Westin St John Master Thread - Part 3 [Dec. 2017 and forward]

[schafercpa]

Actually, the tree is to the Right of gate

 

[melissy123]

Just got back from WSJ. I know someone was asking if the place by the beach rents chairs. Yes, it does. $10 per day. Resort is in beautiful shape, but very short staffed. From other business owners on the island, it seems there’s a shortage of workers because there’s no place for people to live. The beaches we went to seemed almost deserted in the mornings. Saw lots of turtles at Maho.

 

[DavidnRobin]

Just got back from WSJ. I know someone was asking if the place by the beach rents chairs. Yes, it does. $10 per day. Resort is in beautiful shape, but very short staffed. From other business owners on the island, it seems there’s a shortage of workers because there’s no place for people to live. The beaches we went to seemed almost deserted in the mornings. Saw lots of turtles at Maho.

You can also buy beach chairs at Hardware store above Starfish Market - at least prior to H.Irma


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[DavidnRobin]

I just called the WSJ Front Desk - B33 and B34 opened a week and a half ago.
Yippee!!!
Just in Time!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Carolyn]

I just talked to Vistana yesterday and they said 33 and 34 were not open yet... looks like the left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing… LOL!! We are looking forward to going back in November.

 

[DavidnRobin]

I just talked to Vistana yesterday and they said 33 and 34 were not open yet... looks like the left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing… LOL!! We are looking forward to going back in November.

You called Vistana - meaning Orlando?
I called the Front Desk at WSJ.
Guess I will call back...

I did call back - WSJ Front Desk - and asked if B33 and B34 were open.
They confirmed that all buildings at the resort are now open.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Carolyn]

Yes, it was Vistana not WSJ. That’s awesome!
Can’t wait until November.

 

[TravelTime]

I am in the Virgin Islands this week. I would like to visit the WSJ and see the facilities and resort. We are staying at RC STT near Red Hook. Does anyone have any suggestions of how to visit WSJ for a couple hours?

 

[DavidnRobin]

I am in the Virgin Islands this week. I would like to visit the WSJ and see the facilities and resort. We are staying at RC STT near Red Hook. Does anyone have any suggestions of how to visit WSJ for a couple hours?

Take ferry across, then take taxi to WSJ?

 

[SandyPGravel]

I am in the Virgin Islands this week. I would like to visit the WSJ and see the facilities and resort. We are staying at RC STT near Red Hook. Does anyone have any suggestions of how to visit WSJ for a couple hours?

Go to the front desk and tell them you are thinking of buying. I'm sure they'll find someone to give you a tour. They don't need to know you're a Tugger and gonna buy resale.

 

[Kid Napa]

You called Vistana - meaning Orlando?
I called the Front Desk at WSJ.
Guess I will call back...

I did call back - WSJ Front Desk - and asked if B33 and B34 were open.
They confirmed that all buildings at the resort are now open.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I can confirm with 100% certainty that building 34 is open...I am typing this from my villa in SJV, building 34 right now.

 

[Kid Napa]

I can confirm with 100% certainty that building 34 is open...I am typing this from my villa in SJV, building 34 right now.

First day...still working out the kinks in building 34. First, refrigerator, which is 80’s era (kind of like the look of the buildings), was at about 70 degrees this morning. Spent the morning hanging out getting that fixed...couldn’t leave because I didn’t have a safe installed in the room. After getting the fridge worked on, I took all the valuables down to the lobby to stow in a safe deposit box and requested they install a safe. Spent a little of the afternoon in the villa hanging out while they installed the safe. Cooking utensils were minimal, including no corkscrew, so called two hours before dinner to request one (for a nice red to go along with some prime NY strips). After calling three times to make sure I would get it before dinner, a gentleman arrived with one just before we sat down.

Staff have been very nice and the grounds are looking pretty good, although the ungroomed sections are a little rough looking. This is my first time here, so I cannot compare to pre-hurricane status.

Sunset in June is north of the resort over the hill, which is a little disappointing as you can see that they are spectacular (I suspect it is perfect for Cruz Bay and Caneel Bay this time of year). I imagine it is dead on with the Great Cruz Bay in the winter months as we are looking Southwest. Will need to keep a mental note of that.

 

[DavidnRobin]

We arrive in a few days. I suspect we will run into similar issues with villa.
In June, sun sets over the hill. Oceans 365 has a great sunset view (when no Sahara dust).

 

[TravelTime]

I was just over at WSJ. We just went to see the property for future reference. It was very empty. It looks a little rundown to me and a dated 80s style, not having seen it pre-hurricane. I am sure the interiors are fabulous as Westin probably put more focus on the insides and just repaired the exterior. The landscaping is okay but could be better. More grooming is needed. The natural trees are pretty high already, which surprised me that they grow so fast. This is good and bad, since the views look like they will already be blocked, but nice to see all the foliage growing back. I am just giving my first impression of an outsider’s view who has never been to WSJ before. I did not like the layout of the resort. The villas are too far from the main pool and beach. The hillside section felt like a separate resort. Even the closest villas on the resort side are a bit of a walk to the pool and not beachfront. It feels like the layout of the villa sections on the resort side are too clustered together giving me a bit of a claustrophobic feeling. I would have liked to see more open space between villas within each section. The open space seems to be between the various phases and not within phases. I was also surprised at how run down the neighborhood and roads are from the ferry to WSJ.

I was on the Caneel Bay side pre-hurricane and I recall it being so different. Maybe because we only drove from the ferry area though the national park to get to Caneel Bay. We did not go over to the National park side yesterday since the mission was just to see WSJ. I would like to visit that side next to see if my memories are the same or not. I did see Caneel Bay from the Tortola ferry. Before I knew it was Caneel Bay, I told my husband that looks like some beautiful beaches better than any we had seen in the BVIs, then we realized it was Caneel Bay. The structures on Caneel Bay look intact from afar but I am sure there must be a lot of damage. However, I suspect whoever gets the next lease could have it open pretty quickly. My impression from reading about the problems at Caneel Bay is more about the current leaseholder not wanting to invest in recovery rather than the extent of damage. I really hope it re-opens. It was (and possibly still is) one of the most beautiful places in the Caribbean.

 

[ksqdomer]

I just called the WSJ Front Desk - B33 and B34 opened a week and a half ago.
Yippee!!!
Just in Time!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

woohoo,
June 21 here we come!!

 

[ksqdomer]

I was just over at WSJ. We just went to see the property for future reference. It was very empty. It looks a little rundown to me and a dated 80s style, not having seen it pre-hurricane. I am sure the interiors are fabulous as Westin probably put more focus on the insides and just repaired the exterior. The landscaping is okay but could be better. More grooming is needed. The natural trees are pretty high already, which surprised me that they grow so fast. This is good and bad, since the views look like they will already be blocked, but nice to see all the foliage growing back. I am just giving my first impression of an outsider’s view who has never been to WSJ before. I did not like the layout of the resort. The villas are too far from the main pool and beach. The hillside section felt like a separate resort. Even the closest villas on the resort side are a bit of a walk to the pool and not beachfront. It feels like the layout of the villa sections on the resort side are too clustered together giving me a bit of a claustrophobic feeling. I would have liked to see more open space between villas within each section. The open space seems to be between the various phases and not within phases. I was also surprised at how run down the neighborhood and roads are from the ferry to WSJ.

I was on the Caneel Bay side pre-hurricane and I recall it being so different. Maybe because we only drove from the ferry area though the national park to get to Caneel Bay. We did not go over to the National park side yesterday since the mission was just to see WSJ. I would like to visit that side next to see if my memories are the same or not. I did see Caneel Bay from the Tortola ferry. Before I knew it was Caneel Bay, I told my husband that looks like some beautiful beaches better than any we had seen in the BVIs, then we realized it was Caneel Bay. The structures on Caneel Bay look intact from afar but I am sure there must be a lot of damage. However, I suspect whoever gets the next lease could have it open pretty quickly. My impression from reading about the problems at Caneel Bay is more about the current leaseholder not wanting to invest in recovery rather than the extent of damage. I really hope it re-opens. It was (and possibly still is) one of the most beautiful places in the Caribbean.

I think you have to take into consideration that the whole resort was a hotel now converted to timeshare villas. The hill side buildings across the street were always villas. Can't speak for other owners but we are on the hill, love parking right in front of our villa, love the small pool which is never crowded, and easy grill access. We almost never use the large resort pool but do use the workout room. 90% of our time is on the north shore.

 

[SandyPGravel]

I think you have to take into consideration that the whole resort was a hotel now converted to timeshare villas. The hill side buildings across the street were always villas. Can't speak for other owners but we are on the hill, love parking right in front of our villa, love the small pool which is never crowded, and easy grill access. We almost never use the large resort pool but do use the workout room. 90% of our time is on the north shore.

Ditto (except for the work out room, I'm allergic to working out) Also love the full size kitchen appliances including the oven.

 

[DavidnRobin]

Ditto...
(WSJ and STJ are not for everyone)

Day 4 - and still haven’t been at the Main Resort
Frances Bay
Little Lameshur
Hawknest as I write
and our villa pool (repeat)

bring shade...

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[DavidnRobin]

Yep... almost unbearable

View from 3410 balcony


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[ksqdomer]

Ditto (except for the work out room, I'm allergic to working out) Also love the full size kitchen appliances including the oven.

How could I forget the full kitchen and large ice maker!!??

 

[DavidnRobin]

Cruz Bay


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[DavidnRobin]

How could I forget the full kitchen and large ice maker!!??

Did we bring enough wine?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[SandyPGravel]

OMG you brought all that from CA and it made it unscathed? How do you make weight? I try to bring one decent 12" pan to cook with and sometimes it gets sacrificed so the baggage makes weight.

Unit looks exactly like 3210 except we didn't get two rolls of paper towels to start.

Have you cooked in the unit much? We set off the new fire alarms by making popcorn. The steam from the pan set off the alarm. The person who came to silence the alarm said it happens when someone opens up the dryer too. The heat from the dryer will set off the alarm. We were afraid to cook after the first time it happened!

 

[SandyPGravel]

Ditto...
(WSJ and STJ are not for everyone)

Day 4 - and still haven’t been at the Main Resort
Frances Bay
Little Lameshur
Hawknest as I write
and our villa pool (repeat)

bring shade...

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

We tried to do something like this as well, but didn't have the poles for the front end of our "tarp". (Extra beach blanket I brought along with carabiners to attach to the folliage.)

 

[NNerland]

Did we bring enough wine?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

How did you get this there? I have always tried each year to bring a few more things that are more expensive with us; Liquor and Beer is relatively reasonable on the Island; but wine is not.
I don't necessarily want to bring another bag; Travel Boxes aren't very environmentally friendly to leave behind. I looked at protectors and then boxing, leaving only box behind.

What do you do to travel? Well worth the checked bag cost on wine as most bottles are 3-4x local prices.