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

[alexadeparis]

I was looking at a resale SB unit. I did a thread search in this thread and didn't find an answer - do we know why CV/SB staroptions required don't seem to match up to what they should if booked separately in the lower seasons? For Example: CV and SB in platinum or Gold plus don't add up: 196,900 is required for 3 bedroom lockoff - so theoretically, a 2 bedroom should be 129,800 and a studio should be 67,100. = a 3 bedroom ressie should then = 196,900. but that is not what is happening - the 2 bedroom that locks off is still listed as 148,100, so if you made 2 separate reservations for a studio and a two bedroom then the staroptions costs are 215,200. Similarly, a 3 bedroom is 125,000 in Gold plus if booked together, and 139,700 if booked separately. It appears to be the same for SB as well. Why is this? Shouldn't they ALWAYS equal up to the components? Is this a skim ala marriott? Platinum Plus staroptions numbers work just fine and all add up, the extra points if booked separately is only happening in the lower seasons. Help me understand why this is?

 

[GrayFal]

I was looking at a resale SB unit. I did a thread search in this thread and didn't find an answer - do we know why CV/SB staroptions required don't seem to match up to what they should if booked separately in the lower seasons? For Example: CV and SB in platinum or Gold plus don't add up: 196,900 is required for 3 bedroom lockoff - so theoretically, a 2 bedroom should be 129,800 and a studio should be 67,100. = a 3 bedroom ressie should then = 196,900. but that is not what is happening - the 2 bedroom that locks off is still listed as 148,100, so if you made 2 separate reservations for a studio and a two bedroom then the staroptions costs are 215,200. Similarly, a 3 bedroom is 125,000 in Gold plus if booked together, and 139,700 if booked separately. It appears to be the same for SB as well. Why is this? Shouldn't they ALWAYS equal up to the components? Is this a skim ala marriott? Platinum Plus staroptions numbers work just fine and all add up, the extra points if booked separately is only happening in the lower seasons. Help me understand why this is?

I own in CV and SB. And I don’t know why! I have a 148,100 and 95.700 contract and can combine them and stay in a three bedroom In the fall for 125,000. I feel like I did ask way back when I first purchased. I know (Think)) they don’t sell a 3BR Ownership. Only 2BR and studio.

 

[mclowe]

Just purchased 2 weeks (Fixed weeks 11 & 12), 3 BR Bay Vista! We've been watching for a while and entertained a few resale listings but finally pulled the trigger! I'm really hoping we can get down there in March 2021.... We shall see I guess.

We are so excited and just wanted to share! We love St John and are really happy we can count on regular visits there. We've never done more than 10 days, and usually only go for 7 days, so 2 weeks will be such a treat.

Tell me what you love about WSJ, Bay Vista or mid/late March.....

 

[cyntravel]

Does anyone have a map of the different properties in Westin St. John.
I am a new owner trying to find the different types of units in each section and their locations.

I believe Sunset Bay Villas does not have elevators?

Thanks for your help.

 

[Eric B]

Does anyone have a map of the different properties in Westin St. John.
I am a new owner trying to find the different types of units in each section and their locations.

I believe Sunset Bay Villas does not have elevators?

Thanks for your help.

Lots of good info at this website put together by @alexadeparis:

Westin St John Owners Info

If you’ve ever been to St John, you know it’s a magical place. Short of becoming a Millionaire and buying a Villa, Westin St John is one of the only ways to own a piece of Paradise. While there...

www.westinstjohnownersinfo.com

Dig through the site you’ll find the current and past site maps.

 

[GrayFal]

Does anyone have a map of the different properties in Westin St. John.
I am a new owner trying to find the different types of units in each section and their locations.

I believe Sunset Bay Villas does not have elevators?

Thanks for your help.

No elevators 2 story building. There are two ocean front buildings and 4 poolside buildings. These 6 buildings surround the main pool area.

 

[sachia007]

Anyone know how busy the resort was - i.e. at capacity, or not many people there?

I'm looking to post my unit for Feb. 2021 and am wondering if it will rent? Or if I should just bank the points (they would get banked until 12/31/2021, is that correct? Or is it 12/2022)?

 

[dioxide45]

Anyone know how busy the resort was - i.e. at capacity, or not many people there?

I'm looking to post my unit for Feb. 2021 and am wondering if it will rent? Or if I should just bank the points (they would get banked until 12/31/2021, is that correct? Or is it 12/2022)?

12/31/2023 for 2021 use year.

 

[sachia007]

12/31/2023 for 2021 use year.

Do I need to cancel my reservation by a certain date to get the points banked until 12/31/2023? Or pay a fee to get it banked until 2023?

 

[CPNY]

Do I need to cancel my reservation by a certain date to get the points banked until 12/31/2023? Or pay a fee to get it banked until 2023?

You just need to bank available star options by the banking deadline that applies to you. Elite members have a longer time period to bank points.

as long as you cancel the reservation 60+ days before the check in they won’t be restricted and will be able to be banked. If you know you’re not using your 2021 reservation, you can cancel it now and let the star options sit there. You have plenty of time to bank 2021 star options.

 

[dioxide45]

Do I need to cancel my reservation by a certain date to get the points banked until 12/31/2023? Or pay a fee to get it banked until 2023?

Others can confirm, but as long as your reservation is a home resort reservation, you can cancel until the day before and have no issues. AGAIN, others would need to confirm since WSJ is odd with fixed weeks. Special rules may apply.

 

[CPNY]

geeez, I couldn’t have been any faster and the units are gone...... two nights in a row. I guess WSJ isn’t meant to be for me.

 

[YYJMSP]

geeez, I couldn’t have been any faster and the units are gone...... two nights in a row. I guess WSJ isn’t meant to be for me.

it's been a few years since we went, but i'm pretty sure it took us 9 consecutive days of trying to finally get a 2BR in the summer time at 8mos out...

 

[CPNY]

it's been a few years since we went, but i'm pretty sure it took us 9 consecutive days of trying to finally get a 2BR in the summer time at 8mos out...

I can get a two bedroom but not for 148K SO, I’ll go at the end of the summer and save the 51,700 SO. That’s another unit for Bahamas. I just booked 8 nights over Memorial Day week at Atlantis. I’ll try again for Labor Day for WSJ. I was just so close! Timed perfectly, someone just timed it that much better I guess.

 

[bobpark56]

Does anyone know why the Virgin Grand recycle shed is locked? We arrived yesterday, and I tried to get in, only to find that our pool villa key would not work. I asked the concierge about this, and she had no answer. If you can't get in, how can anything be left for others t o use?

 

[controller1]

Does anyone know why the Virgin Grand recycle shed is locked? We arrived yesterday, and I tried to get in, only to find that our pool villa key would not work. I asked the concierge about this, and she had no answer. If you can't get in, how can anything be left for others t o use?

I would assume it is COVID related in that anything left would need to be cleaned/sterilized prior to someone else using it.

 

[carpie99]

I would assume it is COVID related in that anything left would need to be cleaned/sterilized prior to someone else using it.

This is the answer

 

[Gatorfan]

Does anyone know why the Virgin Grand recycle shed is locked? We arrived yesterday, and I tried to get in, only to find that our pool villa key would not work. I asked the concierge about this, and she had no answer. If you can't get in, how can anything be left for others t o use?

When we were there in early July there was a note attached to the door indicating it had been closed due to COVID.

 

[Helios]

This is the answer

That’s what I was told in early August.

 

[DavidnRobin]

2021 MFs for VGV have been proposed - they rarely are altered from these amounts - so be prepared.

Does not include VSN fee, or Property Taxes - these are paid separately. Also, doesn’t include that BS $25/nite USVI Fee.

Studio: $1722.97
1Bd TH: $2297.40
2Bd TH: $2871.80
2Bd Prem: $3445.93
3Bd Pool: $3446.17


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[DavidnRobin]

2021 MFs for VGV have been proposed - they rarely are altered from these amounts - so be prepared.

Does not include VSN fee, or Property Taxes - these are paid separately. Also, doesn’t include that BS $25/nite USVI Fee.

Studio: $1722.97
1Bd TH: $2297.40
2Bd TH: $2871.80
2Bd Prem: $3445.93
3Bd Pool: $3446.17


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

So... for example - the total cost of our June 2Bd TH (95.7K SOs) is ~$3200/week when PropTax and USVI Fee are included.
Ouch!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Eric B]

2021 MFs for VGV have been proposed - they rarely are altered from these amounts - so be prepared.

Does not include VSN fee, or Property Taxes - these are paid separately. Also, doesn’t include that BS $25/nite USVI Fee.

Studio: $1722.97
1Bd TH: $2297.40
2Bd TH: $2871.80
2Bd Prem: $3445.93
3Bd Pool: $3446.17

It's my first year owning at WSJ and I just got the budget proposal, too. The amounts you listed, @DavidnRobin, are from the bottom line of the revenue side and seem to include revenue from Bank/Investment Interest, Late Fees, Maintenance Fee Interest Income, and Surplus Return along with what I would guess is the Maintenance Fee on the top line. If that interpretation of the budget is right, I would put them at:

Studio: $1643.47
1Bd TH: $2191.42
2Bd TH: $2739.31
2Bd Prem: $3286.96
3Bd Pool: $3287.18

In your experience, do they generally match the top budget revenue line for the maintenance fees or the Total Maintenance Fee Revenue line?

 

[DavidnRobin]

It's my first year owning at WSJ and I just got the budget proposal, too. The amounts you listed, @DavidnRobin, are from the bottom line of the revenue side and seem to include revenue from Bank/Investment Interest, Late Fees, Maintenance Fee Interest Income, and Surplus Return along with what I would guess is the Maintenance Fee on the top line. If that interpretation of the budget is right, I would put them at:

Studio: $1643.47
1Bd TH: $2191.42
2Bd TH: $2739.31
2Bd Prem: $3286.96
3Bd Pool: $3287.18

In your experience, do they generally match the top budget revenue line for the maintenance fees or the Total Maintenance Fee Revenue line?

The bottom line of budget (the numbers I listed) is the total 2021 MFs. The items you listed are all a part of that bottom-line amount. This is likely what will be billed as MFs.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Eric B]

The bottom line of budget (the numbers I listed) is the total 2021 MFs. The items you listed are all a part of that bottom-line amount. This is likely what will be billed as MFs.

Here's the budget I was referring to. The revenues are broken out in the upper portion as maintenance fees, bank/investment interest, late fees, maintenance fee interest income, surplus return, and a total maintenance fee revenue line that adds them all up. There's also a line for club rental revenue, but it is zeroed out.

Looking just at the Townhouse Suite column, the budget includes $2,191.42 for maintenance fees, $1.09 for bank/investment interest, $7.73 for late fees, $2.90 for maintenance fee interest income, and $94.26 for surplus return, totaling up to $2,297.40. I anticipate that I will be billed the $2,191.42 for my maintenance fees (plus the VSN fees, as appropriate) and that I will be billed separately for the property taxes.

I would be surprised to be billed for $7.73 for late fees; if I pay late, I expect instead that I'll be billed a $25 late fee for doing so and believe that the $7.73 represents the average amount of late fee collections the COA anticipates collecting from the entire association divided by the number of owners proportionally. (A total of $41,000 in late fees would be 1,640 owners paying late, divided by the 92 units means about 34% of owners pay late.)

I would interpret the bank/investment income interest and maintenance fee interest income line items to represent what the COA anticipates receiving from long term reserves in bank accounts or investments for the first one and for this year's maintenance fees while they are in a bank account prior to being spent during the year.

I would interpret the surplus return to represent the excess that was collected in maintenance fees beyond what was budgeted for reserves. (Sometimes those excesses can be retained for reserves just as easily, but it's up to the board to make that determination.)

I could be wrong in how I'm reading it, but if I do wind up being billed for late fees, interest income, and return of surplus from prior budgets I'm sure I will have questions, particularly since they are listed as revenues separate from the maintenance fee line item rather than expenses. That's just me, though....

 

[bobpark56]

Parking Tip: The visitor center in Cruz Bay has been closed for the last two weeks, due to corona virus. The permit parking spaces there have thus become free to use, which is convenient for anyone visiting Mongoose Junction or using the hiking trails to Salomon Bay or Honeymoon bay...and not too bad for walking to the center of Cruz Bay (there is a shortcut along the waterfront if heading to Uncle Joe's or beyond). Not sure how long this will continue, but check it out if you will be at WSJ in the next few weeks.