Westin St. John - Villas

[tomandrobin]

Does anyone know the pricing for the new villas at St John? Also, is there anything on room configurations? Will the rooms have views of the harbor or pool?

 

[DavidnRobin]

Sorry - I was remiss as a WSJ owner when we were there a few weeks ago - we were having too much fun to go to an owners update.

I did talk to other owners there and heard a price in the mid-40s for the refurbished 2Bd units in the lower buidings (but not positive...). I told them what I paid on eBay - and they were both shocked to find out about resales - and I told them about TUG...

The coverted units face both the bay and the pool. However, with the foliage you probably won't be able to see the pool.

We are in B34 and love it - it was no problem getting up/down the hill - and we loved our views (and semi-private pool next to us). We also really enjoyed the resort - we cant wait for our return next year. Hopefully the vote to update them will pass.

I proposed to my Robin while in the bay (Great Cruz) - meant to ask in Trunk Bay, but couldn't wait - no matter - she said 'Really?' and 'Yes' after we both stopped crying - lol

 

[OCsun]

Congratulations on your engagement!

David

You picked a wonderful place to remember your special event. Pam

 

[OCsun]

Tom and Robin,

The first time we ever stayed at the Westin our room was in one of the buildings they are now converting to time share units. The location is great! If you are familiar with the Westin, standing just outside the water sports reservation area, at the shuttle stop (bench) while looking toward the resort the building is just up to your right; they are a direct one minute ride up the little shuttle road. In fact they are very easy to get to without the shuttle. We had a great view of the bay and lower resort beach area. The units are already set up to be condo type units so the conversion should be easy. Pam

 

[LauraS93]

Congratulations Robin and David!

 

[DavidnRobin]

Thanks you - and for all of your advice - we had a great time in St John and at WSJ - we can't wait for our return.

 

[JillChang]

just curious, why is there so many bad reviews of WSJ on tripadvisor http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUser...Resort_Villas-St_John_U_S_Virgin_Islands.html

If it gets so many bad reviews, why is WSJ so hard to trade into? It almost sounds like the hotel portion and the timeshare units are providing very difference experiences for guests staying at WSJ.

 

[mariawolf]

I think the problem with the Westin is that folks expect the spectacular beaches of St John at the Westin and quite frankly it is the worst--the picture on their site is somewhat deceptive. The best beaches are all the public ones that you need to drive/take a bus to and they don't have (in most cases) chairs/facilities. We go every year with friends and they have a 3 br villa--we own at Harborside but I have to say that I would not have bought at St John. We love it there but it is different than many islands where you go to hotels and they have the best beaches.

 

[DavidnRobin]

just curious, why is there so many bad reviews of WSJ on tripadvisor http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUser...Resort_Villas-St_John_U_S_Virgin_Islands.html

If it gets so many bad reviews, why is WSJ so hard to trade into? It almost sounds like the hotel portion and the timeshare units are providing very difference experiences for guests staying at WSJ.

Hi Jill -

I made this point in my recent TUG review, but I will restate. Yes, the Westin beach at Great Cruz Bay is likely the worst on St John. We haven't made it to all of the beaches (there are 39 on St John!), but the ones we did see were spectacular - HOWEVER - it is still nicer than many beaches found elsewhere.

The problem is in the comparison to the other St John beaches - and that is a tough one to make when comparing Great Cruz to the pristine beaches that stretch from Saloman to Maho. btw, these beaches are a short 10-20 minute drive away from the Westin (stay left!) .

Caneel is the only other hotel on a beach in St John (really nice - and really expensive) - although other have close access. Cinnamon Bay is a campground - and although beautiful - bring LOTS of bug spray. (we never once put bug spray on, and only got bitten a few times - Benadryl Gel works like a charm for these bites)

[fun fact - there are no stop lights on St John]

Having said that - we were just there 3 weeks ago (for the 1st time of many more to come) and we enjoyed the Westin (Great Cruz) beach while we stayed in our 'up-the-hill' villa - which we also loved. They are tons of things to do on the Westin beach, plus many water activities - plus a beautiful pool area (and 2 restaurants and a bar) are a few steps away.

We actually met lots of folks (hotel and villa) who do not even leave the Westin resort (hard to believe, but to each his own...). The grounds are beautiful, and the staff is professional - and we had no problem getting around. Saying 'Good Morning, Good Afternoon, or Good Evening' when greeting someone on St John is crucial to get the same courtesy - and this holds true for the staff at the Westin. I have read a lot of reviews of the Westin and St John on tripadvisor and more (prior to buying WSJ) - and you must remember - that writing these reviews is free - plus, if you read closely you can see that some folks either have have bad intentions - or should stay in the states.

IMO - people who bash St. John, the Westin and the beach need to get a life - or need to find somewhere else to go (please). The only thing that got to me is the smoking - since St John is so close to the South and East - unfortunately, there are a lot of smokers, and with that comes the smell and the litter (butts) - but this seems to be true (sadly) everywhere outside of CA.
- David

 

[Blue Skies]

Like the original poster, I am wondering about the pricing of the units that are being converted into timeshares. Looking at resales, the prime time (Jan - Mar) 2BR units are priced pretty high ($50,000+). It would be interesting to compare developer's cost with resale.

Does WSJ have a 5-night trial package for potential purchasers similar to WKORV?

One thought that really disgusts me is all the boats in Cruz Bay. I read on TUG that these boats (how do I put this politely?) flush their latrines into the water where they are moored. Is this true? We've not been to WSJ, but the pictures show many boats.....does this mean lots of **** being dumped into Cruz Bay where the WSJ beach is located?

There are fun toys in the bay for kids to play on, are they swimming in polluted water? Sorry about all the questions on this topic, but it really grosses me out.

Other than that, it seems like a wonderful resort.

 

[DavidnRobin]

Sorry - I did not get the prices while we were there - I heard 40s-50s, but without specific periods. They do have a 5/6-night special - there is a post somewhere about this (on the Carribean section?) - search for my name and you may see it - it wasn't long ago I posted a link about this.

added: here it is - http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?p=170517#post170517

Re: Head flushing in bays - Actually that potential is true with any bay that has boats moored/anchored - as most of the bays do. The owners are not suppose to dump their heads while moored in any bay as it is illegal, and are suppose to hold waste until underway at sea.

btw, Westin is on Great Cruz Bay - Cruz Bay is where the ferries arrive/depart (a couple of bays away - 5-10 minute drive by car) - I would not swim in Cruz Bay, but mainly due to all the fuel and moving boats

I have chartered a bareboat a few times in the Carribean (how I first saw St John), and we never dumped while moored, and always underway at sea. However, I am sure there a some that don't follow these rules - like everything else in the world. (likely seedy cruisers/live-aboards and bareboat charters not following rules - since charters with captains would likely follow the rules).

We sailed in a Hobie-cat throughout Great Cruz Bay - it did not look as if any live-aboards or charters were moored there. Most boats seemed to be ones that were owned by the folks on the island, and not occupied. I would not stay there if I were a charter boat since there are several nicer bays close by to stay (Maho would be incredible place to anchor).

I would not worry about this (eventhough it seems disgusting) - there is an extremely large dilution factor even if someone were to use an open head flush into the bay (any bay). And not only do the fish go in the water they swim in, but they also feed on the stuff coming out of the boats (YUCK! Don't eat fish if this bothers you... lol) These are not still water bays and are always replenishing water due to currents/tides.

 

[JillChang]

:hysterical:

I don't think I can eat any fish now!!!

I would not worry about this (eventhough it seems disgusting) - there is an extremely large dilution factor even if someone were to use an open head flush into the bay (any bay). And not only do the fish go in the water they swim in, but they also feed on the stuff coming out of the boats (YUCK! Don't eat fish if this bothers you... lol) These are not still water bays and are always replenishing water due to currents/tides.

 

[Negma]

More units are on the way !
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/060711/20060711005996.html?.v=1

 

[DavidnRobin]

The photo shown is between B33-B34 - AND just a few steps away from our villa (look our proposal sight!). The new villas won't have this view. - I wonder if they will also have these pools - or use the main one. I wonder how all these new villas will effect us?

 

[Loriannf]

Check out the SVN website re: WSJ - they are calling the new units "Bay View" and say there are going to be 54 new units. I'm upset because they are adding 3 bedrooms (albeit without pools) which are half the size of ours. I'm worried that owners who own 3 bedroom pool villas who switch their weeks might end up in these Bay View 3 beds. I'm going to call SVO today and try to get some clarification on this.

BTW, has anyone heard anything about the vote? I'll ask regarding that also.

Lori

 

[DavidnRobin]

"While the owners who voted were overwhelmingly in favor of the project with approximately 70 percent of those who returned their proxy voting in favor of the project. Unfortunately we did not receive enough of return of the proxies to have the measure pass. We are planning on holding the meeting again in November to see if we can get a better turnout. The total return was approximately 38 percent of the total voting power. We needed 66 percent of all owners to vote in favor, so despite the overwhelming majority of owners voting in favor we did not have a large enough return to pass.

Do not hesitate in contacting us if you have additional questions.

Regards,
Aixa Garcia"

 

[Loriannf]

Thanks for the info on the voting. I received the same info today when I called WSJ.

As for the new villas, they will be operating as a separate facility in terms of trading/exchanging. In other words, it would be as if you were trading into another property - all exchanges would be made at the 8 month mark. If you own a pool villa, you don't need to worry about being assigned into a Bay View 3 bedroom unless you specifically request any exchange at WSJ with star options. BTW, the new units will be mainly sold as floating units - some fixed weeks are available but at premium prices.

Hope this clears everything up.

Lori

 

[DavidnRobin]

Too bad about the vote - I have a feeling (after some recent issues with SVO and their archiac computer system) that they do not have proper contact info (mail or email) with some of their owners and may be partly why they had a low response - or they didn't give owners enough time to vote. I got the proxy mailings for the owners that sold me Week24, and they were getting my emails for a while... (I forwarded it to them) Also, I got my proxy only about 3 weeks ahead of time.

As to the new units - doesn't make much sense to have them operate as two different resorts on the same property - are they going to have a totally separate association management for units that are 100yds away? I wonder if this is a case of misinformation on SVO/SVN's part (which seems to be the norm).

I am still a bit confused about WSJ's use of fixed vs. float weeks - when I first purchased our WSJ unit I was under the impression that it was a float week (within low season), but it turned out to be fixed. In some ways I figured it had to be a fixed week since the unit is fixed - and how could they control inventory unless the weeks were also fixed? However, I never got confirmation on this.

I am happy it is a fixed week since I don't want to hassle with when we want to go - we wanted mid-June. The downside is that if I want to add a week - it will need to be fixed on week 23 or 25.

Any WSJ owners out there with a float week or float unit within a season?

 

[Loriannf]

Robin and David:

The info on the new property came from Greg Gray, Director of Sales and Marketing Op, St John. I spoke with him directly this morning. I think the reason they're doing a separate property is that the new units are actually ON the Westin Property, so the control maybe more Starwood's. The current property is not and was not, to the best of my knowledge, ever owned by the Westin, they just manage it.

WSJ has always had FIXED WEEKS, but you could (maybe) FLOAT within your season. The new property is going to have predominantly FLOAT weeks, another reason for separate entities. There will be some fixed weeks available, mostly high demand/holiday weeks, and will put the WSJ more in line with the rest of Starwood's vacation ownership.

I had tried getting some answers from SVO, but they were totally clueless.

Lori

 

[DeniseM]

As to the new units - doesn't make much sense to have them operate as two different resorts on the same property - are they going to have a totally separate association management for units that are 100yds away?

I don't know if it makes sense or not, but their doing the same thing with the WKORV and WKORVN.

 

[DavidnRobin]

Robin and David:

The info on the new property came from Greg Gray, Director of Sales and Marketing Op, St John. I spoke with him directly this morning. I think the reason they're doing a separate property is that the new units are actually ON the Westin Property, so the control maybe more Starwood's. The current property is not and was not, to the best of my knowledge, ever owned by the Westin, they just manage it.

WSJ has always had FIXED WEEKS, but you could (maybe) FLOAT within your season. The new property is going to have predominantly FLOAT weeks, another reason for separate entities. There will be some fixed weeks available, mostly high demand/holiday weeks, and will put the WSJ more in line with the rest of Starwood's vacation ownership.

I had tried getting some answers from SVO, but they were totally clueless.

Lori

Thanks - good for you for getting direct contact - SVO can be useless - especially when different people give different answers - or just clueless all together. I asked aboutthe fixed/float weeks because I could not get clarity from SVO on this. My contract says 'annual fixed', but I was sure if that is what I happen to purchase (or not). Of course, the eBay ad said float week along with my purchase contract stating this, but it ended up being fixed.

I think these new units may help me exchange my WKORV studio into an additional week (23 or 25) at WSJ (if I can't find one to purchase) since there will be more inventory available. As I understand, currently it is close to impossible - although, I will try at the 8-month mark anyway in October.

- David

 

[DavidnRobin]

I don't know if it makes sense or not, but their doing the same thing with the WKORV and WKORVN.

Except that WKORV (S and N) are self-contained properties, whereas, WSJ villas have the same common areas and facilities.

Have a great time in Ka'anapali - we are jealous. If you come up with any ideas for our ceremony during Thanksgiving week - let us know. Yikes! just 4 months away! Looks like there will be 8-10 of us, and the beach at Kapalua will be where the sunset-beach ceremony takes place.

Have a great time.:whoopie:

 

[JillChang]

I wonder what are the staroptions for the new units? is the new smaller 3 bdrm going to have the same SO as the larger older 3 bdrm units?

With the additional new units, it might mean more availability WSJ at 8 months out using staroptions.

 

[DeniseM]

If you come up with any ideas for our ceremony during Thanksgiving week - let us know.

I have a REALLY good idea - take ME along as your wedding planner!

 

[JillChang]

I have a REALLY good idea - take ME along as your wedding planner!

Me too I am getting married next year , I need a practice run