We stayed at Honeymoon Cottage, which as its name implies, is a romantic studio house right near Francis Bay, down the hill from the Maho Bay Camp Grounds. There are two other houses here, along with one under construction (sort of, will get to this later). Villa Serenity is one rental that is located along the same 'road'. For two people it is well appointed, meaning the furnishings and kitchen has just about everything you should need. They supply some beach chairs, coolers, and snorkel equipment (I would either buy or rent my own). The back deck has two comfortable lounge chairs, a built in bench, and a wonderful Weber gas grill. There is a screened in porch to keep the bugs out while you enjoy meals. From the deck there is a small path leading up to a hot tub, along with a covered deck that has a bed and small table for two. We thoroughly enjoyed the hot tub in the evenings. The bathroom has two sinks and an outdoor shower and is beautiful. Privacy is complete here, as with the exception of the very front of the house you can't see anything other than the woods or Mary's Creek and Tortola. This house is very well landscaped, and this just adds to the beauty and ambiance of the property. Terry and Olivier are always available to help and we have rented from them three times now. I recommend contacting them directly to rent.
Some other details before the pictures
Kitchen: Completely sufficient, but won't satisfy the 'gourmet'. The knives are dull, the cookware is old and if you need spices or any supplies you should count on bringing them. In our trips this is normal in St John. It more than did the job for us and the use of the Weber grill adds a lot of capability. There is a good water filter on the sink that makes the cistern water drinkable.
Living / Bedroom: Being a studio you get a very comfortable queen sized bed with a couch in front of it. They have a wall mounted flat screen that is connected to a DVD player (no cable). In the desk there is a collection of DVD's and books if you don't bring your own. The A/C is excellent and cools the small space off quickly. We only used it when we had to lock up the house and couldn't get a breeze. There is a large desk in between the couch and kitchen that can give you extra counter space in the kitchen.
Location: This is the difficult part of the review, because the location makes this villa not perfect for everyone. You are a solid 25 min drive from Cruz Bay, and about 15 min from Coral Bay. So if you plan on spending every evening in Cruz Bay, I wouldn't stay here. The close proximity to Maho Bay Camp Ground (as long as it's around) provides an easy, high value dinner and a few provisions if you need them. You can walk to Francis Bay and are only about five minutes from Maho. We love this place for its location. There is little noise, you can't see another house, and you feel like you're all alone out there.
View: The view is incredible. You look out of the house to the east, which has a few implications. First the sun beams into the house in the morning, so if you are a light sleeper you may want to think about this. Second, in the evenings you won't have a sunset view. Ah, but on the positive side now.... The evenings on the porch are magnificent in terms of temperature. In complete shade, with a cool breeze, you can comfortably enjoy the hot tub and porch without getting too hot. Open the back doors and close the screens and you get plenty of breeze. In May we didn't turn on the A/C until bed time when we locked everything up.
Internet / Cell: There is basically no ATT wireless reception here, in fact it connects to the BVI's most of the time (which is useless). The internet was out for the first several days, and when it came back it was too slow for anything other than emails. This is pretty common on the island from what I have read.
There is a house that is sort of under construction above the cottage. It's basically impossible to see it from the house, but on about three occasions there were two people doing some very minor construction there. They seemed to have framed it, and then real construction stalled out. You could hear the two guys working, but at least right now there isn't enough to be bothered with. That said, until it's done you always run some risk of daytime construction noise. This was a non-issue for us.
This Cottage is for Couples looking for a romantic getaway that:
1. Plan to spend evenings at their home or in Coral Bay.
2. Want to stay near Northshore beaches, particularly Maho, Francis, and Cinnamon Bay.
3. Enjoy a hot tub.
4. Need or want true privacy.
This Cottage is not for:
1. More than two people. It has a pullout couch but I think its too small for more than two.
2. People that will spend a lot of time or every evening in Cruz Bay.
3. Those that are looking for a sunset view.
4. A tight budget.
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