN part 2

STJ August 3-10, 2021 (PART 2)


So, in part one I painted a bad start to our trip, I must say that CateredTo did work hard to find us a replacement villa and my wife said the rep was very nice and professional during multiple calls. The island is hopping because of travel restrictions elsewhere, so I am just thankful that they found what turned out to be a beautiful villa at Sunset Ridge Villas, see link... https://cimmaronstjohn.com/sunset-ridge-villa-A/


The villas are timeshare and we were able to meet a few owners, nice folks! We were in Villa A which is furthest in. The property was very quiet at all times of the day and we actually had the pool area to ourselves most nights. Only we swam, usually 2-4 others simply brought a drink and watched the glorious sunsets from the beautiful travertine pool deck. The main house had a large vaulted loft A/C bedroom with 2 queens and private bath. Lower level had a galley kitchen with everything we needed, nice living/dining area. The large A/C Master is in a separate pod with vaulted ceiling. Nice stone work accents always a plus! New washer/dryer came in handy a couple times, carry on people!! Nice new Weber on the very private patio to grill our Ahi Tuna on! All very nice, check out their website link!














We are cooler people, so we arrived with a Polar Bear cooler of filet mignon, Ahi tuna, home ground chuck/brisket burgers, sausages, marinated chicken and of course lots of BACON! We transferred the still frozen meat to the freezer when we arrived. We shopped at Starfish and Dolphin and both were well stocked. Also stopped at Pine Peace Mini Mart for nostalgic reasons! The meat and seafood selection at Starfish is very nice, wish I took a pic including pricing. I did notice we paid $4 less a case on our beer at Starfish, we went through several! We didn't stop at the new Midway gas and Grocery up Centerline road, but it looked nice and large, any one with info on Midway please advise!


After bacon and eggs at the villa we loaded the Polar Bear and headed for Cinnamon Bay for our first beach day. Passing the overlooks on Northshore provided the views of the mostly sunny puffy cloud kinda day we'd have, perfect! We noticed at 10am all of the beach parking was full at Hawksnest, Trunk, Gibney etc. The main Cinnamon parking lots were full at 10am, but found a side spot near the taxi stand, perfect! At first glance I could see the destruction that Irma caused here, but saw that the large Kapok where the restaurant used to be was a little battered but standing tall!! There is construction fencing everywhere, no amenities currently, but work is getting done!


















From the looks of the current construction I know they will bring this place back! My biggest disappointment was the loss of the archeology museum, one wall remains and I hope they rebuild it. It housed great Taino and Carib artifacts dating back to 400BC, I have to believe those artifacts were secured safely somewhere? This next pic was from 2006 to give perspective and the current window shot is my favorite showing that even in destruction you can find something beautiful...










Around 2pm we packed up and headed to Maho. We were amazed as we rounded the corner and saw a sea of cars, people and taxi's. I envisioned Maho Crossroads as a small food area near the new parking lot on the far end, but it's relatively big right as you enter. in my "back in the day" opinion it's a mediocre attempt at having a funky beach vibe, including Tiki Bar, comfortable sitting areas, corn hole, predictable sign post and Grateful Dead playing and tie dye colors. I told the gang what I thought, saying you know 30-40 years ago..!!! My daughter replied she's now allowed to say you know 15-20 years ago..!! She also made me realize things do change and visitor's without previous knowledge will probably say "Wow, that place was cool!" I enjoyed a $12 hot dog and the ladies had a nice salad with spiced chicken, I think it was $18. After lunch we decided to avoid the beach crowd and kept our fingers crossed that Francis would be quieter......




















As we passed the mangroves near Francis the air reminded us that sargassum was around, yuck! Found few cars here, nice and quiet and no sargassum or odor!!! Hopefully sprawl and crawl will not find this beach for a while, absolutely perfect!










Nearing sunset we didn't want to leave the relaxing calm waters, but it was time to enjoy Sunset Ridge!









To be continued, Cheers!!

Hi. I didn't see where the link was, so here is a link I found for the property.

Link removed by Carol Hill

Amazing views from outside patio!! Thanks!

I just re-attached the link to actual Villa A. Thanks for catching!

Whoa, much nicer looking inside than the link I provided. Thanks!

That was all one day? Great time! great pictures! Love the window picture. That would be great for framing.

Matt, long great day! We plan to put that pic on canvas!

Carol the link you posted is pre Irma, the pools tile was even upgraded along with all the villas. If anyone is interested the new condition is outstanding! Maybe Tom will go back?!

Beerman--It's interesting that those pictures are still there. I will remove that link.

Great report. Keep it coming.

I find what has happened at Maho truly heartbreaking. In my book not all “progress” is good.

Only two boats in Francis Bay, wow. It must be hurricane season or something

When we stayed at SSRV in 2004 they were in need of TLC. Everything worked and for the most part clean, but they did not sparkle.
So glad to hear they have be fixed up. Albeit, the plunge pool was my favorite.

Glad you found a quiet beach - It appears much harder than it used to be.

Tom, we found our quiet places! And as you said on your report I appreciate the comments and questions!!

Wow, I knew by what you have reported as well as others, but I had no idea it was this crowded!

https://newsofstjohn.com/navigating-st-john-during-a-busy-off-season/

The picture of the ferry line is scary.
I cannot imagine of a fast moving storm hitting STJ with this amount people this time of year.

We would typically stay on St John a few times each year. After our stay in Feb following a bareboat charter in the USVI we decided to focus on BVI entirely and skip St John for the near future - at least until things calm down there. We love St John - but not like this.

Our Tuesday ferry’s were not crowded at all, not sure what a sat or sun would look like. Good news is that some local restaurant and shop employees say they feel the numbers dropping now. Other than having to get to a popular beach at 0830 to insure a parking spot, we didn’t find “traffic “! Grocery lines were 10 deep sometimes though. All in all, it didn’t feel overcrowded, but certainly more people than I’ve ever seen there

As soon as the cruise ships start back up the unmannered horde will go back to the buffet. Can you believe, rental cars on STJ are sold out for September?

Cheers, RickG

I believe it about car rentals! We believe securing a car should be first thing before flights and accommodations.

Funny you should say it that way!

We use to call Maho our quiet place - Nobody ever wanted to go out that far. Usually just us, maybe someone from the campground would walk down, and of course the birds and starfish.

Not complaining understand change... But a lot of special memories happened on Maho.

Tom, our daughter learned how to swim at Maho! One late afternoon with the sun setting quickly some friends and I drank rum all day there, waited for a safari taxi or any car to happen by to get us back to Cinnamon Bay.....it was a long walk back to Cottage D!

At the Maho tents campground we used to pack the car and go over from STT so often our daughter thought we owned the same tent we always asked for each time.
What a sweet campground in those days and all those sandy beaches in walking///swimming distance!!

I stayed in Maho tents a couple times, it was perfect wasn't it! I keep meaning to research who owns what around Maho, do you know if the owner of CrossRoads also owns the tent hillside? I noticed a new large villa between the two, assume it's the owner? I'm a bit jealous of whoever they are! And if we can get a message to them, please slow down the progress a little and enjoy the natural surroundings!!

Thanks for your reports. We visited St. John for the first time August 6-12 and absolutely loved it and look forward to returning. Can't wait to read more!

Daisy304, where did you stay? wonder if our paths crossed!

We stayed at Seascape Vista which was about a 10 minute walk to Cruz Bay. It was a great spot overlooking St. Thomas and the bay where the Car Ferry comes in. We had never been to STJ but loved it and will definitely plan a return. The next time I will make my dinner reservations well in advance since dining out was a challenge. We were at Cinnamon Bay and took some of the same pictures. Loved Trunk Bay and also went to Maho and Honeymoon Beach. We had the one day of rain from the Tropical Storm which ended up preventing our trip to Coral Bay. We took a ride over and left when the skies opened up. Loved the feel of the island!

Daisy304, we are helping a young couple find a villa walking distance to Cruz Bay, did you like it? do you have a link?

Sorry the name is Seagrape Vista here is the link https://www.seagrapevista.com. Its a great spot. We had Allamanda 3 which is a one bedroom and was on the 3rd floor.

Looks nice and new! Did you walk to town via Gallows Point- Beach Bar and in? I'll pass it on to the soon to be newlyweds!! They are currently looking at Estate Lindholm, haven't been in either so info is appreciated!

Yes we walked right by Gallows Point and to the Beach Bar into Cruz Bay. It is new. It has everything you could want. There was a room with all things for the beach...chairs, noodles, coolers towels etc. A nice feature was the kitchen by the pool with snacks and drinks (water, soda, beer and booze) and it was the honor system. Just put your $$ in the bowl. The rooms were very comfortable. We thought it was one of the quietest places we ever slept in. We really loved it. We did rent a jeep to get around. All the best to the newlyweds to be!

Thank you Daisy304!