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

[DavidnRobin]

No sea lice/stinging jellies/plankton (or whatever they are called) in any of the bays we have been to. Also, no reports from others.

Great Cruz Bay has not had any warning signs for contaminated water.

TripAdvisor has ruined the tranquility of Maho...

Had a great charter (again) with Island Roots (Capt Jason Siska) - went over to Santa Maria Bay (back side of STT) for some great snorkeling.

Did a Cruz Bay Watersports charter (Island Spirit Catamaran) for the Owners Update over to Buck Island and Christmas Cove with lunch (in lieu of $125 starfish dollars) - a bit crowded but a good bargain, and very well run.

Free Cycle had tons of beach chairs (Sat morning checkout) - if no beach chairs, the hardware store above Starfish Market had them for sale (not sure if price)

 

[ekinggill]

No sea lice/stinging jellies/plankton (or whatever they are called) in any of the bay's we have been to. Also, no reports from others.,,,


Had a great charter (again) with Island Roots (Capt Jason Siska) - went over to Santa Maria Bay (back side of STT) for some great snorkeling.

Thanks for the update on the sea lice. That is great to hear.

Captain Jason is a treasure! We had such great trips with him in the past that we let him pick our itinerary last year. We saw some amazing stuff...I doubt we ever would have seen Salt Island or the thousands of conch shells at Fallen Jerusalem with another skipper.

 

[dsmrp]

No sea lice/stinging jellies/plankton (or whatever they are called) in any of the bay's we have been to. Also, no reports from others.

Great Cruz Bay has not had any warning signs for contaminated water.

TripAdvisor has ruined the tranquility of Maho...

Had a great charter (again) with Island Roots (Capt Jason Siska) - went over to Santa Maria Bay (back side of STT) for some great snorkeling.

Did a Cruz Bay Watersports charter (Island Spirit Catamaran) for the Owners Update over to Buck Island and Christmas Cove with lunch (in lieu of $125 starfish dollars) - a bit crowded but a good bargain, and very well run.

Free Cycle had tons of beach chairs (Sat morning checkout) - if no beach chairs, the hardware store above Starfish Market had them for sale (not sure if price)

Thanks for the update!
We arrive on Saturday, for our first and probably last time to St John (unsure if I will be able to get a reservation again )

 

[DavidnRobin]

Not much of a trip report - floating in pool as I type...

Sorry gals - Capt Jason is getting hitched in August


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[tomandrobin]

Not much of a trip report - floating in pool as I type...

Glad to see you and Robin is having a great time!

 

[tomandrobin]

Free Cycle had tons of beach chairs (Sat morning checkout) - if no beach chairs, the hardware store above Starfish Market had them for sale (not sure if price)

Good to know....

We found some beach chairs at Dicks that can fold in half to fit on our luggage. They weigh a lot (9lbs) but do travel well. We will be bringing ours to St John in July. Its a good thing we get 4 pieces of checked luggage free.

 

[jeff41060]

Hi There. My Girlfriend and I will be arriving on Saturday. Is the maintenance and construction bad? I came across notes on the Westin website.
Jeff.

 

[DavidnRobin]

Good to know....

We found some beach chairs at Dicks that can fold in half to fit on our luggage. They weigh a lot (9lbs) but do travel well. We will be bringing ours to St John in July. Its a good thing we get 4 pieces of checked luggage free.

9# per chair is quite a lot. Glad you get so much luggage. Seems like plenty of beach chairs here...

 

[DavidnRobin]

Hi There. My Girlfriend and I will be arriving on Saturday. Is the maintenance and construction bad? I came across notes on the Westin website.
Jeff.

The buildings by the main pool are undergoing construction (creating Sunset Bay villas) - we do not use main pool or resort (and are on hill), but have not heard complaints from others.
Adapt.

 

[jeff41060]

Thanks for the info David. We plan to be exploring anyway so no issue but wasn't sure how extensive it was. Really looking forward to this. First time at St. John.
Jeff

 

[cyntravel]

Owners of Westin St. John Virgin Grand Villas

Hi

I am looking for owners to help with the following questions. I am new to Westin..

If I own a premium studio unit will there be an issue with 2 adults and 3 children?

Does Westin have a fine line for counting children in your unit? Family stays outside doesn't stay in the room much at all.

If this was addressed previously can someone direct me to the thread?

If there is someone I need to speak to at Westin St. John could you please direct me there.

Thank you all for your help!
Cyn

 

[SandyPGravel]

Hi

I am looking for owners to help with the following questions. I am new to Westin..

If I own a premium studio unit will there be an issue with 2 adults and 3 children?

Does Westin have a fine line for counting children in your unit? Family stays outside doesn't stay in the room much at all.

If this was addressed previously can someone direct me to the thread?

If there is someone I need to speak to at Westin St. John could you please direct me there.

Thank you all for your help!
Cyn

I'm pretty sure if the room says occupancy 4, they will not allow 5.

 

[cyntravel]

St. John

Hi Gina

Thank you for the information.


Cyn

 

[DavidnRobin]

Hi Cyn -
Depends on age of children... There is one King Bed and one Queen sofa bed. So... sleeping will be tight. There are no roll out beds (at least that I have ever seen in 10 years).


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[DavidnRobin]

Trip report - part 2
Beaches this year
Francis
Hawksnest/Gibney
Little Lameshur
Maho
Salt Pond
Trunk (2x)
Waterlemon
Jumbie
Denis {added - almost forgot)

Like restaurants - the best choices depends on many factors
They are all great in their own ways...

TripAdvisor ruined Maho IMO



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[dioxide45]

Trip report - part 2
Beaches this year
Francis
Hawksnest/Gibney
Little Lameshur
Maho
Salt Pond
Trunk (2x)
Waterlemon
Jumbie

Like restaurants - the best choices depends on many factors
They are all great in their own ways...

TripAdvisor ruined Maho IMO



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So what is the problem with Maho? Is it too crowded or too commercialized now?

 

[DavidnRobin]

So what is the problem with Maho? Is it too crowded or too commercialized now?

Too popular... way too many people (and the type that apparently need to touch the turtles... arg)

added Denis to list of beaches above that we went to.

We did pretty well in 2 weeks considering we hung out at pool for 2 days, and another great charter on Island Roots (Capt Jason), and Owner Update trip to Buck Island to swim with turtles.

 

[DavidnRobin]

Trip Report - part 3
Restaurants that we went to (worth mention)
Asolare
Rhumbline
Longboard
Doghouse
Beach Bar
Cruz Bay Landing
Uncle Joes BBQ
Fish Trap
Jakes (breakfast)
Island Grill (Mongoose Jct)
Palm Tree Court (Moongoose Jct)
Shipwreck Landing (Coral Bay)

 

[okwiater]

Trip Report - part 3
Restaurants that we went to (worth mention)

[...]

What was your impression of each of the restaurants? Any of them particularly notable this time?

 

[cyntravel]

Hi David

Thanks for your response. The children are all under 11yrs old. I was concerned about Westin's rules for accommodations.

Cyn

 

[DavidnRobin]

What was your impression of each of the restaurants? Any of them particularly notable this time?

Much like Bill's question about beaches - too many variables - so depends...

We always go to Rhumblines for the Ultimate Pad Thai.
Good burgers (and sports TV for Warriors and Sharks games) and Good beer (actually had beer worth drinking - like Lagunitis Lil Sumptin) at Doghouse.
Frozen Painkillers and good appetizers at Longboard.

Hard to say what was best - especially when cost/covenience is considered.

I did leave Ronnies Pizza off list - it was not good...

Forgot to add Jakes (for breakfast...) - added
Palm Tree Court = Sun Dog Cafe - not sure where I got Palm Tree Court from (too much EtOH)

 

[DavidnRobin]

Hi David

Thanks for your response. The children are all under 11yrs old. I was concerned about Westin's rules for accommodations.

Cyn

Not sure if there are 'rules' per se
Rules and St John is sort of an oxymoron...

but, the studios are set up for 4 people - 3 kids sleeping on Queen sofa bed in same room is not my kind of vacation...

 

[cyntravel]

Hi
I am new to Westin. Can someone share the number they use for banking staroptions. Or do you have a customer rep that is more helpful than others.

I appreciate your help.

Cyn

 

[SandyPGravel]

Hi
I am new to Westin. Can someone share the number they use for banking staroptions. Or do you have a customer rep that is more helpful than others.

I appreciate your help.

Cyn

From Vistana.com:

Westin Vacation Club

1.888.WV.OWNER (1-888-986-9637) or direct at 407-903-4635

 

[SandyPGravel]

Not sure if there are 'rules' per se
Rules and St John is sort of an oxymoron...

but, the studios are set up for 4 people - 3 kids sleeping on Queen sofa bed in same room is not my kind of vacation...

The studios are small and the sofa beds are not comfy...at all. If Westin allows you to sleep the 3 kids in the room with you I would recommed an inflatable queen air mattress to use on the floor. Much more comfy than the sofa sleeper is. (DH and I opened one up a few years ago to see if we wanted to invite anyone along and it was awful) Granted the soft goods are being replaced in the VGV rooms and the CB & SB sections are newer so maybe those sleepers are better.