Westin St John [Master Thread] - Part 2 (June 2014 and forward)

[DavidnRobin]

Hmmm... I am 3* - no love I guess.

 

[Helios]

Now I wonder why I got the bubbly? Perhaps it was a mistake.

I'll ask the next time I go...

 

[DavidnRobin]

Now I wonder why I got the bubbly? Perhaps it was a mistake.

I'll ask the next time I go...

I do not really care for such perks (unless it is something worth drinking like Cruzan Rum... ) Our friends - Tugger Ferndale - get welcome gifts as well. For all the info I give for WSJ/STJ - you'd think they would send me something... hint
...but I do it for the love

I did get a couple of nice gifts while at WKORV once - but that had to do with something I did for WKORV-SVN way back when (dealing with location preferences iirc)

 

[canesfan]

We get things at different resorts. It's not consistent. For us, it's usually not memorable to be honest. We never get anything at Maui. We will get something small at WKV and don't even own there. The only reason I remember that because we were only staying 2 nights this time and I thought it was especially odd.

 

[okwiater]

Renovation Updates for The Westin St. John Resort & Villas

As a valued Owner, it’s our priority to keep you updated on all the latest happenings taking place at The Westin St. John Resort & Villas during your upcoming stay.

Beginning January 2016, we will start the transformation of the poolside buildings (14, 15 and 16) into the first 26 of 54 Sunset Bay Villas.

The majority of this work will take place in the interior of these buildings. While the buildings will be fully surrounded by safety fencing, it is important that we make you aware of the intermittent construction noises that will be occurring daily between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Sounds will be heard from the main pool, parts of the beach, Snorkels Bar & Grill, and Lemongrass Restaurant & Bar.

We anticipate completion of the structural concrete work and underground utilities by June 2016. The project will then be primarily focused on finishing the interior of the villas, which will feature stylish designs and signature Westin touches. For a sneak peak at what these beautiful villas will look like, please visit the Concierge Desk to arrange a tour of a model unit.

We sincerely appreciate your patience during this time as we enhance our resort. Rest assured, we will do everything we can to create a relaxing vacation experience for you.

Please be sure to visit the resort information page to check the resort Special Conditions and review other important information related to your St. John reservation. Should you have any questions, please contact Owner Services at 888-986-9637 or direct at 407-903-4635.

Be well,

Mike Ryan, General Manager
The Westin St. John Resort & Villas

 

[DavidnRobin]

Renovation updates

deleted - repeat of above

 

[Helios]

As a valued Owner, it’s our priority to keep you updated on all the latest happenings taking place at The Westin St. John Resort & Villas during your upcoming stay.

Beginning January 2016, we will start the transformation of the poolside buildings (14, 15 and 16) into the first 26 of 54 Sunset Bay Villas.

The majority of this work will take place in the interior of these buildings. While the buildings will be fully surrounded by safety fencing, it is important that we make you aware of the intermittent construction noises that will be occurring daily between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Sounds will be heard from the main pool, parts of the beach, Snorkels Bar & Grill, and Lemongrass Restaurant & Bar.

We anticipate completion of the structural concrete work and underground utilities by June 2016. The project will then be primarily focused on finishing the interior of the villas, which will feature stylish designs and signature Westin touches. For a sneak peak at what these beautiful villas will look like, please visit the Concierge Desk to arrange a tour of a model unit.

We sincerely appreciate your patience during this time as we enhance our resort. Rest assured, we will do everything we can to create a relaxing vacation experience for you.

Please be sure to visit the resort information page to check the resort Special Conditions and review other important information related to your St. John reservation. Should you have any questions, please contact Owner Services at 888-986-9637 or direct at 407-903-4635.

Be well,
Mike Ryan, General Manager
The Westin St. John Resort & Villas

Wonder why I didn't get this email...

 

[canesfan]

I got the email as well. We will be there February 20-27th. We spend a good deal of time at the pool and bar. It will be interesting to see how it affects that area. If it is too noisy we will find somewhere else. It will be Westin's $ loss. This trip is a couples trip and everyone likes to be social.

 

[Helios]

Anyone knows what's the deal with the 3 remaining buildings?

 

[GrayFal]

Anyone knows what's the deal with the 3 remaining buildings?

Beginning January 2016, we will start the transformation of the poolside buildings (14, 15 and 16) into the first 26 of 54 Sunset Bay Villas.


They are doing three buildings now and will do the second three after the first three are complete.

 

[Helios]

Beginning January 2016, we will start the transformation of the poolside buildings (14, 15 and 16) into the first 26 of 54 Sunset Bay Villas.


They are doing three buildings now and will do the second three after the first three are complete.

Sure, I was looking for more specifics, such as Begining 1/2017 the remaining buildings will start construction.

This would come from people who talked to SVN, not the email above.

 

[GrayFal]

Sure, I was looking for more specifics, such as Begining 1/2017 the remaining buildings will start construction.

This would come from people who talked to SVN, not the email above.

Remember we are on island time. Nothing moves quickly. No matter what they say, this really does factor in.

 

[Helios]

Remember we are on island time. Nothing moves quickly. No matter what they say, this really does factor in.

I guess. Hopefully the finishes are better that what has been reported about CV.

 

[Helios]

Does anybody know about any special assessments that may have been applied in the past to VGV? I haven't been able to find info on this?

 

[DavidnRobin]

Does anybody know about any special assessments that may have been applied in the past to VGV? I haven't been able to find info on this?

This is a complex story... which starts at Post #1 in the original WSJ thread.

But here is a summary (my version at least from 2006 - others have different opinions on these events... some unfortunately dropping from this thread - although I suspect still lurk, lawsuit against HOA by Owners, etc... that type of fun stuff) with that...

The WSJ-VGV HOA had been lacking in keeping sufficient Replacement Reserves, which kept the MFs quite low.
Things had gotten bad (worn down - it is the tropics after all...) - and the HOA tried to get a Special Assessment to improve interiors.
Owners overwhelmingly voted in support, but did not get a quorum (problem with WSJ Owner Database and Owner Apathy - IMO)
Things were so bad that me and Owner of adjacent week offered to buy a couch for our villa - it was unusable (to give a picture of how bad interiors - and exteriors - had gotten)

So... The HOA pulled an end-around (in some peoples' opinion) and forced an increase in RR (therefore MFs) without owner vote to get much needed refresh.
Recession came and helped boast MFs even higher.

Owners Revolt!!!

At around this time there was an Owner Coalition formed which I got involved with, but dropped out when I realized that they wanted to sue SVO, WSJ, and the VGV HOA (us). The Owner Coalition wanted status quo (disrepair and low MFs). They rightly complained that refresh cost too much (gee... in the USVI?). But my goal (and others) was 1) Refurbish VGV-WSJ and 2) HOA Transparency

SVO allowed VGV Owners to elect 2 HOA Board w/o their vote (still has 3 of 5 SVO pawns...) - Phil and Bob (current HOA members) get elected. Phil still kiddingly blames me because I had gotten him involved in the election.
Transparency goal somewhat fulfilled - at least for SVO. Now we get Quarterly updates from Phil and Bob keeping those concerned abreast of issues and activities.

The new HOA did a few things - they were 1st to get foreclosed VOIs back into Owners hands with a sale to Owners (getting MFs paid and up to date - lowering our MFs since we were covering delinquent Owners) - they have done this owner sale twice. They also increased the MFs to take care of needed repairs, and increase the Replacement Reserves to adequate levels. Along the way - the villas got a total refurbished - and the exterior of buildings had siding and roofs replaced. Refurbish VGV-WSJ goal fulfilled.

In the meantime the Owner Coalition started a lawsuit against WSJ, SVO, VGV HOA... This had something to do with a claim that CCRs were not legal, VGV HOA had overstepped their authority with refurbish, and probably a few other things (sorry - I wasn't involved and no one posted here...). Unfortunately, the USVI attorney handling the Coalition lawsuit passed away. I have not heard anything of the lawsuit since, but perhaps after this time someone can share (?)

But, to answer your question, there was a Special a Assessment in the form of increased MFs to refurbish WSJ-VGV, and now (last 3-4 years) MFs have stabilized, balance sheet looks good, RR are where they probably should be, villas are insured against Hurricanes, Solar projects have offset energy costs, FreeCycle exists, and MFs are probably aligned to where they should be (IMO), and importantly - villas have been remodeled (for most part), BBQ/Pool areas updated, and building sidings and roofs have been replaced...
VGV is only SVO that has true Owner-voted HOA reps.

Was it too costly? Probably. Did HOA overstep their authority? Probably.
Did something get done? Yes

At least that is my version...
Maybe others will chime in?

 

[Helios]

This is a complex story... which starts at Post #1 in the original WSJ thread.

But here is a summary (my version at least from 2006 - others have different opinions on these events... some unfortunately dropping from this thread - although I suspect still lurk, lawsuit against HOA by Owners, etc... that type of fun stuff) with that...

The WSJ-VGV HOA had been lacking in keeping sufficient Replacement Reserves, which kept the MFs quite low.
Things had gotten bad (worn down - it is the tropics after all...) - and the HOA tried to get a Special Assessment to improve interiors.
Owners overwhelmingly voted in support, but did not get a quorum (problem with WSJ Owner Database and Owner Apathy - IMO)
Things were so bad that me and Owner of adjacent week offered to buy a couch for our villa - it was unusable (to give a picture of how bad interiors - and exteriors - had gotten)

So... The HOA pulled an end-around (in some peoples' opinion) and forced an increase in RR (therefore MFs) without owner vote to get much needed refresh.
Recession came and helped boast MFs even higher.

Owners Revolt!!!

At around this time there was an Owner Coalition formed which I got involved with, but dropped out when I realized that they wanted to sue SVO, WSJ, and the VGV HOA (us). The Owner Coalition wanted status quo (disrepair and low MFs). They rightly complained that refresh cost too much (gee... in the USVI?). But my goal (and others) was 1) Refurbish VGV-WSJ and 2) HOA Transparency

SVO allowed VGV Owners to elect 2 HOA Board w/o their vote (still has 3 of 5 SVO pawns...) - Phil and Bob (current HOA members) get elected. Phil still kiddingly blames me because I had gotten him involved in the election.
Transparency goal somewhat fulfilled - at least for SVO. Now we get Quarterly updates from Phil and Bob keeping those concerned abreast of issues and activities.

The new HOA did a few things - they were 1st to get foreclosed VOIs back into Owners hands with a sale to Owners (getting MFs paid and up to date - lowering our MFs since we were covering delinquent Owners) - they have done this owner sale twice. They also increased the MFs to take care of needed repairs, and increase the Replacement Reserves to adequate levels. Along the way - the villas got a total refurbished - and the exterior of buildings had siding and roofs replaced. Refurbish VGV-WSJ goal fulfilled.

In the meantime the Owner Coalition started a lawsuit against WSJ, SVO, VGV HOA... This had something to do with a claim that CCRs were not legal, VGV HOA had overstepped their authority with refurbish, and probably a few other things (sorry - I wasn't involved and no one posted here...). Unfortunately, the USVI attorney handling the Coalition lawsuit passed away. I have not heard anything of the lawsuit since, but perhaps after this time someone can share (?)

But, to answer your question, there was a Special a Assessment in the form of increased MFs to refurbish WSJ-VGV, and now (last 3-4 years) MFs have stabilized, balance sheet looks good, RR are where they probably should be, villas are insured against Hurricanes, Solar projects have offset energy costs, FreeCycle exists, and MFs are probably aligned to where they should be (IMO), and importantly - villas have been remodeled (for most part), BBQ/Pool areas updated, and building sidings and roofs have been replaced...
VGV is only SVO that has true Owner-voted HOA reps.

Was it too costly? Probably. Did HOA overstep their authority? Probably.
Did something get done? Yes

At least that is my version...
Maybe others will chime in?

Thanks David. This is great info.

 

[Crasherino]

For clarity - WSJ BV Prop Taxes are paid as part of annual MF (like many SVO properties - often call Ad Valorem Tax). At least that is what I thought from BV Owners. When you go to MSC - does it show tax as a separate line item?

WKORV/N and WPORV have Ad Valorem tax (and budget line item) - while WKV has tax added as line item and payment covers both. WSJ-VGV has a bill directly from the USVI to the owner, and owners is responsible for paying separately (and buyers need a Tax certificate to transfer).

With all the BV Owners here - surprised there is not more transparency on these numbers - esp since it is sold out and reaching steady-state.

I have an EOY 2 bdrm BV and my annual MF are $911.73 + $94.21 tax for a total of $1,005.94. Double that and its $2,011.88.

They do break out MFs and taxes and then give you the total. Sounds like our MFs went up from $911 to $926/yr based on Oki's numbers.

 

[DavidnRobin]

Thanks. I was speaking to the lack of BV MF/Tax info in the MF database history - I think there was only 1 entry when I last looked.

 

[ferndale]

long time since i've logged on!!

wow, I have tons of reading to do to make sure I haven't missed anything important!! I love your synopses of the renovations David, and drama that happened, and mostly I love that however it happened, the renovations happened, and everything stays at Westin quality (on island time)!
I also saw the discussions on welcome gifts, and I have to say the welcome gift in St. John is our favorite. It is usually a cute bucket of beers and root beers from the local brewery along with coozies and bottle openers. Already on ice and cold when we arrive, so it makes my husband and son walk in with a smile on their faces after a very long day of travel!! Hope everyone is well, and wishing I was in St. John right now!

 

[Helios]

Fixed Week/Unit Reservation Problems

Has anyone experienced problems not getting you VGV reservations auto booked 365 days before check in.

Mine did not get booked this year and I had to call. Owner's resolutions is looking into into. Last year it was booked 18 months before.

 

[GrayFal]

Has anyone experienced problems not getting you VGV reservations auto booked 365 days before check in.

Mine did not get booked this year and I had to call. Owner's resolutions is looking into into. Last year it was booked 18 months before.

I notice that my week 7 2017 is not showing.
Last year week 34 was there at 18 months.
Keep us posted.

 

[DavidnRobin]

Mine has never auto-booked, but it has been booked by me at 16-18 months out a few times when I have called OS for other things.

In the future (2017...), I am not going to book until 10 months out (last day) - because... as I understand it - once officially reserved and then unreserved (for whatever reason...), it cannot be gotten back - even if that occurs prior to the 10-month mark.
As example - If I reserve our weeks (wk23-24) at 14 months, then plans my change at 12 months and I want to try and use SOs for a SVN exchange, but change my mind (SO reservation cannot be made), then try and get my weeks (wk23-24) back - I cannot because they were effectively surrendered. If I wait for 10 months, then I retain my flexibility to reserve or use SOs.
YMMV
At least that is how I understand it.

 

[Helios]

I notice that my week 7 2017 is not showing.
Last year week 34 was there at 18 months.
Keep us posted.

I'll post the outcome.

 

[Helios]

Mine has never auto-booked, but it has been booked by me at 16-18 months out a few times when I have called OS for other things.

In the future (2017...), I am not going to book until 10 months out (last day) - because... as I understand it - once officially reserved and then unreserved (for whatever reason...), it cannot be gotten back - even if that occurs prior to the 10-month mark.
As example - If I reserve our weeks (wk23-24) at 14 months, then plans my change at 12 months and I want to try and use SOs for a SVN exchange, but change my mind (SO reservation cannot be made), then try and get my weeks (wk23-24) back - I cannot because they were effectively surrendered. If I wait for 10 months, then I retain my flexibility to reserve or use SOs.
YMMV
At least that is how I understand it.

Interesting. The rep told me that they will not allow bookings before 12 months. And, she said it is supposed to autobook. After that, I had to call before 10 months to confirm. Calling before 10 months has always been SOP I believe.

Your approach about waiting to book (or confirm booking right before 10 months) seems like a good idea. I will give that a try.

Did you ever ask if the unit is suppose to autobook? I know you cannot trust the reps because you can get different answers from each of them.

 

[Helios]

On a related note, has anyone tried to drop a night from their fixed week/unit resie. I was told that if you do this, you could end up in a different unit.